Ismo Leikola and Angelika Leikola
Ismo Leikola, known professionally also as ISMO, is the most successful stand-up comedian to come from Finland. He’s also an author, musician, screenwriter, and YouTuber.
ISMO made his United States debut in 2014, when he was awarded the title of "The Funniest Person in the World" in a contest organized by the comedy club Laugh Factory.
In 2015, he made his own comedy series “ISMO” for Finnish television and moved to the United States. He became an internationally known stand-up comic after his 2018 performance on Conan O'Brien’s TV show and made history by being the show’s most watched stand-up clip ever with over 90 million views on TeamCoco's Facebook. He has also appeared on James Corden’s TV show and his talent in joking about language resulted in a collaboration with the prestigious Merriam Webster dictionary. He tours in the US and worldwide.
Angelika Leikola has been the assistant writer of her comedian ex-husband ISMO for thirteen years. In addition to practicing numerous other types of writing.
Angelika has a master's degree in literature. She has also studied journalism and linguistics. And worked in these fields. Angelika writes lyrics too and sings backup in a band. Angelika's special skill is to dissect words, ideas and concepts. Besides comedy her lifelong passion has been, and still is, wondering what kind of tricks the mind can play.
The Finnish edition of the book – A Swamp, a Hoe and Hollywood (Suo, kuokka ja Hollywood) - was published in Finland in March 2021 and has stayed on bestseller lists ever since.