Born Scott Thompson, he grew up in Cocoa Beach, FL, where his Dad worked for NASA. He attended Florida Atlantic U. in Boca Raton, where he says he "majored in skirt chasing and minored in partying." He began his comedy career in college, at an open mike night.
Carrot Top totes around six trunks full of odd inventions – including high heels with training wheels, airline peanut bags with pictures of missing luggage on the back (like the milk cartons featuring missing children) and paper cup and string telephones with a third cup for call waiting – proudly displaying them to his audiences and snickering at his own jokes. He even uses his hair as a prop, using two barrettes to show off his spooky resemblance to the girl in the Wendy’s logo. He got his start in comedy while a marketing major at Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton. Born the son of a NASA engineer, he seemed destined to pursue a highly academic future. But when a local radio station hosted an open mike night, Carrot Top (then Scott Thompson), on a dare from college buddies, made his first appearance painted in black, wearing a wig and impersonating Michael Jackson. After graduation, his comedy gigs began paying more bills than did his day jobs, leading him to pursue live venues in order to develop his own brand of comedic genius. He still says that he can’t bear to break the news to his parents, claiming, “They don’t know I’m a comic…they think I’m doing marketing for Coca-Cola.”
The fact that anyone doesn’t know Carrot Top is a comic is unbelievable, considering his countless awards and the popularity of his “1-800-CALL-ATT” commercials. He has been named “Comedian of the Year,” “Best Male Stand-Up Comedian” and “Entertainer of the Year” through various readers’ polls and comedy associations. He has described himself as a mix of George Carlin (“observational humor”), Steven Wright (“dark, sick humor”) and Gallagher (“the props”). Whatever he is, he’s all Carrot Top – with his trademark mop of red hair and enough wit to be dubbed “the wackiest redhead since Lucy.”
