Before Carrot Top
landed a very sweet consistent gig in Las Vegas, he took his very funny prop
comedy act on the road. I first met
Carrot Top at Zanies Comedy Club in Chicago.
Carrot Top was headlining for the week and I was the feature act.
I knew I had a rough road ahead of me
because pre-plastic surgery Carrot Top was a very cute redhead and he already
had a huge fan base. When a comedian
becomes semi-famous and draws a crowd, his or her fans do not relish the twenty
to thirty minutes they spend watching the feature, or middle act.
The room was packed and Carrot Top Fever
was in the air. I delivered the best show I could but the impatient crowd did
not return my energy. I felt
defeated. That sense of defeat was
amplified when Carrot Top hit the stage.
The crowd went wild with his first “How you guys doin’?”
Carrot Top can work a room. Each prop and joke surpasses the cleverness
of the one preceding it. At the time, his
piece de resistance was a joke about fellow comedian Pee Wee Herman who had
recently been arrested for indecent exposure.
Pee Wee Herman starred in his own funny children’s show even adults
enjoyed. However, he fell out of grace
when he was caught playing around in a movie theater – with his privates.
Carrot Top held up a jumbo popcorn
container with a big hole in the bottom and shouted out, “Pee Wee Herman’s
Popcorn Box!” The crowd went wild. It was a true eruption. The audience was totally in sync with their
comedy hero and it was in stark contrast to the ambivalent way they had welcomed
me.
I wanted to level the playing field. I decided to play a joke on Carrot Top during
the second show scheduled for that night.
Following Carrot Top’s awesome
performance, he chatted with fans and then made a beeline for the second floor
green room where he could rest, relax and gather his thoughts for the second
show. Carrot Top did not watch my show
and I decided to take advantage of that fact.
He would not know what I was planning while on stage.
The second show started and I was met with
the same ambivalence as the first. They
wanted Carrot Top. I decided to get in
on Carrot Top Fever.
Because he left his trunk full of props on
stage I had access to Carrot Top’s entire act.
I opened the trunk and saw the giant popcorn container with the hole in
the bottom. I held it up to the audience
I said, “This is one of Carrot Top’s favorite jokes. Let’s play a trick on him. When he holds up this container and says, ‘Pee
Wee Herman’s popcorn box ‘(big laugh), don’t make a sound – not a sound!” I could see the delight in the faces of
Carrot Top’s fans. Everyone loves a good
joke.
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Carrot Top was at his best. The crowd was with him and he was getting
ready for the kill. He reached into his
trunk of wonders and pulled out the popcorn container. “Ladies and gentlemen,” he said in a booming
voice, “Pee Wee Herman’s popcorn box!”
…. Silence…. Not a sound! “Ladies and gentlemen – Pee Wee Herman’s
popcorn box!” he shouted again. Nothing! The Carrot Top fans were pulling through for
me! I was stunned, delighted and even a
little bit scared (of who might be kind of upset!)
“Ladies
and gentlemen,” Carrot Top said as he stooped forward toward the crowd, “What
don’t you guys get? This is funny. Really.
This is funny! How can you not
laugh at that?” Carrot Top held it up one last time, waved it around and
dejectedly gave it a long toss into his long black trunk.
Facing a sea of Carrot Top fans, his loyal
audience let me into their circle to have some fun that night. Carrot Top
demonstrated great sportsmanship when he found out the audience was in on the
joke. He took it all in good spirits and
that night he was generous enough to let everyone share in the spotlight.
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