Saying Goodble to Florida

Saying Goodbye to Florida

This is my last installment before I leave Florida. I make the big move to LA in a few more days. West Palm Beach, Florida has been my home for the past 14 years. The thing I'll miss the most about this town is the Comedy Corner, one of the best comedy clubs in the country. The Comedy Corner has been the center of my universe. It's my social life, my place to work out new material and my main hang out. I started working there as a doorman fourteen years ago on the night that it opened.

One of the people that came in on opening night was the anchorwoman of the local eleven o'clock news. Oddly enough, I had gone to high school with her up in the Philadelphia area way back when. She had a camera crew with her. You can imagine the conversation. "Hey, Denise, how are you doing?" "Good good. I'm the anchor of the eleven o'clock news. How 'bout you?" "I'm working the door." (awkward pause) "Oh, well that's good." "Uh huh. I like the door." You get the idea.

But I was on a mission. I was there to learn everything I could about the world of comedy. If I had searched the country, I don't think I could have found a better place than the Comedy Corner. I used to collect the cash from the customers, point them down a ramp and tell them to wait to be seated and then, sit back and watch the show. I made four dollars an hour but it was one of the best jobs I ever had. I got to see Jerry Seinfeld, Dennis Miller, Sam Kinison, Bill Hicks and so many other great acts. I saw Drew Carey, Steve Harvey, Norm McDonald, Darryl Hammond and Brian Regan as middle acts. And on many occasions, performed at open mic nights with the likes of Mitch Hedberg, Todd Barry, Dennis Regan and Carrot Top. Sorry, I'm moving to LA and it's time to start practicing the fine art of dropping a name. I think I'm pretty good at it.

One time the club even booked the most famous acid tripper of all time - Timothy Leary. He was doing a lecture of comedy clubs for a little while back in the late 80's. He took questions from the audience during the last part of his show. One lady asked him how recent had it been since his last trip. He said, "um, last Sunday night". Wow. What a trooper this guy was. I got to drive him to the hotel after the show. I never thought I'd do something like that in my life but there I was, driving along with Timothy Leary, heading south on Dixie highway. I tried to steer the conversation toward the 60's but all he wanted to talk about was computers. I'll never forget it. He died a few years ago but I think his head is cryogenically frozen somewhere out there. So there's a good chance that we haven't yet heard the final word from Old Leary. I would like to think that I somehow registered in his consciousness and ended up making an appearance in one of his final trips. There is a good chance that someday we will develop the technology that will allow us to view all of his trips online. I would be honored to see my name in there when credits roll.

Before I actually started doing comedy I used to act as the emcee and simply introduce the acts. It was so nerve wracking. I hated being in front of people. Jerry Seinfeld was already a well known act and he was doing five sold out shows over a weekend. At the time, there was one of those comedy magazines that did a profile about him and some of his friends. They were in a mock club called "the funniest men in the world." So I tried to get cute with his intro. I said, "please welcome, one of the funniest men in the world, Jerry Seinfeld." See what I did there? My big bloated doorman ego thought it would be kind of cool to go for the inside joke, to play Mr. Comedy Insider. Instead, to the audience, and to Seinfeld himself, it sounded like I was really introducing him as one of the funniest men in the world. I now know that that's probably one of the worst ways to introduce a comedian. It builds unrealistic expectations. But my little doorman brain didn't know that at the time. So he had to make a joke about how lousy of an introduction that was just to disarm the situation. I slinked back into the corner and berated myself for the rest of the night.

After the show, he very nicely explained to me why that was not the best of intros. Then he signed an 8 by 10 photograph that said, "To Tom, the funniest MC in the world." He could have just as easily written, "To Tom, Stupid doorboy. Jerry Seinfeld."

I will definitely miss the Comedy Corner.

Luckily, though, most of the people I know in comedy now live out in Los Angeles. So that's my next stop. I already have directions. Make a right out of my parking lot. Get on the Florida Turnpike North. Make a left on I-10. Go west on I-10 for about five days. And there it is. You can't miss it.

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	Saying Goodbye to Florida This is my last installment before I leave Florida. I make the big move to LA in a few more days. West Palm Beach, Florida has been my home for the past 14 years. The thing I'll miss the most about this town is the Comedy Corner, one of the best comedy clubs in the country. The Comedy Corner has been the center of my universe. It's my social life, my place to work out new material and my main hang out. I started working there as a doorman fourteen years ago on the night that it opened. One of the people that came in on opening night was the anchorwoman of the local eleven o'clock news. Oddly enough, I had gone to high school with her up in the Philadelphia area way back when. She had a camera crew with her. You can imagine the conversation. "Hey, Denise, how are you doing?" "Good good. I'm the anchor of the eleven o'clock news. How 'bout you?" "I'm working the door." (awkward pause) "Oh, well that's good." "Uh huh. I like the door." You get the idea. But I was on a mission. I was there to learn everything I could about the world of comedy. If I had searched the country, I don't think I could have found a better place than the Comedy Corner. I used to collect the cash from the customers, point them down a ramp and tell them to wait to be seated and then, sit back and watch the show. I made four dollars an hour but it was one of the best jobs I ever had. I got to see Jerry Seinfeld, Dennis Miller, Sam Kinison, Bill Hicks and so many other great acts. I saw Drew Carey, Steve Harvey, Norm McDonald, Darryl Hammond and Brian Regan as middle acts. And on many occasions, performed at open mic nights with the likes of Mitch Hedberg, Todd Barry, Dennis Regan and Carrot Top. Sorry, I'm moving to LA and it's time to start practicing the fine art of dropping a name. I think I'm pretty good at it. One time the club even booked the most famous acid tripper of all time - Timothy Leary. He was doing a lecture of comedy clubs for a little while back in the late 80's. He took questions from the audience during the last part of his show. One lady asked him how recent had it been since his last trip. He said, "um, last Sunday night". Wow. What a trooper this guy was. I got to drive him to the hotel after the show. I never thought I'd do something like that in my life but there I was, driving along with Timothy Leary, heading south on Dixie highway. I tried to steer the conversation toward the 60's but all he wanted to talk about was computers. I'll never forget it. He died a few years ago but I think his head is cryogenically frozen somewhere out there. So there's a good chance that we haven't yet heard the final word from Old Leary. I would like to think that I somehow registered in his consciousness and ended up making an appearance in one of his final trips. There is a good chance that someday we will develop the technology that will allow us to view all of his trips online. I would be honored to see my name in there when credits roll. Before I actually started doing comedy I used to act as the emcee and simply introduce the acts. It was so nerve wracking. I hated being in front of people. Jerry Seinfeld was already a well known act and he was doing five sold out shows over a weekend. At the time, there was one of those comedy magazines that did a profile about him and some of his friends. They were in a mock club called "the funniest men in the world." So I tried to get cute with his intro. I said, "please welcome, one of the funniest men in the world, Jerry Seinfeld." See what I did there? My big bloated doorman ego thought it would be kind of cool to go for the inside joke, to play Mr. Comedy Insider. Instead, to the audience, and to Seinfeld himself, it sounded like I was really introducing him as one of the funniest men in the world. I now know that that's probably one of the worst ways to introduce a comedian. It builds unrealistic expectations. But my little doorman brain didn't know that at the time. So he had to make a joke about how lousy of an introduction that was just to disarm the situation. I slinked back into the corner and berated myself for the rest of the night. After the show, he very nicely explained to me why that was not the best of intros. Then he signed an 8 by 10 photograph that said, "To Tom, the funniest MC in the world." He could have just as easily written, "To Tom, Stupid doorboy. Jerry Seinfeld." I will definitely miss the Comedy Corner. Luckily, though, most of the people I know in comedy now live out in Los Angeles. So that's my next stop. I already have directions. Make a right out of my parking lot. Get on the Florida Turnpike North. Make a left on I-10. Go west on I-10 for about five days. And there it is. You can't miss it. close this window to return to the Tom Ryan writing page SHECKY! A magazine about standup... http://www.sheckymagazine.com ©Copyright 1999 Independent Together Brian McKim & Traci Skene Comics\Writers\Producers