O.C.'s King of Comedy - for at least a year

Geoff Keith bounces onto the stage at Martini Blues in Huntington Beach and opens with a quick slam on the septegenarian comedienne who’d just finished her own set in the 4th annual Orange County’s Funniest Person Contest.

"It’s gonna be hard following Phyllis Diller," he says, putting down his competition and grabbing the crowd’s support with one fast insult.

Launching into his own set, Keith, a 21-year-old who grew up in Lake Forest, riffs on the new slang he picked up on a tour of Rhode Island comedy clubs recently.

Cocked, it seems, is the term they use for being drunk, wasted, blitzed. Probably not gonna fly out here, Keith figures.

Can you imagine going out with your buddies in West Hollywood and telling everybody the next day you all got cocked?

Yeah, didn’t think so.

Later that night, the judges voted Keith the title of Orange County’s Funniest Person 2005. A few days later, he talked to SqueezeOC about his life and career in comedy.

SqueezeOC: So were you always the funny kid growing up? How’d you decide to be a comic?

Keith: Before I was a comic, most people I’d meet would say, "You’re so funny, you should be a comedian." Funny. Now I don’t hear that at all.

I’d always said I was going to do this, but I was really into basketball, too. I played college basketball for a year, at the University of Redlands, and then I left.

SqueezeOC: What position did you play?

Keith: Pretty much the bench. But point guard.

SqueezeOC: I bet it’s probably hard to get on stage the first time. How’d you do it?

Keith: I knew Marc Takemiya (Orange County’s Funniest Person 2004) a little through a friend. And I asked him how he got into it. He said he took a class at the Irvine Improv.

I didn’t really want to take the class – it was a big ego thing, "I’m funny, I don’t need that!" – and I didn’t really learn that much from the class, but I did learn how to get up on stage.

SqueezeOC: What was your first time like?

Keith: It was graduation from the class. I did about 5 1/2 minutes. Reaction-wise from the crowd, it was amazing, but when I watch the tape now, I cringe. I don’t do any of those jokes anymore.

SqueezeOC: When did you first feel like you were on track with it?

Keith: The first show I got paid for was one of Bill Word’s Laffdown shows. That was my first check, $75. I still have it, I never cashed it.

When I knew I was doing something really good, I think it was another Laffdown show at Martini Blues. Someone from Power Entertainment was there, and the West Coast booker for the Improv, and they both came up and told me how good I was doing.

SqueezeOC: So Power Entertainment signed you and the Improv started booking your regularly. Are you making it entirely on comedy now or do you still have a day job?

Keith: Comedy is not totally supporting me yet. I do make money from comedy every month. I’ve emceed at the Brea Improv, the Hollywood Improv, the Irvine Improv. I do a lot of shows with a lot of established comics, they know who I am.

But getting in with the booking agents around the country, that’s hard. They don’t like L.A. comedians. I have enough time, I’ve done an hour and two minutes before, but a lot of L.A. comics, they only do their seven minutes. They just want to have enough to get in front of a casting agent or producer.

SqueezeOC: Everybody bombs, right? So what’s your worst experience?

Keith: The great thing about comedy is that it’s always humbling. No matter who you are – Chris Rock, Jerry Seinfeld – there are people who will think you’re not funny.

I was out at this bar show in, I think it was Covina. There were only about five or six people in there, and nobody was listening, they were just sitting at the bar.

The door was behind me, and this one guy walked out, and I heard him say, "f---ing terrible." He didn’t say it to me, it wasn’t a heckle. He was saying it to himself, like, "Man, I can’t believe this guy is so bad."

I didn’t go back to that place for awhile, because that was the only time something got to me on stage. Finally I went back and I did crowd work (insulting the audience) for about 15 minutes. It was like my revenge. They loved it.

SqueezeOC: What comedians do you admire? Who’d you like to model your career after?

Keith: My favorite comedian before he got super famous was Dave Chappelle. I like his timing and his material. Jackie Mason I like a lot. Dom Irrera. I saw that guy in person at the Improv – you print this, I’ll lose a lot of tough guy points – but he was just killing the whole time, and he was so good that when I walked out, I got a little misty eyed.

SqueezeOC: So where do you want to go with this? How do you imagine your career taking shape?

Keith: I want to be a national headliner, that’s my goal first. I do want to get into TV. I’m studying acting. Acting is fun, it pays ridiculous and people know who you are when you’re on TV.

But being a comic is No. 1 for me.

Geoff Keith is traveling to comedy clubs in Texas this month, but he makes regular appearances at the Improv clubs throughout Southern California. In addition, a DVD of the Orange County’s Funniest Person Contest finals – including Keith’s winning performance – will be released soon. Check http://www.ocfunniest.com/ for details.

User Reviews Avg. Customer Review (4.5 Oranges): Does he act like he plays basketball??? by King of backdoors- David from Irvine, CA - Nov 12, 2005 The funniest I've seen is when he argues with his buddy in the court. Star player on the court!!!!! 0 of 0 people found this following review helpful. Was this review helpful to you?  Is G. Keith single?? by Anonymous from Temecula, CA - Nov 11, 2005 The one question you failed to ask this hottie was, "are you single?" 0 of 0 people found this following review helpful. Was this review helpful to you?