Comedian Tom Cotter makes no apologies … except for the time he had to apologize for a joke about the Pope. More on that later…
The Providence native shared a few laughs earlier this week when I spoke to him on a call from his home in New York. With a career going back to the late 1980s, Cotter worked his way up from basement comedy clubs around Boston and became a finalist on America’s Got Talent in 2013, where he was runner-up to a dog act, a personal defeat that provided him comedy gold ever since.
He’ll be appearing at Jane Pickens Film and Events Center in Newport on Thursday, September 26 as part of the No Apologies tour alongside fellow comics Jim Florentine and Tammy Pescatelli. The show brings together three distinct fanbases, supporting three widely respected comics.
“We’ve been doing this for a couple of years now,” said Cotter. “Usually, when we go out on the road, it’s kind of lonely and boring. I like this tour because I get to see friendly faces backstage. When you’re in town with Tammy and Jim, at least you can commiserate about the roads or talk about your families or stuff going on; it’s just really fun. We probably make a little less money because we’re splitting it three ways, but we never whine or bitch about that – we just love working with each other.”
Although all three are widely known, they still encounter new fans on package tours like this one. “We each have our own little fanbases,” said Cotter. “Jim is on the current version of Crank Yankers. He made a name for himself back in the day doing these crank phone calls and got picked up on Comedy Central, and now it’s back. That’s his big thing.”
“Tammy was on Last Comic Standing a few years ago, probably the biggest feather in her cap,” explained Cotter. “And I had some luck on AGT. All three of our audiences are unique. Crank Yankers is more of a young crowd that follows Jim, because old people don’t make crank phone calls. Tammy, Jim, and I are roughly the same age. Our audiences mesh well together. The tour has been successful so far and we really love doing it.”
A career high point came in 2012, when Cotter was runner up on America’s Got Talent, losing in the finals to the Olate Dogs. While moving up the ranks on the show, he was able to keep the jokes original and the routine fresh. “That was the first year that Howard Stern was a judge,” he said. “So, the producers knew the show was going to get a little edgy. The entire season, they only blocked one joke. They never bleeped me. They kind of wanted the show to be a little more edgy then.”
Of course, comedy has evolved in recent years, as cultural sensibilities have shifted. Comedians face the challenge of keeping up with societal norms while maintaining an independent voice.
“I’m not a political guy, I’m all for bettering society,” continued Cotter. “We’re morphing in a better way in our society. However, it’s difficult for comedians because they keep moving the goalpost. We came out of the pandemic into this woke world. Things that we could save freely before, we’re not allowed to say anymore.”
“I used to be afraid of older people, and born-again Christians. Years ago, I had to write an apology letter to a woman about a joke about the Pope I did at Giggles in Boston. Now, it’s young people who get outraged. They come to the shows; they get very upset. They wait for you to trigger them with something. Some friends of mine have been eviscerated online.”
“Comedy is about mocking and lampooning and making fun of things,” added Cotter. “(Jerry) Seinfeld did a New York Times Op Ed and said he’d never work at a college again because of this woke climate. Of course, he doesn’t have to, he goes home and sleeps on a mountain of cash, because he’s Seinfeld. But the rest of us, we have to deal with this new world that we’re in right now.”
That’s why I love the theme “No Apologies.” We’re telling you, we’re not going to apologize. We’re going to do the stuff that we love to do. If you’re offended by it, you saw it in the title, that’s on you.”
Still, Cotter recognizes the need to adapt. He and his wife, fellow comedian Kerri Louise, recently hired a social media coordinator.
“It’s changed so much since I started over 35 years ago. When I started, you sent out a VHS tape, that’s how someone would see you. Now it’s all clicks, all social media. We’re on TikTok, Instagram, I have two Facebook pages. Club owners won’t hire you until they visit your Instagram and see how many followers you have; they think that’s going to translate to butts in the seats at their clubs.”
For a preview of the Pickens show, check out Tom Cotter, Rapid Fire, his recent special available on Amazon and Apple TV. Cotter is also joining a tour of US military bases to support the Gary Sinese Foundation. “My brother is a retired Colonel, my dad was in World War II, it’s something I like to do.”
