“Comedy is turning a new page again,” said Darius Bradford. “And we have a whole new generation of trying to come up in the game from right here who really don’t know the history.”
Bradford has been representing St. Louis on the standup scene locally and nationally for more than twenty years. When he takes the stage on Sunday at the Pageant, he hopes to hip the crowd – including rising comics – to our city’s hand in laying the foundation for urban comedy as we know it.
With “Laughin’ in the Loop: A Tribute to Redd Foxx,” Bradford plans to show out in honor of the event’s namesake.
“When you listened to the comedy of Redd Foxx, you heard the beat of St. Louis in him – the language and everything,” Bradford said. “It’s something really inspiring about having proof that someone who is from where you’re from can make it.”
He hopes that through the show, audiences remember Foxx for an entertainment pioneer that he was.
“He was the Chuck Berry of grown folk’s comedy,” Bradford said. “I’m not just talking about in St. Louis. He changed the game of comedy altogether by getting up on stage and saying whatever he felt like – which is so St. Louis.”
Much like many of those who will attend the show, Bradford became familiar with Foxx in his later years by way of the hit television show “Sanford and Son,” which starred Foxx as a St. Louis native who ended up in Los Angeles earning his living as the owner of a salvage yard.
“Redd Foxx is the only person that I thought lived in a junkyard and I said ‘ooh, I want to go over his house,’” Bradford said. “That goes to show what can happen when you make the best of your circumstances.”
As Bradford began his own journey in comedy, he became aware of Foxx’s standup.
He found his own niche by finding the funny in life experiences.
“I never do punchlines,” Bradford admitted. “I don’t think I’ve ever told a traditional joke in my whole career.”
He’s made a name for himself over the years. He opened for the Original Kings of Comedy Tour. He has become a favorite in his own right as a featured performer with a knack for teeing up crowds on the big arena shows that come through the city.
He was a featured personality on the Rickey Smiley Morning Show during its early days of syndication.
He is also known for hilarious antics as a host of locally-produced events and concerts – most recently Rockhouse Entertainment’s presentations of KiCi and JoJo and Jagged Edge at The Pageant earlier this year.
Bradford is still forging ahead on the path to follow the footsteps of Foxx, Dick Gregory – and later Joe Torry, Guy Torry Cedric The Entertainer and LaVell Crawford – as far as continuing the rich legacy of comedy.
“I’m still hungry, and I’m still growing after all of these years,” Bradford said. “I’ve gone from being silly and goofy to really honing my craft as a comedian – and I’m still looking to expand my horizon.”
Bradford is one of the few comics – local or national – that can smoothly transition from family-friendly to explicit. While he certainly appreciates the rawness of Redd Foxx, he is hoping to catch fire with faith-based audiences.
“I want to be the Tyler Perry of comedy as far as capturing that particular crowd’s attention,” Bradford said. “I can go either way, but that’s what I really want to do.”
Those who stop through Sunday night should prepare themselves for the show to go either way – and to laugh regardless.
“They can expect to take a journey through St. Louis,” Bradford said. “We are going for a throwback travel through time that gives the flavor of our city.”
“Laughing in the Loop Easter Comedy Jam: A Tribute to Redd Foxx” takes place at 7 p.m. (6 p.m. doors) on Sunday, April 16 at The Pageant, 6161 Delmar. Tickets are available through ticketmaster.com or can be charged by phone at (800) 745-3000.
