Hello...McFly

Saturday December 29th, 2007 - Chicago, IL

It’s always fun to meet a hero. I don’t think many people get their chance to do that but I’ve done it several times. I might not have the same heroes as the public but that’s ok. We all admire different people and that’s what makes life interesting I guess. I don’t just mean meeting someone famous I mean meeting ‘the ONE’. Everyone has a favorite somebody.

Maybe it’s a musician or an actor or even a comedian. I happen to have several and I’ve gotten to meet more than one in person. Rodney Dangerfield and George Clinton are two examples and it was a thrill to meet them both. I didn’t embarrass myself and it was great. To spend a little time with each of them was a lifetime memory and I cherish it even now.

Tonight I got a chance to do it again. I met Tom Wilson who played Biff in the Back To The Future movies. Like a lot of people I loved those movies and I had an extra feeling of appreciation for Tom’s performance because of my background in pro wrestling. Tom was a ‘heel’ which is the wrestling term for bad guy. Every big champion needs to have a heel.

It’s like a straight man in a comedy team. Lou Costello got the laughs but Bud Abbot is a vital part of the team. Costello knew it but not many others did. The public only sees the results. The same was with the movies. Michael J. Fox was considered the star but he had to have Biff to overcome to make him the hero. I thought Tom was great in those movies.

He was a comedian before getting the role and I had always heard he was but never had a chance to cross paths with him in my travels. It’s random chance in who we meet on the road but eventually most comedians get a chance to hook up at some point. I’ve met many comedians over the years and then not see them again for years. It’s just how it works out.

Tonight was my chance to meet Tom. He was working at downtown Zanies in Chicago and his contract says he only does two shows a night. Zanies has three shows on Saturday nights so I was asked to fill in for the third show. I was just at Zanies a few weeks ago but I gladly said yes because I wanted to get a chance to meet Tom so I drove into the city.

On the way in I stopped to have dinner with Bill Gorgo at Red Lobster. Bill had me over last Christmas for one of the best meals I have ever had in my life and I really appreciate it. I told him that then and I still appreciate it now. He’s a fantastic cook and I’m not and I’ve been meaning to pay him back for a year. Tonight was the night and we ate some seafood.

Bill is a really good guy and I love talking comedy with him. He’s very funny and could be a full time road comic and was for years but he now teaches high school and enjoys the chance to stay in one place and I respect him for that. The road is brutal and he still gets to be on stage both at school and in comedy but what he really loves is the writing part of it.

We taught a few comedy writing classes and hope to do it again in ‘08. Getting to hang out with creative people takes away any depression I might have and I never get sick of it. It’s what I live for. That’s why I want to be the King of Uranus and find as many as I can.

After a relaxing dinner and comedy jam session I headed down to Zanies to get ready to perform. I didn’t have to be on stage until the 11:15 show but finding a parking space is an issue not only because it’s Saturday night in Old Town but snow is a factor too. I arrived a couple hours early but that’s ok. I found a great parking space and avoided all the stress.

I walked in the back door at Zanies and Tom was already on stage for his first show. It’s a tiny club and there’s no place to stand when it’s full so I went upstairs to the green room to watch the football game. It felt very good to be where I needed to be before I needed to be there. Usually I’m hauling ass to be at some gig in the sticks and driving like a maniac.

Tom finished his show and came up to the green room where we all hang out waiting to go on between shows. Even that’s a cramped space but there are a couple of couches so it is at least comfortable rather than having to sit in the show room and get stared at like the bearded lady at the circus while people shuffle in or out. The green room is our hang out.

I heard someone coming up the stairs and sure enough there was Biff from the movies. I nodded hello and smiled which is the right thing to do. Right after a show is not a time for intimate conversation. He just finished working and as a fellow comic I know that. I didn’t want to invade his space and I could see that he appreciated it. I let him have his privacy.

He put his things away and sat down and we made our introductions. He knew my name because I am on the marquee right next to him as being on the late show and he was about as easy to talk to as anyone I’ve ever met. Wow what a genuinely nice person he is. I have always heard he was a nice guy but meeting him in person took that to a whole new level.

He is not at all pretentious or egotistical or pompous and we had a great talk for an hour about a lot of things. I didn’t jump right into the movie stuff like most people do and I saw that he appreciated that very much. He opened up about a lot of things and that’s how it is on the road when two comedians meet for the first time. ‘Where ya from? How’s the road treatin’ ya? Where are you next week?’ Stuff like that. There is a bond road comics have.

I felt that we bonded very well so I carefully asked him if he minded if I talked about the movies. He said he didn’t and I told him that I wanted to be able to tell him how amazing I thought he was in those movies and how much I enjoyed both the movies and him in them. He thanked me and said that he now realizes how important giving people the opportunity to do that is. He has decided to not be bitter about it or not be willing to acknowledge it.

What was great was being able to talk about ‘it’ as a whole. Obviously every comedian I know wants to get a movie role in theory but Tom did and the consequences aren’t always positive. He said he has had to deal with being Biff EVERY DAY since 1985. That’s not a joyride all the time and he talked about how some days he has to grit his teeth and smile.

It was a great learning experience and I think I made a friend. We really did hit it off and I have a few places I can get him work like Calgary and Salt Lake City and I will gladly do that. That’s what road comics do for each other. Maybe he’ll put a word in for me as well.