Born Frank Williams III on December 10, 1984 in Sumter SC, comedian Shuler King was raised in a household strongly based on religion, hard work and education.
The influence of his parents as well as his harsh surroundings gave him his own perspective on his life, his country, and the troubles of his people. The style of the young comedian is RAW, plain and simple. “I give it to the audience the same way life gives it to me. I pull no punches on stage, that is what I am most comfortable with and the people love it.”
“People think comedy is about just being happy, comedy is more about pain than anything else. You can see 20,000 people in one place laugh at the same joke because they have the same pains.”
Throughout his youth Shuler King was known as the one with all the jokes, despite all of his personal obstacles. By the time he was in middle school most on his friends sold drugs. “My parents worked hard to keep myself and my two siblings on the right track, as best as they could.”
Coming out of high school he never wanted to go to college, because he felt he wouldn’t get accepted anywhere. “I was smart, but I never applied it in school. The curriculum was boring to me because I felt that it was useless to everyday life.” Shuler attended Sumter High School were his mother, Mrs. Williams taught English. His mother was the reason that he filled out a college application at all.
The comedy career of Shuler King started his freshman year of college. While working in a music store a comedy promoter walked in promoting a show. “I kept asking him questions about comedy until he looked up and asked me if I was a comic. I was going to say no, but the girl I was working with told him yes. I said to him that I was thinking about it. He gave me his number and said he would give me three minutes. That’s how it started.” On April 14, 2004, when he was just 19 years old, he decided to take the stage at the NCO Club at Shaw Air Force Base. That night was proof that Shuler King could do just what he thought he could. Ever since then he has been stirring up laughs at comedy clubs across America.
To the surprise of many he ended up attending and graduating from the University of South Carolina with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Media Arts in 2007. During his attendance he joined the Mighty Illustrious Zeta Zeta Chapter of Omega Psi Phi in the Spring of 2007. He is now a member of the Gamma Iota Chapter in Sumter SC. In 2013 Shuler King graduated from Gupton Jones Mortuary College with a degree in Mortuary Science. That decision was made because he wanted to help his family continue their legacy at Williams Funeral Home Inc, located at 821 North Main St. in Sumter, SC. He is currently a licensed funeral director and embalmer in South Carolina and Georgia. When he is not on the road performing at clubs he works with his family’s business.
Regardless of any experiences that Shuler King has had or will have in his life, one thing that has always been concrete is God and his gift of comedy. Shuler King A.K.A. Frank Williams III is a work in progress, a complex individual who invites the public into his life through the gift of laughter.
“When I’m on stage I feel more alive than at any other time. I belong on stage, and I belong in comedy. With every performance I feel the spirit of God working through me.”
