Bill Bauer passed away last week. For the few reading this that may not know of him, he was a comedian. One of the first in the twin cities, actually. He and several other comics started doing their own regular show at a bar in Northeast Minneapolis called Mickey Finn’s when there was no other stand up comedy going on in the TC. That punk rock ethos helped turn this town to a place where young comics can get stage time every night of the week if they want to.



If that indirect infulence on the young comics of today wasn’t enough. Bill was tireless in trying to help young comics develop by getting them work. Just one scroll down his facebook wall and you’ll see dozens and dozens of comics posting things like “Wild Bill got me my start” and “Bill got me my first paid gig in comedy”. The man loved comedy and loved watching comics grow, to see potential turn into talent.



That being said, Bill Bauer did not get me my start in comedy.



(brief intro for non-comics or stand up fans. Stand up shows usually have 3 comics –
MC: First up, hosts the show. Does 10-15 minutes.
Feature: Middle act. Does about 20-30 minutes.
Headliner: Last comic. Does 45-60 minutes.)



I did work with him on my first feature gig on the road. It was at a hotel bar in Eau Claire, WI for 2 nights. Bauer was headlining and asked around for somebody new that could feature for him. A couple of people recommended me and I took the gig even though I was completely not ready to feature. I had been doing comedy for just a year and was not at all prepared to be on stage for 20 minutes but I jumped at the opportunity for paid work. Also, free hotel stay! Besides, I was sure that I could bullshit my way through that 15 minutes of material that I didn’t have by talking slower or crowd rap or… I really didn’t think it through.



That weekend I ate it. Hard. I don’t even remember what jokes I told but I do remember how long I went. 9 minutes the first night and 11 minutes the second. I blamed the crowd for “not getting me” because I was an arrogant douchey 19 year old and got drunk at the bar(I look way older than I am and bars never card the comedian) pissed off that the audience didn’t think 9 minutes of stammering nonsense was hilarious.



The morning after the last show I got a phone call from one of the people who recommended me. He asked how the weekend went and I told him that the crowd sucked and I went a little short but other than that I did pretty well. He said that Bill Bauer called him at 8 AM screaming over the phone “I can’t believe you recommended this guy to me! He’s not funny AT ALL! He doesn’t have a SINGLE JOKE!” I subsequently went on a rant about how Bauer’s just old, out of touch and doesn’t get how comedy works.



We drove back to the cities together and the only two things he talked about on the ride back were the problems with his car and the problems with my act. This pissed me off. I had a lot of pride attached to my comedy because it’s really the first thing in life I’ve ever made a serious effort to achieve. To have somebody flat-out say that I wasn’t good at it pissed me off to the point where I didn’t want to listen to anything he had to say. Anytime he came up in conversation the next few years I’d just talk about what an asshole he was.



Of course I was wrong. I ate shit two shows in a row and did less than half my time when I’m supposed to be setting the crowd up for him, the headliner. It took me years to realize what a dick I was. Looking back, I’m surprised I even got paid for that weekend considering how bad I fucked it up.



He didn’t hire me for 2 years after that and I don’t blame him. There’s no secrets in the stand up community so I’m sure he heard some of the horrible things I’ve said about him second hand. The next time I ended up working for him was for a New Year’s show 3 years later thanks to his son, Patrick.



Pat started doing open mics around town and the two of us became fast friends. He convinced his dad to bring me to feature a New Year’s show and even though Bill had every right to say no he still booked me. When I got to the show he said “now you know how I feel about your act but Patrick says you’re very funny so let’s see what you got.” I’ve worked for him many times since then. The last contact I had with him was two weeks ago when he booked me for his New Hope room in November.



Bill Bauer didn’t get me my start in comedy but he did give me a second chance. I gave him plenty of good reasons to just write me off but he didn’t. He listened to his son and decided to give me another shot.



To actually examine something from multiple angles even after you’ve formed an opinion on it is rare. So many people today are completely rigid and inflexible in their beliefs. It’s why being a “flip-flopper” is considered bad in politics. It’s like critical thinking is not in style. Bill Bauer possessed that skill and because of that I benefited in spite of myself.



Thank you, Bill. You will be missed.