Mar 08, 2015

Comedy is never listed as one of the most dangerous or deadly professions. Probably because it isn't. But comedy can be dangerous, and it can be deadly, as I recently found out.

I started my comedy career at the advanced age (for a comedian) of 34 years old. I started during the big stand-up comedy boom of the late 1980s. In bigger cities there seemed to be a comedy club on every corner. And the smaller cities and towns had at least a weekend or one night a week comedy show. If you were willing to travel (and sometimes deal with idiots who had no business booking shows) you could make a fairly good living, even as a 30 minute "feature act."

So, I sent out promo (VHS tapes of my act and nice black and white head shots), got booked, and went on the road. I did a lot of one-nighters and a lot of 5 day club shows.

I worked for the legit bookers: Comedy Core, Tribble, Sobel, Muller and Yoder. I also worked for a few idiots who never had any business booking comedy shows and are no longer in the business of booking. 

Although stand-up comedy is performed, well… standing up, I had to sit while getting to and from the gigs. I put 60,000 miles a year on my Volvo, then on my Toyota, my first Subaru and my second Subaru. And probably another 12,000 miles a year on airplanes, when I could afford to fly. In other words, I was sitting on my ass a lot.

A few weeks ago all the ass-sitting caught up with me. I nearly died, and comedy was partially to blame (as were genetics). 

About 3 years ago my left ankle swelled up and my left foot (note to self: The movie title's been taken) began to swell and hurt. When it didn't unswell (is that a word?) I finally went to the doctor. I thought I might be diabetic. I wasn't but no one could tell me why my foot was swollen. Finally I was referred to a vein specialist who found an old and giant Deep Vein Thrombosis blood clot. Fast forward to 3 weeks ago. I collapsed in the grocery store. I couldn't breathe and was dripping with sweat. The store manager called 911. Long story short: The EMTs and hospital medical staff saved my life.

It wasn't the old and giant blood clot that nearly killed me (that one's still there), it was a newer one that moved from my leg to my heart and lungs; a bilateral pulmonary embolism. The blood clot that caused this episode has been "busted" and is now history. I'm on blood thinners to help prevent new clots from forming.

Genetics definitely played a huge role in this scenario. But my blood's genetic tendency to clot was exacerbated by all the ass-sitting I did while on the road. In short, comedy nearly killed me.

So, for all of you road comics (or anyone else whose work requires a lot of ass-sitting: GET UP. Walk around a little. Get the blood flowing. Don't let comedy (or any other job) almost kill you. 

 

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