Paying Respects To My Mentor

Monday August 6th, 2007 - Indianapolis, IN

Today would have been the 70th birthday of my comedy mentor C. Cardell Willis. I hope I can be as strong of a positive influence on others as he has been on me. I won’t forget all of the things I learned from him and I still say every time I go on stage a little bit of him is up there with me. He was a teacher and mentor and father figure and friend. I miss him.

His actual birthday was in April I believe but he always celebrated it on August 6th. He’s from Mississippi and records weren’t always kept very well back then and this was the day he celebrated it so that’s what I’ll go with. I had an uncle that was born in December but it didn’t matter because he always celebrated his birthday on Christmas. I think he listed it as his birthday on his driver’s license even. Back then things weren’t as cut and dried as now.

My father is a good example of that. He was a convicted felon and my grandfather got a civil service job for him just by switching his name. His name was Russell Lawrence but he switched it around to Lawrence Russell and got the job as a night watchman at City Hall.

That’s all it took. There were no computer records and cross checks and social security numbers weren’t a big deal and that’s how it was. He didn’t mention his conviction and he applied for the job and got it. Even though his name was Russ the people he worked with all called him ‘Larry’. So to celebrate Cardell’s birthday today is no big deal. I just think it should be remembered out of love and respect and that’s what I’m doing. He was the best.

Sometimes the best people in life don’t get the kudos they deserve so I will always try to keep Cardell’s memory alive because he truly was a kind soul. He was the Yoda of comics who started in Milwaukee and we all owe him a debt of gratitude. He should be revered in comedy circles but in reality not many people outside of Milwaukee really knew of him.

He didn’t travel much because he planted roots in town and had a day job to support his family. He also was a community leader and a scoutmaster and an activist on social issues. I have never met someone with such a conscience and desire to improve the world as him and I wanted to pay honor and tribute one more time. I will never forget his friendship.

Cardell would have been proud of me tonight. I was the host of a showcase at Zanies for ‘The Lucky 21’ contest to be held at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas. I did it last year and the process is starting for the people to be on this year’s show. It’s a huge competition and the opening round was tonight. There were a dozen of Chicago’s top comedians and the show was fantastic. The audience was amazing and it was a hot show from top to bottom. I was the host and gave every comedian the very best intro I could and kept the crowd up for all of the show and those are skills I learned from Cardell over the years. Those other comics didn’t know it but he is the real reason they all got to perform in the sweet spot tonight.

After the show I decided to start driving toward Indianapolis rather than go the opposite direction to Lake Villa and have to drive right back tomorrow. I can deduct the hotel cost and I was really pumped after the show and couldn’t go to sleep anyway. Hello Motel 6.