Memories Of A Mentor

Thursday December 10th, 2009 - Chicago, IL

When I checked emails today I’d received one from Jamie Kern, daughter of Gary Kern, one of my early comedy mentors. Gary passed away at age 36 and had two daughters that meant the world to him. I’d met them both, but that was years ago. They were both young and wouldn’t remember, but I do. They were sweet kids and I’m sad Gary died so young.

I have no idea how Jamie found me, but she asked if I had any pictures or audio of Gary that I might be able to make copies of to send her. I wish I did. I’m sure it would probably mean a lot. Jamie said she didn’t really know her dad all that well and wanted to catch up.

My heart really goes out to those kids. Gary was a wonderful guy and funny comic but a comic has to travel to make a living and that’s what he did. It’s who he was, as all of us in the business are slaves to the road. That’s where ‘it’ is. ‘It’ is the drug of the stage and we are all addicts. We need that rush of a live audience and the road is where we go to get it.

I wasn’t a first hand witness to Gary’s fathering skills, but my guess is that he was good at it. I know he was a father figure to me, and I’ll be forever grateful to him for it. I’m sad Jamie and her sister didn’t get to have more of a relationship with Gary, and I know for at least a while he was having problems at home with his wife, but that’s typical in comedy.

‘Normal’ marriages are difficult at best, but comedy marriages are a lot worse. The road always comes between the two partners and unfortunately the road always wins. It’s like a person having a ‘battle’ with cancer or alcohol. Cancer and alcohol always win in the end. The road does too. I’m glad I never put a wife and kids through the grind of the business.

I wish I could talk to Gary with the knowledge and understanding of the business I have now, rather than be the naïve greenhorn I was at the time. I looked up to him then, and his word was gold. He admitted he’d made some mistakes, but I was too blinded by the chase of the big dream to see that. He had a lot more to teach, but I wasn’t ready to learn it then.

Unfortunately, technology wasn’t like it is today and there just isn’t much if any tape or film at all of quite a few of the great club comics of the boom years in the ‘80s. Gary was a strong headliner and very funny and his act would still work today. I know he appeared on a regional TV show in Fort Wayne, IN called ‘Nightshift’ hosted by Kevin Ferguson.

Those tapes were sold to Comedy Central years ago and I remember seeing Gary a time or two as I passed through the channels. I told Jamie that’s the only tape I’m aware of that he had, and that’s a travesty. He should have had at least an audio recording, but that was how it was then. Nobody had any audio or video. We did our shows live and that was it.

I hope I can find some pictures or lost tapes of Gary, both for his kids and for me. I will always be super grateful to guys like him and C. Cardell Willis and hopefully I’m passing the mentoring torch they gave me on to others. I certainly try to whenever I can. Gary is a hero in my eyes and I hope Jamie and her sister get to have a remembrance of his career.