Tuesday
April 29th, 2014 – Island Lake, IL
Yesterday I mentioned
that it was Jay Leno’s birthday and how he was the king of the comedy club boom
of the ‘80s – and he was. Today it’s the birthday of the prince – Jerry
Seinfeld. Those two ruled the roost in the glory years, and everybody else was choking
on their exhaust fumes.
I find it
beyond remarkable the two of them were born only a day apart. I don’t know if
there’s anything to astrology or not, but this makes me take notice just as the
fact that Howard Stern and Rush Limbaugh share the same birthday January 12th.
Coincidence? Perhaps, but it sure is odd.
Just because
Jay was looked upon as the king of that era, there was no shame whatsoever in
all Jerry was doing. He was working most if not all the same top level venues
Jay was, and raking in hefty coin himself. I never saw any check stubs, but
neither was sleeping in his car. They did ok.
Again, just
like with Jay I was informed of Jerry’s greatness through my association with Rick
Uchwat who owned Zanies Comedy Clubs in Chicago. Rick was a father figure to
comedians of all eras, and Jay and Jerry were like his oldest sons. Both have
spoken highly of Rick just as I do, and Rick gushed in return when it came to
both of them. Jerry wasn’t that far behind Jay’s status.
Like Jay,
Jerry was a meticulous trouper who was relentless about working constantly. The
two saw comedy as a business a lot sooner than most of us do, and kudos to them
for doing it. If there was one thing that wasn’t a joke to either it was
standup comedy. They had the correct mindset.
Just like I
think Jay gets unfairly sniped from people that only judge him by the Tonight
Show, Jerry gets lumped in with the countless sea of bad comedians that copied
his style. I know quite a few people that don’t care for Jerry’s standup, and I
always tell them that they should look again.
It’s fine
not to care for someone’s individual style, I’m like that too. There are some
comedians I don’t enjoy at all, even though they’re huge names. That’s fine,
but it doesn’t mean I don’t look at what they do and study it. Just because I
don’t like a certain act doesn’t mean I don’t respect it.
I happen to
really like and respect Jerry Seinfeld’s act, and in fact I use one of his routines
as a classic example of a quality comedy bit for my classes. Even those that
didn’t like him before are usually converted when I break down what he did and
how he did it. The man is an all time great and even if he didn’t have his
monster sitcom he’d still have lots to be proud of. He’s a megastar.
And like Jay and me – he is also left handed.
I don’t have anything in common with those two financially, but as far as
creativity goes I have to believe we are cut from the same cloth. Lefties are
wired to have careers based on creativity. It doesn’t mean righties can’t have success
too, but they’re the exception. We’re the rule. It makes perfect sense that both
of these guys are lefties.
I have been
fortunate to have a chance to meet and open for both Jay and Jerry and it was a
real treat. Neither would remember me now, but I sure remember them. I learned from
watching them both, and I give them the big props they deserve. From a performer’s
viewpoint, they are royalty.
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| Even without his monster sitcom, Jerry Seinfeld would still be a huge success. He's one of the most accomplished standup comics of all time, and that's no small feat. |
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