View source for Augie T.

{{short description|Hawaiian comedian}}
{{Infobox officeholder
|name = Augusto E. Tulba (Augie T.)
|image =
|office= Member of the [[Honolulu City Council]]<br>from the 9th district
|term_start = January 2, 2021
|term_end   =
|predecessor= [[Ron Menor]]
|successor  =
|birth_name =
|birth_date = {{Birth year and age|1968}}
|birth_place = [[Honolulu, Hawaii]]
|death_date =
|death_place=
|nationality= [[United States|American]]
|party      = Nonpartisan politician
|spouse     =
|children   =
|residence  = [[Ewa, Hawaii]]
|alma_mater =
|website    = {{url|https://www.vote4augie.com/}}
}}
'''Augie T.''' (born '''Augusto E. Tulba''' in 1968) is an American politician and member of the [[Honolulu City Council]].  Tulba is a [[Radio personality]] on [[KPHI]], branded as "Shaka 96.7", based in [[Honolulu]], [[Hawaii]]. He was also a successful radio personality on [[KDNN]] and on [[KQMQ-FM]].  He started his career in comedy in the 1990s, but came to prominence in the 2000s. He was influenced by [[Rap Reiplinger]]. Augie T also does voice-over work for local radio and television advertisements. In March 2019, he held his final public comedy show.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/2019/02/28/augie-ts-last-stand/|title=Augie T's Last Stand|date=28 February 2019|publisher=Hawaii News Now|accessdate=12 September 2019}}</ref>  In September 2019, he announced his interest in running for the [[Honolulu City Council]].
==Personal life==
Augie was born in 1968 and is the second oldest of six children. He grew up in the Kamehameha IV Housing Project (known to Hawaii residents as "Kam IV Housing"), in Kalihi Valley, a working-class area in urban Honolulu. He became a [[Golden Gloves]] champion boxer at age 16.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://archives.starbulletin.com/2004/09/24/features/index2.html|title=Augie T steps up|last=Genegabus|first=Jason|date=24 September 2004|publisher=Honolulu Star Bulletin|accessdate=12 September 2019}}</ref> He attended [[Farrington High School]] and graduated in 1986.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Genegabus |first1=Jason |title=Farrington High welcomes back famous, funny alum |url=https://archives.starbulletin.com/2006/08/17/news/story09.html |work=Honolulu Star-Bulletin |date=17 August 2006}}</ref>
In 1991, Augie got his first taste of stand-up comedy, taking top honors during an open mic night at the old Honolulu Comedy Club.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.pbshawaii.org/long-story-short-with-leslie-wilcox-augie-t/|title=Long Story Short With Leslie Wilcox - Augie T|date=13 March 2008|publisher=PBS Hawaii|accessdate=12 September 2019}}</ref> Augie developed his earliest material with help from local comedian [[Andy Bumatai]], who taught him that it isn't always necessary to use profanity in order to get a laugh.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.pbshawaii.org/long-story-short-with-leslie-wilcox-augie-t/|title=Long Story Short With Leslie Wilcox - Augie T, op. cit.}}</ref> The surviving members of Booga Booga (James Grant Benton and Ed Ka'ahea) also mentored him; Augie had performed with them in 1993.
Augie won the [[Na Hoku Hanohano Awards|Nā Hōkū Hanohano Award]] for Comedy Album of the Year with "Da Comedy Kahuna" in 1999.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://archives.starbulletin.com/1999/05/24/features/index.html|title=Pure Victory|last=Berger|first=John|date=24 May 1999|publisher=Honolulu Star Bulletin|accessdate=12 September 2019}}</ref> He won a second Hōkū Award in the comedy category with "Locally Disturbed" in 2003.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://the.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/2003/May/29/il/il14a.html|title=2003 Na Hoku Hanohano winners|date=29 May 2003|publisher=Honolulu Advertiser|accessdate=12 September 2019|page=20|archive-date=28 September 2004|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040928234746/http://the.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/2003/May/29/il/il14a.html|url-status=dead}}</ref>
In 2002, Augie was voted Comedian of the Year as the funniest comic in Hawai'i by the ''[[Honolulu Star-Bulletin]]'' and ''[[MidWeek]]'' newspapers.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://archives.starbulletin.com/2002/07/01/features/index5.html|title=Classic local humor proves popular as ever|last=Berger|first=John|date=1 July 2001|publisher=Honolulu Star Bulletin|accessdate=12 September 2019}}</ref> He is the only local comedian to sell out the [[Neal S. Blaisdell Center|Blaisdell Arena]] ("Augie T. - The Blaisdell Arena Show" DVD) and is recognized as one of Hawai'i's Top 100 Influential Filipinos with an exhibit at the [[Bishop Museum]]. He was the recipient of the prestigious [[American City Business Journals|Pacific Business News]] "Forty Under 40" award, and can be seen on multiple TV shows, commercials, and movies. He also performed in [[Guam]] as part of the Guam Comedy Series in 2017.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Babauta |first1=Chloe B. |title=Hawaiian comedian Augie T. returns to Guam |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/274735820/?terms=%22augie%2Bt%22 |accessdate=14 March 2020 |work=Pacific Daily News |date=Feb 24, 2017}}</ref>
On March 2, 2019, Augie held his final public comedy show with Andy Bumatai and Frank Delima at the Neal Blaisdell Arena in Honolulu, ending his nearly three-decade comedic career.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/2019/02/28/augie-ts-last-stand/|title=Augie T's Last Stand, op. cit}}</ref>
==Political career==
Tulba filed nomination papers with the state Office of Elections on May 26, 2020, and was elected to represent District 9 of the [[Honolulu City Council]] on November 3, 2020.<ref>{{cite web |title=2020 Candidate Filing Report |url=https://olvr.hawaii.gov/Controls/CandidateFiling.aspx?elid=84|publisher= Office of Elections - State of Hawaii |accessdate=31 December 2020}}</ref>
== Blackface Controversy ==
===Electoral history===
{{Election box begin no change|title= 2020 General Election for Honolulu City Council District IX<ref>{{cite web |title=Final Summary Report - General Election 2020 |url=https://elections.hawaii.gov/wp-content/results/cch.pdf |website=Hawaii Office of Elections |accessdate=31 December 2020 |language=en}}</ref>}}
{{Election box winning candidate with party link no change
|party      = Nonpartisan politician
|candidate  = Augusto E. Tulba (Augie T)
|votes      = 21,265
|percentage = 49.2%
}}
{{Election box winning candidate with party link no change
|party      = Nonpartisan politician
|candidate  = Will Espero
|votes      = 19,702
|percentage = 45.6%
}}
{{Election box end}}
==Film and television==
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Year !! Title !! Role !! Director !! Notes
|-
| rowspan="2" | 2000 || ''[[Baywatch]]'' || Himself || [[Anson Williams]] || Season 11, Episode 5: "Stone Cold"
|-
| ''[[Baywatch]]'' || Himself || [[Anson Williams]] || Season 11, Episode 7: "Dream Girl"
|-
| 2001 || ''[[Baywatch]]'' || Himself || Gary Capo || Season 11, Episode 17: "Boiling Point"
|-
| 2005 || ''The Sand Island Drive-In Anthem (Short)'' || Bobby || Ryan Kawamoto
|-
| 2007 || ''Horsepower (Short)'' || Harold || Joel Moffett
|-
| 2010 || ''[[Hawaii Five-0 (2010 TV series)]]'' || Kekipi || [[Alex Zakrzewski]] || Season 1, Episode 4: "Lanakila"
|-
| rowspan="2" | 2011 || ''[[Hawaii Five-0 (2010 TV series)]]'' || Kekipi || [[Brad Turner (director)]] || Season 1, Episode 13: "Ke Kinohi"
|-
| ''Get a Job'' || Cousin Bully || Brian Kohne
|-
| 2012 || ''Hang Loose'' || Himself || Ryan Kawamoto
|-
| 2013 || ''Na Ali'i of Comedy: The Movie'' || Himself || Gerard Elmore
|-
| 2016 || ''A Midsummer's Hawaiian Dream'' || Puka || Harry Cason
|-
| 2017 || ''Maui'' || Detective Tulba || Brian Kohne
|-
| 2018 || ''[[Magnum P.I. (2018 TV series)]]'' || Benny Kahana || [[Sylvain White]] || Season 1, Episode 3: "The Woman Who Never Died"
|-
| 2020 || ''Aloha Surf Hotel'' || Tai Alonzo || Stefan C. Schaefer || ''Post-Production''
|}
<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2086547/|title=Augie Tulba|publisher= IMDb.com, Inc.|accessdate=12 September 2019}}</ref>
==References==
{{Reflist}}
{{Clear}}
==External links==
*[http://www.augiet.com/ AugieT.com] - Official Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:T., Augie}}
[[Category:1968 births]]
[[Category:American people of Portuguese descent]]
[[Category:Filipino male comedians]]
[[Category:Honolulu City Council members]]
[[Category:Hawaii politicians of Filipino descent]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Comedians from Hawaii]]
[[Category:Na Hoku Hanohano Award winners]]
[[Category:Asian-American people in Hawaii politics]]
[[Category:21st-century Hawaii politicians]]