Shaquille O?Neal?s All-Star Comedy Jam includes (from left) Capone, Corey Holcomb, DeRay Davis and Gary Owen. Two lines here Shaq All-Stars comedians: Capone, Corey Holcomb, DeRay Davis. Gary Owen
In an entertainment industry dominated by white people, where performers of color are usually, at best, marginalized, the career of stand-up comic Gary Owen, whom Ebony magazine recently christened "black America's favorite white comedian," is like a photo negative.
"I'm usually the only white guy on the show," says Owen, who will once again be in that role when he comes to the Orpheum Friday on the first stop of former NBA center Shaquille O'Neal's All-Star Comedy Jam tour. "That's been the history of me, so I'm used to it."
The comedy show was born out of an event O'Neal has been staging for years during NBA All-Star Weekends. This is the first time O'Neal, who recently retired from basketball, has taken the show on the road.
This inaugural tour is being presented as part of the Southern Heritage Classic Annual Cultural Celebration, a slate of festivities surrounding the Southern Heritage Classic, the annual football clash between historically black colleges Jackson State University and Tennessee State University. In addition to the comedy show, other festivities included a Thursday night kickoff concert by R&B singers KEM and Anthony David and a show tonight at Harrah's Tunica Casino featuring Rock and Roll Hall of Famers The O'Jays and comedian Jay Lamont.
Other events include the Ed "Too Tall" Jones Golf Classic, a Classic Parade through Orange Mound, a battle of the high school bands, hair and fashion shows, and for the first time, a free college fair for students with more than 60 institutions of higher learning participating.
"I describe our event like the Super Bowl weekend," says Southern Heritage Classic founder and promoter Fred Jones of the events that surround the Saturday night game at Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium. "You have people who go to the Super Bowl city who never go to the game. ... We have staples that have become as much a part of what we're doing as the game."
Owen, who has been coming to Memphis since his early days in stand-up in the mid-'90s, is acutely sensitive to the importance of the Southern Heritage Classic celebration. A native of Cincinnati, where he still lives with his African-American wife and two kids, Owen got his start in comedy while stationed in San Diego with the Navy. Even then, his comedy had an African-American appeal.
"I'm not sure what it is, but part of it is just who has been exposed to me," says Owen. "I joke about sports -- I'm a huge sports fan -- and from there I get into my family and current events. It's just my life."
Shortly after being named the "Funniest Serviceman In America," Owen improbably went on to win "Funniest Black Comedian in San Diego." Since then, he has made his living almost exclusively in front of black audiences. His first big break came in 1997 on Black Entertainment Television's stand-up showcase "ComicView." He has been a regular on "The Tom Joyner Morning Show" radio program and in the plays of Tyler Perry and others. He's been a featured actor in two African-American- centered sitcoms; "The Wayan Bros." and Perry's current hit "House of Payne." Even his film roles have had an African-American slant.
"I've done 10 movies, and they've all had black lead actors except one, which was called 'College,' and that was the one that tanked," says Owen, who has also appeared with Eddie Murphy in "Daddy Day Care" and in "Little Man" with his "Wayan Bros." bosses Marlon and Shawn. "How weird is that?"
Owen will once again be in the minority when he comes to town with the O'Neal All-Star Comedy Jam with black comics DeRay Davis, Corey Holcomb and Capone, all friends of his from their early days.
"Just like Dirk Nowitzki -- dominating," he jokes, comparing his role to that of the Dallas Maverick's white German power forward. "After all, you don't want the Larry Bird Comedy Jam coming to town, do you?"
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Southern Heritage Classic Annual Cultural Celebration
Shaquille O'Neal Presents All-Star Comedy Jam: 8 p.m. Friday at the Orpheum, 203 S. Main. Tickets: $42.50 and $52.50, available at the box office and through Ticketmaster. Call 525-7800 or visit orpheum-memphis.com. For a complete list of events and other information, visit southernheritageclassic.com.
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