Phunny Business: A Black Comedy Page #2

WOULDN'T HIRE ANOTHER BROTHER

FROM MOREHOUSE RIGHT NOW IF I WAS MARTIN LUTHER KING.

CHRIS LOVED ME AT GARDNER RICH

AND I QUICKLY BECAME CHRIS'

RIGHT HAND MAN AND I WAS

MAKING MORE MONEY THAN MY

FATHER, A SHOP FOREMAN, EVER

DREAMED OF MAKING, BU SOMETHING WAS MISSING.

AND THEN IT HAPPENED...

SFX:
DRUM ROLL

THE INCITING INCIDENT.

IN 1990 RAY MADE A TRIP TO

HOLLYWOOD...

AND STUMBLED INTO BUDD

FRIEDMAN'S WORLD FAMOUS IMPROV

COMEDY CLUB.

IT WAS "MO BETTA MONDAY", THE

ONCE A WEEK BLACK SHOWCASE AND

D.L. HUGHLEY WAS ON STAGE.

I SAW THE DUMBEST SIGN IN THE

WORLD IN LOS ANGELES TODAY.

A SIGN THAT SAID, "DON'T DO

DRUGS, CALL A FRIEND."

WHO IS THIS SIGN FOR,'CAUSE

BIRDS OF A FEATHER FLOCK

TOGETHER.

CAN YOU IMAGINE ONE OF THESE

GUYS CALLING THEIR FRIENDS?

HEY MAN, I'M IN TROUBLE.

I'M ABOUT TO HIT THE PIPE.

DON'T DO ANYTHING UNTIL WE GE THERE.

COME ON POOKIE IT'S A PARTY

OVER AT MADMAN'S HOUSE, LET'S

GO.

THAT NIGHT RAY SAW A LOT OF

GREAT COMEDIANS...

I'M SWEATIN' LIKE A BLACK MAN

ON JEOPARDY.

THEY SEEMED LIKE REALLY NICE

PEOPLE...

I HATE MY KIDS!

AND NO DOUBT EASY TO WORK

WITH.

THAT'S WHEN I BECAME AWARE OF

BUDD FRIEDMAN AND I THOUGHT,

MAYBE I COULD OWN COMEDY

CLUBS, BUT TARGETING THE BLACK

AUDIENCE.

SO HOW DO YOU TELL YOUR

MENTOR, CHRIS GARDNER, YOU'RE

THINKING ABOUT LEAVING HIM,

AND BECOMING A COMEDY CLUB

OWNER LIKE BUDD FRIEDMAN?

RETURNING TO CHICAGO, RAY DID

A LOT OF SOUL SEARCHING, AND A

LOT OF RESEARCHING AND HE

DISCOVERED THERE WERE COMEDY

CLUBS EVERYWHERE.

THE COUNTRY HAD A NEED TO

LAUGH WE'D BEEN THROUGH A LO OF TROUBLES AND SUDDENLY THIS

THING CALLED STAND-UP BECAME

HOT.

AND IT GOT HOTTER AND HOTTER

AND HOTTER.

THE BOOM WAS HAPPENING IN

STAND-UP.

AH, IT WAS ALL OVER THE PLACE.

YOU KNOW, PRIOR TO THAT YOU

HAD SECOND CITY, YOU HAD

ZANIES, THAT WAS ABOUT IT.

SO IN CAME...

THE LAUGH FACTORY

CATCH A RISING STAR

THE IMPROV:

THE FUNNY FIRM:

I CAN'T EVEN NAME ALL THE

CLUBS THAT STARTED POPPING UP

AROUND TOWN.

THEY WEREN'T HIRING THE BLACK

COMEDIANS BACK THEN.

THERE WERE NO COMEDY CLUBS

THAT CATERED TO BLACK

COMEDIANS.

WE DID USE BLACK COMEDIANS BU THEY TENDED TO BE BLACK

COMEDIANS THAT WERE MORE

MAINSTREAM.

THE ONLY COMICS WHO WOULD GE IN A PLACE LIKE THAT WAS

SOMEONE LIKE...

I DON'T WANNA.

MICHAEL WINSLOW, THE COMEDIAN

FROM "POLICE ACADEMY."

SFX:
ENGINE REVVING

BEING IN THE MAINSTREAM, QUOTE

END QUOTE, WHITE CLUBS IT WAS

A FRATERNITY, YOU HAD TO JUMP

OVER PITS OF FIRE.

IF A COMEDIAN TENDED TO WORK

JUST TO THE BLACK COMMUNITY,

THEN THEY DIDN'T APPEAL TO THE

GENERAL AUDIENCE, AND SO THEY

WEREN'T THE BEST SUIT FOR OUR

CLUB.

IN THE MAINSTREAM CLUBS THEY

ALWAYS HAD JUST A BLACK NIGHT,

WHICH SUCKED.

CHOCOLATE SUNDAYS, HO CHOCOLATE, TOO FUNNY

CHOCOLATE.

JUST CALL IT WHAT IT IS, THE

NIGHT WHEN A LOT OF BLACK

PEOPLE GONNA BE THERE.

IT WAS NEVER NO BLACK CLUBS

THAT WAS CLASSY, IT WAS MORE

BARS AND LOUNGES, AND

NIGHCLUBS.

WE WOULD HAVE TO TRY AND GO TO

LARRY'S BAR GRILL AND GE LARRY LET YOU HOOK UP A MIC

AND ENTERTAIN DRUNK CUSTOMERS.

AT ONE ONE-THIRTY IN THE

MORNING THEY HAD TO CLEAN THE

DRINKS FROM ONE-THIRTY TO

TWO-O'CLOCK. AND SO YOU GOT TO

TELL JOKES AND THEY WOULD GIVE

YOU FIFTY DOLLARS.

I CAN'T IMAGINE PEOPLE WHO,

WHO LOVE ARTS AND LOVE TO DO

COMEDY NOT HAVING AN IMPROV.

NOT HAVING A ZANIES.

NOT HAVING A HOME.

WE GOT ALL THESE COMEDIANS OF

COLOR AND NOWHERE TO REALLY

PUT THEM.

RAYMOND LAMBERT ALSO

RECOGNIZED THE GAP IN THIS

MARKET, AND ALL JOKES ASIDE

WAS BORN.

SFX:
ELECTRICITY

RAYMOND WAS ABLE TO SAY, HEY

THERE'S A BLACK COMMUNITY HERE

THAT WANTS ITS OWN.

HE SAW THE NEED AND HE MET IT.

RAY WAS AHEAD OF HIS TIME, AND

HE WAS SERVING A NICHE IN

CHICAGO THAT NOBODY TOUCHED.

THE FACT THAT RAY HAD NEVER

OWNED A BUSINESS, HAD NO

ENTERTAINMENT EXPERIENCE, NO

COMEDY EXPERIENCE, AND NO CLUB

EXPERIENCE WAS APPARENTLY NO

PROBLEM.

NOW ALL HE NEEDED WAS A

PARTNER, AND HIS BUDDY JAMES

ALEXANDER WAS PERFECT.

I HAD BEEN A WAITER IN COLLEGE

IN THE RESTAURANT SO I FEL CONFIDENT...

HE DIDN'T KNOW WHAT THE HELL

HE WAS DOING EITHER.

BUT LIKE RAY, HE HAD AN MBA,

AND FROM THE KELLOGG SCHOOL NO

LESS.

THE WAY THAT I BECOME FAMILIAR

WITH ALL JOKES ASIDE IS, I AM

THE DIRECTOR OF THE LEVY

ENTREPRENEURIAL INSTITUTE A THE KELLOGG GRADUATE SCHOOL OF

MANAGEMENT - NORTHWESTERN

UNIVERSITY.

THAT WAS THE THING THAT I

LOVED ABOUT WHAT THEY DID, AND

THAT IS, THEY TOOK THEIR

BUSINESS ACUMEN AND BUSINESS

SKILLS AND APPLIED IT TO AN

UNDERSERVED MARKET THA HAPPENED TO BE COMEDY.

EVEN THOUGH, WE HAD NEVER DONE

ANYTHING LIKE THIS BEFORE, WE

THOUGHT WE COULD PULL OFF A

COMEDY CLUB, BUT FIRST THINGS

FIRST WE NEEDED A NAME.

RAYMOND WILL DISAGREE WITH

THIS BECAUSE IT WAS A

CONVERSATION WE WERE HAVING.

I HEARD JAMES USE THE

EXPRESSION, ALL JOKES ASIDE.

WHEN I SAID ALL JOKES ASIDE HE

SAID, THAT'S THE NAME.

YEAH HE'S RIGHT; I DID SAY

THAT'S THE NAME.

TO THIS DAY I SAY THAT I NAMED

IT, AND HE SAID THAT HE NAMED

IT.

SO IN MY MIND, I NAMED THE

CLUB...

OKAY, ONE OF THEM NAMED THE

CLUB.

BUT RAYMOND AND JAMES WEREN' READY TO COMMIT TO A PERMANEN LOCATION, SO THEY RENTED AN

ART GALLERY, TURNING IT INTO A

COMEDY CLUB AT NIGHT.

OUR STAGE WAS, BLACK CURTAIN

ON SOME KIND OF A ROLLER.

IT WASN'T QUITE A HAND WRITTEN

SIGN, BUT YOU KNOW IT WAS

INEXPENSIVE PRINTING.

COMEDIANS COMPLAINED AND JOKED

ABOUT THE STAGE.

COULD THEY SPENT SOME MONEY ON

A REAL STAGE?

SO JAMES TURNED TO HIS SISTER

LORI, AND HER BOYFRIEND JOEY.

WE SPENT ALL DAY FRIDAY

CALLING EVERY THEATRICAL

SUPPLY COMPANY WE COULD FIND.

I MEAN, JUST GOING THROUGH THE

YELLOW PAGES.

HAD A STAGE DELIVERED IN A

DAY, AND IT'S LIKE WHY DIDN' WE KNOW THIS?

WE JUST DIDN'T KNOW.

WE DIDN'T HAVE A LIGHTING

BOARD SO WHEN IT WAS TIME TO

START THE SHOW I WAS ON ONE

SIDE WITH ONE PLUG, MY

BOYFRIEND IS ON THE OTHER SIDE

WITH HIS PLUG AND WE KINDA

LOOKED, ONE, TWO, THREE, GO!

SFX:
ELECTRICITY

WOULD LIKE TO WELCOME YOU ALL

OUT TO ALL JOKES ASIDE,

CHICAGO'S ALL NEW BLACK COMEDY

SHOWCASE.

THERE WAS NO ALCOHOL.

THEY DIDN'T HAVE A LIQUOR

LICENSE, AND THEY WEREN' FRONTING THAT THEY HAD ONE.

JAMIE FOX IS HERE WITH US

TONIGHT...

THE FIRST DAY, THE FIRS COMEDIAN TO STEP ON THA STAGE, I KNEW IT WAS A VERY

SPECIAL THING HAPPENING.

ACTUALLY WHAT I'M LOOKING FOR,

UHHH...

ACTUALLY WHAT I'M LOOKING FOR

IS A NICE YOUNG LADY WITH

HO-LIKE QUALITIES.

WE OBVIOUSLY FELT LIKE I COULD BE SUCCESSFUL, BUT SIX

MONTHS INTO OUR PART TIME

VENTURE, THE CASH WAS NO FLOWING.

IN ANY ENTREPRENEURIAL

ENDEAVOR CASH FLOW ISSUES WILL

ALWAYS SURFACE.

BUT IT WASN'T JUST CASH FLOW

PROBLEMS.

SFX:
METAL DOOR SLAM

THEIR CREDIT CARDS WERE

MAXED...

THEIR BANK ACCOUNTS

OVERDRAWN...

VENDORS WERE DEMANDING CASH...

AND EVEN THE COMICS WERE

FEELING THE PINCH.

WE BOOKED STEVE HARVEY, AND SO

WE'RE HALF WAY DOWNTOWN.

I SAID UH, WELL, WE DON'T HAVE

A HOTEL FOR YOU.

YOU'RE GONNA STAY WITH ME THIS

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