Letter from a guy who knew me when!
Great stuff by a witness to the early years of my career.

I recently received this email from a man who was around the comedy scene in LA in the early 80's in LA. He happened to have seen me at a time in my career that I don't have a lot of witnesses for. But he talks of Kinison and Dice and a few other interesting things. I did correct it for spelling, but I left any factual mistakes and simply corrected them in the enclosed notes. I hope you enjoy it.

Hi Ross,
I was surfing the net and saw your name. I was in LA in 1981-82 and I think I remember you. In those days you were wearing a maroon waiters jacket and I don't remember a big afro.
I thought the Jacket made me look like James Dean in REBEL WITHOUT A CAUSE. And my hair was my version of a Pompadour, dyed jet black with neon colored tail (either red or green depending on my mood)

As I recall, you had been to West Point and your father was managing you.
My father was not my manager.

I can remember your wedding at the Comedy Store. I was not invited but saw part of it on TV in a bar. I think Bill Maher was the MC.
Actually the MC was Argus Hamilton.

In those days (I am a California native), I had returned to LA after Living for 12 years in New England. I had a life long desire to be a comic but left LA in 1970 before the surge started. I had been looking for a place to work out all thru the sixties, but as you know, everything was going on in NY at that time. In 1968 I met Fred Fox, a comedy writer for Bob Hope and he gave me a phone number for Harvey Lembeck's comedy class in Beverly Hills. Lembeck told me to bring $300 and my credits. I did not have the money. Anyway, I went to The Comedy Store about three days a week for a year and saw you and Dice and Kinison in those early years. I think you were hanging out with Sam [Kinison] in those days. I remember one time, my 16 year old son and I went to a club somewhere in Westwood, I think,
This would have been THE COMEDY STORE in Westwood

and did not know that in those days you guys went to several clubs. I saw you and Sam do your sets and hung around a while and then left. When I exited the club, I saw you and Sam standing together on the sidewalk and I innocently said, "Hey, you guys were really funny" and Sam immediately went into a bit about how he could finally relax since he now knew he was funny since I had told him he was. It was hilarious and I was laughing out on the sidewalk. He was yelling and doing his bit.
Hence Sam's charm, he could sarcastically tell someone off and they loved it

Some time later I saw you one night at an amateur night at The Palomino Club in Burbank. As I recall you asked what was going on and we told you it was new talent night and there was a prize of $100 for the best comic.
The prize was actually $250.00

I had been going there for some time and knew the level of talent and after you went on, I told you that you would win. It turned out you did win and as soon as they announced it and that you had won $100 you said, "buy everyone a drink on me". At that point, I thought you must be making some pretty good money.
I actually went to The Palomino that night because I was flat busted and my future wife didn't have a paycheck coming anytime soon. I won the contest and I did tell them to buy drinks, but I said it quietly and it was only for the folks who were hanging out with me at the bar. On my way home I picked up some grass, filled the gas tank and bought a hundred dollars of groceries, and I arrived home feeling like a king. Of course back then drinks were a couple of bucks, grass was $25.00, and a hundred dollars of Groceries took a couple of trips from the car to get them in the apartment.

I went on one Monday night at The Comedy Store right after Sam at about 1:30 AM. I had gray hair, wore glasses and my act was a cross between Jack E. Leonard and Steven Wright. I would pretend to stumble coming to the stage and then look at the Audience and say, "who'd you expect George Patten?" It's funny because I went to The Store for a year and I only remember the names of you, Kinison and Dice. I think Sienfeld and others who made it were there at that time but I don't remember their faces.
Of course this is the real reason I am sending this out.

After my initial five minutes following Sam, the guy who was coordinating it, I think his name was "Bob", told me to come back next week. I do remember going to one of those Sunday afternoon meetings for comics at the store and saw Yakov Smirnoff and I have to say honestly that I did not find him funny and still don't.
Sorry Yakov, of course Yakov is laughing all the way to the bank

God knows who was in that room that Sunday afternoon. I do remember seeing you later on TV under the name of Ed Strange. I think it was in the late eighties. I did see a funny comic named Ted Bergeron at The Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel and was impressed how he handled a room full of drunk college students. It was not the Ted Bergeron that is on TV today, it was a different guy. I heard developed a problem with alcohol later.
Teddy Bergeron had a problem with alcohol long before he graced the stage that night, trust me
I went back to the East coast in "82. Anyway, I hope you remember some of these events and get back to me. I am semi-retired and living at home in Simi Valley CA. I still go down to The Comedy Store once in while on Monday nights. Are you performing now? If so, where and when? I would like to see your act.

Thanks
Phil Townsend