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Wednesday, September 8,1809 ;' ^ Page 11
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Comedian Pat Hazell remembe
Sketch was the hottest toy around and h
men ruled his room.
Mixing in such toys as Mr. Potato
Silly Putty, he brings distinct memories of
his childhood into his stand-up act.
^Hazell has described his show as an,
“evening of escape, where you give>
ill natm-timmSb yk°l^elfperm,ss,on to thmk ,,kea
;.y".'.... “ ' In his act, Hazell finds comedy
1% : in familjrsituations that audi
: g > ences can relate to.
mmomsm m « Starting tonight at 8, Hazell
■■ ■)% ;M ■ • wiH bring his show, “The Wonder
Carson, I neater Bread Years ”to the •lohnn-v
C arson Theater for the f irst of six
performances through Sunday.
. y, * Lincoln is somew hat of a return home for Hazel!,
, who was raised in Omaha.
k Performing in his community as a magician and juggler
as early as age 9, he studied drama at Burke 1 ugh School. He
then went to the University of Nebraska at Omaha, where he majored -
in dramatic arts. w /. 'x < '
After college, Hazell took his act to Los Angeles.
In 1986. Hazell was doing his act one evening at the Comedy & Magic
Club where Jerry Seinfeld was also performing.
That night, Hazell was discovered. He then went on tour as Seinfeld's
opening act.
Later. Hazell would write for NBC's Emmy award-winning series
“Seinfeld.” .
Hazell has also written for such shows as “Lois and Clark: Thf .lipVf
Adventures of Superman,” “Cove and War” and Showtime’s “Aspen Comedy
Special.” .. -
I Ie also can add playwright to his name. ^ . ..
I lis comedy play. “Bunk Bed Brothers,” V,' " •
which he co-wrote with Matt Goldman.
first appeared in Minneapolis. « ' ' r ::>"
It was then shown in Omaha and
Los Angeles, where it was critically _
acclaimed anjd viewed by packed >> X' JE fjggfiS
theaters. ** f £
“Bunk Bed Brothers” gained •; '/:! ^
attention from NBC and was ^
filmed as the sitcom, “American
Pie.” W&&
Not only has Hazell written for - ji rn. Sunday
and helped develop television
shows, he has also made numerous '
appearances on television.
In 1989, he made an appearance on
“TheTonight Show with Johnny Carson” v A, ^ C' -Fv • '
and has since been on the show six times 's ,/J ... , . ' *
with Jay Leno as host. 4HI ^
He has also made guest appearances on "
“Seinfeld,” “MTV Half-Hour Comedy Hour” and Showtime’s “Jonathan
Winter’s Comedy Special.”
On the road, Hazell has done shows with Rodney Dangerfield,
Sheena Easton, Phyllis Diller and Jay Leno.
He has most recently done work in advertisements for
Baker’s Supermarkets.
Hazell sees his success as something anyone can
accomplish.
“Everyone is creative, but the weird thing is that people
think you have to be van Gogh to be successful,” Hazell said
in an Interview in Juggler’s World.
“Well, you don’t. I think people stop themselves because
.they say, ‘I’m not creative.’ The people who are good at it have
just gotten these restrictive feelings out of the way. So give yourself the
license to create.”
Because he talks about life growing up in the ’60s and ’70s, Hazell’s
stand-up act is aimed at the 30- to 40-year-old age group.
But he does pride himself on having a “clean” show that people of any age
can enjoy. _
“Something I’m good at in terms of jokes is to look to the past. I do a lot
of reminiscing about growing up. It rings true onstage because it was reality
in my life,” Hazell said in Juggler’s World.
“Other people didn’t have a brother who got a raisin stuck up his nose, but
they can relate to brothers doing stupid things.”