He played with Robin Williams, worked with Jonathan Winters, and got high with rock legend Donovan. He’s the The Wid and he just may be the most legendary and widely-respected comedian to have ever called Philadelphia home.
He’s not the wealthiest and he can’t pack Lincoln Financial field, but he’s helped pave the way for countless aspiring Philadelphia comedians. He also happens to be addicted to flea markets and has amassed a collection of items that is housed in multiple storage containers around town, most of which end up in his show at some point.
The Wid is a master of prop comedy. While prop comedy was once revered during the Vaudeville days, the likes of Carrot Top and Gallagher have cheapened the art form to the point that most consider this form of comedy the bottom of the comedic hierarchy.
The Legendary Wid, however, is one glaring exception.
The Wid is respected nationwide among comic circles. He’s performed with
some of the greatest comedic minds over the past 35 years. More importantly,
Wid has been giving back to the Philly comedic community for the past thirty
years running amateur/open mic nights, teaching classes, and individually
helping aspiring comics hone their craft.
Wid sat down with us at Milkboy South Street for Episode 09 of The Philly
Blunt podcast. We talked about his early days as a diorama artist with pieces
in museums and how hitchhiking across town ended up giving him his Wid moniker?
He’s a collector of all things. Every Wid performance leaves the stage
covered with hundreds of items many would consider junk or trash. Not Wid. He
can make a pun for almost any item and he may owe it all to a high school
teacher that hit him with a pun that got the Wid hooked immediately.
We discuss that moment, the difficulty of being a comedian in today’s ultra
PC culture, Jay Leno being a dick, getting Donovan high, the heartbeat of
Philadelphia, and if he thinks about how life may have been different had he
gotten the big Hollywood break.
The Legendary Wid is a Philly treasure, a brilliant comedian, and a great
interview.
LINKS:
The Legendary Wid: Facebook