Opening Performance and Host
Los Angeles based comedian, musician, actor and U.S. Army Combat veteran, Thom Tran started his career as a standup comic when his career as a soldier ended, following a gunshot wound to the back of his head while deployed to Iraq.
Moving to Los Angeles in 2008, Thom created the internationally touring all-military veteran standup group, The GIs of Comedy, performing to U.S. service-members stationed and deployed to combat zones around the world. The group was featured in Larry Charles’ Dangerous World of Comedy on Netflix, as well on CBS and NBC.
Away from the GIs of Comedy, Thom has also toured across the United States and internationally with his friend Brad Williams to Copenhagen, Denmark, Norway, England, Ireland and more!
Thom makes his home in Hollywood, CA as performing as a regular at the World Famous Laugh Factory, Comedy & Magic Club, and rooms all around southern California.
Thom has also co-starred on NCIS: Los Angeles & SEAL: Team on CBS, and appears in the dark comedy, “My Dead Friend Zoe” alongside Morgan Freeman, Sonequa Martin-Green and Ed Harris in theatres in Feb 2025.
exclusive Celebrity comedy performance
David Spade became a household favorite during his tenure as a cast member on NBC’s Saturday Night Live. For his memorable role as Dennis Finch, the wise-cracking, power-hungry assistant on Just Shoot Me, Spade received nominations for a 1999 Emmy Award, Golden Globe, and American Comedy Award. He continues to be a box office draw, touring his stand-up shows nationwide. His most recent stand-up special “Nothing Personal” debuted on Netflix.
Spade can be seen hosting the FOX game show, Snake Oil. Spade fronts and produces the series, which sees convincing entrepreneurs pitch unique products to contestants, who must determine which are real or a sham for a chance to win life-changing money.
Currently, Spade can be heard co-hosting the hit podcast Fly on the Wall, alongside fellow SNL alumni Dana Carvey. In each episode, they interview cast members, hosts, writers, and musical guests, as they share never-before-told stories about their careers and SNL’s cultural history. The podcast premiered #1 in the comedy category and in the top five overall on Apple’s podcast chart and has since been nominated for Podcast of The Year at the 2023 iHeartRadio Podcast Awards. Now on its second season, the podcast has featured interviews with Sir Paul McCartney, Lorne Michaels, Jimmy Fallon, Martin Short, Tina Fey, Maya Rudolph, Molly Shannon, Tom Hanks, and many more. New episodes are released every Wednesday, everywhere podcasts are available. Spade and Carvey also co-host its spin-off pop culture podcast Superfly.
Spade also starred in the Netflix original comedy, The Wrong Missy. At the time of release, the film was the # 1 movie on Netflix and the eighth most-watched Netflix original movie in the company’s history. That same year, Spade also hosted his own late-night series “Lights Out with David Spade” on Comedy Central.
Spade released A Polaroid Guy In A Snapchat World exclusively on Audible. The audiobook was a New York Times best-seller and was well-received by critics and fans. Spade was also seen in the Netflix original comedy, Father Of The Year which was one of the highest streamed films globally on Netflix. Prior to that, Spade starred in the Netflix original comedy The Do-Over, opposite Adam Sandler and Paula Patton, which is one of Netflix’s biggest original film releases.
Spade reprised his role as the hilarious and endearing “white trash” misfit, Joe Dirt, in the sequel to the cult classic, Joe Dirt 2: Beautiful Loser, directed by Fred Wolf, with whom he also co-wrote the script. The film has been streamed over two million times, making it Crackle’s most watched original movie to date. Later that same year, Spade also released his memoir, Almost Interesting, through Dey Street Books, which went on to become a New York Times Bestseller.
Spade was also seen in Sony Pictures’ Grown Ups 2 alongside Adam Sandler, Chris Rock, and Kevin James. The film was a follow up to the 2010 hit comedy about a group of childhood friends who reunited years later. Spade was heard as the voice of Griffin the Invisible Man in the animated feature, Hotel Transylvania alongside Adam Sandler, Selena Gomez, Steve Buscemi, Kevin James, and Andy Samberg, among others. He reprised his role in the film’s sequel, Hotel Transylvania 2, and returned for the third installment Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation. He reprised his role in Hotel Transylvania 4: Transformania, which was released on Amazon Prime.
Other popular film credits include Sony Pictures’ BENCHWARMERS and Paramount Pictures’ Dickie Roberts: Former Child Star, the latter of which he co-wrote with Fred Wolf. Both opened # 1 at the box office and enjoyed critical and commercial success. Spade also co-starred with SNL alumnus Chris Farley in the films Tommy Boy and Blacksheep, the former for which the pair won an MTV Movie Award for “Best On-Screen Duo.” He has also appeared in Reality Bites, Light Sleeper, Coneheads, and Lost & Found (for which he also co-wrote the screenplay).
On the small screen, Spade starred in the CBS comedy Rules of Engagement. The show was produced by Sony’s Happy Madison Productions and centered around three men in different stages of their relationships: married, engaged, and single. The series enjoyed excellent ratings and critical success throughout all of its seven seasons. He also appeared in The Showbiz Show for Comedy Central, which aired from 2005-2007. Spade created, executive produced, hosted, and wrote the show along with pal and former SNL writer Hugh Fink. He also had a memorable guest starring role on the critically acclaimed The Larry Sanders Show and appeared in HBO’s “13th Annual Young Comedians Special”. Spade has also had several well-received standup comedy specials, including Comedy Central’s “David Spade: My Fake Problems.”
Born in Birmingham, Michigan, and raised in Scottsdale, Arizona, Spade began his career by performing stand-up comedy in clubs, theaters, and colleges across the country. He made his television debut on SNL and was soon named the “Hot Stand-Up Comedian of the Year” by Rolling Stone Magazine. As a writer and a performer on SNL for five years, he is best known for his memorable characters including the sarcastic “Hollywood Minute” reporter on “Weekend Update” and catchphrases like “And you are…?” and “Buh-Bye!”.
As Executive Chef, Charles Haracz brings a wide range of culinary expertise and leadership to Blue Plate. He leads menu development and oversees both kitchen and field operations for a culinary team of more than 100, ensuring every dish reflects our commitment to excellence. Charles is passionate about seasonal ingredients, freshness, and sourcing locally—always keeping our culinary team at the forefront of Chicago’s vibrant food scene.
Before joining Blue Plate, Charles spent over a decade with Bon Appétit Management Company, where he led culinary and retail operations at celebrated institutions including the Art Institute of Chicago, the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, the Cleveland Museum of Art, and the Getty Center in Los Angeles. His experience also spans corporate dining, having launched foodservice programs at Porsche Cars North America’s Atlanta headquarters and LinkedIn’s New York City offices.
About Blue Plate
A big-hearted social worker named Jim Horan loved to cook for his friends’ parties on the weekends – and word quickly spread. With just one bite, they said everyone could taste how much he cared. Armed with a Weber grill and a van, Blue Plate was born in 1983. More than 40 years later, Blue Plate still runs on the mantra “We Care More” and has been creating exceptional dining experiences for Chicago companies, institutions, and everyday folks. It’s in our DNA, and that’s why we’re Chicago’s most trusted caterer and foodservice provider.
What sets us apart is the “who” and “how” surrounding our delicious food; that’s what has earned us the close, long-lasting relationships we enjoy with our partners. We’re a premium, one-stop shop. Food, drinks, delivery, equipment, staffing – we take care of every little detail. Whether it’s a coffee kiosk in a corporate lobby, a tasteful gala, a breakfast buffet or fueling an entire workforce day in and day out, our menus are designed to meet the highest culinary standards with everything made fresh-from-scratch at Larkin Hall – our USDA-certified facility in Fulton Market.
