Don Tjernagel received the nickname “Donzilla” while filming for Comedy Central in Phoenix, AZ. You see, Donzilla is a big man. The director said that it looked like “Donzilla was going to destroy Phoenix when he came on camera!” Don Tjernagel moved to Las Vegas after suffering a serious injury during spring football practice at the University of Northern Iowa. He finished his degree at the cheapest school he could find. On a whim one night in 1997, Donzilla tried stand-up comedy for the first time. He really just wanted to get a free Latté at the coffee house open mic night. Donzilla was quickly a hit with the locals, and he was asked to perform a lounge show in the Casino Royale Volcano Lounge. They call it the Volcano Lounge because it was directly across the street from the Mirage. You could have a drink and have a perfect view of the volcano erupting. Donzilla become the youngest comic to ever have his own show on the Las Vegas Strip. It was called Sin City Standup, and he performed it at The Bourbon Street Hotel, The Las Vegas Hilton, and The Monte Carlo. Catch Donzilla in action near you. Please be advised that Don Tjernagel’s comedy contains material of a sexually explicit and politically adverse nature. This show may be very offensive to some.



More About Donzilla Donzilla performs at night clubs, bars, opera houses, and art house theaters. He will never perform in a comedy club ever again because he believes they will be the death of stand-up comedy is. The owners give tickets away just to fill the room with a bunch of people drinking diet cokes and laughing at a guy singing song parodies. In 2004, Donzilla opened America’s first free speech comedy club under the oath that he would never censor any comedian that performed on his stage. The First Amendment was painted on the wall where patrons entered, and portraits of Lenny Bruce and Sam Kinison were prominently displayed. There was a 315-seat showroom with video screens where a video introduction taught everyone the First Amendment just before every show began. On opening night, Donzilla was shocked when a dozen people asked who Lenny Bruce and Sam Kinison were – the rest of the audience asked what the First Amendment was. The club failed, and Donzilla sold his house in Las Vegas to pay for all the debts. Why Donzilla Does What He Does Don says, “I grew up watching stand-up comedy in the 80’s and early 90’s. I would race home  to watch Def Comedy Jam with my father on HBO. I also was a very big Sam Kinison fan back when comics could fully let go and become the life of the party. I do stand-up comedy because I’m driven to get better and better and I know my best work will only be achieved as I constantly work to push my self past the malaise of the comedy clubs generic syle, and existence. I want to be the most prolific stand-up comic ever by creating and producing more DVDs and CDs than any stand-up in history.”