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LESLIE ZACK

Special to the Jewish News

Mr

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mall Frey

1

I

I

hile the chicken crosses
the road, 19-year-old
Jason Douglas Frey (pro-
nounced "fry") crosses
into fame. The entertainer — who uses
Douglas as his stage name — is one of
Michigan's few comedians who is both
young and Jewish.
A small-town boy, he always
emphasizes his roots at the beginning
of his act: "I'm from Omer. One thing
about Omer: You'll never be convicted
of a crime because of DNA. We all
have the same."
Actually, Douglas lives in Au Gres,
near Saginaw. But he uses Michigan's
smallest town to make clear his small-
town background. The comedian takes
the stage at Mark Ridley's Comedy
Castle in Royal Oak June 30-July 3.
Born and raised a Catholic,
Douglas and his family attended
church weekly. At the age of 12,
Douglas saw his father reading a book
about ancient Israel. Inquiring why, he
learned that his parents were thinking
about leaving Catholicism behind.
They yearned for a spiritual change.
After studying various religions, the
family chose Judaism and converted. At
14, Douglas and his family transformed
from regular church attendees to rou-
tine "shul goers," he says. The young
comedian believes in the traditions of
Judaism. "I think that once you think
it over, it's a good thing," he said.
Rabbi Robert Scott of
Congregation Am Yachad in Bay City
officiated at the Frey conversion, and
speaks of the strength and determina-
tion of the family. They researched
numerous religions for more than a
year, he said.
The family chose Judaism because
they felt it to be the "religion of truth,"
said Douglas' father, Keith Frey.
"My favorite part of the conversion
was that it isn't something you can do
right away; it is a long process,"

Leslie Zack is a freelance writer who
lives in Farmington Hills.

Only 19,
Jason Douglas (Frey)
is on the way to a
big career on the
comedy circuit.

11 ■ 1111111111115

Jason Douglas: "They said if I wasn't
21, I wasn't getting in. It was nearly
showtime when I convinced them
I was supposed to be there."

Mei

all NM

explained Douglas. Although in the
past five years he has attended shul reg-
ularly, Douglas notes the difficulty of
making it to Shabbat services every
week now that he's on the road. He
usually travels Wednesday mornings
through Saturday nights. But when
home, he and his family observe tradi-
tions and respect the "religion of truth."
Surprisingly, Douglas was never the
class clown, although he always
enjoyed making people laugh. His
interest in comedy began when he
worked for a grocery store in Saginaw.
As a bagger, he always made jokes, he
said, and rarely saw people leave with-
out a smile on their face, often chuck-

ling at his antics.
Douglas started out doing "open
mike" nights at various clubs in
Saginaw, and then proceeded to that
city's Shooters, a well-known club. He
performed on an "amateur night," soon
became the club's emcee and eventually
became a featured comedian, perform-
ing about 20 minutes during each show.
Because of his age and youthful
appearance, Douglas had trouble
-\
being admitted into one club in which
he was scheduled to work. "They said
if I wasn't 21, I wasn't getting in. It
was nearly showtime when I con-
vinced them I was supposed to be
there," Douglas recounted.
Douglas says he performs a clean act
now, mostly about being a kid from a
small Midwest town. He tells a few
jokes about being Jewish, but doesn't
delve into the conversion process.
Other comedians advised him to drop
the swear words — which he thought
comedians had to use to be funny —
and concentrate on what he knew best.
He is extremely content about where
life is taking him at the present time. "I
don't know where this will lead, but at
19, without a family to support, I can
try it out for gas money and a place to
lay my head. I'll never be 40, wishing I
had tried," Douglas said.
For role models, he looks up to
older funnymen Rodney Dangerfield
and Louie Anderson.
Douglas, happy making people
laugh, confident in his new-found reli-
gion, faithfully ends his acts with this
joke: "I got two fears in life: a tornado
and a divorce, because either way, I'm
gonna lose the trailer." ❑

Jason Douglas performs
Wednesday-Saturday, June 30-
July 3, at Mark Ridley's Comedy
Castle, 269 E. Fourth, in Royal
Oak. Showtimes are 8:30 p.m.
Wednesday and Thursday, 9:30
p.m. Friday and 9 p.m. Saturday.
Tickets are $6 Wednesday and
Thursday/$12 Friday and
Saturday. For more information,
call (248) 542 9900.

-

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6/25
1999

72 Detroit Jewish News

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