KC comic is a comedy champion [The Kansas City Star, Mo.]
By James A. Fussell, The Kansas City Star, Mo. | |
McClatchy-Tribune Information Services |
"As recently as a year ago I seriously considered selling Kirby vacuums door-to-door," the
Baldwin has asked people for money on
But a funny thing happened on his way to protracted poverty -- he recently won the prestigious
Big deal?
Yes it is. It's the competition that helped launch the career of the late
And, oh yeah. First place came with a
It was Baldwin's second win in a year, having earlier won
While he didn't get into comedy to get rich, money is nice.
"It's already spent," he said. "My manager got his cut, I paid my rent up, and my insurance and my cell phone, and paid off my vehicle."
Now he's dreaming of bigger things.
"I'm really hoping that some sort of TV will come from this," he said. "My manager is setting up meetings with different networks. But the first thing that's happening is I get to work at the Comedy Underground in
Up until now, Baldwin, 30, has spent much of his time driving himself, often in cheap, unreliable transportation.
"When I was 18 or 19 I drove to
He could have called his parents. Instead he tried to hitchhike home.
"I ended up with three Mexican guys in a van in
After four days driving around the South, the driver asked Baldwin if he wanted to go home.
"Yeah," he said. "But I don't have any money."
"We got you," they said. "Then they took me to a Greyhound bus station and bought me a ticket (back to
When he told that story on the bus ride home, everyone turned around to listen. He loved the feeling of performing and capturing an audience's attention.
"If I'm driving in my car and a cop pulls me over and searches my car and finds drugs in it, why does he always talk to me the same way that I talk to my dog if I get home and see that he pooped on the floor?
" 'Come'ere! Come over here. What is this? This is NO!' Then I'm like, 'Rub my nose in it.' "
Baldwin began doing comedy in 2001, shortly after graduating from
Later he hit the road, where often the pay of a gig covered only the cost of getting there.
For six years he lived with his parents, a fact that found its way into his routine.
"I live with my parents, but it's not a big deal because one day they'll die ... and then I'm movin' upstairs!" he says.
He has since moved out, but he doesn't regret losing the bit.
"At 23, that joke's funny," he said. "At 30, it's just depressing."
Since winning in
"I did 17 shows over 20 days," he said. "Very stressful."
Each year, the
"They start talking to the audience," Baldwin said. "What's your name? What do you do? That's a nice shirt."
Not Baldwin. He took first place 13 out of 17 times.
It's no surprise to Baldwin that a comic from
Kansas City is one of the funniest towns there are," he said. "Anytime I'm on the road and I tell another comic I'm from
Glaser, a
Baldwin has a comedy album, too, called "Bees Can Taste With Their Feet." That album and free videos of Baldwin's comedy are available on his website, comedianmikebaldwin.com.
You might like him. Or not.
"Comedy is subjective, like judging art, or love," he said.
His style?
"People either think that I'm funny because I act dumb, or they simply think I am dumb," he said. "I just try to be myself. Whenever somebody asks what kind of comedy I do, I say the funny kind -- I hope."
Today things are looking up for Baldwin. Since winning he's gotten more orders for his comedy album and for T-shirts, one of which reads "Ninjas hate crunchy leaves." (Think about it.)
"He's done more work than most guys I've seen in getting his material polished and presentable," he said. "I think he will just keep moving forward and upward in the industry."
"I believe in
More important, Baldwin is proud of himself.
"Some people are good at basketball and other people are good at telling poop jokes," he said. "Hopefully (winning the
"But I think it was Seinfeld who said, 'This is a job. If you work at it eight hours a day, eventually it will make you money.'"
To reach
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(c)2011 The Kansas City Star (Kansas City, Mo.)
Visit The Kansas City Star (Kansas City, Mo.) at www.kansascity.com
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