We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Brian Hoffman. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Brian below.
Brian, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Have you been able to earn a full-time living from your creative work? If so, can you walk us through your journey and how you made it happen? Was it like that from day one? If not, what were some of the major steps and milestones and do you think you could have sped up the process somehow knowing what you know now?
I came from a small town in North Dakota. Actually grew up on a farm. From as long as I can remember I had chores that I did on that farm and was paid a small allowance in return for my hard work so I learned the value of a dollar early on in life. While growing up I never really had a specific goal in mind as far as my career was concerned. Spent most of my adulthood doing manual labor including but not limited to farming, welding in the oilfields of ND, digging ditches, building fences and eventually becoming an over-the-road truck driver.
Married to a wonderful woman of our two boys, life took a series of twists and turns leaving us unemployed and in search of what it was I should really be doing. Took to the stage after being dared to do an open mic night at a comedy club and began to feel this is what I really want to do but how can I support a family doing these open mic night’s for free. As I developed my routines the baby boomers would tell me sincerely that I reminded them of Red Skelton. Years of denial of that, I finally became aware that there is this huge world of tribute artists. With a little help from folks in that industry I began to study Red and his routines along with his delivery. I started out my career as Red Skelton in small venues in Las Vegas and have built it into owning my own theater in Pigeon Forge Tennessee. Performing around 250 shows in the Smoky Mountains along with traveling across the US playing Red in other peoples venues.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
I am a hardworking individual who will step up and make sure that everything flows as smoothly as possible with my performances. While on the road I value my clients time and their guests and make sure that the people attending the performances get time to visit with me as Red Skelton. I know I’m not him but I help bring back fond memories of peoples childhoods when as a family they enjoyed watching his show.
Know matter what curve ball is thrown at me, I will figure out a way to make the show go on. At one event the sound man was misinformed of the day of the performance so I and the theater owner went through the sound booth trying to figure out how to turn on the system. With no luck finding the main switch powering up the whole booth we found a small system and hooked it up on the stage so we could get sound for the routines I do. The show went on and the audience never knew what we went through before they showed up.
What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?
The greatest reward is the smiles on the faces of those folks who take time out of their day to come see my tribute to Red Skelton. I get to hear their stories of their family time around the TV and their love for Red Skelton.
Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?
My goal or mission is to bring laughter to your life. When we are children we laugh all the time. As adulthood comes about and responsibilities become a part of your everyday life we tend to not laugh as much. Laughter is like a medicine for your soul and relieves stress. I’m working hard to get the younger generation to know who Red Skelton was.
Contact Info:
- Website: RedSkeltonComedyShow.com RedSkeltonTributeTheater.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/redskelton4u/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RedSkelton4u2
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/BrianRedSkelton
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/user/RedSkelton4u