Comedians Earn The Cash

I have always been a fan of comedy; since a child and watching cartoons, up to a young adult and adult going to stand-up comedy clubs and watching comedians on TV.

While Jerry Seinfeld is not my favorite comedian, his TV show was by far once of the greatest sitcoms ever on TV and it may stand that way for a while.

I have read many autobiographies and biographies of comedians, Peter Kay’s books rank up there for me, and for many comedians, it was not the easy road it may look like, an overnight success was not overnight.

Stand-up comedy is hard work, and can be brutal to one’s ego and self.  It takes years to become the master of a simple joke and to delver it timed/executed perfectly.

The likes of Billy Connolly, Peter Kay, (both my favorites), Stephen Fry, Michael McIntyre, John Bishop, Eddie Izzard ( a classic), etc are rare to come along.

I could name many others from America, that also are just tops in what they do.

But as I said it takes years to get to that stature, and be able to not just make a few quid, but also feed yourself along the way.

Many of these funny guys almost starved working the clubs and traveling around the country doing their set night after heckled night.

So when a comedian does make it ‘big’ they really make it.  I was reading about some of the earnings of the more popular comedians these days.  Peter Kay made £20.34 million last year, Alan Carr £5.99 million, Lee Evans £12.9 million, Russell Howard £3.26 million, and the list does go on a bit.

Recession, not in the comedy business.  We still have a need to laugh even though times are tough.

And it is not just the shows we go to, no.....we need the CD’s, DVD’s, coffee mugs, t-shirts, all the merchandise that goes with it.

And these shows are popular, hugely popular.  When Peter Kay brought his Tour That Doesn’t Tour Tour, to my city, he sold out 5 shows in a few hours.  But what got me was the shows were not for 18 months!  I couldn’t tell you what I was doing in 18 hours, let alone 18 months.

So if you are looking for a new career, comedy, whilst tough, may be a way to go.

Hey, did you hear the one about the sailor who goes into a pub and asks.....