Tom Ryan, West Palm, Comedy Corner, etc.

by Brian McKim & Traci Skene on July 27th, 2005

SHECKYmagazine.com contributor Tom Ryan gets quoted in two recent Palm Beach Post pieces. The first article is a look back at the Comedy Corner, which booked a rich mixture of comedy royalty from 1986 to 2001.

“For a comedian it was like college,” said former emcee Chris Baker, who is the top radio talk show host in Houston and still does an occasional stand-up routine. “Just look at the crew that came out of that little bitty comedy club. Whitney, Carrot Top. Tom Ryan has done two Lettermans and he’s one of the most respected writers in the business.”

“It was an environment that encouraged you to be creative,” Ryan said from his home base in Los Angeles. “We all helped each other. It was fun to go up there on open mike nights. The audiences were great. Bill Hicks considered it his favorite club. Seinfeld loved it. It was just divey enough. Low ceilings are crucial for comedy.”

The other article is a profile of Daniel Lawrence Whitney, who, like Ryan started out at the Comedy Corner.

“He realized it was working and started expanding on it,” said Tom Ryan, another Comedy Corner alum, who’s now based in L.A. and claims two Letterman appearances. “People don’t give enough credit to his work ethic. For probably 10 years straight, he was getting up early in the morning to call anywhere from one to 20 stations, each with a different routine. He liked to personalize his markets, and he built them one by one. Slowly, he got in with syndication, then he did Blue Collar (Jeff Foxworthy’s comedy tour), and it just snowballed”

from → News • 0 Comments - Let's discuss! • Print-Friendly • Back To Top