Local comedian Richard Douglas Jones is not a novice when it comes to making people laugh. On the contrary, he is getting geared up to make his television debut on an upcoming episode of The New Negroes with Baron Vaughn and Open Mike Eagle, a “socially aware stand-up and music series” aired on Comedy Central.
“Comedy was something that always piqued my interest, but I didn’t get involved until after a consistent lineup of bad stuff happened to me, ” Jones said. “When your girlfriend of three years breaks up with you on the same day someone jumps off the roof of the building you work at—whose body my coworker and I would come to find, followed up by being fired from said job, you kinda feel like you have nothing to lose at that point.”
*picks jaw up off the ground*
All of those very unfortunate occurrences aside, Jones has now been in the local stand-up scene for almost a decade — from open mic stand-up at P&H to being a part of the You Look Like A comedy series, a monthly showcase of mad sh*t talking that was recently picked up by Kevin Hart’s LOL Network.
“I was never good at being funny on command. I’ve always been the guy that was situationally funny. All of this — the open mic nights, the comedy festivals that I’ve participated in, the people I’ve made laugh and the people I’ve offended— is preparation to see if I have what it takes to be on the national stage. Comic as I am, I’m an artist and I’m sensitive about my sh*t. I’m waiting for that judgement that will hopefully become approval. I’m going into this very practical with big hopes that this will lead to my, someday, being a part of the Hollywood machine.”
When he’s not making people laugh or as his Facebook says “Rick Rossin,” Richard, alongside Markus Seaberry and Kimber, hosts the Black Nerd Power Podcast, a weekly discussion of Sci-Fi and Fantasy worlds for the black point of view.
“I was at a comic book convention and saw a group of kids dressed as the whole Batman family when a white dude walked by and said ‘Oh, a black Batman!’ I was like no dude… it’s just Batman. Nerdome is not just a white man’s world. Lots of us like comic books and video games and superheroes and fairies. That audience — the black audience — should also be addressed and acknowledged.