Phunny Business: A Black Comedy Page #11

OR AS SOME OF MY MORE RADICAL

FRIENDS SUGGESTED, TAKE IT TO

THE STREETS.

WE GONNA WALK ON THIS RACIS POWER STRUCTURE AND WE GONNA

SAY TO THE WHOLE DAMNED

GOVERNMENT,

STICK'EM UP MUTHAFUCKA!

THIS IS A HOLD UP!

WE COME FOR WHAT'S OURS!

I HIRED A LAWYER, BUT AS AN

ALTERNATIVE TO THE PANTHERS, I

TRIED TO CONTACT CONTROVERSIAL

ALDERWOMAN DOROTHY TILLMAN.

I KNEW SHE WAS A BIG

FAN OF MY CLUB.

LET ME TELL YOU, I DON'T CARE

HOW I FELT, WHAT WAS GOING ON,

GO TO ALL JOKES ASIDE AND SI AND JUST LAUGH UNTIL

YOUR SIDE BURST.

I HEARD THAT SHE WAS DEVELOPING

A MAJOR, WELL-FUNDED

ENTERTAINMENT DISTRICT IN HER

SOUTH SIDE WARD.

AND IF EVER A WARD NEEDED

DEVELOPMENT, IT WAS TILLMAN'S

FORTY-SEVENTH AND BRONZEVILLE.

IF RAY LOST HIS NORTH SIDE

BATTLE WITH THE PETITIONERS,

MAYBE THERE'D BE AN

OPPORTUNITY FOR HIM IN THE

SOUTH SIDE WITH TILLMAN.

BUT RAYMOND WASN'T THE ONLY

CHICAGO COMEDY INSTITUTION

EYEING THAT BRONZEVILLE

OPPORTUNITY.

THE RENOWNED SECOND CITY, A

SKETCH COMEDY THEATER ON THE

NORTH SIDE, WAS ALSO REACHING

OUT TO ALDERMAN TILLMAN.

ANDREW ALEXANDER CAME TO ME

AND SAID, LET'S BUILD A BLACK

SECOND CITY.

SO WE GOT IN TOUCH WITH

ALDERMAN DOROTHY TILLMAN WHO

IS AN AMAZING CLASSIC CHICAGO

CHARACTER.

SOME PEOPLE SAY WHY YOU WAN TO BRING SECOND CITY TO

FORTY-SEVENTH STREET.

I SAID, MR. ALEXANDER WAS A

GREAT MAN.

HE'S FROM CANADA.

HE HAVE A GREAT SENSE OF HUMOR

BUT ALSO HE HAVE GREA UNDERSTANDING, A GREA BUSINESSMAN.

I HAD TO REALLY EXPLAIN WHA THEY WERE GOING TO BE DOING,

HOW GOOD IT REALLY WAS GOING TO

BE FOR FORTY-SEVENTH STREET.

SO ONE MORNING I OPENED THE

PAPER AND I IMMEDIATELY

REALIZED WHY I WAS HAVING SO

MUCH TROUBLE GETTING IN TOUCH

WITH ALDERMAN TILLMAN.

SHE HAD PLEDGED HER ALLEGIANCE

TO SECOND CITY.

NOTHING AGAINST SECOND CITY.

THEY'RE GREAT.

I'VE WORKED WITH THEM.

AS A BUSINESSMAN I

UNDERSTOOD IT.

AS A BLACK MAN...LET'S JUS SAY I WAS DEEPLY DISAPPOINTED.

NOW RAYMOND HAD TO PUT THE

BRONZEVILLE DISAPPOINTMEN BEHIND HIM AND

DEVOTE HIS ENERGY TO FIGHTING

FOR HIS NORTH SIDE CLUB.

THE COURT BATTLE DRAGGED ON

MONTH AFTER MONTH, COSTING HIM

MORE AND MORE:

AND THAT IS EXACTLY WHAT THE

PETITIONERS WANTED.

I THINK IT WAS JUNE OF 2000 I

GOT THE CALL FROM MY LAWYER

THAT THE VERDICT WAS IN.

I WASN'T OPTIMISTIC, BUT TO MY

SURPRISE, I WON.

(SFX:
CROWD CHEERING)

HOLD ON.

(SFX:
TAPE WARPING)

THERE'S NO CAUSE FOR

CELEBRATION.

AFTER TWO YEARS OF FIGHTING I

HAD RUN OUT OF TIME, ENERGY

AND MONEY.

(SFX:
CASH REGISTER)

AND YOU KNOW WHAT HURT THE

MOST?

TWENTY-FIVE GRAND OF THAT, WAS

MONEY FROM MY FATHER THAT HAD

TAKEN HIM A LIFETIME TO EARN.

SO HERE'S THE KICKER ABOUT A

YEAR LATER A WHITE OWNED CLUB

OPENED UP IN THE SAME SPACE,

GOT TO USE THE ELECTRICAL AND

THE PLUMBING THAT RAY'S MONEY

PAID FOR, AND, AH, I HEARD

THEY DIDN'T LAST FOR VERY LONG

ABOUT A COUPLE OF YEARS AND

THEY HAD SOME KIND OF ISSUES.

IT'S ONE THING TO HAVE AN IDEA

DIE OF ITS OWN WEIGHT,

BUT IT'S ANOTHER THING ALL

TOGETHER WHEN AN IDEA IS NO GIVEN A CHANCE.

IRONICALLY, SECOND CITY'S

SOUTH SIDE VENTURE NEVER

MATERIALIZED EITHER.

CHICAGO HAD LOST OUT ON TWO

UNIQUE OPPORTUNITIES.

THERE'LL NEVER BE ANOTHER ALL

JOKES ASIDE.

IT WAS, IT WAS THE CLUB.

HOT STAGE. HOT CROWD.

HOT SHOWS.

RAY PUT UP A GOOD FIGHT YOU

KNOW. WE AH, WE WERE RIGH BEHIND HIM.

I KNEW ABOUT, UM, CHICAGO

POLITICS AS BEING ONE OF THE

ROUGHEST, SO AS FOR ALL GOOD

BLACK MEN I GIVE HIM THIS,

MARTIN LUTHER KING HAD A DREAM

TOO.

FOR HIM TO FACE THAT KIND OF

RESISTANCE IS HYPOCRITICAL AND

RIDICULOUS.

CHICAGO HAS A LONG AND PROUD

HISTORY OF BEING RACIST.

AND I'M NOT, THAT'S NOT ME

MAKING THIS UP OR COMING TO

SOME GRAND CONCLUSION.

I DON'T THINK THE BUSINESS

PEOPLE IN THAT AREA REALLY HAD

ANY UNDERSTANDING OF WHAT WAS

COMING THEIR WAY.

WHEN YOU CARE AND LOVE SOMEONE

YOU WANT TO PROTECT THEM

SO OBVIOUSLY, YOU KNOW, WE ALL

WANTED TO CONFRONT THOSE

PEOPLE AND SAY, IT JUST WASN' FAIR WHAT THEY DID TO RAYMOND.

RACIAL ISSUES ARE ALWAYS GOING

TO SURFACE FOR BLACK

ENTREPRENEURS IN AMERICA.

AND THE BLACK ENTREPRENEUR WHO

IGNORES IT IS THE BLACK

ENTREPRENEUR WHO

WILL PAY A:

PRICE DOWN THE ROAD

UNFORTUNATELY.

I FIRST MET RAY BACK IN 1992

THROUGH MY PRODUCING PARTNER

AT THE TIME BOB ZMUDA.

BOB AND I HAD BEEN DOING A

SERIES OF CHARITY EVENTS FOR

COMIC RELIEF AT RAY'S CLUB.

UH, I RAN INTO HIM AGAIN IN

THE YEAR 2000, RIGHT AFTER ALL

THIS STUFF HAPPENED TO HIM.

AND WHEN HE EXPLAINED THE

DETAILS I WAS LIKE, WOW RAY,

UH, YOU JUST DIDN'T PAY OFF

THE RIGHT PEOPLE.

BUT YOU KNOW, THAT'S NO REALLY WHO RAY IS.

HE'S NOT FROM CHICAGO.

IN COMEDY, TIMING IS

EVERYTHING.

I THOUGHT THE NEW ALL JOKES

ASIDE WAS AN IDEA WHOSE TIME

HAD COME.

AND SADLY THERE'S NOT ONE

BLACK OWNED VENUE IN CHICAGO'S

ENTERTAINMENT DISTRICT TODAY.

RAYMOND WAS LEFT BROKEN AND

DEEP IN DEBT WHEN HIS ALL

JOKES NORTH DREAM DIED.

IT TOOK HIM A WHILE TO GE OVER HIS LOSS.

STARTING A FAMILY HELPED

CHANGE HIS FOCUS.

OBVIOUSLY OUR DAUGHTERS

WEREN'T BORN AT THAT TIME, BU WHEN THEY ASK ABOUT, YOU KNOW,

HOW DID THIS ALL HAPPEN.

I'LL TELL THEM THEIR FATHER IS

AN INCREDIBLY STRONG MAN AND

YOU CAN LEARN FROM THIS THA YOUR DAD, HE HAD SOME HIGHS,

SOME LOWS BUT HE'S ALWAYS

BOUNCED BACK.

SO I'M REALLY PROUD OF HIM TO

SEE WHAT'S GONNA HAPPEN NOW.

YOU DON'T GET OVER AN

INJUSTICE LIKE THAT, BUT YOU

CAN'T CARRY AROUND ALL THA ANGER EITHER.

SO WHEN I LOOK BACK ON IT NOW,

I FOCUS ON THE POSITIVE.

I'M REALLY PROUD OF ALL THE

YOUNG COMEDIANS THAT CAME

THROUGH OUR CLUB AND WENT ON

TO DO GREAT THINGS.

MUSIC:

MUSIC:

MUSIC:

RAYMOND IS OFTEN ASKED, WOULD

HE TRY TO OPEN ANOTHER ALL

JOKES ASIDE?

WELL, WOULD YOU RAYMOND?

YOU NEVER KNOW. IT'S A FUNNY

BUSINESS.

IF HE HAD A THREE HUNDRED SEA URBAN CLUB ON THE NORTH SIDE

OF CHICAGO WOULD IT WORK?

IT WOULD BE EASIER TODAY THAN

IT WAS MAYBE TWENTY YEARS AGO,

BUT HE WOULD STILL FACE SOME

UNFORTUNATELY SOME

CHALLENGES.

I THINK ALL JOKES ASIDE CAN

OPEN IN THAT GENERAL MARKE AND NEIGHBORHOOD NOW.

I THINK IN TODAY'S SOCIETY

RAYMOND WOULDN'T BOOK AN ALL

BLACK CLUB.

I THINK RAYMOND WOULD BOOK A

GREAT COMEDY CLUB.

IF ALL JOKES ASIDE OPENED

ITS DOORS TODAY THE BUZZ

ALL AROUND THIS COMMUNITY

WOULD BE,

WHOAH. DUDE.

THEY'RE BACK.

A CLUB LIKE ALL JOKES ASIDE

ABSOLUTELY COULD EXIST AGAIN.

AS LONG AS IT'S RUN BY RAYMOND

LAMBERT.

IF ALL JOKES ASIDE WERE TO

COME BACK I'M SURE A LOT OF

THE GUYS THAT WOULD COME

BACK AND PAY TRIBUTE OR HOMAGE

TO RAY.

IT'S TIME TO GO BACK TO ALL

JOKES ASIDE, STRAIGHT UP.

OH, I DEFINITELY THINK I WOULD, IT WOULD BE FABULOUS TO

HAVE IT BACK.

RAYMOND, IF YOU'RE OUT THERE,

THANKS FOR THE OPPORTUNITY.

THE ALL JOKES CREW, IT WAS

AWESOME AND IF YOU COME BACK I

HAVE A NEW FEE NOW SO WE'LL

TALK ABOUT IT.

BUT UM, YEAH...

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