Comedian Lewis Black to play Richmond

By DANIEL NEMAN
RICHMOND TIMES-DISPATCH
Published: July 30, 2008

It’s hard to believe now, but there was a time in comedian Lewis Black’s career when he would tell 45 minutes worth of jokes about the weather.

Black dropped the weather shtick years ago and has since found fame as one of the foremost political comics of our day. He will appear tomorrow at Richmond’s Landmark Theater, and you don’t play the Landmark with weather jokes.

Even so, Black is tired of talking about politics, he said in a recent phone call from a hotel in Los Angeles.

Sometimes he actually pines for the days when his jokes were more mundane.

“I’m already sick of it,“ he said about this year’s presidential campaign. “Once Hillary [Clinton] stepped out, I felt like it was all over and we should move on. I felt like everyone who ran had already been president and it was time to start running the country.“

Black, 59, is known for attacking both major parties equally: One of his lines is “Republicans are a party with bad ideas, and Democrats are a party with no ideas.“ His politics run toward what he admits is the fringe—he is a socialist.

“There are, like, six socialists in the United States,“ he said.

Black said he believes the country has become greedier than ever and the extreme wealth of the very richest Americans should be redistributed. Even though he is now successful, with access to more money and goods than he could before afford, he is wary of the rich and powerful.

“I know how this system works,“ he said. “I was broke most of my life, and it doesn’t work for you when you’re broke.

“When you’re broke, you say, ‘I’ve got this thing on my arm. Should I get it checked out, or should I have breakfast, lunch and dinner today?‘“

Black was born in Washington and grew up in Silver Spring, Md., although he has lived his adult life in New York City. He recently gave a comedy performance to benefit the public high school he attended.

“I had to do a benefit for my high school,“ he said.

“Are you serious? I mean, my high school needed a benefit? The public schools need benefits? And you don’t think something’s wrong?“

As a political comedian, Black does not expect his audiences to share his political views. He does, however, expect them to share his frustration, which is the source of his humor.

His show “is not going to be about socialism as much as it’s going to be about stupidity.“

“That’s what my act is about,“ he said. “If stupidity were oil, we’d have no problem in this country. It’s our greatest resource.“

Although most of his show is political and always changing, one thing remains constant: Black always includes a rant about golf. If nothing else, it’s a game that speaks to frustrations.

“I play golf, and I hate it,“ he said. “I hate that I do it, and I hate a lot of people that do it. I basically say that if you’re having an argument with a golfer, and you’re not a golfer, you’re right.

“Because a golfer actually has to lose a part of the brain in order to play.“

Contact Daniel Neman at (804) 649-6408 or .