We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Brad Zinn a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Brad, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. What do you think it takes to be successful?
The three “P’s” – and I’m not talking about life insurance! Success in my estimation is comprised of these three “P’s”; Proclivity -Find out what you do best
Proximity – get near the people that can help advance you
Perseverance- Never give up!
Please allow me to explain. There is an old adage that says, “Do what you love, the money will follow.” While this may be true in some cases I believe it is not true in ALL cases. There are many examples of people that have become successful doing what they are good at, not necessarily what they “love.” You may “love” making mud pies but I’m not sure that it is going to catapult you to the levels of success you desire. Here is one good example. The Gatlin Brothers are a highly successful and well- known contemporary country group. Larry Gatlin is also very successful under his own name/brand. What you may not know is that the Gatlin Brothers are classically trained musicians, and they love playing classical music. On their tour bus, when traveling from concert date to concert date, they often “jam” with each other and typically it is classical music they choose to play for their own enjoyment. When they play their concerts to thousands of people, of course they deliver what they are very good at – and that is country music.
I can also give you many other examples of very successful entertainers that personally wanted to be known for what they love doing, but alas, that is not what the public remembers them for and has rewarded them for financially. Al Jolson thought of himself as a “comedian,” but the world knew him as a singer. Jack Benny wanted to be a classical concert violinist, but the world knew him as a great comedian. Groucho Marx longed to be a literary writer, but the world rewarded him for being a wonderful comedic actor. I could go on, but I think you get the picture. Find out what you are good at and what the world needs you to be doing. And if that turns out to be something you also “love,” then so much the better. But always remember, success comes in many forms.
Secondly; Proximity. If you wish to be successful in a particular field, then you should always strive to be near the people that can help you achieve your goals. For instance, if you wish to be a success in the field of I.T. then I would not recommend you settle for being a greeter at a retail chain grocery store. You need to find a way to be near a tech company, or employed by a tech company, that can see your efforts and assist you and promote you to the right people to achieve your goals. In his ground breaking book on success, author Irving Rein makes the case for being within eyeshot and earshot of those that can see you and help you. High Visibility, Third Edition: Transforming Your Personal and Professional Brand by Irving Rein
Another anecdote that is appropriate here is the story of how Steven Spielberg got his start in Hollywood. The story goes that he snuck onto the lot of Universal Studios and set up an office and it was two years before his “ruse” was discovered. While that is not entirely true, he did get into the Studio through a family connection in order to pursue his dream of making films. (BTW, he started his career here in Arizona and we’re kinda proud to call him a native son!) Here is the real story and it is illustrative of the point I wish to drive home -Proximity. Get near the folks that can help you!
https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/spielberg-universal/
Finally, it is imperative that you do not give up too soon! So, perseverance is also a major factor in success. Imagine Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, or anyone you may admire for their mega-success saying to themselves, “Well, if this does not work out in six months, I’m going to give up and get a real job.”
There are myriad stories of people taking years to become an “overnight success!” Comedian Rodney Dangerfield spent years getting almost nowhere in his career and then changed his name and his approach to comedy and “Bingo!” – he was suddenly in huge demand.
Lionel Messi, the famous Argentine Footballer has been quoted as saying, “It took me 17 years and 114 days to become an overnight success.”
The show business stories of performers taking years to achieve stardom are too many to chronicle here but a quick search of their biographies will reveal the perseverance required for them to reach their goal.
Ray Krok, the founder of McDonald’s Restaurants shared this poem about success;
https://elliottroyce.weebly.com/ray-kroc–persistence.html and it has always stuck with me. I hope it will serve to inspire you as well.
And lastly, never let the perfect be the enemy of the good. Here are 8 people that became successful without being “perfect.”
https://www.success.com/8-successful-people-who-proved-persistence-beats-perfection/
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
Comedy impressionist and magician Brad Zinn is one of the most sought-after entertainers in his field. Brad’s extensive background in acting, stand-up comedy, impressions, and magic make his performance a cut above the average entertainer. Brad adds elements of storytelling, music, and vocals to make his act absolutely unique.
He began his career with Phoenix Children’s Little Theatre at the age of five. He subsequently acted in several school based theatrical productions, then went on to appear in every active Little Theatre troupe in the Valley of the Sun; Glendale, Phoenix, Scottsdale, and Mesa. After that he appeared in four years of Alhambra High Theater productions, including writing, producing, directing, and emceeing two Variety Show productions for the Theater Department. It was in his Junior year in high school that he was chosen by Dick Van Dyke to appear in a fundraising show for Rainbow Retreat, emceed by Dick Van Dyke and his daughter Stacey. Brad’s magic act was granted ten minutes of performance time, and all other acts were limited to three minutes.
Years earlier Brad was a member of a troupe of young performers (sponsored by the Phoenix Y.W.C.A.) and acted as the Emcee for the groups many public performances. Many of those young performers went on to professional careers. He also wrote, co-directed, and emceed a sixty minute local television special entitled, “Short Circuit with the Phoenix Live Y’ers.” It aired on KPHO-TV Channel 5 in December 1972.
As a young performer in the early 1970’s Brad was featured as a Ventriloquist on many live shows and also made appearances on “Open House,” with Marge Condon (KPHO-TV, Phoenix) and six appearances on the “Bozo The Clown Show” in Las Vegas.
Turning professional full time in 1975, Brad Zinn pursued acting and magic careers simultaneously for the next twenty years. He has appeared in six films and hundreds of local and national television and radio commercials. A recent video project is a six-part web series, “In Zane’s Class,” starring Brad in an ASU Film Student project. Brad is regularly engaged by major cruise lines, fundraising organizations, hotels and corporate meeting planners across the United States and Canada as a comedian, impressionist, magician, and as a Master of Ceremonies.
From 1978 to 1992 Brad Zinn Entertainment Enterprises produced anywhere from two to four major fundraising shows per year resulting in over half a million dollars raised for various charities. During this same time period Brad and his wife, Brenda, were booked into schools across the Valley for their inspiring magic show, seen by over 300,000 elementary age children.
In April 1984 Brad Zinn and Company appeared at the 7200 seat Sundome Performing Arts Center in Sun City West. The show headlined Shirley Jones and benefited Garden Park Enterprises. Also in attendance at this performance was Joe Garagiola. The following year, 1985, Brad Zinn and Company returned to the Sundome to open for Bob Crosby and the Bobcats in a fundraising show for the Shriners.
1990 and 1991 – He produced the worldwide Total Customer Satisfaction Awards Banquet for Motorola Semiconductor Division. Video of the second year’s production can be seen on YouTube.
Brad also hosted his own cable talk show, “The New Variety Arts” for two years (91 – 92). This show resulted in a full page spread in the Arizona Republic newspaper. Most of the episodes can now be seen on YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/@
December 1992 Brad and fellow magician Mick Welsh created “Valley Variety Entertainers” to bring Christmas entertainment and cheer to residents of the Salvation Army’s rehab program, based at their location on East Van Buren in a re-purposed hotel. This resulted in major local news coverage and the program continued for the next two years.
In December 1995 he appeared at the exclusive Casa De Campo Resort in the Dominican Republic for their New Year’s party with special guest Oscar de la Renta. That same month he headlined with the Phoenix Symphony Orchestra to a sold-out house. Brad was honored by the City of Phoenix to be the first magician to appear at the city’s newly refurbished Orpheum Theatre. He returned there in October 2002 to present his show “The Great Comedians” to a standing room only house. In October 2003, he headlined at the historic Fox Theatre in Visalia, California. Brad has also performed his show on Holland America, Radisson, Orient, and Norwegian Cruise Lines. “The Great Comedians” has been seen all across the United States and Canada, in addition to overseas and on cruise ships world-wide.
In November 2003, Brad performed at the world-famous London Palladium on a Gala Variety Program. In 2008 he returned to Las Vegas to appear at the SunCoast Resort and Casino. And in 2017 he headlined the 5th Anniversary Celebration of the Sapphire Comedy Spot in Las Vegas.
2013 saw Brad emcee the 50th Anniversary of the Valley’s most famous theme park, Legend City. The program included Arizona’s Balladeer Dolan Ellis, former Miss America Vonda Kay Van Dyke, and local celebrities Sandy Gibbons, and Wallace (Bill Thompson) of Wallace and Ladmo fame
In 2014, Brad Zinn was chosen to headline two important gatherings in Vincennes, Indiana, Red Skelton’s birthplace and hometown. First, “The Great Comedians” was the featured closing night entertainment for the Association for Applied and Therapeutic Humor National Convention (aath.org) on the campus of Vincennes University. Two months later, “The Great Comedians” was the featured closing night entertainment for the Official Red Skelton Festival in Vincennes. Both of these engagements took place at the beautiful Red Skelton Performing Arts Center.
Brad has performed alongside many celebrities, including Dick Van Dyke, Shirley Jones, Cliff Robertson, Bob Crosby, Paul Rodriguez, Damon Wayans, Richard Crenna, Will Shriner, Justin Wilson (the Cajun Chef), Harry Anderson, Rich Little, Diana Canova, Alison Arngrim, Phil Proctor, MGM child star Margaret O’Brien and Lynda Carter, among others.
Brad Zinn is also recognized as a media consultant for advertisers, industrial accounts, and other performers. His work has been published in various trade periodicals and he is currently writing his first major book on the entertainment industry.
Brad was a performing member of Hollywood’s prestigious Magic Castle and boasts appearances on the Las Vegas “strip” as well. His experiences include video production, event production, advertising campaigns, lyric writing, and you may recognize his voice from the hundreds of radio and television commercials he has recorded. Brad was the voice of The Arizona Republic, The Phoenix Gazette, The Arizona Lottery, The Phoenix Bus, Circle K, Midway Chevrolet, and Midway Hyundai among others.
Brad’s accomplishments have been acknowledged in Marquis’ “Who’s Who In Entertainment,” “Who’s Who In The World,” and “International Men of Achievement.” Brad is a 50-year member of the International Brotherhood of Magicians (I.B.M.) (the exclusive “Order of Merlin Excalibur”), the Society of American Magicians, the Hollywood Magic Castle, Screen Actor’s Guild, American Federation of Radio and Television Artists and other professional organizations.
Brad Zinn has served as Past President, Past Vice-President, Past Secretary-Treasurer I.B.M. Ring 55, Past I.B.M. Territorial Vice-President, Past Vice-President, S.A.M. Assembly 248, Charter Member S.A.M. Assembly 177, Past Sergeant-at-Arms, S.A.M. Assembly 177, Charter Member S.A.M. Assembly 248, Charter Member I.B.M. Ring 356, I.B.M. Ring 55 Close-up Magician of the Year, 1976.
Brad was named “Magician of the Year for 2000” by International Brotherhood of Magicians Ring 55 and Society of American Magicians Assembly 248. Then in 2016, Assembly #248 gave Brad their highest honor, the “Lifetime Achievement Award.”
In 2018 Brad returned to The Herberger Theater to present “The Great Comedians, Those Felt Hat and Big Cigar Funny Men,” for three performances to benefit The Damion Gosa Foundation. The guest Emcees for these three shows were Arizona favorites Pat McMahon, Mary Jo West, and Dr. Sky aka Steven Kates.
Brad is currently involved in a diverse array of activities. In addition to performing his comedy impressions, magic, emceeing for major functions, and keeping his hand in video production, he has studied bel-canto voice for over a dozen years and added singing as a high lyric baritone to his list of credits.
Brad proudly serves as “Ambassador of Goodwill” for Operation Enduring Gratitude. OEG is a 501<c>3 organization of veterans serving veterans. Their works have been spotlighted on CBS News’ “On The Road with Steve Hartman.”
Brad Zinn has also produced an extensive online history of performing magicians in the Valley of the Sun, dating from 1947 to the current day. The website contains over 6000 individual images, and extensive links to videos of magicians and magic shows.
Comedian, actor, voice-over artist, magician, and impressionist Brad Zinn’s “The Great Comedians” one man play pays homage to his childhood idols in show business and the presentation, seen world-wide, has called upon all his diverse skills to prepare and present. Brad Zinn is a versatile and seasoned entertainer who continues to find new ways to present his talents. www.greatcomedians.net www.bradzinn.net www.PhoenixMagicHistory.com
Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?
After being a successful magician for 25 years and raising over 1/2 million dollars for various charities, the 1990’s proved to be a turning point. The people who were my clients and the folks that were the promoters of these endeavors changed. In 1992 I knew that I was going to have to find something else. For a time I went into teaching “soft skills” such as understanding personal behavior patterns, Leadership Skills, and Time Management. I was quite successful until technology changed everything went “online” and I was unable to pursue this line further. So, a chance cruise to Alaska allowed me to size up a whole different performing venue – cruise ships. Inspired by this opportunity, I developed my show, “The Great Comedians,” and it proved to be the right thing to do. That show has allowed me to travel the world for over 20 years and appear in very prestigious theaters across North America and even the London Palladium – the most famous theater in the world.
For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?
In having the opportunity to stand before many audiences I think the most rewarding is when I can entertain school age children. We performed elementary school assembly programs from 1978 to 1992. During that time we entertained over 300,000 elementary age school children. I always tried to give them a positive message to take with them after my show was over. I always told them that to be successful in life required three things; first – stay in school and complete your education. You will never regret that decision. Secondly, stay away from illegal drugs. That is a detour on the road to success that many people never return from. Finally, develop a “dream of success” that centers on helping others and in that you will be well rewarded.
It is my hope that my message helped a child to be successful in life. As an artist that is quite rewarding.
With regard to my show “The Great Comedians,” my goal has always been to remind folks that these pioneering comedians are as funny today as they were then, and that clean humor is timeless. I am rewarded with standing ovations for my efforts.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.greatcomedians.net and www.bradzinn.net
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/GreatComedians/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bradzinn/
- Twitter: @comedianbrad
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@comedianbrad/videos