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JEFF'S
PRESS
(As printed in the Suburban News
4/16/2003)
Rising Young Comic
Makes
Great First Impression
By Ellen Dooley
Oscar Wilde is quoted
as saying “Dying is easy...comedy is hard.” To that I
would like to add “and interviewing a comedian is impossible.”
Sure, it’s a lot of fun; it’s also like trying to keep five
basketballs under water at the same time.
I spoke to Jeff Norris recently about his life and career and it was,
how shall I describe it…? a cheerfully schizophrenic experience.
When he suggested that perhaps part of the problem was moi, for allegedly
“pulling him off page” (that’s cool show biz lingo for
distracting someone), I admit he had a point. It’s hard not
to be distracted and, therefore, distracting when attempting to carry
on a conversation with an entire cast of characters. Let’s
see, there was Joe Pesci, Robert DeNiro, Edith and Archie Bunker, a little
Jack Nicholson thrown in (he’s still working on that one)—the
man is a virtual chameleon. I finally gave up trying to keep the
interview on a predictable course and just sat back, let him do his thing
and went along for the ride.
It’s so much more revealing that way, anyhow.
Norris grew up in Garwood, the middle child in a tightly knit Irish-Catholic
family. He is ferociously devoted to his parents and siblings (he
is especially close to his sister, noting that “she’s been like
my manager”); credits his father’s brand of “tough love”
for shaping his values (“I definitely inherited his work ethic”),
and says he gets his “heart” from his mother. One of Norris’
dreams is to someday be able to give his loved ones, the people who have
stood by him and believed in him, whatever their hearts desire.
And it looks as though that “someday” and that dream may be
closer than ever.
Omnipop, the agency that handled the likes of Ray Romano and Kevin James
(King of Queens), is signing Norris to a six-month contract. He
describes it as the probationary period to which any new employee is subject
but, if all goes well…let’s just say it might be a good idea
to catch one of his live shows now, while he’s still doing the local
comedy circuit.
Did I mention he’s had his name up in lights in Vegas? Did
14 shows there in January and now has a 28-show deal at the Riviera.
He’ll be back there in November. Oh yeah, and Star Search is
interested in him.
You might want to get his autograph, too.
Right now, Norris is probably best known for his voice-over work (he voices
the “sweet side” of Kellogg® Mini-Wheats® in the popular
cereal commercials), and he got his first real break on WNEW’s Opie
and Anthony radio show when he called in pretending to be Carol O’Connor
doing Archie Bunker. (His impressions are so dead-on they’re
downright spooky.)
Norris was so convincing, he was invited to be a guest on the show and
ended up as a regular, doing Opie and Anthony several times a week for
three years.
His television and film credits include an extended stint on the HBO series
Oz, first as an extra and then eventually winning a role as a member of
Schillenger’s Aryan gang, doing all his own stage fighting (no stunt
double for this guy); host of Good Morning America’s Make Us Laugh
All Night Long; extra work on Law and Order, Third Watch and Saturday
Night Live; NY Yankee #87 in Anger Management with Jack Nicholson and
Adam Sandler, (both of whom witnessed his celebrity impressions, resulting
in Sandler asking for his contact information); I’m With Lucy with
Monica Potter; Midnight Manhattan with Richard Greico; plus appearances
in various commercials, including an award-winning one for the Bravo Channel.
Norris’ acting experiences have whetted his appetite for that side
of the business; he studies in Manhattan at Weist Barron Acting School
with plans to pursue that path more aggressively.
Norris is a regular performer at Caroline’s, Catch a Rising Star,
The Improv, and Rascals Comedy Clubs, to name a few, he has even entertained
the cast of The Sopranos at Pips Comedy Club in Sheepshead Bay during
private birthday celebrations for Tony Sirico (aka Paulie Walnuts).
And all this started about eight years ago when some buddies dared Norris
to get up on stage during open mic night at The Stress Factory in New
Brunswick. He did, the audience laughed, and the rest, as they say,
is history. Which is not to say that a life in comedy is what Norris
always wanted. In fact, it never occurred to him, since he was going
to be a pro ball player. According to Norris, playing high school
football at David Brearley in Kenilworth, personally inspired and encouraged
by Tony Siragusa, was “one of the most important experiences”
in his life. Committed to the sport, he went on to enter Salem International
University in West Virginia on a football scholarship. Then
an injury during a game against Indiana in his sophomore year, a triple
compound fracture to his ankle, a twist of fate (no pun intended) he refers
to as “devastating,” abruptly ended any hope of a career as
a professional athlete.
To help him cope and recover, both physically and mentally, Norris turned
to another of his passions--judo--with renewed fervor. A champion
black belt, Norris has studied at the Judo Karate Center in Cranford since
he was 13 years old and freshly pumped from seeing his first Chuck Norris
movie. But this was not just some adolescent fantasy; Norris stuck with
it—the discipline, the training, the relentless hard work—and
it stuck with him. Not only has he won more than 60 trophies and
awards, he also possesses the kind of calm centeredness and ability to
concentrate that only two decades of martial arts practice can produce.
There is nothing the least bit aggressive or threatening about the man--in
fact, he has an incredibly modest and gentle demeanor--but he also has
an unmistakably powerful physical presence. And you just know, when
he talks about his hopes and his dreams and his plans for the future—or
the things and the people he loves—his voice growing softer the more
serious he gets, that when Jeff Norris focuses the beam of his attention
on a goal, he reaches it.
And what’s most important to him? Well, he talks unabashedly
about how much he loves children (he definitely wants some of his own
someday), and how he thoroughly enjoyed speaking to middle school students
during a career day program.
He believes deeply in the healing power of laughter, especially after
the events of 9/11, but also as medicine for the hurts all humans endure.
He remembers how, after one show, a woman approached him with her mother,
explaining that this was the first time her mother had gone anywhere since
the death of her husband and, not only had he made them laugh, but his
All in the Family bit brought back wonderful memories for them of the
woman’s father, how she would sit on his lap as a child and they
would watch his favorite show together. Norris shakes his head at
the memory, obviously touched by this, amazed and humbled and grateful
that the creative work he loves, that means so much to him, can mean so
much to others.
Okay, on top of everything else, he’s sensitive and self-effacing.
But is he really funny?
Funny you should ask.
I went to see him perform at a benefit a couple of weeks ago and, despite
a less than ideal venue (stage, lights and sound system left something
to be desired but, hey, it was for a good cause), he rocked the house.
He captured the audience effortlessly, dealt smoothly (and hilariously)
with the occasional heckler, and closed his act with those celebrity impressions
he does like no one else I’ve seen.
This guy isn’t just funny, he’s got It--that indefinable,
charismatic, irresistible mix of larger-than-life talent, boundless energy,
generosity, confidence and unselfconscious charm that makes magic happen
on stage. He’s been billed as “the most likeable
comic on and off the stage,” but I’m telling you, as sweet as
that sounds--and as true as it may be--he’s more than that.
He’s more than any gig he’s done so far and, now that he’s
got a chance to work with Omnipop, I guess the sky’s the limit.
So before he rockets off into orbit, don’t pass up the opportunity
to see him live.
I think you’ll be impressed. |
