A Funny Thing Happened...

Laughter may be the best medicine, but that doesn't mean that professional funnymen are immune from life's ups and downs. Several years ago, Robert Schimmel was managing a stereo store in Scottsdale, Arizona. He went out to Los Angeles to visit his sister, and while he was there they went to a comedy club. On stage were people like Jay Leno, Jerry Seinfeld, Larry Miller, and George Wallace. Schimmel's sister said, "You're as funny as these guys! Why don't you try comedy?" Schimmel answered, "I couldn't do that."

They came back a week later on amateur night. Although Schimmel didn't know it, his sister had put his name on the list of performers. They were sitting in the audience when the announcer said, "And now for our next comic, Robert Schimmel!"

Schimmel went up on stage and talked about his parents for two minutes. The audience laughed. The owner of the club came over and said, "You can work here whenever you want. Just call me up and I'll give you a spot."

Schimmel went back to Arizona and convinced his wife to move to Los Angeles. They packed all their things in a truck and drove off to sunny California. They made straight for the club that had promised him employment, so he could show it to his wife. But when they got there, all they found were smoldering embers. The club had burnt down the night before.

Schimmel did not give up. He got a job selling stereo equipment and went to every amateur night he could find. "I had to do it," says Schimmel. "My vision of becoming a comedian was so clear I felt like I had no choice. If you bet on yourself like that, there's more to win than if you play it safe and let yourself be afraid of failure." Soon, Schimmel was appearing with those comedians he so admired; he was even named Comic of the Year by the Las Vegas Review Journal.

Then he had a heart attack. But even that didn't stop him. He worked that frightening experience into an HBO comedy special that contained some of the funniest material he's ever written.

A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty.

—Winston Churchill,
British prime minister