We have already mentioned the disproportionate number of professional comedians who discovered their ability to enthrall an audience by speaking at AA meetings.

Concerning many areas of life, this would not be the first person you would turn to for actionable advice. Someone in the field may not seem like the obvious source of wisdom, answers, or solutions. However, their peculiarly twisted brain is capable of some outside-the-box thinking that just might rock your world.

For anyone who practices the art of stand-up comedy, self-awareness is probably the most valuable asset in their toolbox. After that, the next key ingredient is self-acceptance, a trait guaranteeing that such people are able to say things out loud, about their struggles and victories, that non-addicts would rather be ignored than take the risk of articulating.

A few (very lucky) precocious kids learn at a young age how to sneak enlightened self-consciousness in through the back door that is reserved for clowns. Artful self-deprecation is an attractive and ultimately relatable trait that changes bystanders into fans.

Of course, that could be a problem, too. Having discovered the social rewards available to the brave few who convert their personal hells into comedy gold, someone might be tempted to rest on those laurels for the next few decades.

To turn problems into conversational assets is an art form, a feat as impressive as changing lead into gold. On the other hand, the individual in question might just abandon any notions of self-redemption, and there is a fine line between the two. As long as a person can get by on a few laughs per diem, why reach higher?

To be suspended from middle school for some dumb stunt is a chunk of material to be shared years later, from a stage, and for a paycheck. It is not meant to be a shining example upon which the rest of life will be modeled.

To turn an existential problem into a salable asset (like, for instance, a Netflix comedy special) is a smart and admirable ambition. To transmogrify a liability into an asset is always commendable. But… to believe that the active pursuit of doing messed-up stuff is actually a worthy ambition? That’s pretty bad.

The goal is to pose the question and define the problem in such a way that it is amenable to transformation into a lasting solution. This is the hope for our funny friends. In the comedy section of Tubi, there is a Bill Hicks film so old, no one else had already used “One Night Stand” as the title of a special. Hicks said, among other things:

I don’t drink any more. I had to quit, ’cause I really drank. And I was really (expletive) pathetic.
I’d get pulled over by the cops, I’d be so drunk, I’d be out dancing to their lights, thinking I’d made it to another club.

When Bing Crosby was a young singer just starting out, drinking caused him career trouble, and he even admitted to a publication that alcohol is a killer. Interestingly, in a 1977 interview (more than 40 years later) he told the press that marijuana should be legalized.

To be both alcoholic and admired is not possible in every case. For many listeners, to be around booze is basically unpleasant. Stand-up comic Tom Segura gets it, and has said,

As much as I like a glass of wine, a beer, a drink, I’d be cool with never meeting anybody for the rest of my life that was drinking again. They’re the worst.

His wife, comedian Christina Pazsitzky, has said, “Stoners are the best… they’re the sweetest. I’d take a stoner any day over a drunk or a tweaker.” Echoing a similar sentiment, Weird Al Yankovic is quoted:

I’ve never done drugs… I liked hanging out with people that were taking drugs because it’s easier to make them laugh.

Professional laugh extractor Steven Brody Stevens once snarked, “90% of comedians smoke marijuana. The other 10% aren’t funny.”

Comedian Dom Irrera opined, “Alcoholism is the best disease there is. There’s no other disease that involves partying. There’s no Malaria Picnics. There’s no Psoriasis Bar.”

Among other remarks concerning the necessity to maintain a constant online presence, comedic genius Bill Burr told interviewer Kyle Kulinski,

I finally view the Internet the way I viewed drinking towards the end, where I was just, like, “I don’t want to be doing this” — but I’m doing it every day. And this doesn’t feel good.

Written by Pat Hartman. First published January 9, 2025.

Source:

“The Kyle Kulinski Show,” YouTube.com, October 13, 2025.

Image Copyright: thekaleidoscope/Pixabay.