He’s a perfect depiction of a variety entertainer. The avatar for us all.
Variety entertainers are ridiculous. We work really hard to perform stuff that nobody cares about and try to make them care. We are desperate, delusional, passionate, heart-first, beautiful, powerful, impotent. This is the most important craft in the world and that’s why I’ve dedicated my life to it and to uplifting and amplifying the work that others do in it.
Perry Kurtz, 3 days after posting “Need some laughs?” on facebook, was killed crossing the street. Why was anyone walking in LA, and the question I’m sure he would like me to ask…Why did Perrry cross the street?
I don’t know, but he got to the “other side.”
He was going somewhere. He was always going somewhere. He was doing stuff. He seemed old, yet full of a young energy. He seemed like tired of it all, and yet didn’t know what was around the corner. Perry was a long-term Los Angeles comedian in every show you could imagine. Busy without feeling busy. He was a fluctuation between cocky and jaw-droppingly humble. A full human! So rad. He would kill on stage and not know why….Consider himself lucky and do it again.
I introduced him to James Corden and he charmed Corden faster than I could. Had a joke on his show that made me a little envious. Then, I got immediate gratitude that Perry was in my life at all.
Perry was one of the performers that would keep myself and the band guessing even though we knew exactly what he was there to do. He was very supportive of me and every performer that needed it. Let’s be more Perry today.
