Pete is a lovely guy. Delighted to see his contribution to the comedy world being acknowledged. Happy Holidays to him and all the hustlers out there in the street. As a comic myself I respect anyone who wants to get on stage and try to make a living doing what they love. This is one of the tougher roads to stage time and you have to respect the commitment.
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I'm a pro comedian and I used to bark for a couple of clubs. It's not fun but you have to do whatever you can do to get time on stage, which is how you get better.
One thing I tell new comics:
There are all sorts of ways to get stage time- open-mic nights, new talent nights at clubs where you have to bring a certain number of paying customers to the show, or barking.
Pick your poison.
Barking does have one advantage- it's practice talking to strangers. A lot of comics are shy and barking forces you to deal with that.
It's essentially like the wax-on, wax-off from Karate Kid. You think you're just selling tickets but you're also having to learn how to talk to strangers and overcome their objections.
Because when someone says "My life is comedy, I don't need your show" you should figure out a come-back for that. Because essentially that's being heckled.
Shaun Eli
www.BrainChampagne.com
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Comedy hopefuls hawking on MacDougal Street. How could that even be a thing? I worked at The Bitter End for Paul Colby thru the 70’s and no one hawked. And there was Kenny’s Castaways, The Vanguard, Folk City, Kettle of Fish. No hawkers as is described. It did have that same carnival atmosphere. Tourists and outer borough residents flooded Bleecker and MacDougal like it was New Year’ Eve. I cannot emphasize enough what an elbow to elbow throng it was. But it was assumed every club had primo talent and you could not go wrong buying a ticket. I can’t picture a supply and demand issue here. We had Billy Crystal, Martin Mull and Steve Martin. We had Dylan’s Rolling Thunder Revue post tour with T Bone Burnett and Roger Mcguinn happy to be there-as-back-up. Paul Getty Jr. wandered around writing a separate check for every round of Bud and tequila shot. My comment isn’t about a comparison of talent. Or is it? That’s my question. What has happened to the scene down there that there is even remotely a need, for said hawkers?! And to 48 year old’s loved ones: “How do you get an elephant out of the theatre? You can’t. It’s in his blood!” Winterize your unfinished basement. The first time I saw Steve Martin making balloon animals on my shift, squeak, squeak, I worried.
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I too was a barker for a couple of days back in the 1960s -- until I got shut down.
When I was twelve, I was too young to be a newspaper boy, but the Scranton Tribune let me run a corner "honor box" where I stood on winter mornings in the (pre-climate-change) freezing cold, selling newspapers.
It was a slow business, till one day I was inspired by some old-timey movie to hawk my wares on the street corner.
I had (and still have) a loud voice, so over the traffic I shouted "County raises school tax 2 mils" and other exciting headlines to the passing traffic. Business really picked up.
But alas, the Circulation Manager told me that some neighborhood residents complained of the noise at 6 a.m., and I had to stop. He was genuinely sorry to shut me down, but that was it.
Since my name was David and not Horatio, I didn't think to request a better location downtown where no one would complain, so my "barker" career was over.
But all is not lost -- there are plenty of comedy clubs in Israel -- maybe I can start a second career barking in Tel Aviv!
How do you say "Step right up" in Hebrew?
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The Comedy Store during the comedy boom of the 80s and 9Os didn't resort to comics bringing or selling their tkts. You were a paid regular from an audition or you were not. The club provided the audience. That's what a club should do. Let the comics be comics...bringer shows? It's hard to have 3 people in NYC agree to have dinner.
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No wonder barkers are looked at with disdain. Even my dog won't bark.
It probably toughens you up as a comedienne.... Tho I hate been accosted by these people and the superheros, Yeah Buzz Lightyear has a Jamaican accent, in Times Square.
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I've known Pete Burdette since grade school. He's a great guy and a talented comedian. I wish him the best of luck. Pre cigarette smoking ban I used to love to go to the bars and comedy clubs. There's a lot of local talent like Pete who never get recognized.
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Comedy Pete is a comic genius! It is a pleasure to know such a funny, thoughtful man. He has paid his dues, and I would love to see him get the recognition he deserves. Way to go, Pete!
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Rooting for this guy,but Willie Loman seemed to have more of a upside.
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Nice thoughtful article. People need to get out more....
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I like the writing here. After reading this piece I feel both compassion and revulsion toward those who bark. A job well done, Alex Traub.
The problem with barkers of all sorts is that they so often resort to sexist wheedling, jokes at the marks’ expense, and sometimes even acid cruelty. Whenever I approach a barker I put on my “Don’t mess with me” face and race by as fast as I can.
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@Passion for Peaches In a time where 'sexual wheedling' or whatever unconventionally comparable term you want to use, is such an issue, i'am curious to see where the evidence of such cruelty you claim, derives from?
Much like any profession, you may get a 'bad apple' here or there but from my experience, barkers are very courteous if they don't feel revulsion by potential customers and mean mugged for no reason. Most of them are showmen at heart and rarely do i see them be cruel to anyone undeserving and i have a lot of respect for what they do. They are simply trying to make you laugh.
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Alex Traub,
People look down on barkers and this article just further validates that perspective. I think you should have barked for a week to get a real feel of what it's like to do this.
Comedians are writers. Remember that.
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@Claire Torn
I never thought barking was undignified. No honest work is undignified.
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Nice Article Pete!!!
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Watch “Crashing” - still available on demand from HBO - and you will get a sense of what barking’s all about. PS - great show, never should have been cancelled!
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Many famous comics started as tummlers, a summer job you could get at resorts in the mountains (Catskills) starting in your teens. But tummlers were not barkers. Look it up in Leo Rosten’s Joys of Yiddish. There was much more to the job and it was College and grad school for a certain type of ascendant comic, especially after the heyday of Vaudeville and Burlesque and before the rise of tv and ascension of Florida as a middle class vacation destination - roughly, the 1930s through the early 1950s. The food was often kosher and said to be inedible - and the portions so small!
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Or, the club could actually pay the comics instead of sending them into the night to make money for the club for a commission and the hope of getting a few minutes of stage time at 1 AM.
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Why would you pay neophyte comics in training who don’t bring in any business? That’s a recipe for losing money. Barking provides aspiring comedians with an opportunity to perform in professional clubs and make a little money. They can always skip the barking and do open mics and alt nights if they prefer. It’s called paying your dues.
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Most interesting article I’ve read in some time. But I’m glad glad i dont live on the block!
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While the occasional visitor to Macdougal Street might find the barkers charming, for the people who live on Macdougal, like I did for five years, the barkers are a scourge. When Little Italy throttled its barkers, life improved for its residents and visitors - Macdougal Street should do the same.
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@Jon E. who moves to MacDougall street expecting peace and quiet?
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If the 80s and early 90s were seen at the golden age of the Comedy Bubble, the early 21st Century with certainly be seen as the bursting of that bubble, exposing the sad, dark side of comedy. If Miller were to write Death of a Salesman today, it would no doubt be called Death of a Comedian. That would certainly be a role Mr. Burdette could sink his teeth into. I don't mean that as an insult; comedians are the unsung heroes of today's working-class.
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