Born Funny by Tom McCaffrey

Author:Tom McCaffrey
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: The Unapologetic Voice House LLC
Published: 2022-04-25T19:38:22+00:00

Chapter 20:

Heat

Steve sat in a bar, alone, on 23rd Street, getting drunk on whiskey. He needed to take his mind off of Aspen. Aspen would have given him the boost he so desperately needed. His heat had recently cooled considerably, and his TV credits were in danger of expiring. In comedy, you were always on the brink of becoming irrelevant. You had to constantly look over your shoulder for new comics who were lining up to replace you. A year without a significant TV appearance was about the equivalent of no TV credits. He felt in jeopardy of becoming a has-been. He thought of a comedian he’d heard killed himself a couple of years earlier. The guy had become a kind of comedy cautionary tale as to what can happen when a comic goes off the rails. The guy named the “Chicken” had massive heat after appearing at the Montreal Comedy Festival. He was supposed to be the next big thing. And after he fell short of expectations, he killed himself.

Steve drank his whiskey fast and looked at the clock. It was almost 8 p.m. He stood up and walked over to Rififi. A younger comic from Boston had asked him to appear on a new show he had started a few weeks before. Invite Them Up was the show there but other shows were now popping up at Rififi left and right since the place had a following. The Boston comic named Greg Johnson was extremely funny and likable with an infectious laugh that made you like him immediately. He often clapped when he laughed to accentuate how amused he was. Steve liked Greg right away.

Greg was hosting this new show, and Steve waited at the bar drinking his usual when he was approached by a tall and good-looking guy with a kinetic presence and thick curly hair.

“Hey, Steve?”

“Yeah, hey.”

“I’m Ryan Palmer. I met you once through Phil.”

“Oh yeah, how’s it going?”

“God, man. You’re on the show?”

“Yeah, I am.”

“Awesome! I can’t wait to see you. I saw you at the Aspen auditions. You killed it.”

“Oh, thanks.”

“So, when do you find out?”

“Ummm…well. I already found out.”

“You’re going right?”

“Ummm…not actually.”

“What?! That’s bullshit. You were the best on that show. I’m not even kissing your ass. I mean it.”

“Thanks. Maybe I was just too funny.”

Ryan laughed. “Yeah! Probably!”

Steve had heard of Ryan Palmer for the past year. He was new to New York and making a big splash. He’d gone to Aspen an unknown and left with a TV show. Now he was in a popular new movie and was doing the New York circuit more now with his Chicago friends Hannibal, Kumail, and Phil. They were all new to the city, but they would not be new for long. They had their sights set high and soon took the scene completely by storm.

Thanks to his recent TV credits and regular appearances on the best UCB and Rififi shows, Steve was now a downtown legend of sorts and most new comics that came through the alt scene were aware of him.

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