Famous comedians I have seen in person


Yakov Smirnoff and DDR in Branson, MIssouri

Since I was in grade school, I have wanted to be a standup comedian. (Many comedians I know have told me the same thing.) So, since I was little, I have been watching comedians, mostly on TV and in the movies. When I was older and I started working, I began going to watch comedians perform in person. I enjoy watching comedians much more than I enjoy performing. But when I perform at my local comedy clubs, I get to see many comedians.

Emo Philips, Jim Harmon, and DDR in Mason City, Illiois

Here is a list of the famous comedians I have seen in person:

(in alphabetical order by last name)

• Leo Benvenuti and Steve Rudnick
• Frank Caliendo
• John Caponera
• Bill Cosby
• Tom Dreesen
• Gallagher
• Greg Glienna
• Jay Leno
• Robert Klein
• Eddie Murphy
• Emo Philips
• Yakov Smirnov
• Judy Tenuta
• Carrot Top
• Henny Youngman

caricature of author
DDR

Bridgeport


Bridgeport, Chicago, Illinois

When I first moved to Bridgeport in 1986, I never thought of Bridgeport as a friendly neighborhood. In fact, as soon as I moved in, the Chicago White Sox announced that they were moving out.

Bridgeport is the home to five Chicago mayors. When I moved there, I found out why. When I went to change my address on my voter’s registration card, I found out I had been voting since my date of birth. I had been living on an empty lot.

In Bridgeport, if you didn’t vote a certain way, they did things to you. I didn’t vote the straight Democratic ticket, so they put a parking meter in front of my house. So, I had three hundred tickets. But I didn’t pay them. They put a Denver Boot on my car. It increased the value of my car. There was a bar around the corner that had an icon of the late Mayor Richard J. Daley. Richard Dah First. Every mayoral election, the icon sheds tears.

DDR