Elon alumnus Reno Collier has made a name for himself by making people laugh at the Atlanta-based Punchline Comedy Club, on Comedy Central, and in collaboration with Larry the Cable Guy and other well-known comedians such as Jeff Foxworthy, Bill Engvall and Ron White. He’s now taken his talent “on the road” with a new NBC reality show.
Collier branched out when he was asked by NBC to host the network’s new reality show, “The Great American Road Trip,” which premiered July 7. The eight-week program airs Tuesday nights at 8 p.m. EST.
The show involves seven families who compete in various challenges from the St. Louis Arch to the Grand Canyon and other American landmarks. According to NBC Entertainment, each family travels the length of Route 66 without any time parameters. Along the way, families are eliminated due to failures to meet challenges, and the ultimate winning family receives the grand prize.
Collier, a West Virginia native, received his undergraduate degree from Elon and went on to become a P.E. teacher and a bar tender at the Punchline Comedy Club in Atlanta, Ga. Collier says on his web site that he first began amusing audiences with his jokes during an open mic night at the club.
Since then, Collier has built a successful career as a comedian on Comedy Central and traveling to nationwide comedy clubs. He toured with Larry the Cable Guy in 2004 for the “2004 Tour of America” and his web site lists appearances on NBC’s “Late Friday,” “Politically Incorrect with Bill Maher,” “The Martin Short Show,” “The List” and “Comedy Central’s Premium Blend.”
Collier kicked off the 2005-06 “Comics on Duty” Tour, which was created for American troops stationed in Iraq. Collier has performed in the HBO Comedy Arts Festival and the Montreal Comedy Festival and also appears on the weekly Blue Collar Comedy Channel on Sirius Satellite Radio.
Click on the story to the right to read more about the 1994 Elon alumnus.
– Sarah Costello ’11