Barry Crimmins
An enraged, intensely moral satirist who built the Boston comedy scene.
1 special · 2016
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Barry Crimmins paced the stage like a man trying to talk a crowd out of walking off a cliff. He gripped the mic tight, locking eyes with the front row to deliver dense, angry political setups that demanded attention. When a bit met silence, he didn’t coddle the room or pivot to lighter material. He leaned in closer and spoke louder, determined to make the audience understand why they should be mad. The punchlines arrived like sledgehammers, driven by a scowl that occasionally broke into a quick, knowing grin.
Specials
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An angry political satirist targets American institutions in Kansas.
LouisCK.com · 58 min
On stage
He died in 2018, but he remains the reason the Boston comedy boom happened. By founding the Ding Ho comedy room in Cambridge in 1979, he created a stage for Steven Wright, Paula Poundstone, and Bobcat Goldthwait. He is the comic those legends point to when they discuss integrity, a guy who spent decades refusing to soften his anger for network television.
His 2016 special Whatever Threatens You captures his late-stage rhythm, dismantling American imperialism and corporate greed. He built routines around historical hypocrisy rather than everyday grievances. His dedication to truth sometimes overran his pacing, and a set could temporarily tilt into a heavy lecture. Yet the gravity of his delivery usually held the room together. He didn’t want the crowd to like him. He wanted them to leave the club as angry as he was.
That protective rage was not an act. Crimmins survived severe childhood sexual abuse and eventually channeled that trauma into taking down early online predators. That hard-wired need to defend the vulnerable was the engine running beneath every minute he spent on stage.
Turning points
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Founding The Ding Ho Comedy Club
Crimmins co-founded The Ding Ho in Cambridge, sparking the 1980s Boston comedy boom and launching the careers of Steven Wright, Bobcat Goldthwait, and Paula Poundstone.
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Congressional Testimony Against Online Child Exploitation
After going undercover in AOL chat rooms to gather evidence against online predators, Crimmins testified before the U.S. Congress, ultimately prompting AOL to shutter predator-focused chat rooms.
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Release of Call Me Lucky
Directed by Bobcat Goldthwait, the documentary brought Crimmins's comedy legacy and his fight against child sexual abuse back into the national spotlight.
At a glance
- Born
- , Kingston, New York
- Died
- 2018
- On stage
- since 1971
- Style
- political satire, satire, observational
- Breakout
- Whatever Threatens You
- Topics
- Elsewhere
- Website, Wikipedia
Fans also like
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Bobcat GoldthwaitCrimmins mentored Goldthwait early in his career at the Ding Ho, and Goldthwait later directed the acclaimed documentary Call Me Lucky about Crimmins's life and activism.
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Steven WrightWright cut his comedic teeth at Crimmins's Ding Ho club, frequently praised his sharp reality-based comedy, and toured together with him.
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Paula PoundstonePoundstone emerged alongside Crimmins as a key fixture of the 1980s Boston comedy scene fostered at the Ding Ho.
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Kevin Meaney
Meaney was an integral peer and frequent performer in Crimmins's Boston comedy clubs including the Ding Ho and Stitches.
Also on screen
- The Young Comedians All-Star Reunion
- 1988–1989
- The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour
- When Stand Up Stood Out
- Call Me Lucky
A clip to start with
A clip of Barry Crimmins