A Wall Street Banker Turned to Comedy for Happiness and a Career Change
This is part of a series of posts looking at how comedy and the entertainment industry intersect.
In the last few years, comedy has become synonymous with success. With all the comedy-related buzz in Hollywood and everywhere around the world, the idea of being an ‘underdog’ in the business has become a joke. Nowadays, anyone who thinks that being funny in Hollywood is an enviable lifestyle, will look foolish in their eyes should they open up the next best thing from their desk to yours.
Not only is there a glut of great comedic talent in the industry, there’s also a glut of great comedy talent who want to be in the industry. It’s not a secret, and not even a secret to anyone who regularly reads this blog.
The reasons why talent are leaving the industry are varied, ranging from personal difficulties, to the difficulty of making a living outside of it, to just the idea of what an entertainment career would be like.
These are just a few of the reasons why many talented people are leaving the industry. And it’s not just the comedy talent who are leaving. Those who are in need of money are following a trend, which has begun to make people from different walks of life leave the industry. They’ve seen it working for them in their time and they are unwilling to give up what is becoming a great career path.
The first wave of comics leaving the industry has been that of people who were once successful in the business, like Jimmy Fallon, or those who left it because they found themselves in a difficult position within the industry. People like Kevin Hart, and Mikey Day, just to name a few. The second wave is the most recent, and these are people like Bill Burr, Ben Schwartz, and Paul F. Tompkins, who have all made their way from being successful comedians, to being independent creators.
Now I’m not trying to say that Bill Burr didn’t do it right,