IT’S BEEN HARD being a comedian in the post–September 11 world. Just ask Jimmy Tingle; within days of the terrorist attacks, he was one of many entertainers expected to put on a happy face and get back to work. Since then, the comedian and social commentator has had to strike a delicate balance between humor and political criticism, laughter and healing. But the former 60 Minutes II contributor, a lifelong Cambridge liberal, has taken things in stride, adjusting his annual Boston holiday show — this year taking place at Arlington’s Regent Theater — to reflect both the changing world and his own fluctuating emotions.
Q: How will this year’s show be different, given the events of September 11?
A: It’ll be a combination of new material and observations of September 11, plus some classic bits, and appropriate bits, from previous shows: Uncommon Sense, Jimmy Tingle for President, and 60 Minutes II. That’s basically what it is. In the days and weeks following this, I was in no mood, nor was anybody, really, to do comedy. But I have to work. And I had things scheduled to do. One of the first shows I did was a show in Quincy, and a woman came up to me after the show, and she said, "I just have to tell you, I am a flight attendant with American Airlines, and I have been to memorial service after memorial service in the last few weeks, and I’ve been so sad, and it was so good to be in a crowd of people who are not mourning, but who are laughing." And she said, "It’s so necessary." When she said that, she really gave me permission to be a comic and an entertainer, and, you know, be who I am. My show, it does revolve a lot more around September 11; I’m not just doing material — yeah, that’s important, but I’m commenting on what’s going on, as I do with anything that’s in the news, because that’s my job.... People appreciate it, and it affects them. We have to move on. We have to continue.
Q: What’s the goal of your show? How much of it is to entertain, how much is to heal, and how much is just to vent, for your own sanity?
A: I’m always trying to figure things out for myself. So as I figure things out for myself, or as I gain insight or have experiences that I think are important, I bring them onto the stage, whatever they are, about whatever issues — whether it’s religion or race relations or the tragedy of 9/11. So that’s what I do. I don’t say to myself, "How can I heal the audience? I’ll write a poem." I write a poem because it comes out of me. And then I say, "Gee, I wonder if people would like hearing this during the show." And then I read it. Part of me says, you know, it’s not really entertainment to do this; you’re kind of crossing a line a little bit, and you don’t want to bum people out when they’re coming out to get away from things, but the response has been very, very positive towards it. No one’s come up and said, "What’d you put that in for? How inappropriate." I just did a show today and a woman called it a blessing.
Q: Are there other comedians or entertainers you think have done a particularly good job since September 11?
A: I haven’t seen really anybody work. The only one I know who would be working on this type of thing strongly would be Barry Crimmins. But I haven’t seen his show, nor do I know his particular take on it. But I know he’s a humanitarian at heart, and whatever he does will be tasteful and insightful. The only one I saw was Letterman and his Dan Rather interview. I don’t really watch those shows very much. For what I do, it’s more important for me to be watching CNN and the news shows, and getting the insights in terms of the politics, rather than watch other entertainers talk about the same thing. I don’t learn anything, plus it’s just a better use of my time for my particular field — although I like those guys very much. But I don’t say, "Jeez, I’ve gotta catch Letterman or Jay Leno’s monologue because I want to see what they’re saying."
Q: You don’t look to them for guidance on how to handle this?
A: No way. I go with my own instincts, and my own — what am I feeling? And what is the country feeling? And the news is real important.
Q: Speaking of the news, talk to me about the war in Afghanistan. What about it has surprised you or angered you?
A: Well, the war, it’s a real tough one, because everybody wants to be patriotic and support the president. ... One of the things that’s changed is me. I say on stage, "Listen, I’m a lifelong Democrat. I voted at various times for Bill Clinton, Al Gore, Mike Dukakis, Geraldine Ferraro, Walter Mondale, Jerry Brown, Ralph Nader, and Jimmy Carter twice. Now, I’m praying for Bush. I’m praying for him to do the right thing."
Q: You’re praying for him, but are you going to vote for him?
A: No. He’s not running yet. But no. I didn’t vote for him. But regardless, when it comes to things like this, I’m praying for him to do God’s will, and hopefully he’ll be calling on a power greater than himself to help guide him. And I make it funny — I say, "God, I pray for George W., I pray for Dick Cheney — wherever he is. I pray for his heart, I pray for his pacemaker. I don’t know what you were thinking, God, when he had that heart attack, but it was frightening: for 48 hours, W. was in charge." So there’s been that aspect of it, and also the challenge to still be critical. It’s very difficult to get up, when you’re a social and political humorist, and talk about the president — nobody wants to say anything bad about the president; everybody wants to be on board. But I’m a social and political humorist — that’s what I do. And the president said to get back to work. So it’s my patriotic duty. I say, "Look, we’re finally learning what a compassionate conservative is: first there’s a bomb, then ... something to eat. After the death and destruction ... a peanut-butter sandwich." People can see the humor in it. And as my own emotions and as my own opinions are formed, they emerge on stage.
Q: I read some comments that said maybe you and 60 Minutes II weren’t the right fit. Is that how it felt to you?
A: I had a difficult time giving them what they wanted on a consistent basis. When I gave them what they wanted, they loved it. I had some pieces on there that my boss felt were as good as anything on television. Then I started to try to write for them: okay, what would they like? And when I started to do that, I just lost my confidence and my ability to create, because I kept censoring myself. The ideas would come in and I wouldn’t develop them because I’d think, oh, they won’t like that. So you start second-guessing yourself, and then I undermined my own confidence. I had a conversation with Andy Rooney — he was very nice and very supportive — and I said, "Andy, over the last 30 years, do you get pieces rejected?" And he goes, "I’ve had one or two rejected over the last 30 years." And I was getting, you know, two or three a week rejected! And it’s frustrating. But I understand: just because I wrote it doesn’t mean it’s good. And just because I wrote it doesn’t mean they should have to put it on. So I don’t know if it was the right fit or not.
Q: How do you feel about flying?
A: I flew out the day that the flight went down in Queens. I had to fly out that day. And for the first time, I really thought twice about it. It was American Airlines I had to fly out on. And I got the impression that the people on the ground, and the workers at American Airlines who were continuing to do their jobs — the flight attendants, the pilots, the security people — these people are soldiers. These people may have lost people, they may have known some of those people that went down that day. That day. And they are like soldiers: they’re doing their duty, they’re checking those tickets, they’re checking the bags, they’re flying those planes, they’re really showing up. And I just was very moved by the commitment of those people and the strength of those people. That’s not to say that I think that the $15 billion that went to the airline bailout — none was earmarked for security and none was set aside for laid-off workers. So my question is, where’d that money go? But that’s a whole other argument. In terms of those people, I thought they were just great, and very, very brave.
Q: Tell me about the American Peace Party. What is it, and what do you hope to accomplish with it?
A: I always felt as a kid that there was going to be a kind of big spiritual awakening in the year 2000. I thought all the wars were going to end, and all these things. And the only thing we heard of was Y2K. And we didn’t seem to reach a spiritual plateau or spiritual level that I thought may be coming. Maybe that’s just me, or I had unrealistic expectations, but I just thought something should’ve happened or could’ve happened, and it never did. And I thought, I should be able to use my work to do things. So anyway, I opened up a bank account and named it the American Peace Party, and what I do is, when I do jobs for nonprofits or something that don’t have a lot of money, whatever they give me, I put into that. And then I’m able to use that money for other groups and organizations who are already doing good things. Basically the money gets channeled through me to other groups. It’s still being developed in my head: what exactly is it? What am I going to do with it? It’s a work in progress.
Q: Do you see yourself running for office?
A: I don’t. But who knows what could happen. I’ve thought of it, but I don’t know if it’s me. I don’t know if that’s the best use of what I can do. I don’t know where I’m most valuable, but whatever seems the right direction to go in is the direction I’m going to go in. I get very excited about using the work for more than just the entertainment value, but actually doing something with it to actually affect the issues that I’m talking about.
Jimmy Tingle performs at the Regent Theater, in Arlington, December 26 to 31. Call (781) 646-4849. Tamara Wieder can be reached at twieder[a]phx.com
