My name is Henry Cho. I'm full-blooded Korean. I was born and raised in
Knoxville, Tennessee, so I'm South Korean. "I got 'em right there, right out of
the box," beams comedian Henry Cho. "That's a joke no one else can do. That's
the whole key." Fact is, Cho's background has enriched him with a repertoire
of funny stories no one else can do.
From the start of his career, Cho was determined to be more than just an
Asian comic. "I wanted to be a comic "period," he asserts. And to that end,
he has developed routines that work as well at the dinner table as they do at
comedy clubs.
In the process of perfecting his act, Cho has had some notable "and
riotously funny" mentors, among them Steve Allen, Jerry Seinfeld and Gary
Shandling. In essence, they all gave him this same bit of advice: "You've got
the best comedy hook outside of Rodney Dangerfield. So don't get too far away
from it."
"I'll do some Asian jokes up front," Cho explains, "just to get past the
obvious. Then I move on "maybe throw in another one in the middle" and then I
close with a story about my dad and me going to Korea, which, by the way, is
true."
I don't speak Korean, not one word at all and that's kind of weird for me
because Korean people would just walk up to me and start talking . . . and I'm
like, "How ya'll doin??"
Cho is doing just fine. In fact, he's become one the most successful
standup comics touring today. His shows regularly sell out throughout the
country. At the outset, though, his career choice shocked his family,
particularly his dad.
"My dad has two doctorates," says Cho, "and I was supposed to be a doctor
like everybody else in my family. So when I told him what I wanted to do, it
didn't go over really well . . . It didn't go well at all. He didn't say
anything about it for about 18 months, then one day when I dropped by the house
to visit he followed me out to my motorcycle, which he never did, and finally
told me to stick with it, that I was really good. Man, I knew that killed him
to say that, but it made me bulletproof. Now the only thing that could stop me
was me."
Cho notes that he got into comedy on a whim. In a move that completely
surprised his buddies, he signed up for an "open mic" competition that was
being taped in Knoxville for a Showtime special. "I watched the first five
guys go up," he recalls, "and then I told my buddies, "I'm gonna go up, try not
to embarrass myself, and then we're out of here." But I just destroyed the
crowd. I got a standing ovation."
That memorable triumph took place on a Monday night in early 1986. When Cho
walked off the stage, the owner of the Funny Bone Comedy Clubs offered him a
spot hosting the show for the rest of that week. By Friday, he had decided to
drop out of college. A few months later, he was booked for his first
nationwide tour, a six-week baptism by fire. "I've been doing it ever since,"
he says..
It was tough getting married. I was a bachelor a long time. I was a bachelor
my entire life before I got married.
"My standup has always been a direct reflection of my life," Cho explains.
"When I was single, I talked about single stuff. I talked about dating. When I
got married there were only a handful of stories I could move over to where I
wasn't going to be disrespectful to my wife. So I developed a new routine."
It was a comic windfall that his wife's family lives in Arab, Alabama. And now
Cho and his wife have three kids to add stories to the mix.
For years, Cho's friends and fans urged him to record a comedy album. But
he was always apprehensive about doing it. "I want people to see my show," he
says, "not just listen to it." However, when it became evident that his Comedy
Central routine would be ideal for a CD and a DVD, he relented. Both these
spinoffs will also be called Henry Cho: What's That Clickin' Noise?" And,
yes, there is a funny story behind the title.
*In partnership with The Gersh Agency.
