Tom Ryan
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People often ask comedians if they got started as
the class clown. Usually the answer is “no”. However in the
case of Tom Ryan, it turns out to be true. When he was in eighth grade,
his classmates actually voted him the class clown “I would have preferred
the term Class Comedian.’’
Tom grew up in a large Irish Catholic family outside of Philadelphia namely
Lafayette Hill Pa. At the time his favorite comedians were Bill Cosby,
David Brenner, Woody Allen and George Carlin. He listened to Carlin’s
“A/M F/M” album over and over again until he had it completely
memorized. One day during recess he recited the entire album for a crowd
of about forty classmates. It was at that moment that he realized that
he wanted to be a stand- up comedian.
At 26 , Tom left his insurance job in his hometown to move to Florida
and work at a golf course. The job lasted only 3 weeks. Ryan says “Losing
that job was the best thing that ever happened to me because it forced
me to confront exactly what I wanted to do with my life.” He took
a job as a doorman at the newly opened Comedy Corner in West Palm Beach.
It was the lowest paying but most valuable job he ever had. It provided
him with a complete comedy education watching acts such as Jerry Seinfeld,
Paula Poundstone, Kevin Meaney and the late Bill Hicks.
It was not long before Tom made his stage debut. Within two years he was
working full time as a comedian. Since then he has worked steadily at
comedy clubs, concert venues, festivals and corporate events. He has also
made national tv appearances on NBC Late Friday, Comedy Central’
s Premium Blend, Show time, and A&E. He has opened on tours for Tim
Allen, Arethra Franklin, B.B. King, Steven Wright, Dennis Miller , Bill
Engvall and Earth Wind and Fire.
His clean, original style and prolific writing make it easy for Tom to
customize his show and create material for specific events. He has contributed
monologue jokes for the award winning “Politically Incorrect with
Bill Maher “ , and works consistently headlining corporate events
for companies ranging from Knight Ridder to Coca Cola to Church and Dwight.
Tom believes that the best comedy comes from the most
unlikely sources: “I was driving around the other day and my oil
light came on. But that symbol looks nothing like an oil can. When it
first came on I thought well, apparently my car is low on gravy.”
Tom is a regular columnist for Sheckymagazine.Com.
* SEE TOM ON THE LATE SHOW WITH DAVID
LETTERMAN: 8/23/02
