With the cancelation of Gary Unmarried I have found myself standing around my house in a bit of a daze wondering, “Where am i going to make my living now?”. I am a fool. When I was sixteen years old, I walked onstage in West Orange New Jersey for the first time. That was 23 years and maybe ten thousand shows ago. I was lucky to make a few movies and after a some lateral moves professionally I landed the best role/job I ever had… Gary on Gary Unmarried. Television is an incredible way to make a living. Unlike the family/bunker structure of making a movie in a far away town, separated from realities and outsiders, a television job ensures that you will be home in your own bed, every night. You will kiss your kids and make love to your wife on a regular basis. Instead of trying to figure out which guy on the camera truck will get you grass for when you are back in your Canadian hotel room, you have the luxury of smoking YOUR grass, in YOUR house. (Of course I am speaking for most actors, not myself). I became very spoiled on GU, both financially and otherwise. I gained about twenty pounds simply from standing around MY set and eating. For two years I got to act like big shit. Then…poof. Gone. Now I am on some Mediterranean diet and running religiously along the pacific ocean. I have this strange obsession that whatever job comes next, the least I could do is be in good shape for it. Regardless, that same niggling thought keeps chirping in my brain, “When will I work again?” 

I am writing this to you from a hotel room in Pittsburgh. Last week I was in Cleveland. A few  weeks before that, Houston, Denver, Irvine, Las Vegas, Philly, New Jersey, Manhattan, Boston, Long Island and Manhattan. In September I will head to Brea, Ca then back to Denver and over to Salt Lake City. I look forward to all of these dates. I have re-discovered the root of who i am professionally. I am a comic. Always have been and always will be. I have been very, very lucky in landing the acting roles I have and hopefully will land many more. These past few months however have really taught me something special. Doing stand up comedy is a finite skill set and for some reason or another I seem to have the tools. I am fully aware that in each city I travel to, in the audience sit a group of people that work MUCH harder than I ever have. I feel the steam blow off of them when I say the first few words of my set. I try as hard as I can to take them as far away from their real lives as I possibly can. Contractually I am only required to perform for 45 minutes. Every night I seem to be stretching the set to an hour, hour and fifteen minutes, sometimes an hour and a half. The crowds never slow down on me. They come with me for the full ride. They carry it. They do all the heavy lifting. Lets face it., if the crowd sucks, I will be out of there in 45 minutes and one second. Hasn’t happened yet. It won’t happen. The people that fill our cities are just now getting back on their feet and are able to pull enough money together for a night out. When they decide for that night out to involve me I am honored and humbled. Thank you to everyone that has come out to all of these shows. Thank you for showing me that behind all the Jerry Maguire’s and Gary Unmarried’s is a sixteen year old kid that loves to make people laugh. Thanks for filling these rooms night after night. Thanks for not shouting out stupid shit during the shows. You have all been great listeners. Thank you for letting me take you for over an hour as far away from where you parked your car as possible. I LOVE doing stand up comedy. For reasons that are already well documented I couldn’t always say that. I’ve never enjoyed what I had to share more either. By your reactions, you agree. I will see you in all the cities I can. I no longer have the niggling thought, “What will my next job be?” I am a comic.

jj