UB alum makes finals of ‘America’s Got Talent’

It’s on to the finals for comic and UB alum Gary Vider, who last night moved on to the finale of the NBC television show “America’s Got Talent.”

Vider and four other semifinalists survived last night’s results show and joined five other finalists chosen the previous week.

The finale will take place Sept. 15-16. All 10 finalists compete on Tuesday, with the final results announced at 8 p.m. on Wednesday. Voting will take place from 8 p.m. Tuesday to 7 a.m. Wednesday. Once voting is open, ballots may be cast at https://agtvote.votenow.tv/.

The winner of  “America’s Got Talent” will receive $1 million and his or her own Las Vegas show.

Vider, who received a BA in English from UB in 2006, has been named “Comic to Watch” by Esquire magazine. He told the UB Reporter he wanted to be a standup comic from the time he entered the university.

“The (English) department always supported what I was doing,” he said. “They pointed me to the right classes and to the things that were going on outside of my classes.”

He said UB’s rich student life gave him opportunities to hear comics like Chris Rock, Dave Chappelle and Conan O’Brien, all of whom visited campus during Vider’s undergraduate years.

“I eventually performed on Conan’s show,” he said. “I can’t help but think about that and how my experience came full circle, from a student in the audience to actually being on his show.”

To read that interview and watch a video of Vider’s performance on “Conan,” comedian Conan O’Brien’s late-night talk show on TBS, visit the UB Reporter.