Background
Blue was born in Cameroon, where his father, Walter Blue, a professor of Romance languages from Hamline University, was teaching in a mission. Blue grew up in Saint Paul, Minnesota and graduated from Como Park Senior High School in 1997. Blue currently resides in Denver, Colorado. He began his career as a comedian while seeking a creative writing degree at Evergreen State College.
Career
Blue got his start in comedy doing open mic sets while attending The Evergreen State College. Audiences reacted enthusiastically to his self-deprecating humor, and Blue started making a name for himself on the comedy circuit. He has appeared several times on Comedy Central's Mind of Mencia. Blue won $10,000 for finishing in first place at 2004 Las Vegas Comedy Festival's 2004 Royal Flush Comedy Competition.
Blue has cerebral palsy and many of his jokes center on living with his disability, how he deals with it and how other people view him. Blue appeared on the Last Comic Standing to "make people aware of the fact that people with disabilities can make an impact." He coined the term "palsy punch" during his final set of the final round of the show, when he said that the palsy punch is effective in a fight because "first of all, they don't know where the punch is coming from, and second of all, neither do I." One of Blue's competitors said he has "an unreasonable amount of likability" while another of his competitors said "he is just a good guy". Blue also joked that signing an autograph takes 45 minutes, and that to write down his phone number he has to find a "big ol' stack of paper."
He was the first comedian to do stand-up on the Ellen DeGeneres Show. His other television credits include Live with Regis and Kelly, Comics Unleashed, plus numerous appearances on Fox, CBS, ABC, and MSNBC.
He appeared in the 2009 low budget horror film Feast 3: The Happy Finish. Josh was voted the 13th best comedian by viewers in Comedy Central's Stand-up Comedy Showdown 2010.
Outside of comedy, Blue is also known for his skills in soccer as he played a part in the 2004 U.S. Paralympic team. Blue has also created various sculptures and paintings, which he is currently selling. One particular piece he sells at an extremely high price, because, as he said on his appearance on the The Ellen DeGeneres Show, "I nearly died making it."
