Saturday September 4th, 2010 - Miami, FL Bad news all around today. First and worst, I heard Robert Schimmel passed away from complications of injuries sustained from a car accident of all things. I know he had cancer for quite some time, and to hear he died from a car accident was an unpleasant surprise. I worked with Robert at the Funny Bone in Milwaukee in the late ‘80s and immediately hit it off with him. I was just starting out then, and working at the club answering phones, seating shows, hosting shows, cleaning cigarette butts out of urinals, whatever I could do to earn extra money to support myself. I remember hosting shows for Robert Schimmel. His act was pretty blue even then, but extremely funny. He didn’t have any kind of fame or name recognition and I remember quite a few people were offended by his show during that week. I remember sitting at an all night diner called Ma Fischer’s where all the Funny Bone comics hung out after shows with Robert and listening to him talk about his life. He was a very friendly guy and never talked down to me because I was only an opening act or worse, a room seater. He was very genuine and real and we got along right from the start. By the end of the week, we were looking forward to hanging out at Ma’s before the shows even started. He knew he might not do well, so he looked forward to hanging out. As he got recognized in later years, I was always a fan of his both because he was such a real guy and because I thought his act was hilarious. He laid it all out there, and had his own unique style. Then I heard he had cancer and it was very sad, but he seemed to have it beat by all accounts. He was very popular with comedians too, at least the ones I know. He’d work Zanies in Vernon Hills, IL on occasion and I always tried to go and say hello whenever I was in town. I’m not going to claim we were ‘close personal friends’ like a lot of insincere showbiz wannabes do, but I did know him on a comic level and whenever we got together he always thanked me for ‘saving that week in Milwaukee’. I’m glad I could. I thought I had some rough obstacles to overcome, but Robert Schimmel makes my life look like a trip to Disneyland. He fought through a lot of difficult situations but handled it with the spirit of a warrior. I have nothing but total respect for him and am truly sorry this horrific event had to happen. I don’t know all the details, but I sure hope he finds peace. All comedians want is to make everyone laugh to hide the hurt most of us feel inside on a regular basis. Robert Schimmel was no different, and it pains me greatly to see all of the torture he had to go through in his life when all he wanted was to bring all of us laughter. The other bad news today pales in comparison. My luggage is still lost, even though the airline swore it would be here today. The ship’s office called and tried to find it but it was wasted energy. Now I have to finish out at least one more night of shows in my makeshift wardrobe, and it’s totally annoying. It’s hard enough living out here without having to try to improvise supplies every day. I‘m really having second thoughts about being out here.
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