ARAB TIMES, THURSDAY, MARCH 25, 2021 NEWS/FEATURES 13

People & Places

Books

Comic talks race, rejection Koy’s Filipino roots shine in his memoir By Terry Tang

ike many famous comics, Jo Koy had early strug- Lgles at comedy clubs. But, unlike them, the half white and half Filipino comedian could only seem to book spots on ethnic theme nights like “Wonton Wednesdays” and “Asian Invasion.” “There’s a lot of comics that had to do it. I’m not just saying Asians — Black people, Latinos, anyone that was ‘other’ had to do these themed shows. And it sucks,” Koy recalled recently. Segregating comics may sound bizarre and of- fensive in today’s world but that underlying racism “baked into” the comedy club circuit was acceptable in the early 2000s, according to Koy. How he went from there to being a Netfl ix darling and having a movie deal with Steven Spielberg is part of the career journey Koy, 49, tells in his new memoir. “Mixed Plate: Chronicles of an All-American Combo,” out Tuesday, is an ideal com- panion to Koy’s stand-up with its humorous — and at times painful — origin stories behind some of his most popular bits. Koy The book shows how Koy’s mixed-race background ulti- mately shaped his brand of comedy and his determi- nation not to give up on his childhood dream. “I’m not trying to pat myself on the back. It was This image released by ABC shows George Segal in a scene from the comedy series, ‘The Goldbergs.’ Segal, the banjo player turned actor who was nominated for a long road,” Koy said. “And when I fi nally got to an Oscar for 1966’s ‘Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?,’ and starred in the ABC sitcom ‘The Goldbergs,’ died Tuesday, his wife said. He was 87. (AP) this point in my career, I just looked at my manager. I was like, ‘Man, I would really like to tell people, you know, this struggle, and how hard it was to really get here.’” With the help of a writing partner, Koy, born Jo- Obituary seph Glenn Herbert, lays bare how he grappled with his mixed-race identity as a child growing up in Ta- coma, Washington. He doesn’t shy away from deeply personal topics including an older brother with violent ‘He was kid at heart with magical spark’ schizophrenia and a father who left when he was only 12 years old. (The book also documents their recon- ciliation.) “I’ve always been open to just letting people be in- side my life,” Koy said. “So when I said I was going ‘Virginia Woolf’ star Segal dies at 87 to write a book, of course I’m going to tell them eve- rything. Or else, you’re not going to really know the LOS ANGELES, March 24, (AP): Split;” and a bank-robbing suburbanite of many paying Segal tribute Tuesday story of how I got there.” George Segal, the banjo player turned opposite Jane Fonda in 1977’s “Fun with night. actor who was nominated for an Oscar Dick and Jane.” “I grew up watching him, total old Contests for 1966’s “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Groomed to be a handsome leading school charm, effortless comedic tim- Koy, who’s sold out stadium shows, has aspired Woolf?” and worked into his late 80s man, Segal’s profi le had been rising ing,” Segal’s “Just Shoot Me” Posehn to make people laugh since age 11. He didn’t “speak on the ABC sitcom “The Goldbergs,” steadily since his fi rst movie, 1961’s said. “Doing scenes with him was one school” and was never interested in conventional pur- died Tuesday in Santa Rosa, Califor- “The Young Doctors” in which he had of the highlights of my life, but getting suits like college. For him, earning $5 doing stand-up nia, his wife said. ninth billing. His fi rst starring perfor- to know him a little and making the on an open mic in a coffeehouse was more thrilling. “The family is devastated to an- mance came in “King Rat” as a nefari- legend laugh was even cooler.” By the 1990s, he followed his mother and stepfather nounce that this morning George Se- ous inmate at a Japanese prison camp Throughout his long acting career, to Las Vegas and started doing comedy contests and gal passed away due to complications during World War II. Segal played the banjo for fun, becom- small clubs there. In 2001, he decided to make the big from bypass surgery,” Sonia Segal said In “Virginia Woolf,” he played ing quite accomplished on the instru- move to Los Angeles. This cover image released by Dey in a statement. He was 87. Nick, one half of a young couple in- ment he had fi rst picked up as a boy. The comedy club circuit wasn’t exactly receptive to Street Books shows ‘Mixed Plate: George Segal was always best vited over for drinks and to witness the He performed with his own Beverly his bi-racial appearance. Chronicles of an All-American Combo,’ known as a comic actor, becoming bitterness and frustration of a middle- Hills Unlisted Jazz Band. “You come to Hollywood, and they have no idea a memoir by comedian Jo Koy. (AP) one of the screen’s biggest stars in the aged couple. Born in 1934 in Great Neck, New what they’re looking at - as horrible as that sounds,” 1970s when lighthearted adult com- York, the third son of a malt and hops Koy said. ”‘What’s your story? We don’t get it. Where edies thrived. Approval dealer, Segal began entertaining at the do we put you?’” But his most famous role was in a Director Mike Nichols needed age of 8, performing magic tricks for Koy took whatever gigs at clubs like The Improv harrowing drama, “Who’s Afraid of someone who would get the approval neighborhood children. and the Laugh Factory - even the ethnic “theme Virginia Woolf?”, based on Edward of star Elizabeth Taylor, and turned He attended a Quaker boarding school nights.” Meanwhile, he juggled as many as three part- Albee’s acclaimed play. to Segal when Robert Redford turned in Pennsylvania and as an undergradu- time jobs. By 2003, he also had to factor in his new- He was the last surviving credited him down. ate at Columbia University organized born son. member of the tiny cast, all four of According to Nichols’ biographer “Bruno Linch and His Imperial Band,” In the book, he recounts performing at the Laugh whom were nominated for Academy Mark Harris, the director said Segal for which he also played banjo. Factory while a then-unknown Tiffany Haddish would Awards: Elizabeth Taylor and Richard was “close enough to the young leg- be off to the side watching his son. Burton for starring roles, Sandy Den- end he needed to be for Elizabeth, and Acting “We had that that little bond of ours, you know, that nis and Segal for supporting perfor- witty enough and funny enough to deal After graduating Segal worked non- we both had seen struggle,” Koy said. “I love Tiffany, mances. The women won Oscars, the with all that humiliation.” salary at the New York theater Circle that she was she was there during that process. She Harry Wolfe men did not. Segal died 10 years to the day after in the Square, doing everything from still is in my life to this day, which is even more amaz- To younger audiences, he was better Taylor. ticket taking to understudy acting. He ing.” known for playing magazine publisher He rode the fi lm to a long run of studied drama with Lee Strasberg and Seeing his toddler son play with his mother, it hit Jack Gallo on the long-running NBC stardom. Then in the late 1970s, Uta Hagen, and made his fi rst profes- Koy that family life could be funny fodder. While Variety series “Just Shoot Me” from 1997 “Jaws” and other action fi lms changed sional acting appearance off-Broad- mimicking his mother’s accent and mannerisms is to 2003, and as grandfather Albert the nature of Hollywood movies, and way in Moliere’s “Don Juan.” It lasted now classic Koy, he initially hesitated for fear of being “Pops” Solomon on the “The Gold- the light comedies that Segal excelled one night. labeled “the Filipino comic.” But he saw that all audi- NEW YORK: Prince Harry has joined bergs” since 2013. in became passe. After a stint on Broadway in Eugene ences seemed to fi nd anecdotes involving his mother the corporate world as employee coach- ing and mental health fi rm BetterUp “Then I got a little older,” he said O’Neill’s “The Iceman Cometh,” he relatable. Legend in a 1998 interview. “I started playing was drafted into the Army. Discharged “That’s when I knew. I was like, ‘Oh, I got some- Inc.’s Chief Impact Offi cer. Financial terms of his employment “Today we lost a legend. It was a urban father roles. And that guy sort of in 1957, he returned to the stage and thing good here. I know how to do it now,’” Koy said. true honor being a small part of George turned into Chevy Chase, and after that would begin getting small fi lm roles. His Filipino roots shine brightly in the book. Koy were undisclosed. BetterUp, based in San Francisco, Segal’s amazing legacy,” said “Gold- there was really no place to go.” In 1956 Segal married television may be the fi rst comic with a memoir that’s part recipe works with employees from companies bergs” creator Adam Goldberg, who Except for the 1989 hit “Look Who’s story editor Marion Sobel and they had book. There are instructions on how to make Filipino including Mars, AB InBev and LinkedIn based the show on his 1980s child- Talking,” Segal’s fi lms in the 1980s and two daughters, Elizabeth and Polly, dishes like lumpia and chicken adobo. He wants to on coaching and mental health services. hood. “By pure fate, I ended up casting 1990s were lackluster. He turned to tel- before divorcing in 1981. keep being “an ambassador for Filipino food” and BetterUp CEO Alexi Robichaux said the perfect person to play Pops. Just evision and starred in two failed series, He married his second wife, Linda culture. the Duke of Sussex is a good fi t for the like my grandfather, George was a kid “Take Five” and “Murphy’s Law.” Rogoff, in London in 1982 and was With three Netfl ix comedy specials under his belt company because of “his model of inspi- at heart with a magical spark.” Then he found success in 1997 with devastated when she died of a stomach in the last four years, including one fi lmed in Manila, ration and impact through action.” In his Hollywood prime, he played a the David Spade sitcom “Just Shoot disease 14 years later. Koy said people often think that the streaming service Robichaux cited Harry’s efforts founding stuffy intellectual opposite Barbra Strei- Me” in which he played Gallo, who “It was a time when I said, `It’s not discovered him. But like other times in his life, he was the Invictus Games, which gives sick and in- sand’s freewheeling prostitute in 1970’s despite his gruff manner hires his adding up; I don’t get it anymore,” rejected by them for their 2017 comedy slate. jured military personnel and veterans the op- portunity to compete in sports, and founding “The Owl and the Pussycat;” a cheating daughter (Laura San Giacomo) and he recalled to an interviewer in 1999. Reputation Sentebale, an Africa-based charity supporting husband opposite Glenda Jackson in keeps Spade’s worthless offi ce boy “With Linda dying, I lost interest in Determined to give them a reason to say yes, Koy young people affected by HIV. 1973’s “A Touch of Class;” a hopeless character on his payroll simply out of a everything. I worked just to make a put on his own special. He booked a theater in Seattle Prince Harry and his wife, Meghan, gambler opposite Elliot Gould in direc- sense of affection for both. living. Acting, like life, became a joy- and paid for a high-quality crew to fi lm it. The fi nal have been working on detangling their tor Robert Altman’s 1974 “California Series co-star Brian Posehn was one less job.” product was enough to elicit an offer from Netfl ix. lives from the British royal family and Since then, Koy has built a reputation as an in-de- are living in California. They signed a mand comedian. With plenty of on-screen experience deal to create content for Netfl ix and are he “associated himself with the wrong be held accountable,” Ward said in the review for possible charges, Los Angeles creating podcasts for Spotify. people.” statement. County district attorney’s spokesman including being a panelist on Chelsea Handler’s old E! In a blog post, Harry said he is joining talk show, “Chelsea Lately,” Koy seems one sitcom or “My son is gone and those who Police have presented prosecutors with Greg Risling said Tuesday. He gave BetterUp because he believes in the com- contributed to his senseless death should a case related to the death and it is under no further details on the suspects or the fi lm away from the next level of stardom. pany’s mission of being proactive about One of his Netfl ix specials got Spielberg’s atten- circumstances. (AP) mental health. ❑ ❑ ❑ tion. The director’s production company, Amblin En- “Being attuned with your mind, and tertainment, is producing a starring vehicle for Koy, having a support structure around you, NEW YORK: Tony Award-winner “Easter Sunday.” Based on Koy’s own experiences, are critical to fi nding your own version George C. Wolfe and Canadian poet- the movie comedy follows a family gathering on the of peak performance,” he wrote. (AP) translator Anne Carson are among this titular holiday. ❑ ❑ ❑ year’s winners of PEN America awards Even with all these opportunities, Koy’s mother for career achievement. sometimes asks him if he’ll drop stand-up for a regular LOS ANGELES: The parents of Bobby Brown Jr, son of singer Bobby Brown, Wolfe, whose credits range from job “with benefi ts.” said Tuesday that they want those writing the musical “Jelly’s Last Jam” to directing “Angels In America,” has Also: responsible for his accidental overdose death held responsible, and prosecu- received the PEN/Mike Nichols Writing NEW YORK: A literary prize that provided vital sup- tors said they are considering criminal for Performance Award for work that port to Tracy K. Smith, Eula Biss and more than 100 charges. “enlightens and inspires audiences.” Car- other women early in their writing careers has been In an autopsy report released Monday, son, a three-time fi nalist for the National discontinued. Administrators of the Rona Jaffe Writ- the Los Angeles County coroner said Book Critics Circle poetry award and an ers’ Awards cited “signifi cant” costs in running the 28-year-old Brown Jr died Nov 18 from acclaimed translator of Greek drama, has program, founded in 1995. the combined effects of cocaine, alcohol won the PEN/Nabokov Award for work “The Foundation’s board feels that we can use these and the opioid fentanyl. of “enduring originality and consummate funds resulting in even greater impact by supporting In a statement to The Associated Press, craftsmanship.” vital literary, educational, and cultural nonprofi ts that Brown Jr’s parents and their attorney Other citations announced Tuesday serve creative artists and the literary arts more com- emphasized the fatal dose of fentanyl in his by PEN America include the PEN/Laura prehensively as their core missions,” according to a system, and its frequent unexpected pres- Pels Award for theater to the perfor- recent post on the Jaffe Foundation’s website. ence in the street versions of other drugs. mance artist and playwright Daniel “My family continues to mourn my Alexander Jones, the PEN/Nora Magid For the past quarter century, the Jaffe Foundation Award for magazine editing to Prairie had annually awarded six or more women grants up son’s death,” Bobby Brown said in the statement. “This epidemic is out of con- Schooner editor Kwame Dawes, and the to $30,000 each to give them more time to write. The trol and those supplying this lethal drug Daddy Yankee performs at the Latin American Music Awards in Los Angeles on PEN/Manheim Award for translation to awards were established by Rona Jaffe, a novelist who should be held responsible for the death Oct 17, 2019. Daddy Yankee was named ASCAP’s Latin Music Songwriter of Pierre Joris, who has worked on poems died in 2005. (AP) and destruction that it causes.” the Year on, March 23. It is the third time the reggaeton star receives this award. by Paul Celan and Jean-Pierre Duprey Brown Jr’s mother Kim Ward said He also got it in 2019 and 2017. (AP) among others. (AP)