Tom Cotter

In 2012, Cotter appeared on season 7 of NBC's America's Got Talent. He was given a pass to Las Vegas by the show's three judges. He further advanced to the top 48 (quarterfinals) to perform in the live episodes in Newark, New Jersey. On July 10, 2012, he performed a stand-up routine making fun of common clichés and phrases, and advanced to the semi-finals. On August 28, 2012, he presented the judges with a list of subjects and asked judge Howie Mandel to pick one. Mandel picked "College", and Cotter then gave a short comedy set on the subject of college and teenagers. He advanced to the final round of six and was the runner-up of the season. On August 21, 2013, Cotter returned to the show to perform on the results show of that night.

He has appeared on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson and Last Comic Standing. In 2003, Cotter filmed his own half-hour special for Comedy Central. Cotter has won several comedy competitions. In 1994, he won Seattle's International Stand-Up Comedy Competition. He gained his first success in the Boston comedy scene, where he is still a favorite, and also won the grand prize at the Boston Comedy Festival and was voted Best Stand-Up at the Las Vegas Comedy Festival. Additionally, Cotter has worked in film, theatre, and television productions and, as of 2012, he was working on an idea for a book.

Thomas Cotter (born June 20, 1963) is an American who currently resides in Stony Point, New York and is best known to date for being the runner-up of the seventh season of America's Got Talent, having lost the popular vote to Olate Dogs.