| Comic Earns His Irish Chuckles in L.A.
By James Bartlett
Special to The Irish American Post
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 "I
got the idea when I saw they had a Black comedy night, a Latino Comedy
night and an Asian Comedy night. I thought, "Why not have an Irish Comedy
Night?" St. Patrick’s Day was coming up too, so the timing was perfect.
I went down to the Improv and pitched the idea, and the rest is history."
The first show duly took place on St. Patrick’s Day, 2004, and after
just opening the mic on the third year of the Irish Comedy Night at the
Improv, comedian Bill Devlin spoke to The Irish American Post about
his career and the show, which next takes place on June 27.
The Improv comedy club on Melrose Avenue, Hollywood, is world famous.
almost anyone who is anyone in the world of comedy has served their time
there. Special guests in past Irish Comedy Nights have included Jerry Seinfeld,
Chris Rock and Andy Dick. Many more who are hoping that their sense of
humor will get them a shot at stardom have also taken the stage.
Devlin explained how coming from a big family gave him a taste for comedy,"I
am the youngest of eight kids, and my whole family is very funny. When
we were growing up, we would always do impressions and have shows in the
living room to entertain each other, and every night at the dinner table
my dad would have a joke to tell the family."
Born and raised in the Irish community of St. Paul, Minn., one of his
earliest successes at getting laughs occurred in an unlikely place:
his
Catholic school.
"When I was in the second grade, I was the class clown. My teacher,
Sister Antoinette, got so mad she tried to whack me in the head with the
Bible. I ducked at the last minute and she ended up whacking a globe, which
went flying across the room. I laughed all the way to the principal’s office."
After high school, he played the drums and sang back-up vocals in a
punk rock band, but then the crowd started to yell for something besides
the music.
"Between songs, I started doing cartoon character impressions. A few
shows later, people in the crowd were shouting out requests," Devlin recalled.
"it was my first real taste of getting laughs on stage. Terrible stage
fright kept me from doing stand up for a long time, but about five years
ago, I was in the midst of a divorce and my dear sister Ginny died of cancer.
I decided life was too short to not pursue your dreams," he explained.
"I owned one of the most successful photography studios in the city, but
I gave the business and my house to my ex-wife and moved to Los Angeles
to start from scratch."
Devlin had earlier achieved fame as a champion breeder of Doberman Pinscher
show dogs, even having the No. One bitch in all breeds in the U.S. in 2001.
"It’s no wonder that I turned to comedy." But he still found getting gigs
tough when he arrived in Los Angeles.
 "I
visited L.A. the year I graduated high school, and knew I wanted to come
and live here. It took me 20 years to finally do it, but the moment I got
in town, it felt like home. Comedy was tough at first; I had a show lined
up at the Ha Ha Café before I came to town. Then 9/11 happened the
week before. When I did the show, people felt uncomfortable about laughing
at anything."
However, after serving his time on the circuit, things are finally starting
to come together. Devlin has performed at The Icehouse, The Comedy Store,
The Laugh Factory and The Friars Club.
"I have been doing stand up in L.A. for a little over four years, and
things are starting to click for me: I did 12 television commercials last
year, and star in the cult movie, Rectuma, which sold to five countries
at the Cannes Film Festival last year and is getting big in Japan. I’m
also starring in the sci-fi horror, Down to the Bone, which is having
its premiere in Hollywood next month, and I just shot a national commercial
for Blockbuster Video."
Devlin still feels that comedy is what drives him, and his most notable
stand-up routine to date was nine gigs behind bars at California Mens
Colony, a maximum-security prison in San Louis Obispo.
"I stood on a picnic table in the middle of the prison yard with a
microphone and told jokes to hardened criminals. Talk about a tough
crowd. I really could have been killed. However, doing that made me realize
the true meaning of comedy; that comedy can inspire hope, and that laughter
and is a motivating force that can bring hope. I have always had a burning
desire in my gut to entertain and make people laugh. It’s like this is
what I was meant to do."
Devlin’s grandfather was from Co. Tyrone and his grandmother from Co.
Cork, but he has not visited Ireland yet. "I don’t have any family there
that I know of. My parents have been there, and I plan to visit soon. My
mom likes to say that I just ‘keep on keeping on’ and should enjoy every
step of life on the way."
Devlin is looking forward to a busy future on the screen, but the comedy
is something that’s in his blood:
"People ask me, ‘How can you do it all?’ But for me. it’s more like
I can’t not do it. I just don’t feel right with the universe if I go a
week without being on stage," Devlin said. "There was a moment I’ll never
forget. I was standing on that picnic table looking out at all the inmates
laughing, and mixed among them were the prison guards laughing equally
as hard. For that moment in time, they all shared a good laugh and even
if it lasted only a few seconds, their miserable existence in the prison
was forgotten. And that to me defined what comedy is all about," he enthused.
When Devlin isn’t on stage or the big screen, he likes to kick off his
shoes at the beach. "One of the things I love the most about L.A. is the
ocean and the beach. I guess it’s from growing up in cold Minnesota, but
every time I have time off at the beach I feel like I’m a tropical vacation.
Maybe I’m just easy to please!"
 
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