Did Atlanta's Clayton English win 'Last Comic Standing'?

English beat out 99 comics in a truncated season that cut out the challenges that were part of the show in seasons past.  Unfortunately, NBC only aired eight episodes and nine hours total. This made it more difficult to judge who was the best going into the final five and harder to root for any particular comic. In total, we heard less than 15 minutes of material from each of the finalists.

But English, in an interview earlier this week, said NBC has already lined up a 70-city tour with the four other finalists, including a stop at Atlanta Symphony Hall November 8. (Tickets here) The impact of the show was immediate. He began lining up bigger clubs to headline even before the first episode had aired.

"To tell you the truth, I just wanted more work," said English, who has been doing stand up for a decade and four to five of those years full time. "I got an agent. That's getting me a lot more work. Everything I've been doing up to this point prepared me for this whole experience." (He headlined the Atlanta Improv for the first time in late July.)

Marshall Chiles, who runs the Laughing Skull Lounge and is perhaps Atlanta's most heralded rain maker for local comics, said in a text that he wasn't surprised English took it home: "He is no longer Atlanta's best-kept comedy secret. And there are many more behind him!"

On the show, English came across as likable. Even when his material verged on edgy, he kept the tone light enough not to alienate the audience. And he gave Atlanta much love during his sets. He even had the Midtown skyline behind him tonight.

"I think I kind of made the point," he said. "We need a little respect here as far as comedy scenes go. I'm trying to highlight it."

During his final set, he started with a joke about prayer, noting the it's a great thing to do but he doesn't think he has to pray he doesn't get pulled over by the cops every time he drives home at night. Then he segued into noting how Jesus hung around "thugs" because his 12 disciples were always around him "If that's not gangsta, I don't know what is!" he said.

He made some funny jokes about Russians and Africans that were cute and not offensive, using his vocal and physical energy to propel them forward. He then threw in a couple of "cougar" observations and a great Obama imitation before his time was up.

NBC gave English the "pimp spot," or the final slot of the night for the third time. That is frequently a sign of respect because producers want to end a show on a high note. (I learned that from watching "American Idol' for so many years.)

The judges were all effusive after his set. No offense to the other four, but this felt like a coronation.

"I like how you move on the stage," said Norm MacDonald to English. "Like a boxer. I don't know if it's subconscious."

Roseanne: "He was, like, fighting. He's got the heart and the love." (Earlier, in a pre-taped section, she said, "His material is so universal, it's always the funniest.")

Kenan Ivory Wayans: "In between the other comics, we were having this discussion about the audience and the spot they were in and how it affected the set. Clayton will come out and change the energy of the room. You always start a set, you come out, you smile at the audience. 'Let's do this!' Like Norm said, it's not a critique when the audience spoke like it did." (Earlier, he noted that English can "animate his material.")

In other words, English has a magical hold on the crowd and that earned him the prize.

He said prior to the semifinals, he received advice from executive producer and veteran comic Wanda Sykes that he felt helped get him to the top 10. She told him to ease up on the anger and focus on likability, especially given how short the sets were on TV. "I am a little bit angry at times," he said. "But she helped me retool the jokes so they came across a lot better. It's okay to have a little bit of anger in a set but you have to draw them in with sweetness."

English also appreciated the judges. Wayans was focused more on the technical aspects, while Roseanne based her critiques on feelings. Norm? He was into the writing, he said.

The show, to avoid spoilers when it was shot months ago, had each comic act like they won, confetti and all. English only found out yesterday that he was the winner because the producers asked him to fly to New York for an appearance on the "Today" show Thursday morning.

Down the road, English said he'd like to do more acting and is open to sketch comedy, too.

Credit: Rodney Ho

Credit: Rodney Ho