This Chinese-American is a scientist-turned comedian. He jokes pretty much on everything: marriage, politics, and most successfully, being ethnic. His accent is part of what makes it work. One thing I like a lot about his performance is the clever connection of his storyline, so that jokes are linked in a natural way. I used to perform the Chinese stand-up comedy, or crosstalk (相声). A number of my friends are quite good writers and performers of it. From them, I even learned there are theories and patterns in designing the jokes, especially in lining up elements. When I'm watching Joe Wong's performance, I'm convinced that he did his homework in writing them. In fact, Joe started exploring his humor by writing for a campus newspaper at Rice University.
Another principle in comedy is adjusting contents to specific context, primarily depending on audience group, to maximize the effects. In Chinese stand-up comedies there are such terminologies like 把点开活儿, meaning "Do your work according to the environment". Joe does this really well too. If you watch the show at RTCA Dinner (see below), you will find he customized his contents by telling a lot of political jokes, even making fun of the Vice President and C-SPAN. It is nothing but clever, isn't it!
Joe Wong on Letterman (1st appearance)
Joe Wong on Letterman (2nd appearance)
Joe Wong at RTCA Dinner
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