Thursday, August 30, 2012

Billypat Bauer, aka Wild Bill

I did a show at the 400 bar in Minneapolis tonight. As usual, this show went well. I'd still like to get there even earlier, but the show runner is fine with when I get there as it's still well before the show begins. And I think I show up before most performers do. I did a joke about my dad not knowing what a Ponzi scheme was, in reference to speaking of Bernie Madoff and his dealings with the owners of the New York Mets baseball team. Another was about attending the state fair this week, how the theater guy doesn't enjoy the crowds at the fair and couldn't wait to leave. He said this would be his last fair, no matter what is chosen for a team building event in the future. Of course it's a moot point if he leaves the company, as he has applied for other jobs.
   Near the end a fellow comic said that Wild Bill Bauer had passed. He was also known as 'Billypat'. I knew his son better, but had seen Wild Bill perform a few times. Most memorable was as a show closer during a contest last summer. He did a joke about Russian roulette competitors. I had no stories to compare to those shared by others. These were from people who had been onstage more than me, and often it was at the club where he was the owner, in New Hope. It was still touching to read them.
   I liked how one story shared on Facebook reminded me of what I do. Somebody had so much respect for him he was 'Mr. Bauer'. I said I saw his son much more so to me 'Mr. Bauer' was somebody different. What I am hopeful for is being able to attend any memorial service or funeral as I would expect many of my comedian friends would be there. It would likely be not much different from the wedding I had seen earlier, where one comic knew well enough to have the show start after the wedding was over as otherwise the crowd would be sparse. My guess is the family is aware of those who want to attend and are trying to factor this into when it will happen.

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