Growing Up Greek in America with BASILE!

Basile describes himself as “6’2”, 267 lbs, dark curly hair, with a dark olive complexion.  He admits that his is often profiled at the airport, and his glib response? “For God sake, I’m Greek! There is no such thing as a Greek terrorist, and if there was… the worst I could do is maybe close down a restaurant for about an hour.  And we Greeks would make terrible terrorist…you’re going to tell me that you’re going to get 12 Greeks to meet at 6:45 AM SHARP???  Hell, we’d all miss the damned plane!” 

Always with the ready comeback, it’s obvious that Basile Z. Katsikis (little goat) was born to be a comedian.   Born in Salem, South New Jersey, near Philadelphia, his parents hail from Andros and Ikaria, Greece.  He presently resides in Wilmington, NC with his wife of 18 years and wonderful daughters, 15 and 7. 

He was recently in Detroit for a performance at the Marriott Hotel in Troy, he fondly comments, “Motown is my kind of town.”  He remembers his college days in Cleveland when he would come to Detroit for river cruises and to party with family and friends.  Basile graduated from Cleveland State University, with a degree in Political Science, with minors in International Affairs, and Business. His emphasis on business has paid off. 

Actually business should be his middle name.  His marketing and promotions ability, make him a hot commodity.  He’s divided his multiple talents into three primary focus areas, Greek American Comedy, mainstream American Standup Comedy and now a new line of Greek Seasonings, Spice it up with Basile, where he has teamed with Rose Hill Foods, Montreal, to develop a fantastic line of seasonings and marinades.  Basile could soon be a household name in the kitchen, and his product can be found at Market Basket, Loews Food, Food Lion, and Costco, US and Canada.

His plans are many and diverse.  He recently auditioned for Broadway’s Hit Musical, Hairspray, and hopes to become a part of the touring company.  This July, he has a Greek tour scheduled in Australia, which includes, Melbourne, Sidney and Brisbane.  Immediately upon his return, he will appear at this year’s AHEPA National Convention, in Hollywood, FL, where in addition to his hilarious Greek comedic antics, he will also MC their Annual Grand Banquet and Awards Celebration on Saturday, July 29, 2006.

Basile has over 60 television appearances on Comedy Central, HBO and Showtime just to name a few, and his TV sitcom is in full development with Greenlight Entertainment and Basile’s production company SPICERACK ENTERTAINMENT, Basile! is well on its way to becoming TV’s “Blue Plate Special of Comedy”  “After all, how can you go wrong when your named after a spice.”  He is also the voice of Universal Studio’s Bullwinkle J. Moose, something to share with the junior set.

Basile has sold over 250,000 units so far of his now famous series,

“Growing up Greek in America I - Comedy Greek Style”, DVD’s, VHS’s & CD’s

“Growing Up Greek In America II – Live From Boston”, DVD’s VHS’s & CD’s

“Growing Up Greek In America III - Greeks Gone Wild” NEW!!! DVD’s & CD’s

“Men In Skirts” & “Hey Yia-yia” both are musical parody CD’s   

“Basile Unleashed” Comedy CD (general audience) CD’s

“Basile In Concert” (general audience) VHS’s

Basile is careful to watch his markets and “niche” groups, and states his Greek performances are normally rated no more than PG-13, while his mainstream standup routines range from PG-13 – R, similar to those in Basile Unleashed.  You can catch a rare Detroit area American standup performance, at Joey’s Comedy Club in Livonia, November 15-18, 2006.

Malista encourages you to visit his websites, www.opabasile.com and www.4basile.com for your healthy dose of laughs!  Basile really delivers, let him spice up your life. 

“And remember…it’s about family, memories and laughter…

it’s about “Growing Up Greek in America!”