STAND-UP TUESDAYS: In Memoriam

April 15th, 2014

Angie Frissore

Stand-Up Tuesdays is a weekly comedy spotlight written by the wonderfully talented Angie Frissore. Covering both known and unknown comics, Stand-up Tuesdays is your new source for all things funny.

This week, Angie pauses to remember comedians we have recently lost. If you or your comedy troupe would like to be featured on Stand-Up Tuesdays, please email utgjames@gmail.com.

I’m setting aside my critic hat this week to instead take a moment to remember comedians John Pinette and Otto Petersen, both of whom left us far too soon.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TdwuiyO7hOU

Born just outside of Boston, Massachusetts, Pinette always had a gift for making people laugh. When he learned that he could actually make a living for doing so, he left behind his life as an accountant and began his comedy career – and it wasn’t long before he was touring comedy clubs around the country. Shortly thereafter, Pinette got his big break when he was asked to tour with Frank Sinatra, and has since become a regular guest on The Tonight Show and The View.

John Pinette entertained audiences around the world in a variety of ways for over fifteen years, but it is making people laugh that Pinette enjoys most of all. He was named Stand-Up Comedian of the Year by the American Comedy Awards in 1999 and has received a Gemini Award nomination for his superb televised performance at The Montreal Comedy Festival in 2000. His Comedy Central Special and DVD entitled I’m Starvin’ was released in January of 2006 as a followup to his enormously successful CD Show Me The Buffet. In 2011, Pinette released his most recent Comedy Central Special entitled Still Hungry after 25 years performing in the comedy industry.

Pinette has also enjoyed a long acting career in both television and film. Duets, starring Gwenyth Paltrow, Dear God, starring Greg Kinnear, and Junior, starring Arnold Schwarzeneger are just a few of John’s film credits. He was a series regular on the hit series Parker Lewis Can’t Lose, and starred as the car-jack victim in the final episode of Seinfeld. John can also be seen as the lovable ‘Mr. Bumpo’ in The Punisher starring John Travolta and Thomas Jane. Pinette passed away at the age of 50 on April 5, 2014.

It goes without saying that the Boston comedy community and beyond are mourning the loss of such a comedic genius and all around wonderful person.

The comedy industry is still reeling from the recent news that Otto Petersen, the talent behind the ultra-filthy ventriloquist act Otto & George, suddenly passed away in his sleep on Sunday. He was 53 years old.

Otto & George performed for over thirty years, and have appeared on The Late Show with David Letterman, Penn & Teller’s Sin City Spectacular & Bullshit! programs, and Showtime’s Full Frontal Comedy. They’ve have also appeared in the feature films Comedy’s Dirtiest Dozen with Chris Rock and Tim Allen, and performed a version of the “The Aristocrats” joke in Paul Provenza’s & Penn Jilette’s film, The Aristocrats. While the act was known for being dirty, Otto was a very gentle soul who was beloved by just about everyone who had the pleasure of meeting him.

“When I was very young, I was about fourteen, I was a street performer in New York for a bunch of years. Did it all over New York, on the ferry, Central Park, and went into the clubs later on,” Petersen shared with the Boston Comedy Scene Examiner in 2012. “I wasn’t dirty when I started. When I got to the nightclubs, the comedians…it was very important to get the comedians to like you so you could get good spots, early spots, so you kind of had to play to them. Comedians have this jaded sense of humor though; it’s kind of a necessity at the beginning.”

Two comedic heavyweights gone too soon. Rest in peace, John Pinette and Otto Petersen. You are missed.

Ventriloquist