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Brick Wall Comedy
Brick Wall Comedy

Guy Torry

A fast-talking architect of nineties Los Angeles comedy.

2 specials · 2002–2022

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Guy Torry paces the stage like a man trying to talk his way out of a parking ticket. He operates at a dead sprint. When he complains about poor customer service or slow mail carriers, he doesn’t just recite the grievance. He physically acts out the exhaustion of standing in a long line, dropping his voice into a deadpan drawl to mimic an unhelpful clerk before snapping back to his own loud frustration. He likes to play both halves of a bad interaction, escalating a minor annoyance into a shouting match.

Specials

On stage

He holds a permanent place in the history of Los Angeles comedy. In 1995, he launched Phat Tuesdays at the Comedy Store, carving out a high-profile Hollywood room for Black comics in the wake of the 1992 riots. He also hosted the original Kings of Comedy tour. He built the infrastructure for a massive era of standup, booking lineups that shifted the industry.

His own standup relies on traditional gripes about generational decay and the loss of common sense. The premises themselves, like young people refusing to work or the disappearance of basic manners, are standard comedy club fare. He drives the material entirely through velocity, refusing to give an audience time to catch their breath. If a punchline gets a weak response, he will lean over the mic stand and interrogate the front row, openly demanding the reaction he feels the bit earned.

A St. Louis native who followed his older brother Joe into the Los Angeles entertainment scene, Torry’s screen credits include American History X and Life. These roles utilize the same restless energy he brings to the stage.

Turning points

  1. Creation of Phat Tuesdays at Comedy Store

    Guy Torry founded and hosted Phat Tuesdays at The Comedy Store to showcase African American comedic talent to Hollywood industry scouts, running the legendary night for a decade.

  2. –

    Original Host of Kings of Comedy Tour

    Following the success of Phat Tuesdays, producer Walter Latham recruited Torry to serve as the original host of the nationwide Kings of Comedy tour.

At a glance

Born
, Fort Ord, California
On stage
since 1991
Breakout
Def Comedy Jam
Topics
Elsewhere
Website, Wikipedia

Fans also like

  • Joe Torry

    As brothers who both came through the 1990s Def Comedy Jam boom, they share deep comedic roots and collaborative appearances at Phat Tuesdays.

    Photo: John B. Mueller / CC-BY-2.5

  • Cedric the Entertainer

    Torry was the original host of the national Kings of Comedy tour that featured Cedric the Entertainer during the peak of 1990s club comedy.

  • Mike Epps

    Both comedians emerged through the Def Comedy Jam pipeline and shared the stage on Snoop Dogg's F*cn Around Comedy Special.

    Source

Also on screen

Don't Be a Menace to South Central While Drinking Your Juice in the Hood Doo Rag's Father
1997–1998
Good News Little T
American History X Lamont
1999–2000
The Strip Jesse Weir
Life Radio

A clip to start with

Def Comedy Jam - Guy Torry [S08E10]

4 min · 10K views · on The Golden Era