tandup comedian Ste-
vie Ray Fromstein
has joined with other
humorists in a pro-
gram to draw young
people to a Los Ange-
les synagogue.
Mr. Fromstein, who
is performing at the
Comedy Castle in
Royal Oak the week
of Nov. 10, has par-
ticipated in the annu-
al "Night of Jewish
Comics," which fea-
tures each entertain-
er doing a 10-minute
routine and then an-
swering questions
from the audience.
"I represent the un-
derassertiveness in
all of us, and in terms
of my real life, I'm
only one notch ahead
of my act," declared
Mr. Fromstein, 39,
SUZANNE CHESSLER
SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH NEWS who writes his own
material.
For instance, he
complains on stage: "My
girlfriend called me a wimp.
That made me mad. I al-
most said something."
Mr. Fromstein, who has
appeared in comedy clubs
across the country and on
TV with Jay Leno and David
Letterman, sticks to a stan-
dard routine, censored only
slightly for cruise ship and
convention engagements,
"I really try hard to write
an act that is universal and
travels well," said the en-
tertainer, who grew up and
launched his career in
Canada. "I'm kind of a seri-
ous person with a sense of
humor.
"I draw my material from
the way I think. When I hit
on a funny notion, I develop
it into a joke. My humor is
character humor, so it's
based on my personality."
Mr. Fromstein's education
gives him insight into per-
sonality traits captured in
his act. He has a bachelor's
degree in psychology from
Queen's University, Kings-
ton, Ontario.
An
up-and-
coming
comic
gets the most
from being
mild.
Also important to him in
preparing for performances
is using meditation skills,
which he studied in a series
of trips to India.
During his college years,
he began doing the type of
standup comedy that he en-
joys.
"I've always loved comics
and comedy, and I always
had a desire to perform," he
said. "I think everybody
feels good when making peo-
ple laugh.
"Back in the early '70s, I
was doing folk singing. In
my first year at university,
I hitchhiked to Los Angeles
to try out as a folk singer.
Actually, my voice was not
good, and my songs were
way too serious. But I was
kind of funny between the
songs.
"When I went back to
school, I developed an act
and opened a coffee house in
my university residence."
After graduation, he ap-
plied his studies to counsel-
ing jobs, first in a prison and
then with juvenile offenders.
During off hours, he lined up
work in comedy clubs.
"I'd move to a city and
have a job, and if there was
a comedy club that opened
up, I'd go and perform," he
explained. "I did that for
several years, and about
seven years ago, I decided to
pursue comedy full time.
"I was tired of doing
things I wasn't as enthusi-
astic about anymore."
When the comedy club
boom became strong in
1985, Mr. Fromstein got a
lot of encouragement from
the owner of a Montreal
night spot.
"It took me a year, and I
was making a living at it,"
the humorist reported. "Two
years later, I was on with
David Letterman."
Mr. Fromstein has ap-
peared on many cable com-
edy shows including "Comic
Strip Live," "Evening at the
Improv" and "Just for
Laughs." He has been the
Stevie Ray Fromstein
opening act at concerts fea-
turing Dionne Warwick.
Gloria Estefan and Michael
McDonald of the Doobie
Brothers. He even opened
for Frank Sinatra at a char-
ity event.
"When people meet me,
they're often surprised that
I'm a comic," said Mr. From-
stein, whose own favorite
comic is Jack Benny, with
whom he identifies his low-
key approach.
"I'm not an aggressive,
slap-em-on-the-back kind.
My delivery is very straight-
faced. A lot of people some-
times don't catch that I'm
kidding if they're not think-
ing."
What has made his career
especially exciting is reach-
ing all the milestones that
signal a new level of success
— working weekends as
well as weekdays, becoming
an opening act on the road,
being booked as a middle
act, starring as a headliner
and then performing on TV.
"You get used to each new
level, and then you have to
break through to the next
level to really feel like you're
getting anywhere," he said.
"Now that I'm a regular at
the Improv and a regular on
a number of comedy TV
shows, I'm interested in
writing and acting.
"I guess that's the seed of
ambition — to not ever be
satisfied for long," he phi-
losophized.
Mr. Fromstein is looking
forward to his third appear-
ance at the Comedy Castle,
where he taped one night of
"Comedy on the Road."
"It's a nice-size room;
there's good attendance, and
the audiences are attentive,
enthusiastic and intelli-
gent," he said.
Always mindful that peo-
ple he meets offstage some-
times wonder if he is
kidding, he wants to make
sure they are aware that he
is single.
"Sometimes single women
come to the show," he said
wimpishly, or maybe not so
wimpishly.
❑