Comedy has always been a way for Brad Williams to deal with unpleasant situations and people.
“You’re less likely to bully someone who is bringing you joy,” said Williams, who will bring his Growth Spurt Tour to the Columbia County Performing Arts Center on July 10.
Williams was born with dwarfism, and his dad knew Williams would encounter bullies due to his height. His dad encouraged Williams to craft the comebacks when he was picked on.
It was through one of those types of situations that Williams knew stand-up comedy was the career path for him.
“I was in a comedy club on Father’s Day 21 years ago with my dad, and the comedian was making midget jokes,” he said.
While about half of the audience laughed at the jokes, another part of the audience — mainly the people sitting around Wiliams — responded awkwardly.
The comedian noticed they weren’t laughing at the jokes, so he asked, “Is one of them here?” Williams said.
The comedian called him on stage and started asking questions.
At the time, he was 19 years old and living in Orange County, California and like many others in that demographic, he had a job at Disneyland.
When the comedian found out Williams worked at Disney, “he chuckled. I said, ‘Shut up. I’m not one of the seven.’”
It was the first joke he’d ever told in a comedy club. It got laughs then and it still gets laughs to this day, he said.
One of the comedians who influenced Brad Williams was the late Robin Williams, who could always bring joy into Brad Williams’ life.
The two comedians had the chance to meet once after Brad Williams gave a performance. He had no idea that Robin Williams was in the audience, but the comic great met him after the show and exclaimed “You’re like Prozac with a head.”
“It was the nicest compliment. It’s going on my epitaph one day— ‘Prozac with a head,’” he said.
He hopes that people attending his July 10 comedy performance will be able to leave their worries at the door for a while and enjoy the medicinal effect of laughter.
“My sole mission is to literally bring you joy,” he said.
Charmain Z. Brackett, the publisher of Augusta Good News and Inspiring: Women of Augusta, has covered Augusta’s news for more than 35 years. She’s won multiple Georgia Press Association awards and is the recipient of the 2018 Greater Augusta Arts Council’s media award. Reach her at charmain@augustagoodnews.com. Sign up for the newsletter here.
