Alonzo Bodden doubles down on comedy but refuses to play the penny slots at the casino
Alonzo Bodden feels for those who died when the submersible, Titan, imploded on the way to explore the wreckage of the Titanic on the floor of the Atlantic Ocean last week. “It’s awful but why go down there?” Bodden said. “Why take such a chance?”
Delivering stand-up is enough of a risk for Bodden. “I love going up there onstage and walking this high wire,” Bodden said while calling from his Los Angeles home. “It’s the greatest job in the world.”
Before trying his luck as a stand-up, Bodden was an airplane mechanic for a decade. While instructing his then peers, Bodden learned he was funny in front of an audience. “I would stand in front of the class and make people laugh,” Bodden recalled. “It wasn’t done intentionally. They thought I was funny. It didn’t surprise me that people were amused by me since I could always make people laugh going back to when I was a kid going to school. I wasn’t the class clown but I was funny.”
Bodden, 60, signed up for a class in comedy writing and acting. “That’s all it took,” Bodden said. “Once I started in comedy, I was hooked.”
It’s been nearly 30 years since Bodden’s comedy career commenced. Bodden has appeared in such films as “Scary Movie 4,” “Bringing Down the House” and “The Girl Next Door.”
The New York native also won first place on Season 3 of “Last Comic Standing” in 2003.
“It’s been an amazing ride,” Bodden said. “I love performing and coming back to cities, like Spokane.”
Bodden, who will perform Friday and Saturday at the Spokane Comedy Club, has played the Lilac City more than 10 times. “I’ve been to Spokane a lot since I love the comedy fans there,” Bodden said. “I’ll never forget the first time I performed in Spokane. I was on a casino tour about 20 years ago. I went all through Washington like I was looking for Sasquatch. When I got to Spokane, I went into the casino (Northern Quest Resort and Casino) and it was the first time I saw penny slot machines. I went up to someone playing the penny slots and said, ‘here’s a dollar, now you’re a champion.”
The quick-witted Bodden is a news junkie, who gets topical onstage but also delivers evergreen material. “I like a good balance when I perform,” Bodden said. “There are certain things in the news that I’ll be compelled to talk about. But I don’t ever get caught up with one topic. I never got stuck with just joking about Donald Trump even though there is a lot of material there. I like to keep moving on and I like to stay a couple steps ahead when it comes to certain issues.”
Some of Bodden’s most amusing moments are when he works the crowd. “Some of the funniest stuff at a show just happens,” Bodden said. “I enjoy connecting with the audience. Something hilarious might happen with the give and take with a member of the audience. It’s unpredictable and that’s why I love what I do. Every show is different for me and the audience.”