|
He may have made a name opening up for big names, but comedian Sammy Shore has become a showbiz legend in his own right. And all legends have many stories behind them. Shore is sharing some of those stories in his one-man show, But First ... Sammy Shore, opening March 19 at San Jose Stage Company.
The show, co-written by Shore and longtime friend Rudy DeLuca, combines some of Shore's stand-up comedy with stories about his life, which include performing as an opening act for Elvis Presley, founding the seminal comedy club The Comedy Store, and being the dad of comedian and former MTV star Pauly Shore.
But First ... Sammy Shore ran for 21/2 years at the Santa Monica Playhouse in Los Angeles and just completed a run in Palm Springs.
"I wrote [the play] because I have something to say," says Shore from his hotel room in Las Vegas. "I have something to say at this late stage of my life—not that I'm dying tomorrow, but I'm just saying that I'm still doing it. I'm still able to get out there and do an hour and a half and make people laugh. And some of them cry, and some of them walk away with a great moment, a moment or two that they've gotten out of the play. People come over to me after the show and say 'thank you.' "
Shore came up in the comedy scene of the '50s and '60s, just as Las Vegas was establishing itself as an entertainment mecca. Shore performed at some of Vegas' first resorts and quickly became a regular in town. He has opened for everyone from Frank Sinatra to Barbra Streisand. Colonel Parker and Presley himself handpicked Shore to open for Presley's 1969 Vegas debut. It was the first of many shows that Shore would open for Presley.
Apparently the crew working backstage at these shows had just as much fun putting one over on Shore as he had cutting up for them and Presley. "The guys would all stand backstage and I'd be working, and then I'd do this preacher bit called Brother Sam, where I'd look in the balcony and I'd say, 'Do you people in the balcony want to be saved?' And they'd say 'Yeah,' and I'd say 'Well, jump!' And one night they threw a dummy off the top of the balcony, hanging there with a noose. It scared the hell out of me," Shore laughs.
Shore is currently working on a movie of his life called The Man Who Made Elvis Laugh. And just how did Shore crack up the king of rock & roll? Of his backstage give and take with Presley he says, "I could always make him laugh. He'd say 'Hey, Sammy, do the Brother Sam bit.' And we would just carry on. I was always kidding him about his accent. We toured all over the country, and we just had fun."
With DeLuca and Shore's ex-wife, Mitzi, Shore co-founded the landmark Los Angeles comedy club The Comedy Store, a venue that not only helped launch the careers of stars like Robin Williams, David Letterman, Richard Pryor and Jim Carrey but also ushered in the heyday of standup comedy. "I had just finished my run with Elvis and I didn't know what to do at that time," says Shore, "and all of a sudden, someone asked me—they owned Ciro's nightclub on Sunset—if I would go in there and take over the lounge. I had no idea what was going to happen in there. I went in there with my friend Rudy DeLuca, and we opened this room. We called it The Comedy Store and we invited our comedian friends and overnight it was a hit. It just happened."
Shore is equally unassuming about a career as a veteran performer who has seen—and taken part in—so many changes to show business. "I have a great perspective on life—it's just about keep doing what you're doing."
"But First ... Sammy Shore" plays at San Jose Stage Company March 19April 13. For tickets, call 408.283.7142.
|
