John Basinger a.k.a. Honest John

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Honest John is a white comedian who earns his living playing the black comedy circuit. He does Phat Tuesdays--which is "urban comedy" night--at the Comedy Store in Hollywood when he can, plays "Black Nights" at clubs around the country, travels with the Def Comedy Jam tour on its dates nationwide, and has appeared on BET Comic View several times. He considers himself a white black comedian, and is one of the few white comedians who makes a living telling jokes to black people. His metamorphosis from honkyism began in 1976, when John Basinger, the Rhode Island folk singer, packed his acoustic guitar and headed to LA to become a big star. In the Reagan ‘80s however, LA was not exactly Woodstock, and Basinger soon laid down his guitar and launched a more lucrative career as an attendant at a local mental hospital. At night, he began doing stand-up at bars and coffee shops around LA. Eventually, a Black comedian friend invited him to do a gig at the Comedy Theater, which at the time was the most renowned Black comedy club in the country. He killed, and the rest, as they say, is history.

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