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The Kid Mero
Birth nameJoel Armogasto Martinez
Born (1983-05-15) May 15, 1983 (age 41)
New York City, U.S.
Medium
NationalityAmerican
Years active2010–present
Genres
SpouseHeather Martinez
Children4
Notable works and roles

Joel Armogasto Martinez (born May 15, 1983), professionally known as The Kid Mero, is a Dominican-American writer, comedian, television host, actor, and internet personality. He rose to prominence alongside fellow Bronx native Desus Nice with their Complex TV 46-episode podcast Desus vs. Mero, which first premiered on December 18, 2013. He was a cast member of Guy Code with Desus Nice.[1][2] He was the co-host of Viceland's Desus & Mero talk show alongside Desus until June 2018, and co-hosted Desus & Mero which premiered on February 21, 2019, on Showtime.[3]

Early life

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Martinez was born in Washington Heights, Manhattan to Dominican immigrant parents.[4] The Martinez family moved to the Bronx when he was young,[4] and lived in a number of neighborhoods there; while Martinez mostly grew up in Tremont, he also spent time in Throggs Neck, Kingsbridge, Mount Eden, and Belmont, among other neighborhoods.[5]

Martinez realized he was talented at comedy from a young age but was not particularly interested in televised comedy or stand-up comedians growing up.[4][6] He attended P.S. 072 Dr. William Dorney, I.S. 117 Joseph H. Wade Intermediate School, and Monsignor Scanlan High School, from which he was expelled in ninth grade, before graduating from DeWitt Clinton High School.[4][7] He then studied at Bronx Community College before briefly attending Hunter College, studying to be a science teacher while working as a teacher's assistant.[8][4]

Martinez is Afro-Latino and grew up speaking Spanish. His father and uncle wanted to name him "Ramiro," but they were overruled by his mother. Nevertheless, his dad and uncle referred to him as "Ramiro" growing up, and when Martinez got into graffiti, he adopted the tag name "Miro," which he eventually changed to "Mero" because he liked how it looked better.[4]

Career

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Mero previously worked as a paraprofessional at I.S. 117, his alma mater.[4] He began writing for Vice's music platform Noisey in 2012. His first article for them was published online on November 14, 2012; it was a review of Canadian electronic music duo Crystal Castles's album III.[9] In total, he wrote 69 articles for Noisey between November 2012 and March 2014, most of which were album and mixtape reviews, and all written in caps lock.[10]

Mero is a world record holder. In September 2014, Mero (with assistance) broke the record for kazoo solo.[11][clarification needed] This came to light in an exclusive interview on Time Crisis with Ezra Koenig where Mero waxed on his illustrious accomplishment.

In December 2014, MTV announced that The Kid Mero and Desus Nice would be joining the cast of Guy Code for season 5, along with 11 other new cast members.[12][13] They appeared on the first episode of season 5, which was originally aired on January 14, 2015.[14]

On August 30, 2016, Viceland announced Desus & Mero which premiered on October 17, 2016. The half-hour show ran Monday-Thursday, hosted by the Bronx-reared comedic duo.[15][16] Its finale aired on June 28, 2018. Mero most recently co-hosted Desus & Mero which premiered on February 21, 2019, on Showtime.[3]

Personal life

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Mero lives in Fair Lawn, New Jersey[8] and is married to Heather Martinez, a teacher[17] from New Jersey. The pair have four children: three boys and a girl.[18][17] Heather is Jewish, and the pair are raising their children in the faith.[19]

Filmography

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Year Title Role Notes
2013–2014 Desus vs. Mero Himself With Desus Nice
2015 Guy Code
Joking Off
2015–2022 Bodega Boys
2015 Uncommon Sense
Wild 'N Out
TBD New York Undercover: The BX Chronicles Eddie Torres
2016–2018 Desus & Mero Himself
2017 Neo Yokio Lexy (voice)
2019–2022 Desus & Mero Himself
2019 Star vs. the Forces of Evil Needles (voice) Episode: "Jannanigans"
2020 Vampires vs. the Bronx Tony Bodega Owner
2021 In the Heights DJ Voice cameo
2022 The Captain Himself Sports documentary
2024–present Primos Tio Diego Perez (voice) 3 episodes
2024 Hamster & Gretel Luis Demo (voice) Episode: "Lair Necessities"

References

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  1. ^ How "Guy Code" Became A Comedy Breeding Ground. Fastcocreate.com (January 14, 2015). Retrieved on 2016-06-16.
  2. ^ A Conversation Between Itsthereal And The Kid Mero. Noisey.vice.com (April 2, 2013). Retrieved on 2016-06-16.
  3. ^ a b Petski, Denise (November 29, 2018). "'Desus & Mero' Late-Night Show Gets February Premiere Date On Showtime". Deadline. Archived from the original on November 30, 2018. Retrieved March 19, 2019.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g Hughes, Jazmine (June 18, 2018). "How 'Desus & Mero' Conquered Late Night". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved May 14, 2019.
  5. ^ Desus & Mero Answer the Web's Most Searched Questions (video). Wired. September 21, 2020. 10:34-10:57 minutes in. East Tremont, Dewey Ave... but I moved all around the Bronx, so shout out to all the neighborhoods: ...Kingsbridge... 176th... Mount Eden... Hoffman, Hughes, University. If I keep going, I'm going to go [on] forever so I'm going to stop right here. East Tremont all day.
  6. ^ "Desus And Mero Won Twitter. Now Their Bronx-Raised Genius Is Taking Over TV". The FADER. Retrieved May 14, 2019.
  7. ^ Mero, Desus Nice, The Kid (June 27, 2020). "'Today is about you': NYC late-night duo Desus & Mero share some words of advice to the High School Class of 2020". New York Daily News. Retrieved September 23, 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  8. ^ a b Amy Kuperinsky - NJ Advance Media for NJ com (November 12, 2018). "How N.J.'s The Kid Mero became one of the freshest voices in late-night TV". NJ.com. Posted: November 11, 2018 at 12:19 PM. Updated: November 12, 2018 at 01:43 PM.
  9. ^ The Kid. (November 14, 2012) Crystal Castles – 'Iii'. Noisey.vice.com. Retrieved on 2016-06-16.
  10. ^ Articles by The Kid Mero. Noisey.vice.com. Retrieved on June 16, 2016.
  11. ^ James Dolan and Carmelo Anthony also played kazoo EmptyLighthouse.com (September 19, 2014). Retrieved on 2020-04-05.
  12. ^ ‘Guy Code’ Returns For Season 5 With 13 New Cast Members. Mtv.com (December 15, 2014). Retrieved on 2016-06-16.
  13. ^ The Kid Mero on MTV2's Guy Code. Vh1.com (February 9, 2016). Retrieved on 2016-06-16.
  14. ^ MTV2's Guy Code season 5. Mtv.com (February 9, 2016). Retrieved on 2016-06-16.
  15. ^ Viceland Sets Late-Night Talk Show, New Series Orders and Eddie Huang Renewal. Variety.com (August 30, 2016). Retrieved on 2016-09-12.
  16. ^ Viceland’s ‘Desus & Mero’ Gets Showrunner & Premiere Date. Deadline.com (September 26, 2016). Retrieved on 2016-11-29.
  17. ^ a b Caramanica, Jon (March 31, 2013) Laughing at Rappers, Who Laugh Right Back. New York Times
  18. ^ Can Online Stars Desus vs. Mero Succeed IRL?. Vulture.com. Retrieved on June 16, 2016.
  19. ^ Dunst, Charles (July 7, 2018). "Desus and Mero are Late-Night Comedy's Most 'Jewish' Hosts". The Times of Israel.
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