Simmons pays humorous tribute to father, afterlife
By Daily Bruin Staff
Feb. 7, 2001 9:00 p.m.
 Coronet Theater Jack Simmons wrote and
performs in the one-man show "Buddy’s Gift."
By Sophia Whang
Daily Bruin Contributor
Having a “sixth sense” isn’t always as
traumatic as the movies make it seem.
In “Buddy’s Gift,” a one-man show which opens
at the Coronet this weekend, stand-up comedian Jack Simmons shares
his experiences with the sixth sense.
Along with sharing his gift of humor, Simmons shares his
self-written narrative called “Buddy’s Gift,”
which received acclaim in New York when it showed in April and July
last year.
The 80-minute play consists of stories about Simmons’
family of nine, such as the passing of his father, who was
nicknamed Buddy. Simmons’ original skepticism of the
existence of an afterlife, and the post-death communication with
his father which his whole family continues to experience, is also
contained in the show.
Simmons is more than qualified to be putting on his own show. He
has worked as a stand-up comic since 1983 and has appeared on HBO,
Showtime, VH-1’s “Comedy Spotlight” and Art and
Entertainment’s “Comedy on the Road.”
He has also performed as an opening act for The Beach Boys,
Travis Tritt and Melissa Etheridge.
Simmons’ claims to have been influenced by comedians such
as George Carlin and Robert Klien, who presented comedy using
observational humor ““ not directly making fun of something or
something.
“When I was coming up, stuff that I thought was funny was
from comics I thought were very clean, very clever, and that to me
raised the art,” Simmons said in a recent phone
interview.
“Some guys can get away with being filthy on stage, and it
works great for them,” he continued. “I tried it and it
looked ugly on me. It felt bad, and it looked bad.”
According to Simmons, “Buddy’s Gift” was
inspired by his tightly-knit family’s reactions to the news
that their father, who was healthy up to that point, had only 10
days to live due to liver cancer. As a way to comfort their fears,
his sister jokingly mentioned that their father should give them
signs after his death, letting them know where he was.
Sure enough, the family started receiving signs after his
passing.
A friend gave the family a book written by psychic medium John
Edward, which ignited possibilities and resolved doubts about
afterlife communication. A personal reading with John Edward
followed, where he recounted to Simmons’ stunned family,
chillingly accurate signs Buddy had left and personal anecdotes
only the family knew.
“(John Edward) nailed it,” Simmons said. “It
was like telling us what we had for breakfast.”
Almost the whole second half of “Buddy’s Gift”
focuses on the different signs each family member receives from
their deceased father and the startling preciseness of John
Edward’s power.
Simmons mentioned that for his family it was very easy to turn
the trauma of a family member’s death into such lighthearted
comedy.
“My dad was a very funny man ““ our family was very
funny,” Simmons said. “We didn’t go find humor,
it happened.”
“Even in the death, even when he’s sick, I try to
maintain the strength and spirit,” he continued. “And
out of that will come humor, not comedy, but humor of the human
condition.”
Simmons’ mentioned, however, that in no way should the
humor contained in “Buddy’s Gift” be considered
insensitive.
“My (whole) family thought it was a beautiful show and
that it caught the spirit of my father perfectly,” Simmons
said.
Candy Kaniecki Herman, the director of “Buddy’s
Gift” who helped adapt Simmons’ script for Los Angeles
culture, has also coached a wide variety of performers including
Danny Gans, Rosie O’Donnell and Patrick Swayze. She attested
to the fact that “Buddy’s Gift” does not in any
way disrespect the death of Simmons’ father.
“It’s a true story and a tribute to his
father,” Herman said.
This tribute to Simmons’ father not only touches his
family, but continues to affect all audiences.
“We haven’t had a dry eye at all,” Herman
said. “People have been very emotionally moved.”
Simmons is convinced that both non-believers and believers in
the afterlife will enjoy this story. He hopes to get the former to
acknowledge his view of how smug it is for the human race to only
believe in the capacity for five senses.
“Dogs, who are on a lower level than we are, smell better
than we do,” Simmons said. “So maybe our five senses
aren’t as well-developed as we think.”
Could he be possibly referring to a sixth sense? Simmons
encourages those who enjoyed the movie to come see his act.
“I would call it, “˜The Brady Bunch’ meets
“˜The Sixth Sense,'” Simmons said.
“For anybody who has lost anybody, they’re going to
feel a lot closer to that person,” Simmons said of the
lasting effect of his show. “It was a real experience, you
can believe it or not, I’m just here to tell you a powerful
story.”
THEATER: “Buddy’s Gift” shows
at the Coronet Theatre, 366 N. La Cienega Blvd. Feb. 10 through
April 1. Performances are Thursdays through Saturdays at 8:30 p.m.,
and Sundays at 2:30 p.m. Tickets are $20 and can be purchased by
calling Ticketmaster at (213) 365-3500. For more information, visit
www.buddysgift.com
