Peter was born and raised in New York, which is where he developed his quick wit. His mix of gentle cynicism, sarcasm, and irony are part of the local culture and served to help defend against the verbal assaults of his fellow New Yorkers. He credits his family with helping him to discover his sense of humor as well as providing several years worth of material.
Influences
Peter’s first memories of comedy are from his grade school years when a next door neighbor shared a Bill Cosby album with him. From then on he was hooked. He began looking for more comedians on T.V., records and tapes. Another influence from the early years is Robin Williams from the old Mork and Mindy television series. You may notice that Williams’ incredible ability to mix improvisation and standup comedy continue to influence Peter’s act to this day. If you are one of the brave souls to occupy the front row during a performance, you may even be picked on! You have been warned. George Carlin also really impressed him with his knack to notice silly things and the minutia in everyday life.
More recently Jay Leno, David Letterman and Jerry Seinfeld are just a few of the performers that Peter looks to for inspiration and professionalism of craft. On a side note, one of Peter’s personal goals is to one day appear on The Tonight Show... Not so much to perform, but to ask Jay for a personal tour of his amazing collection of antique vehicles… Hey, if your gonna dream, dream big right? The Blue Collar Comedy guys are also a favorite of his. Jeff Foxworthy, Bill Engval, Larry The Cable Guy and Ron (Tater Salad) White (wish he were alot cleaner). They just bring out the redneck in almost any guy!
Some of Peter's favorite professional Christian comedians in no particular order include Tim Hawkins, Dennis Swanburg, Ken Davis, John Branyan, Chonda Pierce, and Kay Dekalb Smith . Okay, so he lied... Tim Hawkins is his favorite. So much for "no particular order".
Very Brief Testimony (Rated G)
Peter came to know Christ in a personal way in the early 1990s and because of his knowledge of the “comedy scene” could not imagine that comedy and Christianity might be compatible. He decided to walk away from comedy at that time and work on his relationship with God instead. Peter’s willingness to follow God on faith has brought him to eighteen different countries through missionary service with the International Mission Board S.B.C. While in Texas he has served as a church planter with the North American Mission Board S.B.C. He has also attended Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary where he earned degrees in both Theology and Missiology. (How many other comedians do you know with 2 seminary degrees?) It was during this time at school that God began to show Peter that comedy is useful for outreach, evangelism as well as to let people know that Christians can actually laugh and have fun too.
Family
Peter is married to the beautiful and talented Shannon and they have one really cool son Alexander. They attend Southcliff Baptist Church in Fort Worth, Texas. Shannon is the director of the Marriage and Family Counseling Center at Southcliff and together they teach the Nearlywed/Newlywed Bible Study Class. Alex is a teenager, an aspiring actor/comedian and stays busy trying to keep his cat out of trouble. Peter, Shannon and Alex also enjoy serving in missions and travel. Hobbies
Some of Peter’s hobbies include: travel, restoring and driving vintage vehicles (he’s especially fond of his Harley and International pickup), antiquing, art and snow skiing.
