Mick Foley has always embraced his years as a popular pro wrestler and actor, two skill sets that go hand in hand. And humor is frequently part of the package.
So for him, hitting the comedy stage was not as big a stretch as it might appear.
He last did a show in Atlanta at the Punchline in July, 2013. This Sunday, he is doing the Atlanta Improv for the first time. He recalled the Punchline show well because he had just graduated something called the International University of Santa Claus and several graduates showed up. (Santa's an obsession of his.) He also had three Atlanta-based wrestlers Jake "The Snake" Roberts, "Diamond" Dallas Page and Scott Hall there.
In other words, he knows his audience and his die-hard fans enjoy getting to see him up close and personal in a relatively intimate setting. And he's a great story-teller.
"I make sure every story stems form my wrestling adventures," Foley said in a recent phone interview from Ottawa, Canada. "From there, I have a wide leash to talk about a wide range of subjects. I take real-life events from my career and exaggerate them."
He said his stories are always girded by a layer of warmth, not anger: "A lot of my early wrestling years were fueled by frustration and resentment I was able to channel in positive ways," he said. That's not how he works anymore in his 40s.
When he first started comedy in 2009, he said he watched a lot of stand-up by the likes of Dave Chappelle and tried to imitate them. He traveled with Judah Friedlander, who gave him pointers. "I was hurting myself trying to be someone else," he said. So Foley shook off the idea that he's a comic in a traditional sense. He said he realized three years ago that stories were his thing, not punchlines like Steven Wright, who he admires. "It's not a joke-telling show."
This show, he said, will be nearly 100 percent different from his 2013 show except during the Q&A, when people might ask similar questions.
He will be talking Santa, for sure. He is part of a new documentary focused on five Santas, including him, called "I Am Santa," available on DVD. In celebration, he is spending every day of 2014 wearing something Santa-related.
Foley lived in Acworth for three years while working for what was then World Championship Wrestling. During a recent visit, he drove up to see his old house. At first, he was weary of knocking on the door but the owner welcomed him, telling him, "I've been waiting for you for 15 years!" He said the area was pretty rural two decades ago. "It's been built up quite a bit," he said. "I didn't recognize it."
WCW was owned at the time by Ted Turner, who Foley liked and respected. "If he wants to come, I'll leave two tickets for him!" Foley said.
Credit: Rodney Ho
Credit: Rodney Ho
Comedy show
Mick Foley
7 p.m. Sunday
$25
Atlanta Improv
56 East Andrews Dr NW #14, Atlanta
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