Born Funny A Comic’s Chronicle Through the Rise of Alt Comedy

by McCaffrey, Tom

• ISBN13: 9781955090247
• ISBN10: 1955090246
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2023-01-03
• Publisher: The Unapologetic Voice House LLC

Summary

Stand-Up Comedy is a battlefield not for the faint of heart. You either die on that stage or you kill.

In 2002, Steve Collin was a brand spanking new comic who accidentally stumbled onto a burgeoning irreverent New York comedy movement in its infancy. Alternative Comedy quickly gained a following as a backlash to the stale ‘club style’ of the 80’s. It was new and exciting, and Steve’s loose style of comedy was a perfect fit for the ‘Alt’ scene. But in comedy, timing is everything…just one misstep and you become a cautionary tale or a punchline.

A former class clown and comedic natural, Steve enters the stand-up world wholly unprepared for the rejection, heavy drinking and cut-throat competition accompanying it. Recognized early on by comedy tastemakers as a talent to watch, and swiftly securing a litany of TV credits, Steve soon gets caught up in a whirlwind of endless shows, free drinks and the unrelenting New York City nightlife.
“Born Funny: A Comic’s Chronicle Through the Rise of Alt Comedy”, is a novel based on the author's stand-up comedy experience during the significant era that launched a generation of comedy talent. Featuring cameos from many well-known future comedy stars before they made it big, some names have been changed, including the author's.

Author Biography

Tom McCaffrey is a writer/comedian/actor from Manhattan. He has appeared on Comedy Central numerous times including; Premium Blend, Shorties Watching Shorties, The Secret Stash Movie, and AtomTV. He also appears on the Invite Them Up CD/DVD compilation produced by Comedy Central Records. This album was named one of the “Best Comedy Albums of the Decade” by the Onion AV Club. His last comedy album New York Funny debuted at #1 on iTunes in 2019.

Tom’s other TV credits include appearances on: Hulu, VH-1, Tru-TV, Animal Planet, and CNN. His stand-up album Lou Diamond Phillips? was named one of the ‘Top 10 Comedy Albums of 2008’ by Punchline Magazine.

His feature directorial debut, Adventures in Comedy featuring Janeane Garofalo, Jim Gaffigan, and Michael Che (SNL) was distributed by the reputable Comedy Dynamics. It premiered at the Annapolis Film Festival. He was the lead role in the indie film Happy Life Executive Produced by Abel Ferrara (Bad Lieutenant). 

Tom was a writer and producer for the Comedy Central show Masters of the Universities. He has contributed to the column “Say Something Funny” in the Onion and was a contributor to the Onion News Network.  He was featured in the Random House book Rejected.

Tom was featured in photographer Seth Olenick’s coffee table book Funny Business, which features some of the hottest people working in comedy today; Judd Apatow, Jon Hamm, and Paul Rudd are featured. Tom has blogged for The Huffington Post, BarelyPolitical.com, and contributed to TimeOut NY and the NY Daily News. In 2012 TimeOut NY nominated him for “Joke of the Year.”