By Tony “Phruishun” Spires
The Comedy Doctor
I had another birthday recently. Happy Birthday
to me! To the naked eye, it was no different than
any other of my "born days," except for the
inevitability of - let me put this gently - for my own
sake - maturing. I guess now, I'm officially "of a
certain age." Not that I haven't been a charter
member of that club for a minute already. But
this year there's definitely no denying it - no
turning back now. And I'm super good with that.
When you consider that "dirt nap" alternative
most of us will ultimately opt for the vertical, as
opposed to the horizontal. The imminent cycle of
life will balance everything out in due time. But I
digress.
I am The Comedy Doctor. Although largely selfproclaimed, I earned that moniker through
surviving and still enjoying a lengthy tenure,
through hard, often thankless work, personal and
professional sacrifice and a modicum of "success"
and achievement in comedy. Comedy has
been and continues to be a major part of my life.
I still have a very keen, albeit offbeat, sense of
humor, a highly trained eye for talent and a very
strong appreciation for things truly funny.
Here's where being "of a certain age" comes in.
You know how our society and especially pop
culture works, right? Someone who's respected
or considered an authority says that someone or
something is hot. Someone else with clout says it,
then someone else. It's splattered across all
media platforms: traditional, digital, social, new,
etc. Before long, they all say it's/they're hot. A
short time later they’re or it is the "ish" and the
whole world buys in! Is that not how it works?
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I certainly have contributed to this phenomenon,
although not so much since being of a certain
age. Haven't you? Come on. Tell the truth. It's
stupid, isn't it? Shakespeare would call it, "folly."
What would you call it?
Unfortunately, comedy - one of the last vestiges
of "keepin' it 100" - has fallen victim to this same
madness. We who love comedy know the truth,
don't we? Whether it's a silent movie by Charlie
Chaplin, a stand up concert by Richard Pryor,
Johnny Carson killin' it from the chair, DC Curry
tellin' it like it is, or a star-studded "Negro Night"
(aka urban night) in Hollywood – we know what
funny is, don't we? Only something that's truly
funny is… well, "truly funny." No matter the
hyperbole, regardless of the numbers, in spite of
the media onslaught, there's no substitute for real
comedy.
My comedic tastes are fairly broad.
I find
comedy and humor in so many places.
Professionally, I find them on stage, on television,
Online, in film. I like "Mom's Mabley and Carol
Burnett. I like Don Rickles and Derrick Ellis. I like
Shelly Berman and I like Earthquake. I like Tim
Conway and I like Keisha Hunt. I love Eddie
Murphy's Coming To America, Harlem Nights and
Trading Places. I cherish Richard Pryor's Which
Way Is Up?, Sidney Poitier's and Bill Cosby's
Uptown Saturday Night, Let's Do It Again, and A
Piece Of The Action.
I love the original SNL and The Not Ready For
Primetime Players.
John Belushi's breakout
vehicle, Animal House was the bomb! The Blues
Brothers cracks me up every time. So does the
opening line from Steve Martin's The Jerk.