By Lauren Kirchmyer
Have you ever been bullied? What did you do to overcome it? Comedian Taylor Williamson grew up getting picked on for “talking weird, walking weird, acting weird and saying stupid things.” But all of the things he once got picked on are what made him have a dream comedy career.
“I make money and I make people laugh,” he told me over the phone Monday afternoon. “It’s exciting to be myself and not have to fix myself. It allowed me to have a really amazing life.”
Williamson’s stand-up career began during his senior year of high school. He continued booking small gigs, allowing him to get by financially, and tried time and time again to get on TV … but it wasn’t an easy road.
“It took ten years to get a lot of comedy clubs to book me,” he shared. “The hardest part of this career is getting to the point where people want to buy tickets to come see you.”
His hard work started paying off. Besides being the youngest comedian to ever perform on “The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson,” Williamson appeared on MTV’s “TRL” on MTV, Comedy Central’s “Live at Gotham” and NBC’s “Last Comic Standing,” where he was a semi-finalist.
His time to shine came in 2013, when he was selected to perform on “America’s Got Talent.” Williamson made it all the way to the finals but lost to Kenichi Ebina, a martial arts dancer/mime.
“People still wanted to book me so that’s nice,” he joked about losing to Ebina, who is originally from Japan.
After appearing on “AGT,” Williamson had the opportunity to go on two tours with various acts from the show, stopping in Buffalo both times. His most recent visit was a solo stand-up act that took place in November 2014.
“I was there right after the blizzard,” he said. “I’m from California. We don’t have any of that stuff.”
Williamson will return to Buffalo this Thursday, and is hoping the weather will be a little warmer.
“I’m not going back for the weather, I’ll tell you that,” he joked. “I saw a video of that car that’s frozen. I need to come in the summer I think.” (No worries – I informed him the car is now free).
Though the temperature isn’t his favorite, he loves his Buffalo audience.
“The crowds are amazing,” he said. “I love it there. It’s one place I’m really excited to go back to.”
His shows (18 and up) will take place at 7:30 and 10 p.m. Friday, Jan. 22 and Saturday, Jan. 23 at Helium Comedy Club, 30 Mississippi St., Buffalo. He will also host a special all-ages show at 8 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 21. Tickets are $15 general admission, $23 reserved, and may be purchased at www.heliumcomedy.com/buffalo.
Every show ends with a meet and greet. Williamson said one of the best parts about meeting his “Taylords” is that kids approach him and say, “You taught me it’s cool to be weird.”
“I should be offended. ‘What you think I’m a weirdo you little punk?’ No, it’s nice I can make weird kids think it’s cool to be weird,” Williamson shared. “If I can inspire kids to be comfortable with who they are, to have a sense of humor, that’s the most amazing thing in the world for me.”
