A while back, journalist Jay Richardson referenced the U.S. television series, I’m Dying Up Here. Executive-produced by Jim Carrey, it was inspired by a book of the same name, written by William Knoedelseder, and apparently can still be watched with the right equipment and subscription. One episode’s plot features a young, inexperienced stand-up comedian who finds himself unable to get stage time anywhere, and so starts attending AA meetings, even though he is not an alcoholic, because a ready-made audience is right there and willing to be entertained.

The ruse works and his routines kill. Sometime later, he confesses, but is reassured that it’s fine, he can just share his pain like everyone else. He reveals he was an unpopular child who defensively used comedy to transform his self-image…

At some point, Richardson discussed that plot line with a top-level American comedian, Doug Stanhope, who had as a young teen accompanied his mother to AA meetings. Stanhope verified how some attendees would basically…

[…] celebrate substance abuse and alcoholism, they would glorify the addiction, tell fantastic stories, then end with an uplifting tale of how they never have that kind of fun any more… Mother would go out of her way to hear Indian John speak. Everyone loves a good storyteller.

The personal tales and the fact that because of them, some of the speakers were local minor celebrities, exerted a huge influence on Stanhope’s young mind. Decades later, this whole dynamic was very useful to a fellow called Liam “Pope” Lonergan, who ran a club where recovering addicts were encouraged to mount the stage, spill out the same kind of “direct transmission from the id,” and achieve the same redemptive catharsis.

Lonergan advises,

All the stories that you do in AA, try to make it as unfiltered as possible… Go beyond your normal material. And then that becomes your normal material. And you think “Well, I should have been talking about this a while ago.” The beauty of stand-up is that you can and should talk about anything.

Actually, this notion has been around for a long time. In the classic film “Days of Wine and Roses” the main character speaks for the first time at a meeting, and goes for the laughs, once he realizes he can get them. In the real world, quite a number of people who went on to become professional comedians accidentally discovered their talent for entertaining in exactly this way.

Moshe Kasher has said that “AA lent itself to my comedy career, because that’s where I learned to stand up in front of a crowd and use words to elicit laughter and emotion.”

Veteran comic Ari Shaffir has stated that Narcotics Anonymous members are the best audience because “they don’t get offended.” Dave Harriman says he’s not sober but attends Alcoholics Anonymous:

If you go to 5 meetings a day, and use up the 5 minutes of sharing time at each, you’ve got a 25-minute set. If you’re not satisfied with the work yet, hit a couple NA meetings too.

Comedian, actor, and podcaster Joey Diaz got his start even more unconventionally, in a place where his presence was directly related to drug addiction:

His reputation in stand-up comedy began when he was jailed, where he won fans by developing jokes in front of movie night masses on Thursdays when the projector broke down.

He is, incidentally, not the only professional comedian who discovered his talent behind bars. Since then, Diaz has cleaned up his act, and recommends that even if an addict does not speak at such a gathering, it is helpful just to sit and listen and “see the real world for the first time in a long time.” And despite respect for AA meetings in general, he mocks the particular ambiance of those in the Hollywood area.

A newer comedian on the scene, Tim Warner, has something to say about that also. When comedy club host Tony Hinchcliffe asked if his addiction recovery efforts include telling stories about the bad old drunk days, Warner answered that he doesn’t chase the reliable 12-step laughs, although AA meetings and open mics are very similar. “The only difference is, the addicts are getting better.”

Written by Pat Hartman. First published May 16, 2025.

Sources:

“Pope’s Addiction Clinic: where stand-up and Alcoholics Anonymous meet,” INews.co.uk, June 11, 2018.

“Moshe Kasher Talks ‘Subculture Vulture’ — His Memoir About AA, Burning Man and Hasidic Judaism — and Reveals the One Joke He Wishes He Could Cut From It,” Variety, January 30, 2024.

“Kill Tony #646,” YouTube.com, January 22, 2024.

“Is Joey Diaz Still In Jail? What Happened — Arrested And Charges,” CelebDoko.com, February 20, 2023.

“Kill Tony #609,” YouTube.com, May 15, 2023.

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