August 31 - September 4
Chad Miller
with Mike Evitts
Realizing he couldn't make a living in a marching band, Chad Miller started his comedy career in 1997.
On a dare, he took the stage at an open-mic, where he got exactly two laughs. But that was enough to keep him coming back for more. Not long after that, he started opening on a regular basis. He also has been involved in sketch comedy and theater.
Chad is now touring the country, where his fast-paced, physical act is keeping audiences screaming for more. His material covers pro wrestling, marriage (sorry, ladies!), and characters created in his warped little mind. Mostly, it's just Chad being Chad, and thankfully there's only one of him.
Chad has shared the stage with comedy greats such as Artie Lange, Doug Stanhope, and Jeff Altman. Not to mention George Clinton, Digital Underground, and Moby.
Chad Miller's act is not to be missed and audience's will get their chance this week to see his headlining debut at the Funny Stop!
September 7-11
Bob Jay
with Jennifer
Funny Stop presents one of the most unique talents to cross our stage as Bobby Jay brings his "Voices In My Head" tour to Northeastern Ohio comedy fans.
Bobby's stand-up act, impersonations, and sound effects have recently lead him to open for Don McLean in Atlantic City, an appearance at the Los Angeles Friars Club, and the "Best Up and Coming Comic" award at Laff Across America.
Don't miss Bob Jay, who is making his only 2010 appearance on Tuesday through Saturday at the Funny Stop.
September 13
THE FINALS! "Ohio's Best Amateur Comedian" Contest
Special Monday Night Event • With Special Appearance by Faye Woodroof, "The Grandmother From Hell"
September 14-18
Faye Woodroof - The Grandmother From Hell
with Amy Lilly
To look at her silvery hair and soft, expressive eyes one could fairly assume Faye is a sweet, aging grandmother with a brood of small grandchildren. Don't let the gray hair fool you! Faye Woodroof is THE GRANDMOTHER FROM HELL!
Faye Woodroof has years worth of opinions to express and stories to tell, all of which are not quite as "sweet" as audiences might expect from a grandmother! She not only targets male egos with her explanations of how she NOW views men, but she tells how she tried to eliminate a few uncooperative husbands with poison mushrooms they were not too willing to eat! Faye's stories about aging body parts and sexual escapades will make audiences laugh so hard that they will be begging to borrow her Depends! Faye even includes punch lines about "Grannies in Jail" because of an incident that occurred between a SWAT team and herself only last year!
What makes Faye's story remarkable is that she only began her career in comedy ten years ago. After raising her children and working as a clerical secretary at a school for more years than she cares to remember, Faye had finally reached the time for retirement and relaxation...that was until friends and coworkers started teasing her about growing old. The next thing everyone knew, Faye was up in front of audiences proving how alive she was by winning Showtime's Funniest Person in Tennessee and then HBO's Comic relief II National Championship. After that, Faye took her show to the road where she has been known as THE GRANDMOTHER FROM HELL ever since.
As the headlining act for clubs across the United States, Faye Woodroof is definitely in the prime of her life. Her new profession of making people laugh with stories from for past and insight into what to expect in the future has given Faye something entertaining to do in her golden years. Not only does THE GRANDMOTHER FROM HELL redefine the stereotypical grandmother of today she also lets you know that if you think the first half of life is funny, then wait until you hit the second half!
September 19-20
Anthony Potmesil
Adult Erotic Hypnosis Show - Special Sunday and Monday Night Shows
Hypnotist, Comedian, and Magician all in one.."The Mind Bender".. When it comes to comedy entertainment, Anthony Potmesil is the "Jack of all trades". This high energy show has been a must see in clubs and colleges all over the nation.
Anthony's show is full of audience participation as he combines fast paced humor with the awesome power of Hypno-Magic to produce the hottest, most hilarious, and unforgettable hypnotic stage show in the country. His shows will keep you laughing non-stop.
Having toured all over the U.S., with over 100 shows per year, Anthony Potmesil has hypnotized thousands. Bringing people through the wildest sides of their imagination, Potmesil will have your friends unknowingly bark like dogs, dance like ballerinas, and sing like rock stars.
Finishing 1st and 2nd in 2003 and 2004 in the Variety Entertainer of the Year at the annual Laff-Fest Comedy Competition at Caesars Palace Las Vegas out of 40 of the nations funniest variety entertainers, Anthony Potmesil is said to be the funniest comedy hypnotist in the country.
September 21-25
David Graham
with Jay Boc
David Graham's comedy career has been a non-stop series of events. His very first time on stage was at the Funny Bone Comedy Club in St. Louis. where he unknowingly entered a comedy competition (which he won).
The contest win led to the opportunity to open for comedian George Wallace. Graham's twelve-minute set attracted positive press that lead to a permanent emcee job at that club. Opening for headliners such as Chris Rock, Adam Sandier, David Spade, Jimmy Walker, Sinbad and a host of others took his act to an all new level and helped get David noticed by national television.
David Graham has since been seen on Comedy Central's "Comic Justice" and featured on ABC's "America's Funniest People". Those appearances helped him move up to the big screen in independent films such as "Apocalypse and the Beauty Queen" and "Tapestry of Shadows".
Now, he's a nationally-touring headlining comedian and has appeared on the "Tonight Show" with Jay Leno.
This week our audiences will get the chance to see David Graham in his first headlining apparance at the Funny Stop.
September 28-29
Lionel Hamilton
with TBA
Lionel Hamilton is a 25 year veteran of the comedy stage who has his roots right here in Northeastern Ohio.
With a style that many have compared to Bill Cosby and Sinbad, everyone loves Lionel Hamilton's clean and funny comedy.
Who would ever thought that a pastry chef would eventually have the opportunity to open for such legendary performers as the Temptations and Cool and the Gang?
You have seen Lionel Hamilton on television during his appearance on BET's "Live at the Apollo" and this week audiences will have the chance to see him live, on the stage at the Funny Stop Comedy Club.
September 30 - October 2
Rich Vos
with TBA
Best known from NBC's hit reality show "Last Comic Standing", Rich Vos is one of the most exciting comedians in the country.
Back Stage Magazine says of Vos, "He has an uncanny 'everyman' ability to likeably bond with anyone in the audience."
A Rich Vos show features a unique, no-holds-barred perspective on relationships, divorce and parenthood.
From his rock solid material, to his lightning fast crowd work, Rich Vos proves each show why he was one of the last comics standing.
On Comedy Central Rich Vos has appeared in his own half-hour special, Comic View Premium Blend, and as a featured panelist on its "Tough Crowd with Colin Quinn" show. He was also the first white comedian to perform on Def Comedy Jam.
Rich Vos has been a regular guest on the "Opie and Anthony" and "Bob and Tom" radio shows, writes for Comedy Central Roasts and FOX Promo's as well as preparing material for Chris Rock's appearance has host of the Academy Awards.
Here is your chance to catch the unbelievable talent of Rich Vos in his first ever appearance at the Funny Stop Comedy Club.
October 5-9
Steve Hirst
with TBA
All the way from Manchester England, comedian Steve Hirst now performs his crowd pleasing act on American stages nationwide.
Steve's unique brand of humor manages to translate the comical differences between the UK and the US and his act has often been described as a mix between Benny Hill and the movie Snatch.
With impressions, music and a closing bit that will have you falling out of your seat, Steve's roller coaster ride of laughs that will leave you short of breath and begging for more. Get ready American because the new British Invasion of comedy has arrived and it goes by the name of Steve Hirst.
October 12-16
Tommy Blaze
with TBA
The Funny Stop welcomes back an all-time club favorite Tommy Blaze.
A veteran of the comedy stage, Blaze has appeared in every gas station, residence, warehouse, farmhouse, henhouse, outhouse, and doghouse in the country.
His comedy is opinionated, thoughtful, controversial and admittedly one sided. If you are married, single, divorced, parents, gay or lesbian, confused, young, desperate, misguided, lost or easily offended then you need Tommy Blaze to straighten you out.
In addition to comedy clubs, private corporate events, casinos, cruise ships and colleges, Tommy was series regular on the nightly comedy series The Newz (predecessor to Mad TV), appeared in the hit television show Friends, and has starred in the movies Rumpelstiltskin and Viewer Discretion Advised.
October 19-23
Paul Bond
with David Graham
Paul Bond is a Long Island born, stand up comic who worked his way up the New York comedy scene to now headline comedy clubs across the country.
Paul Bond's stage show combines his hilarious stand up comedy with his guitar playing skills to produce an end result that is a funny, high-energy night of entertainment.
Bond is an accomplished musician and song parody writer whose productions are used on nationally syndicated comedy radio shows. Paul has already released 4 separate CD's including the acclaimed parody of everyone's holiday favorites in Paul Bond's "A Very Filthy XXX-Mas".
Recent road work for Paul Bond has included a national tour with Jim Breuer of Saturday Night Live that visited venues such as Madison Square Garden in New York City, the Fillmore in San Francisco, and House of Blues locations across the country with Paul serving as the show's opening act and performing as the guitar player in the show's band.
You may have heard Paul Bond on the Opie and Anthony radio show or may have seen him on television in the Comedy Central special "Hardcore", but this week you can be in the audience as he makes his first ever appearance at the Funny Stop.
October 26-30
Marc Ryan
with Benji Wright
Marc Ryan makes his first appearance in over 4 years this week at the Funny Stop.
One of the most requested club comics touring today, Marc Ryan is an extremely charismatic entertainer. He connects with the audiences through real stories from his life, told in a delightfully mischievous way.
Having already appeared on CBS' "Star Search" and the hit UPN sit-com "The Parkers" along with beng featured on Comedy Central's "Best of the Improv", Marc takes another step forward in television with a brand new special entitled "Pit Stop Comedy" that will air October 23 on TBS.
A 18 year veteran of the stage, Marc's stand-up act has received high praise at the Chicago and Montreal Comedy Festival. Now is your chance to see Marc Ryan on stage again at the Funny Stop.
Thanksgiving Week
"Best Of" Events
Celebrating The Cleveland Comedy Festival
December 3-4
Jimmy "J.J." Walker
TWO NIGHTS ONLY - SPECIAL FRIDAY and SATURDAY APPEARANCE
The term "maximizing one's potential" could have been coined to describe the life of Jimmie Walker, who strode out of the New York ghetto first to educate himself and then to become one of the best-known television personalities in the United States.
Walker was born June 25, 1947, in the depths of New York's South Bronx, famed for burnt-out buildings, pervasive neglect and disrepair but, to a very young boy, it was nothing more than "the neighborhood."
Life in the Projects centered around basketball courts and ignoring school. Jimmie never thought of performing as a potential occupation. It was basketball that held his interest, but Jimmie at fifteen was only six feet tall and weighed in at 129 pounds. He left school before graduating and worked a number of odd jobs, eventually landing a delivery job at the Grand Union Market at a salary of $47 per week - before taxes.
Making an arrangement with his boss to end each shift early, Jimmie worked all day, then attended Theodore Roosevelt High School at night until he received his diploma and information from a teacher about SEEK, the federally funded Search for Education, Evaluation and Knowledge which accepts students who need an educational "half-way house" before college. SEEK arranged for Jimmie to study the art of announcing and the trade of radio engineering at the RCA Technical Institute. Jimmie started as an engineer, which required a first-class license available only by study and by passing a test. Within a year he had earned his first-class ticket to the future.
Jimmie walked into a small radio station, WRBR, and was immediately hired as a part-time engineer at a salary of $100 per week. He continued to study at SEEK, learning about mathematics and literature. At 19, Walker had some major grammatical stumbling blocks, but his writing became stronger when he began writing for a class in Oral Interpretation - and Jimmie discovered he was a FUNNY writer. He penned a piece, delivered it to his SEEK classmates, and they howled! Asked one appreciative teenager, "Are you a comedian?" Said Walker, "I guess I am." And he was.
Now defined, Jimmie lost no time in finding his first professional gig. It was 1967, and he had left SEEK and traded up his "day job" to working at WMCA radio for $250 a week. A mutual friend then introduced him to The Last Poets. The group, dedicated to performing militant poetry, needed an opening act. Following a successful audition, Walker opened for the Poets at the East Wind in Harlem on New Year's Eve, 1967. He did five minutes, floored the crowd of 350 and stayed with the Poets for 18 months while he gained confidence and built an act.
By 1969 Jimmie performed at the African Room in Manhattan along with a few other new talents, including Bette Midler, David Brenner and Steve Landesberg. David Brenner got his break and then helped Walker and the others, moving them all to Budd Friedman's Improv in New York where they occasionally got on stage. Brenner and his "disciples" got hot at Budd's and became onstage regulars.
In those days, doing "The Tonight Show" was direct line to the Big Time. Brenner made it first, followed by Landesberg, Midler and Freddie Prinz, but by 1972 Jimmie still hadn't scored that "big break." Then Brenner, Landesberg and Midler, scheduled for the then-powerful "Jack Paar Show", refused to guest unless Walker was given a spot, and the Paar staff gave in. Jimmie's first guest shot was successful beyond anyone's expectations. Dan Rowan, who had seen the show, called for Jimmie to fly to Los Angeles to guest on a "Laugh In" special. This followed with a second guest spot on the "Jack Paar Show", and a contract with CBS to perform his act each week as the audience warmup for "Carlucci's Department" a sit-com.
The flush of success gave Walker the confidence to give up his day job in 1972. Jimmie was now working regularly in clubs. Spotted by Norman Lear's casting director, Jimmie accepted a part in a new comedy series, "Good Times". "Dyn-o-mite!" was the phrase and it was made famous nationwide. Time Magazine named him Comedian of the Decade.
It was a heady existence. The fame grew. Walker did the comedy album, "Dyn-o-mite!" and it was a best-seller, but stand-up comedy was still his first love. When the series ended a six year run in 1979, Aaron Spelling offered Walker a starring role in the short-lived "B.A.D. Cats" and returned to cast him again in 1983 in "At Ease", an ABC series about a bunch of United States Army misfits.
Walker currently tours the country 25-30 weeks a year doing his stand-up comedy, and also performs on late night T.V. and game shows. In his spare time he writes scripts for T.V. and movies.