Carrot Top

Carrot Top made his mark by eschewing conventional stand-up comedy in favor of mixing outrageous props and silly inventions synced with observational humor. From the time he launched his career in the early 1990s, the flame-haired comic gained a cult following with his flamboyant stage acts that often resembled a large party, complete with laser beams, lights, and loud music.

At the height of his popularity, the eccentric Carrot Top regularly sold out shows at major venues in Las Vegas. He appeared on various late-night talk shows like "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno" (NBC, 1992-2014) and "The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson" (CBS, 2006-), and was a regular on many Comedy Central specials and shows. Throughout his career, Carrot Top continued to leave audiences rolling in the aisles with original material married with hilarious sight gags, showcasing his ability to remain topical and true to his own brand of comedy.

He was born Scott Thompson on Feb. 25, 1965, in Cocoa Beach, FL, and was the son of Larry Thompson, a former rocket scientist that worked on the Gemini and Apollo missions. He graduated from Cocoa High School and went on to attend Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton. When he was still a freshman, Carrot Top's roommate talked him into going on stage at a college open-mike night, marking the beginning of his career. Telling old, stale jokes did not bring the laughs that night, but a determined Carrot Top went back on stage the following semester. This time, however, he wrote his material, which he based on college life. He was a hit. After earning a marketing degree, Carrot Top worked as a bank courier while doing comedy gigs on the side. In 1990, he eventually quit his day job and went full-time with his comedy career.

To stand out from everyone else on the circuit, Carrot Top relied heavily on props in his act, even incorporating his wild and crazy red hair as a prop by using two barrettes to show off his resemblance to the little girl in the Wendy's logo. Whenever he performed, he toted trunks of silly props and inventions on stage, like heels with training wheels, airline peanut bags with photos of missing luggage imprinted on the back, or paper cups and string telephones with a third cup for "call waiting."

After landing a coveted guest spot on "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno" in 1992, Carrot Top gained a broader fan base. His stage act also became bigger and more outrageous, dazzling audiences with strobe lights, laser beams, and loud music. As a sign that his career was on the rise, he was often asked to open rock concerts, taking the place of comedian Sam Kinison after his death in 1992.

Off the stage, Carrot Top starred in his own feature comedy "Chairman of the Board" (1998), playing a surfer who becomes the head of a major corporation. While he regularly sold out concerts, Carrot Top had yet to become a household name. All that changed after he signed on to become a spokesman for a series of TV commercials for AT&T for its "1-800-Call-ATT" service. The ads put the comic on the mainstream map.

In the 2000s, Carrot Top continued making appearances on comedy talk shows like "Politically Incorrect" (Comedy Central, 1994-97; ABC, 1997-2001), and was a fixture on the remake of the game show "Hollywood Squares" (syndicated, 1998-2004). In 2006, Carrot Top appeared on the comedy satire "Reno 911!" (Comedy Central, 2003-09), where he played an angry version of himself who steals a police car and resists arrest.

Around this time, Carrot Top began showing off his extremely muscular physique, prompting rumors that he was on steroids. His dramatically altered appearance, with puffed out cheeks and exaggerated brow lifts, also triggered speculation that he had a rampant plastic surgery habit. Carrot Top never denied nor confirmed those rumors. In 2011, in between appearances on late-night talk shows, Carrot Top also headlined at the Luxor Hotel in Las Vegas, where his topical jokes and trademark prop trunk attracted sold-out crowds.

By Candy Cuenco