Sometimes comedy skips a generation — at least it did in the case of comedian Joe Starr. “My grandfather was in vaudeville in the 1920s. He passed away when I was 9, but before he passed away he made me promise I would get on stage at least once trying anything, because my father wanted nothing to do with the business.” The young Starr was 13 years old, and for a talent show in school did both sides of Abbott & Costello’s “Who’s on First?” sketch. “It was off and running from there,” Starr says. Today he is a solid joke teller. “I was at the doctor this week,” he tells an audience, “and he said, ‘Joe, you should really try and be the perfect weight.’ So I look behind him at the chart on the wall and it turns out I’m still within the parameters of being the perfect weight. Apparently, I’m the wrong height, that’s the problem.” Starr performs Thursday-Sunday at The Funny Bone on the Levee. $16-$18. Get showtimes, buy tickets and find nearby bars and restaurants here.
This article appears in Dec 10-16, 2008.
