The return of Billy the Kid
Billy Gardell earned his standup credentials in Florida comedy clubs, andhe's back to entertain and reminisce a bit where it all began.
By STEVE PERSALL
Published July 6, 2006
In the late 1980s, Billy Gardell was nicknamed Billy the Kid by stand-up comedians hanging out in Florida comedy clubs.
Gardell was only 17 and already killing as a featured act, not even old enough to drink alcohol like the audiences he entertained.
"Well, I shouldn't have drank in places where I was working," Gardell says. At 36, Gardell figures the statute of limitations on his underage imbibing has run out.
Most of the clubs from those days are closed or under new ownership anyway, the fallout from cable networks pumping stand-up comedy directly into homes where drinks are cheaper.
Before that industry slump, the Florida comedy club circuit was one of the nation's finest launching pads for fresh talent such as Dan Whitney (Larry the Cable Guy), Saturday Night Live stars Darrell Hammond and Jim Breuer, and MTV host Tom Rhodes.
Over the years, Billy the Kid added his name to that list of successful graduates from Florida's school of hard yuks. Gardell lives in Los Angeles now and gets steady acting work in films and on TV. But he sounds as if a chunk of his heart remains in the Sunshine State.
"Man, those were the best times in my career," Gardell says, calling from his L.A. home. "My life has since blossomed into a cool thing, way better than I ever thought it would. I have a beautiful wife and beautiful baby. I can support myself as an actor and a comic. But those days in Florida were the coolest.
"There were no cell phones or beepers interrupting shows. I had a giant 1984 Oldsmobile Delta 88 and a porkpie hat and some Allman Brothers records. That's really all I needed. It really was fun. In those days, Florida was the best because there were probably 20 gigs from Pensacola to Key West that you could scout around the state doing."
The tourism industry guaranteed audience variety, making each show a unique contest for attention and laughter.
Jokes that worked one night might not the next. The pay wasn't much, but Gardell and his peers kept coming back.
"You couldn't not get good in Florida unless you (were lousy)," Gardell says. "That class, that crew in Florida all came in about the same time. The group before us were mostly boat acts, you know, Carnival Cruise acts.
"When you got out on the road in the West or the Northeast and you'd go into a club and tell them you started comedy in Florida they'd go: 'Oh, jeez, a boat act.' Then you go out onstage and smoke them, and they'd say: 'Oh, wait a minute. There's a new wave coming out of there.'
"It was kind of split down the middle: Half of us were influenced by (gonzo author) Hunter S. Thompson and the other half was influenced by (beat author Jack) Kerouac."
Gardell, still a popular draw onstage, branched into acting with roles in Bad Santa and the upcoming You, Me & Dupree, plus regular roles on the CBS sitcom Yes, Dear and NBC's recently canceled crime series, Heist.
"We did seven (Heist) episodes of 13 planned," Gardell says. "Around episode four, they put us on against Lost and American Idol, so that was that.
"People would ask me what it was like to go up against those shows and I said: 'Did you ever see those old movies where the lady's tied up on the train tracks? Well, nobody came to rescue us.' "
Gardell studied acting under Arlene Golonka, a regular on The Andy Griffith Show, who taught him to "take off the armor" stand-up comedians figuratively wear onstage.
"Stand-up is more like battling for control of the room," Gardell says. "Acting is more about letting people see you think. It's more about opening up.
"The ideal goal is to get enough acting work so the clubs sell out for you. You can call pretty much your own shots at that point. When I moved out here I learned pretty quick that L.A. isn't a town for stand-up; it's more of a town for actors. If you want to survive, that's the game you have to play out here."
Steve Persall can be reached at (727) 893-8365 or persall@sptimes.com.
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Billy Gardell performs at Side Splitters Comedy Club, 12938 N Dale Mabry Highway, Tampa, at 8:30 tonight, 8 and 10:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday, 7 p.m. Sunday. $8-$14. 813 960-1197 or www. sidesplitterscomedy.com.