DOCSLIB.ORG

Tom Dreesen Interview

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Tom Dreesen Interview If golf had a mas- Tom, tell us about your childhood greatest thing that ever happened to me, Are there any comedians who and your family. What was it like because all of life is about perception and I helped inspire you or mentors who ter of ceremonies, it had perceived it to be great. helped you reach the level you are would be Tom Dreesen growing up on the south side of Chicago in Harvey, Illinois? I had 8 at today in show business? When hands-down! Not only brothers and sisters and we were considered At what age, Tom, did you realize that I first started out, I admired comedians does the nationally-re- very poor. Five of us actually slept in one you were “funny” and had desires tremendously. Before I ever was in show nowned comedian serve bed. We had no bathtub and no shower – to become a comedian. How did business or even thought I would be in show in that capacity at the we lived in a shack; I called it a shack. We you get started? When I was a little business, I just thought comedians were just boy shining shoes in taverns, my mother AT&T Pebble Beach Na- had no hot water, no bathtub and no shower. the coolest men and women in the world. It wasn’t during the Great Depression -- I’m was a bartender, and my uncle, Frank That they could make a living making people tional Pro-Am and the annual not that old. It was a childhood of work at a Polizzi, was behind the bar. He was my laugh. And the thought overwhelmed me, Bob Hope Chrysler Classic, very early age. At the age of 6 years old, I mother’s brother-in-law. He was a very that maybe one day I could do just that. So as well as numerous events was already following my brother with a little funny guy. He told jokes behind the bar I emulated them.” on the Celebrity Players shoe shine box. I started shining shoes from all the time and I loved him so much and I 6 to 12 years old at all the taverns in Harvey. emulated him. I would hear him tell a joke I want to be like George Tour, including the celebrity in the bar and I would tell the same joke tour stop at the prestigious At 12 years old, I started setting up pins in Burns. That’s what I the bowling alleys, and then I caddied in the to my friends. Many of the jokes he told Bolingbrook Golf Club, but summertime. I also sold newspapers on the shouldn’t have been told on a Catholic want to do until they Dreesen is one of America’s street corner, and I had a paper route. I sold school playground. But I loved telling close the lid on me. best known and most ad- The Harvey Tribune, which is now The Star jokes even at that early age. mired celebrity and comedi- Tribune, the Chicago Tribune, the Chicago I loved 2 comedians -- one was Jack Benny You’ve been performing for close an. A veteran of stage and Sun Times, the Chicago Daily News, etc. I and the other was Richard Pryor. Pryor, had a very busy childhood. Even though I to 40 years! Tom, will you continue because I grew up in Harvey, Illinois -- a television, in 2009 Dreesen was a poor, raggedy kid, performing and making people neighborhood like Pryor’s. Pryor always will be celebrating 40 years I always say that laugh? Yes! Till the day I die. I want to be talked about Peoria, Illinois, and the kind of comedy and making peo- i t was like George Burns. I went to see “of characters in his neighborhood were the ple laugh. the George Burns perform when kind of characters in my neighborhood, so he was 95, and he did an I identified with it. But Jack Benny made hour and 10 minutes in Lake comedy look easy. I think a person is an In this exclusive inter- ” Tahoe at Caesar’s. I went artist in any endeavor when they make his view with Golf Now! backstage afterwards or her work look one word ‘effortless’! Jack Chicago, Dreesen and he was so Benny made comedy look easy. Frank talks candidly about excited because Sinatra made singing look easy. And yet his childhood years, he had written it’s not. So that’s the kind of comedian some new that I wanted to be. I wanted to have the getting interested material that poise of a Jack Benny. in golf, his role in day. I thought the Celebrity Play- that’s me. Let’s talk a little bit about your love ers Tour, and what it That’s what for golf. How did you get interested in takes to be success- I want to do golf? As a little boy, I caddied at Ravisloe until they close Country Club in Homewood, Illinois and it ful today in any pro- the lid on me. fessional career. 70 71 was such a great environment for me. bartender because of my environment all make something and compete against of Ceremonies of Golf”. How did As a little boy all I originally wanted to do changing, and so I got interested in golf as one another. The Celebrity Players Tour that come about? As you know at every was to be a bartender. I thought tavern a little boy. is one of the most exciting things that I major golf event in the country there’s usually owners were the richest people in the have ever been involved in. I’m one of the a Gala for all the participants from players world, because my dad spent all his The Celebrity Players founders and I’m also on the board. I’ve to title sponsors. And, besides dinner and money in the bars. So when I first went to been on the board since day one. awards, there’s always entertainment. Years Ravisloe, I saw a different environment. I Tour is one of the most ago Bob Hope asked me to take over as was caddying for doctors and lawyers and exciting things that I have Why are you different from the other Master of Ceremonies for his Gala because successful men and women, Mr. Florsheim ever been involved in. golf tours out there such as the PGA, I was already the Master of Ceremonies from Florsheim Shoes and people like that. LPGA, Champions Tour, Nationwide, for the Frank Sinatra Golf Tournament, and I began to dream a etc.? Because they are pure Golf then Clint Eastwood asked me to emcee the year or two later Tell us about the Celebrity Players Tours and we’re a Corporate Hospitality AT&T show at Pebble Beach --which I do that maybe I could Tour; how it got started, the purpose Entertainment Tour. Do our guys play good every year. Not to mention the Celebrity be more than just a of the Tour and your role in it. The golf? You bet they do -- but they can’t Players Tour calls on me to emcee and Celebrity Players Tour is basketball, compete with the skills of the Professionals. perform at “baseball, football, hockey, tennis and However, when it comes to entertaining show business people that are a 10 corporate America and their clients then handicap or below. It got started the Pro’s can’t compete with us. Our because celebrities wanted to play guys are corporate friendly and go competitive golf, yet, maybe” make out of their way to make sure that the some money for it. Celebrities sponsors and their guests have such are asked to go to all of these golf a good time that they can hardly wait events that raise hundreds till next year. of thousands of millions of dollars for charity. Oftentimes, Tom, you have been given it would cost us money to go to the the title in magazines and event. Now we found a way we could newspapers as “The Master go raise money for charity, and yet we could 72 73 all their events. And now, Tiger Woods there to perform, then you already are in the has asked me to emcee his event at the wrong profession. It should come naturally. Your Celebration Congressional as well as a couple of other The best way to destroy any career is with events he’s involved in. Arnold Palmer has alcohol or drugs. asked me to emcee his event at Bay Hill a Destination couple of times as do many other touring pro’s I really believe that at their functions and this last year the Golf Writers Association of America asked me to service to humanity is emcee their awards dinner at the Masters in the best work of life. Augusta and one of their writers introduced me as “The Master of Ceremonies of Golf” Tom, can you share a personal insight so there you have it... with us before we close? I truly feel, and you and I discussed this earlier, that in the Tom, do you have any advice you end, how do you measure a human life? can give to those interested in a How do you measure if you made any professional career on stage or on difference? Emerson said, ‘you should the links. What does it take to build leave this world better than you found it’. a successful career and life? Constant“ And I always think that this is probably one dedication.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Tommy Jacquette-Halifu
    Tommy Jacquette-Halifu Tommy Jacquette-Halifu (1943-2009) was a co-founder of the annual Watts Summer Festival in 1966, a founding member of the organization Us, executive director of the Watts Summer Festival for over 40 years, a highly-respected social activist, community organizer, and veteran of the 1965 Watts Revolt. And although he was best known for his work as executive director for the Watts Summer Festival (at times featuring Coretta Scott King, Myrlie Evers, Betty Shabazz, Sammy Davis Jr., Richard Pryor, Sammy Davis Jr., Isaac Hayes, Muhammad Ali, Quincy Jones and a host of elected officials as grand marshals of the festival parade), he was also worked with the Watts Christmas Parade, Watts Willowbrook Chamber of Commerce, the Watts Gang Taskforce and organizations and community programs. He was born in Los Angeles, California, the eldest of six children, and grew up in the Imperial Courts in Watts, a residential district in the southern part of Los Angeles, California. Jacquette-Halifu is survived by his wife, Carmen Eatmon of Los Angeles; four sons, Derek and Raymond of Los Angeles and Damien and Juba of Phoenix; two daughters, Julienne Jacobs of St. Louis and Denise McFall of Los Angeles; his mother, Addie Young of Los Angeles; a brother, Bob Henson of Carmel; two sisters, Brenda Lake and Diane Young of Los Angeles; 23 grandchildren and four great-grandchildren. 6 The Journal of Pan African Studies, vol.3, no.6, March 2010 In memory of Tommy Jacquette-Halifu, Congresswoman Maxine Waters gave the following statement at the U.S. House of Representatives in Washington, D.C.
    [Show full text]
  • Young Americans to Emotional Rescue: Selected Meetings
    YOUNG AMERICANS TO EMOTIONAL RESCUE: SELECTING MEETINGS BETWEEN DISCO AND ROCK, 1975-1980 Daniel Kavka A Thesis Submitted to the Graduate College of Bowling Green State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF MUSIC August 2010 Committee: Jeremy Wallach, Advisor Katherine Meizel © 2010 Daniel Kavka All Rights Reserved iii ABSTRACT Jeremy Wallach, Advisor Disco-rock, composed of disco-influenced recordings by rock artists, was a sub-genre of both disco and rock in the 1970s. Seminal recordings included: David Bowie’s Young Americans; The Rolling Stones’ “Hot Stuff,” “Miss You,” “Dance Pt.1,” and “Emotional Rescue”; KISS’s “Strutter ’78,” and “I Was Made For Lovin’ You”; Rod Stewart’s “Do Ya Think I’m Sexy“; and Elton John’s Thom Bell Sessions and Victim of Love. Though disco-rock was a great commercial success during the disco era, it has received limited acknowledgement in post-disco scholarship. This thesis addresses the lack of existing scholarship pertaining to disco-rock. It examines both disco and disco-rock as products of cultural shifts during the 1970s. Disco was linked to the emergence of underground dance clubs in New York City, while disco-rock resulted from the increased mainstream visibility of disco culture during the mid seventies, as well as rock musicians’ exposure to disco music. My thesis argues for the study of a genre (disco-rock) that has been dismissed as inauthentic and commercial, a trend common to popular music discourse, and one that is linked to previous debates regarding the social value of pop music.
    [Show full text]
  • Together Again Laughs Burns Rewrote the Act and for the BETSY WICKARD Next Forty Years Was Gracie Allen’S Straight Man
    George Burns and Gracie Allen For Information Contact: Together Again laughs Burns rewrote the act and for the BETSY WICKARD next forty years was Gracie Allen’s straight man. Actress BETSY WICKARD Burns wrote “Lamb Chops”, the act that has performed in theaters propelled them to top billing in the and casinos throughout the vaudeville circuit with Gracie acting as the country. She was a silly, lightheaded foil. Burns and Allen made dancer/singer in The a string of one-reel comedies and then Branson Follies, The Palm Springs Follies, appeared the films “The Big Broadcast” and The Great American Follies, and Golden “A Damsel in Distress” with Fred Astaire. At Girls USA. She appeared in the feature films the same time the Burns and Allen radio Rocky V and Mannequin on the Move. She show became one of the most popular has appeared in numerous national programs of the time. On television, The commercials and print ads for major George Burns and Gracie Allen Show put corporations. She is now living in Florida faces to the radio characters audiences had and performing on the Condo Circuit. She is come to love. After Gracie Allen retired delighted to be portraying Gracie Allen in George Burns remained in show business. “Together Again.” At the age of 78 he won the Academy Award in “The Sunshine Boys” movie and PETER SALZER gained greater stardom as God in the “Oh George Burns and Gracie Allen God” series. George Burns entertained Actor/Writer PETER audiences to the ripe old age of 100 years. Together Again SALZER has created roles When Peter Salzer walks on stage in on stage and on screen “Together Again” audiences see George George Burns and Gracie Allen and has appeared in many television Burns come back to life.
    [Show full text]
  • Mood Indigo: a Playlist for the Mind” by Holland Cotter New York Times, February 2013
    Maccarone 630 Greenwich Street NY, NY 10014 t. 212 431 4977 f. 347 394 0043 RODNEY McMILLIAN “Mood Indigo: A Playlist for the Mind” By Holland Cotter New York Times, February 2013 Mood Indigo: A Playlist for the Mind By HOLLAND COTTER I grew up in a music-loving family. A lot of what we loved was blues of one kind or another, sung mostly by women: Bessie Smith, Billie Holiday, Maria Callas. I thought of Callas as a blues singer who happened to do Verdi. She sang about love, death and rising up just as Bessie and Billie did. But it was how she sang that clinched it: with all of herself, out of her life, with an ache. It wasn’t a pretty sound; there were scratches and shrieks. But you’d sit there hearing her wrestle her voice — her heart — to the ground, and suddenly out came the most beautiful note in the world, like a soul set free. That was the blues for me. Struggle, loss, joy, art that said: all of me. You won’t hear Callas’s voice in the ambient music that nudges and pulls you through the exhibition “Blues for Smoke” at the Whitney Museum of American Art, though the show’s playlist is much more eclectic than any I ever knew. Smith and Holiday are here, along with classic Coltrane, Monk and Mingus. But so are Erykah Badu, Olivier Messiaen, Richard Pryor and Red Krayola. As a musical category blues is hard to pin down, and this show makes the job harder, which seems to be its point.
    [Show full text]
  • Death No More Bryan Dunagun April 26, 2020 Well, If
    Death No More Bryan Dunagun April 26, 2020 Well, if you have a Bible, would you open up to Revelation 21? This is the last book in the Bible, the second to last chapter in the Bible. I want to start off by reading this Scripture together. This is written by a guy named John, one of Jesus' disciples, who's now living in exile as a prisoner of Rome. John has given this vision of the future that we have in Jesus. We'll start in verse 1. "Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away and there was no longer any sea. I saw the Holy City, the New Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God prepared as a bride, beautifully dressed for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, look, God's dwelling place is now among the people. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes and there will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain for the old order of things has passed away." Verse 5. "He who was seated on the throne said, “Behold I am making all things new.”, and then he said, “Write this down for these words are trustworthy and true.” He said to me, “It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end.
    [Show full text]
  • Similar Hats on Similar Heads: Uniformity and Alienation at the Rat Pack’S Summit Conference of Cool
    University of Huddersfield Repository Calvert, Dave Similar hats on similar heads: uniformity and alienation at the Rat Pack’s Summit Conference of Cool Original Citation Calvert, Dave (2015) Similar hats on similar heads: uniformity and alienation at the Rat Pack’s Summit Conference of Cool. Popular Music, 34 (1). pp. 1-21. ISSN 0261-1430 This version is available at http://eprints.hud.ac.uk/id/eprint/22182/ The University Repository is a digital collection of the research output of the University, available on Open Access. Copyright and Moral Rights for the items on this site are retained by the individual author and/or other copyright owners. Users may access full items free of charge; copies of full text items generally can be reproduced, displayed or performed and given to third parties in any format or medium for personal research or study, educational or not-for-profit purposes without prior permission or charge, provided: • The authors, title and full bibliographic details is credited in any copy; • A hyperlink and/or URL is included for the original metadata page; and • The content is not changed in any way. For more information, including our policy and submission procedure, please contact the Repository Team at: [email protected]. http://eprints.hud.ac.uk/ Similar hats on similar heads: uniformity and alienation at the Rat Pack’s Summit Conference of Cool Abstract This article considers the nightclub shows of the Rat Pack, focussing particularly on the Summit performances at the Sands Hotel, Las Vegas, in 1960. Featuring Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr, Peter Lawford and Joey Bishop, these shows encompassed musical, comic and dance routines, drawing on the experiences each member had in live vaudeville performance.
    [Show full text]
  • Copyrighted Material
    c01.qxd 12/18/06 1:10 PM Page 5 1 Out of the Ashes of Despair The difference [between a director and an auteur] is that a director who is working for a living simply does the job, which may not be akin to his philosophy, but it is not inconsistent to have the same man being both. The word is “hunger.” If you are hungry and nobody will buy your orig- inal idea, you might get lucky, direct a Kellogg’s cornflakes commercial and take home a few boxes. —Mel Brooks, 1971 n the early 1970s, Mel Brooks had reason to find himself in an ironic I position as far as his career was concerned. He had already won Acad- emy Awards and Emmys, and had hit radio commercials and three suc- cessful comedy albums (such as The 2000 Year Old Man). He was a veteran of the writing teams for two of the most cherished series of Amer- ican television’s golden age: Your Show of Shows and Caesar’s Hour. Brooks’s recent association with the highly successful sitcom Get Smart had enhanced his visibility with the public and given him additional industry credibility.COPYRIGHTED Although his movie TheMATERIAL Twelve Chairs (1970) had failed to make any tangible impact at the box office, The Producers (1968) was well on its way to becoming a cult favorite. Yet Brooks was now unable to get any new show business projects off the ground and into production. How many times, he must have won- dered, did he have to crash through the establishment’s barriers before he gained solid acceptance from his peers and the public? How long could he continue to subject himself to the ordeal of starting over—yet again? 5 c01.qxd 12/18/06 1:10 PM Page 6 6 IT’S GOOD TO BE THE KING For a time, Mel wanted to produce a film version of She Stoops to Conquer.
    [Show full text]
  • Various Music from the Wattstax Festival & Film
    Various Music From The Wattstax Festival & Film mp3, flac, wma DOWNLOAD LINKS (Clickable) Genre: Funk / Soul / Blues Album: Music From The Wattstax Festival & Film Country: Europe Released: 2007 Style: Gospel, Rhythm & Blues, Soul, Funk MP3 version RAR size: 1998 mb FLAC version RAR size: 1723 mb WMA version RAR size: 1712 mb Rating: 4.3 Votes: 970 Other Formats: AC3 DXD VQF AU XM FLAC ADX Tracklist Hide Credits –Dale Warren & The Wattstax Salvation Symphony 1-1 7:56 '72 Orchestra Written-By – Dale O. Warren* 1-2 –Rev. Jesse Jackson Introduction 5:50 Lift Every Voice And Sing 1-3 –Kim Weston 3:39 Written-By – Johnson* Heavy Makes You Happy (Sha-Na-Boom-Boom) 1-4 –The Staple Singers 3:39 Written-By – Barry-Bloom* Are You Sure 1-5 –The Staple Singers 4:03 Written-By – Banks*, Jackson* I Like The Things About Me 1-6 –The Staple Singers 5:55 Written-By – Stubbs*, Staples* Respect Yourself 1-7 –The Staple Singers 4:37 Written-By – Ingram*, Rice* I'll Take You There 1-8 –The Staple Singers 5:16 Written-By – Alvertis* Precious Lord, Take My Hand 1-9 –Deborah Manning 4:25 Written-By – Thomas A. Dorsey Better Get A Move On 1-10 –Louise McCord 4:01 Written-By – Bettye Crutcher Them Hot Pants 1-11 –Lee Sain 4:11 Written-By – Leon Moore Wade In The Water 1-12 –Little Sonny 4:21 Written-By – Traditional I Forgot To Be Your Lover 1-13 –William Bell 2:35 Written-By – Jones*, Bell* Explain It To Her Mama 1-14 –The Temprees 2:50 Written-By – Fultz*, Moore* I've Been Lonely (For So Long) 1-15 –Frederick Knight 3:54 Written-By – Weaver*, Knight* Pin The
    [Show full text]
  • Ur Tops Perform Eastern
    Eastern Illinois University The Keep October 1988 10-20-1988 Daily Eastern News: October 20, 1988 Eastern Illinois University Follow this and additional works at: http://thekeep.eiu.edu/den_1988_oct Recommended Citation Eastern Illinois University, "Daily Eastern News: October 20, 1988" (1988). October. 13. http://thekeep.eiu.edu/den_1988_oct/13 This is brought to you for free and open access by the 1988 at The Keep. It has been accepted for inclusion in October by an authorized administrator of The Keep. For more information, please contact [email protected]. · ··· ···· ·· · · • i.>>·······• • •·····•• •• . V I • / ·:: .} .· ) •· . Are you aware? ·· .· • · .: <<.. ::::: . .. ' ::::: � . For more information on Alcohol Awareness DCEJ. o o o' . ·::::::::. · . }:;'.:''', Week happenings, tum to our Features page. � � � Page7 ur Tops Car crash • • perform .1n1ures Eastern local man HELLE ELLIOTT By PETE SCALES Staff writer destructible" Four Tops will be fea­ A Charleston businessman was in fair arents Weekend '88 on Nov. 5. condition Wednesday night after crashing oup consists of Levi Stubbs, lead­ his car into the side of a house early that wrence Payton, Renaldo "Obie" morning. d Abdul Fakir and has been around · Jerry Rardin, owner of Rardin Graphics, 40 years. a printing shop at 617 18th St., reportedly tructible," the title of both their lat­ drove his car across an empty lot and into s and the first single on the album the side of a house at 407 Madison Ave. sed early in September on their new The accident occured at about 6:45 I.. a.m., as the residents of the house were was also made for "Indestructible." asleep. Fisher, office manager at thejr pub­ "I didn't know what happened," said ency (Burnham Callahan), said, "This Jerry Bushue who was asleep in the t video they've actually done." upstairs apartment.
    [Show full text]
  • Cigars Were Consumed Last Year (1997) in the United States
    Smoking and Tobacco Control Monograph No. 9 Preface The recent increase in cigar consumption began in 1993 and was dismissed by many in public health as a passing fad that would quickly dissipate. Recently released data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) suggests that the upward trend in cigar use might not be as temporary as some had predicted. The USDA now projects a total of slightly more than 5 billion cigars were consumed last year (1997) in the United States. Sales of large cigars, which comprise about two-thirds of the total U.S. cigar market, increased 18 percent between 1996 and 1997. Consumption of premium cigars (mostly imported and hand-made) increased even more, an astounding 90 percent last year and an estimated 250 percent since 1993. In contrast, during this same time period, cigarette consumption declined 2 percent. This dramatic change in tobacco use raises a number of public health questions: Who is using cigars? What are the health risks? Are premium cigars less hazardous than regular cigars? What are the risks if you don't inhale the smoke? What are the health implications of being around a cigar smoker? In order to address these questions, the National Cancer Institute (NCI) undertook a complete review of what is known about cigar smoking and is making this information available to the American public. This monograph, number 9 in a series initiated by NCI in 1991, is the work of over 50 scientists both within and outside the Federal Government. Thirty experts participated in the multi-stage peer review process (see acknowledgments).
    [Show full text]
  • Hail, Caesars!
    Hail, Caesars! SSA’s host hotel is home to some of the greatest moments in movies, television and sports. By Tom Comi If employees at the registration desk at Caesars Palace when they were filming that 2009 film, but those moments in Las Vegas were given a $100 chip every time a guest are actually pretty common at Caesars—which has hosted quoted a line from the blockbuster movie The Hangover, countless movies, TV shows and sporting events in its the odds are pretty good they’d be rich enough to retire. illustrious 46-year history. There’s something surreal about standing in the exact same So even if you are a first-time visitor who is checking into spot as Bradley Cooper, Zach Galifanakis and Ed Helms Caesars in September for the Self Storage Association’s Fall Conference & Trade Show, chances are likely that you will Mike Metzger jumped the fountain in 2006 as part of the Caesars Palace anniversary. See Caesars, page 16 PAGE 14 SSA GLOBE SEPTEMBER 2012 1-800-456-9955 1620 Kipling Street, Lakewood, CO 80215 USA www.sentinelsystems.com Sentinel-ISS042-FP4C.indd 1 1/31/12 10:44 AM Caesars, from page 14 Getting It Done experience a case of déjà vu like you have seen the registra- Shooting TV shows, movies and live events on location tion area, casino, fountains, pool area or The Colosseum® is never easy, but imagine the obstacles in doing so at a many times before. venue that never closes. A perfect example is the afore- mentioned registration scene in The Hangover, which had “We have been very fortunate that prestigious filmmakers to be filmed while guests were still checking in several feet and innovative television producers have made some away.
    [Show full text]
  • Michael Felci [email protected] 760-834-8599 (PHOTO ATTACHED)
    FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Media Contact: Michael Felci [email protected] 760-834-8599 (PHOTO ATTACHED) SPOTLIGHT 29 CASINO PROUDLY PRESENTS COMEDIAN MIKE EPPS ‘Next Friday,’ ‘Def Comedy Jam,’ Star Set to Perform on Friday, January 12th in the Spotlight Showroom COACHELLA, CA – (January 3, 2018) – Spotlight 29 Casino is proud to present comedian Mike Epps on Friday, January 12th in the Spotlight Showroom. Tickets are $45, $55 and $65 at Spotlight29.com. Spotlight 29 Casino’s Spotlight Showroom offers the premier entertainment experience in the Coachella Valley. Epps began his stand-up career by joining the Def Comedy Jam tour in 1995. He went on to star in two HBO Def Comedy Jam specials before being cast as Day-Day Jones alongside Ice Cube in the hit comedy, “Next Friday.” He later reteamed with the actor-rapper for the films “All About the Benjamins” and “Friday After Next.” In 2003, Epps appeared in “The Fighting Temptations” with Beyoncé, Cuba Gooding Jr. and Steve Harvey. Epps returned to his stand-up roots in 2010, releasing the special Under Rated & Never Faded, and hosting the BET Hip-Hop Awards. In 2012, he served as Super Bowl ambassador in his native Indianapolis, starring in commercials and making special appearances the week of the game. Epps portrayed comedy legend Richard Pryor in the 2016 film “Nina,” which chronicled the life of the late jazz musician Nina Simone. Epps is expected to reprise the role in a forthcoming Pryor bio-pic directed by Lee Daniels, and co-starring Eddie Murphy, Kate Hudson and Oprah Winfrey.
    [Show full text]