What It's Like Being A Cruise Ship Comedian

Working as a comedian on a cruise ship is a lot of fun for me. It's a whole lot better

than performing in some dive or bar where they have bad lighting and bad sound.

On a ship they have the best lighting and sound equipment that you can imagine.

There is a whole staff that is dedicated to helping you to be the professional that 

you really are. That's why I took advantage of the whole situation by having music

in my act and making sure that my wardrobe was superb. You want to wear something

that sparkles when the light hits it!  I was thoroughly prepared for my shows on

the MSC Seascape. I was a little nervous before I went on because I didn't know how

the crowd would receive me, but that's how it always is for comedians. But once

you get those first few laughs you're on your way, and you're going to take the audience

for a ride.

I liked Frank Sinatra all the way back to when I was on a cruise ship many years ago. 

At the end of the night the band members would crank Frank Sinatra up down in the 

crew quarters. It would be a big party after the show and Frank was always invited.

Above and below are pictures of me and Uncle Rufus. He was a smash hit

on the ship. I asked him if he had met any interesting people on the ship and he said

he met a young lady from Italy. And I said "Genoa"? And he said "No, I just met her."

Then he told me that he met a man from the U.K. So I said "Oh the United Kingdom?"

And he said "No, the University of Kentucky." 

The ship puts your information on the marquee when the ship first takes off to let people know about your upcoming show. As the time passes people log in and make their reservations. By the time the show begins you'll have a full house of passengers waiting for a good laugh.

What's so great about performing on the ship is that when you have a good show everybody

tells you about it. Wherever you go on the ship you will see people and they will say

"Hey you were great last night." "We loved your show." "Where's Woody....isn't he hungry.?"

I love people so I don't mind talking to them. They like to ask you questions about how you

got started in comedy especially when you're a ventriloquist. Somebody is always going

to ask you "How did you get started as a ventriloquist?" And that's when I tell them that

"I was a lonely child." LOL. That's not true. I got started in ventriloquism through an interest in magic.

I was also inspired by Willie Tyler & Lester, and Jay Johnson from the hit tv show Soap. My mother

bought me my first dummy as a Christmas gift when I was thirteen. I then found a home study

course in the back of comic book and I did everything they told me to do and I became a 

professional. Incredible right? Only in America....LOL. It's been an amazing journey and I 

wouldn't trade it for anything in the world.

In the picture above I'm hanging out with a couple in Cay Bahamas along with the ship

comedian Jason Russell. Jason was really cool and he was showing me the ropes while

being out on the Seascape. We bonded quickly as professional comedians and had

some really good conversations about the business, life, family, and relationships.

I also hooked up with some really cool people from Philadelphia. I found out that

we all had a lot in common. I love Philly. It's one of my favorite places. I guess

that's why they call it the "City of Brotherly Love." That doesn't mean that you can't

get robbed there because you can. But it's a pretty good sports town and the people

are down to earth for the most part. Being a comedian on a cruise ship is a lot of fun.

I love it. I'm built for it. I go out there, do my job, have a good time, and enjoy the

people. You can't ask for anything more than that. To me it's a dream come true.

The only thing about it is that I spent a lot of money on that cruise. It was close to 

Christmas so I bought my wife a diamond ring and some diamond earrings. I also

went to the Breitling store in Grand Cayman Island. I didn't buy a watch this time,

but I showed mine off. I've purchased two Breitlings while being on cruises. If

they had the one that I was looking for I might have bought it for my wife Sherry.

Watches are an expensive habit. I guess that's one of the reasons why they came

up with the phrase "Time is money."  I own a Breitling by Bentley which is 

one of their signature series watches. It has the Bentley wheel engraved in the back

of the watch. It's pretty cool. That means I'm going to have to get the car to match

the watch. I'm going to have to do a lot more shows  in order to do that.....LOL. I'll be cruising

all over the world non-stop to make that happen.