We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Al Romas a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Al, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Can you share a story about the kindest thing someone has done for you and why it mattered so much or was so meaningful to you?

In the mid 1990’s I was the warm up act for ESPN’s Espy Awards at Radio City Music Hall. I had been a comic for about 5 years and this was by far the largest venue I had worked. (Probably still is).

I went on before the show went live and did 15 mins of sports related standup. Athletes, their agents, lawyers and significant others were in the crowd. As I began, I noticed they were still coming in. The balcony was full of ‘regular’ people and they were great. It was the people in front of me that wouldn’t pay attention.

After a LONG 15 mins, I said goodnight and walked into the wings. Jon Stewart was there and said, ‘That was the toughest gig of the night.’ I agreed and grabbed a beer backstage.

As I watched Willie Nelson perform, a producer came up to me and said, ‘We need you out there when he’s done. Give us another 6 mins or so.’ I was stunned as I did not have ‘another 6.’ I didn’t have another 1. I was out.

Suddenly, there was a hand on my shoulder and a familiar voice that said, ‘The boy has done his job. What will you be paying the boy?’ I looked up and was shocked to see it was non other than Bill Cosby. He was the next presenter and had overheard what was going on.

The producer was flummoxed and said, ‘This really doesn’t concern you Bill. Just need him to do some time while we strike the set.’ At that point, the Cos repeated, ‘The boy has done his job.’ He repeated it over and over and over.

Enough time passed and it was too late to go out and the producer walked away annoyed. I went to say thanks to Dr. Cosby but he was gone.

The Cos saved my ass that night at Radio City Music Hall.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I’ve been a professional comedian for many years. I co-host a popular podcast, ‘The Talking Dicks Comedy Podcast’ which is a spin off of our web-series, ‘The Two Dicks.’

Comedian Al Ducharme and I created the web-series a few years ago and the podcast came during the Covid lockdown.
All episodes of the series are on YouTube.

The podcast can be found anywhere you get podcasts. Video and Free Merch at Patreon.com/thetwodicks .

I recently shot a special that will be available on ‘Open Bar Comedy.’ I continue to hit the road and sea and sling my yucks.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

I’ve been a professional comic for 32 years. This job is all about being resilient. Ups/Downs and everything in between. Jerry Seinfeld said, ‘If you’re funny, you’ll always work.’ So far, except for Covid, that’s been true.

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

A lesson I had to learn and then unlearn was to not listen to anyone. No one knows what they are talking about. Do what you think is funny and don’t worry about others. Especially what other comics think. It’s meaningless.

With social media anyone can post their stuff and be seen. It’s no longer about having a ‘tight 7.’ Those days are over. Do what you want and have fun. If it’s good, people will notice. If they don’t, you still had fun.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: iamalromas
• Facebook: alromas
• Twitter: @alromas
• Youtube: The Talking Dicks Comedy Podcast
• Other: Tik Tok: AlRomas The Talking Dicks Comedy Podcast

Image Credits
Kelly Houston