Bob Smith
A deadpan joke writer who changed nineties comedy without raising his voice.
3 specials · 1993–1997
Start with HBO Comedy Half-Hour, the breakout (1994 · HBO)
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A tall, austere presence on stage, Bob Smith does not bounce around or lean on camp. He stands at the microphone and delivers carefully built jokes. He will read off his elementary school report cards, pointing out how obvious his orientation was to his teachers while his family stayed in denial. He speaks with a wry, low-key detachment. When he mentions that as a kid he was never afraid of the dark, but was afraid of unflattering light, he lets the punchline hang in the air. He never rushes.
Specials
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The Gay Comedy Jam: Freedom Tour Live with Scott Kennedy & Kevin Maye
A 1997 Portland tour stop featuring three working queer comedians.
Uproar Entertainment · Album
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Out There with Lea DeLaria, Suzanne Westenhoefer & 4 more
Network television's first all-queer stand-up comedy showcase.
Comedy Central · 60 min
On stage
In the early nineties, audiences often expected gay performers to fit into loud, animated boxes. Smith refused to play along. As the first openly gay comedian to perform on The Tonight Show and secure an HBO half-hour, he forced the club circuit to realize that queer life could be talked about with the exact same deadpan rhythm as any other subject.
He talks about his childhood in Buffalo, the strangeness of the natural world, and the daily friction of living among straight people. Fellow comics watch him for the writing. He strips his setups down to the studs and refuses to abandon a joke’s structure just to get a faster laugh.
Smith was diagnosed with ALS in 2007, which eventually cost him his voice and mobility. He kept writing, tapping out new material on an iPad with one finger. When doctors first told him he had Lou Gehrig’s disease, his immediate response was to complain that he didn’t even like baseball.
Turning points
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Founding of Funny Gay Males
Alongside Danny McWilliams and Jaffe Cohen, Smith formed the groundbreaking comedy troupe Funny Gay Males, launching successful national tours and co-authoring the book Growing Up Gay.
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Solo HBO Comedy Half-Hour Breakthrough
Smith broke ground as the first openly gay comedian to star in his own half-hour special on HBO, airing in a historic back-to-back showcase with Suzanne Westenhoefer.
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ALS Diagnosis and Onstage Disclosure
After experiencing muscle twitching and slurred speech during a Boston show, Smith was diagnosed with ALS, openly addressing his neurological disorder on stage before losing his speech and shifting full-time to prose writing.
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First Openly Gay Stand-Up on The Tonight Show
Bob Smith made American late-night television history when he became the first openly gay standup comic to perform a set on The Tonight Show.
At a glance
- Born
- , Buffalo, New York
- Died
- 2018
- Style
- storytelling, satire
- Breakout
- HBO Comedy Half-Hour
- Influences
- Lily Tomlin, W. C. Fields
- Topics
- Elsewhere
- Wikipedia
Fans also like
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Suzanne Westenhoefer
Westenhoefer emerged in the same cohort of 1990s openly gay comedy pioneers, co-headlining HBO's landmark Comedy Half-Hour gay comedy night and Comedy Central's Out There special.
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Elvira KurtKurt is a fellow LGBTQ standup comedian and close personal confidante for whom Smith served as the biological sperm donor.
Also on screen
- In Thru the Out Door
- We're Funny That Way!
A clip to start with
Comedian Bob Smith