Dobie Maxwell Is Dead

Saturday October 27th, 2007 - Brookfield, WI

Dobie Maxwell’s career as a standup comic died today. It’s over and I’m not sad at all. It’s lasted over twenty years and I have toured North America countless times and met a ton of fantastic people. Maybe died isn’t the correct word. Graduated is more like it. It’s been an amazing ride. I’ve appeared in comedy clubs and colleges and been on radio and TV and gotten to meet and work with a lot of celebrities along the way. And I ate good.

This weekend at the Majestic Theatre in Brookfield was the perfect way to go out. I’ve been in a lot of nice places (and a lot more not so nice ones) and this one is right up there. The facility was world class, the staff was unbelievably friendly and I got to work with my friend Tim Marszalkowski who I’ve been friends with for over twenty years. What a blast!

I had friends come out to support me all weekend and every one of them was wonderful. There are almost too many to list. The crew from the Tom Green Show came out on both weekend nights to see me and even brought me a special gift pack after tonight’s show. It was very kind of them to do that and I am blown away by it. Tom was a good friend and a class act onstage and off and I try to be the same whenever I can. Getting it back is great.

Neal and Terri Sorenson showed up as they always do when I’m in town. They’ve been just wonderful for years and always support me and I appreciate it. Marty Coello brought a clan of people out to the show and was also very supportive. Marty is the guy who was the ring announcer for the pro wrestling federation I used to work with and eventually did own for a while. If it wasn’t for him taking a night off and letting me fill in I wouldn’t have had a chance to have a lot of fun for a lot of years. All these years later he paid to see me.

One after the other people like that either came to see a show this week or called on the phone or came to the hotel to see me and I felt very honored by every one of them. I got a lump in my throat every time the phone would ring and it was someone else who wanted a lunch or a dinner or some time to gush over how well I’ve done and how happy they are it finally happened. In my mind it really didn’t happen but if they think so then I guess it did.

These last couple of weeks have been amazing. It’s more off stage than on but I can feel the acceptance from the people I grew up with. Finally. It may have always been there but I could never feel it. Now I can. I don’t know what made me finally be able to feel it but it feels REALLY good knowing that there are a bunch of people who think I’ve done well in my life and looking at where I came from I guess I did. My perspective is really changing.

Comedians get into the business for many reasons but most of us are REALLY damaged and screwed up even more than ‘regular’ people. I talk about it freely and don’t deny I am a raging wacko and never did. All of us in life need approval but comedians even more so.

Most of it is because we never got it from Mommy or Daddy or as in my case both. It’s all we really want but most of us never get. Even when the audience is laughing and happy we’re miserable because we can’t get that one crucial hug from the ones we want it from.

Maybe it was because my father died this year or I have finally written off my mother for not contacting me in almost fifteen years but I can finally start to see that I have made a lot of people laugh and a lot of people are proud of me. I never could see that before. I was in my own world dealing with a lot of things that were bouncing around in my vacuous skull but now I am starting to see that I may have had at least a small impact on a few people.

Seeing all those people show up at the shows this week that were in such a classy venue made me FINALLY see that I am a success after all. It might not be the exact definition of what other people think success is but they’re not the ones that matter here. I decide that.

When I started out as a twenty year old clueless confused hurting punk I said that what I wanted to do was become a strong headliner and work in top comedy clubs in big cities all over America and be good at what I did. I had no idea if I had a chance but I know I had a dream and I would have given up any inner organ I could survive without to make it come true. If you’d have told me then I would be where I am today I would have sold my soul.

I’m very glad I didn’t. I did exactly what I set out to do but there sure have been a lot of horrific lumps and bumps along the way that I didn’t plan on. It’s amazing that I’ve gotten as far as I have and I can honestly say that I earned my position exactly where I am. All of my mistakes as bad as they were didn’t blow me out of the game. I’m still around to play.

But as of today I’m hanging up my active title of ‘standup comedian’. High school has a graduation and no matter how fun or not fun it was it’s OVER. Sports players also hang it up at some point and even if they come back as a coach or broadcaster they are still done.

As a standup comedian I am DONE. I did what I set out to do and it was a lot of fun. It maybe didn’t get me exactly what I pictured when I started but maybe my picture wasn’t a clear one for whatever reason. People make the major leagues that aren’t stars but they’ve been able to feed their families and have a few moments in the sun. VERY few are stars.

The same holds true in any kind of entertainment. That’s why stars make so much cash. There just aren’t that many of them. I was never a star but I was in the game and I worked with some stars and I wasn’t out of their league with ability. I hung with all the big boys.

What I am graduating to is my next level. Standup comedy is wonderful but it’s a young man’s game and it’s passing me by. I’m not going to get that sitcom any time soon and the clubs aren’t what I need or want to be doing. I need to focus on my business idea and have that blossom in the next year or so because that will help me have financial security. I have never had that in the past and at my age I can’t keep driving 600 miles for $200. I’m done.

It doesn’t mean I don’t have to stop doing shows though. I love being on stage and will always love it. I am booked in the next few months and will enjoy those shows but I know in my mind I am now officially a business man and entrepreneur first and a comic second. I have NEVER said that in my adult life before and it’s a little scary but deep down I realize I need to get that straight in my head. Baseball players retire, so do models. It’s my turn.