Cho: an Unwilling Contradiction : Comedy: The Korean with a Southern accent would prefer to skip the explanations and just tell stories about family and friends.
IRVINE — Most comedians would kill for a good hook. Rodney gets no respect. Gallagher loves his watermelons. Roseanne is a domestic goddess.
But for Henry Cho, his hook is also his cross to bear. He’s a full-blooded Korean, born in Tennessee. And by his account, that makes him a South Korean, a rarity on the comedy circuit.
“A lot of people say, ‘You’ve got a great character.’ Well, it’s not a character; it’s me,†he told The Times earlier this year. “If I could, I’d just move on (and not do it).â€
Cho will be at the Irvine Improv on Sunday for a show to benefit the Gerry House, an AIDS residential treatment facility in Santa Ana for the homeless. A dinner and silent auction will also be featured.
Through appearances on “An Evening at the Improv,†“The Tonight Show†and comedy clubs across the country, Cho has become familiar to many, but he can’t shake the stares that often greet him when he opens his act and a Southern drawl floats across the club.
“I was the only Asian guy in like four states,†he tells the crowd. “Ya’ll remember playing Army when you were a kid? I pretty much hated that game. All my buddies would go, ‘OK, it’s the neighborhood against you.’ â€
The performer does, however, get a bit tired about explaining who he is and what he’s all about.
But without acknowledging his contradiction, Cho finds too many patrons simply sit and stare, unsure what to make of him.
That uncertainty, though, is answered as Cho weaves through his act. He’s a comic who talks about himself, his family and his friends, preferring to tell stories rather than jokes.
The Knoxville native broke into comedy in 1986, when he was an advertising major at the University of Tennessee and Showtime’s “Funniest Person in America†was looking for the funniest person in the Volunteer State. Cho came in second but got a job offer to be an emcee at the Funnybone Comedy Club in Knoxville.
In 1989, to pursue acting, he moved to Los Angeles and picked up a starring role in the movie “Nerds III†and parts in “Designing Women†and other TV shows.
* Henry Cho will perform at 6 p.m. Sunday at the Irvine Improv, 4255 Campus Drive, Irvine. $35. A dinner and silent auction will also be featured. Proceeds benefit Gerry House in Santa Ana. (714) 828-2000.
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