Lions of Laughter: LEO H.S. Alumni Comedy Fundraiser - top Friday - November 16 8:00 PM
November 16, 8pm
$40/$50 at the door
The Lions of Laughter present the comedy of Bill Campbell, Kenny Howell, Mike Toomey and Paul Kelly.
Four comic geniuses will fill the theatre of the Beverly Art Center with the mirth, memories and mayhem that is a huge fabric of Leo High School. Giant of Comedy Paul Kelly - Listen in to the Skinny and Houli Show tonight on AM 1450 at 6PM and catch Paul match yarns and yucks with Leo President Dan McGrath -Taped Live from Lizzie McNeill's Pub, about eight blocks north of Leo High School - this show airs on Saturdays from 3:05-4PM and Sundays from 8:05-9PM.
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Repeating their success of last year, Chicago's Dean of Comedy Paul Kelly will lead Bill "Soups" Campbell, Kenny Howell, and Chicago's Mike Toomey onto the stage once again. Last year's Lions of Laughter was a sell-out smash.
Impressario Bobby Standring (Leo '70) has once again helped Paul Kelly make Lions of Laughter 2012 a hit. Ticket sales are hotter than Barb Stegmiller.
All proceeds from this event will benefit Leo High School. Order your tickets now, so you have seat and won't be stepping on the guys rolling in aisles.
Yesterday, I loaded the data on the first returns from Leo High School's Campaign Leo Fall/Winter direct mail campaign. Solid as always. The turn around is generally 24 hours after Rescigno's Rapid Mail Solutions and Harte and Sons Printing fired the load off to the U.S. Postal Service.
The early returns signal a husky hunk of much needed revenue to this inner city Catholic high school serving young men too tough to fall to the streets and too proud to allow events to determine their lives. Their parents are taking extra jobs to meet tuition.
Times, by the way, are very tough.
Yesterday, I also plugged in the amounts for the checks dropped off by 1970 Alumnus Bobby Standring from the Lions of Laughter comedy night at the Beverly Arts Center this past Saturday Night. As comic laureate Paul Kelly reminded his audience, "Handsome is as Handsome Do!"
There was a Leo High School Tradition going back to the 1940's, whenever a coach, teacher, or student made a speech before the entire student body and staff, for the Lions Universal to yell approval for his words with shouts of " Handsome Bobby! Handsome Willie! Handsome Jimmy!"
Handsome, Paul Kelly reminded us on Saturday night, was an ironic recognition of our public faces. Man we are some ugly Dudes! However, in reflection of our deeds pushed by our hearts we go from beasts to beauties. Handsome Lions!
As is his custom, Leo President Dan McGrath wanders the cafeteria during the lunch hours and offers a "a touch of Danny" in the day.
From table to table, he greets the Lions Universal with praise, encouragement, and most of all thanks. They are the reasons that 400 people packed Beverly Arts Center on Saturday night and also packed envelopes from Zip Codes far beyond 60620 with checks of $25, $50, $100 and up to and including $200,000 from much older boys who once stamped approval and shouted Handsome Jimmy, Handsome Billy, Handsome Horsey, Handsome Bobby, and Handsome Pete Doyle!
The young men attending Leo make us proud. Our best athletes also happen to be top students and chess masters. Running Back Keith Harris is an IHSA recognized Scholar/Athlete and owns a fearsome record as a Leo Varisty Chessman. Jeremy a sophomore who played football as a freshman managed the Lions this year and is # 2 in his class.
The biggest disciplinary headache confronting teachers is keeping shirts tucked. The halls, where Jelani Clay, Eder Cruz, Moose Gilmartin, Andy McKenna, Tommy Hopkins, Dr. Stafford Hood, Dean at University of Illinois, General George Muellner of Boeing, Illinois Chief Justice Emeritus Tom Fitzgerald, Bishop John Gorman and Frank Considine '39, who modernized Eygpt's economy in the 1970's avoided the eyes of Brothers Rooster McCarthy, Mr. Foster and especially Brother Sloan, are as quiet as they were decades ago, when class is in session.
Visitors to Leo High School are hooked by the spirit of thanks and cooperation that scents our halls, though the second floor bathroom does otherwise, due to its aged plumbing.
One of the most beautiful young women I know, Tamara Holder, an attorney, Fox Television Legal Analyst and journalist visited Leo several times and then called me, " Hickey, I want in! Let me help on your Advisory Board." Done. Tamara works with Bill Holland, Bobby Sheehy, Jack Fitzgerald, Mike Holmes, Kenny Mason, Mike Joyce, Rich Finn, and John Linehan. Tamara is eye-poppingly gorgeous. The Leo Board members are . . .Handsome. Together they advise Dan McGrath and Principal Phil Mesina on how best to serve the Handsome Lions chowing down in turkey, stuffing, greens, yams and cobbler at yesterday's lunch. Today, we will have a Thanksgiving Mass and celebrate the Handsome Jesus Christ for all the blessing and care that He provides this great school and the Handsome young men it serves.
Paul Kelly noted that he looks at the man in the mirror each morning, no longer the tightly fleshed jaws of a teenager perhaps, and announces " Okay!. . . Handsome!"
There is so much interest in the annual arctic sea ice minimum that there's a prediction market on Intrade. People bet on it. Betting on sea ice is a little like buying life insurance. You say "I bet I die." The insurance company says "We bet you don't." Eventually you do die, but somehow they end up winning the bet.
Saturday's Lions of Laughter brought home three big name Stand Up Comics, Kenny Howell, Bill "Soups" Campbell and the iconic John Caponera shepherded by Chicago-based Paul Kelly. The Four Lions of Laughter was a sell-out!
The show ran from 8 P.M. until well past 11:30 and the four comic geniuses had them rolling in the isles of the Beverly Arts Center. Leo Men and their wives and significant others packed the 400 seats of the south side theatre operated by Leo Alumnus Mike Nix thanks to the tireless efforts of Leo President Dan McGrath and Alums Bobby Standring, Bill Figel, John Gardner, and Paul Kelly.
Not only did Paul Kelly open the show with a side-splitting Occupy St. Barnabas shtick, but he acted as Emcee - rather ego wrangler to the three hot-property assessts of mirth. Every performer is or should be an exacting craftsman and not one of the masters of timing and punch-line phoned in this show.
Bill Campbell related the comic nature of parenting and the road in show business; Kenny Howell pushed the edge of the envelope and had demure Longwood Ladies, Mother Mc Auley Cheerleaders and Queen of Peace knock-outs shooting pop through the schnozes, as Master Howell '82 knocked one after the other into the balcony packed his Classmates; John Caponera brought things home with his rubber mug maniacal antics that accompanies his verbal assaults on the funny bones.
But it was Paul Kelly's kinder and gentler self-deprecating south side EveryDad who controlled the pace and the path of a great night's entertainment. Kelly talked about our daily discovery that God has the last laugh on all of us Long-in-the Tooth Tab Hunters - " I am bald in the front, top and back, with patches in my ears and possess a rather hairy butt; therefore, when things really go south in the hair department, I'll just comb all of that forward . . .it comes already parted. Hell, I get up every morning, look in the mirror and say . . .Okay."
Leo Alumnus Brian Needham, a Beggar's Pizza Magnate provided hot stuff for post-concert Cokes and Jokes and Jazz artists pianist Tom Muellner and singer Miss Terry Sullivan knocked out tunes from the American Songbook of Jazz Standards.
Paul Kelly was a Pro's Pro and made the Lions of Laughter Concert magic for the scores of guests and Leo Lions.
Thank you to the staff and crew of the Beverly Arts Center, especially Mr. Rick Julian who worked the sound board for the comics and provided the first public viewing of film-maker Bob Milkovich's Leo Boxing You Tube sensation "Believe in Yourself."
May your troubles be as few and as far apart as my Granny's teeth. An Old Irish Toast
You can major in communications in college, but it's better to learn it by six or seven Leo Alumnus Paul Kelly
I applied for admission at Leo, because it was easy to spell. An anonymous Leo Alumnus - now a $ 500 an hour Personal Injury lawyer
Leo High School is home to captains of industry, military heroes, sports legends, men of the cloth, civil servants, and four of the funniest men in America. On Saturday, November 19th at 8 P.M. the Beverly Arts Center will roar with humor sparked by Four Lions of Laughter. Chicago's own Paul Kelly, Bill " Soups" Campbell, Kenny Howell and John Caponera will give one night tutorial on Stand Up Comedy. Each gifted man entered the crucible of high school years, through the portals of Leo High School.
Joseph Addison wrote that laughter is "the bringing together of images which have contrary additional ideas…” My all time favorite joke that never fails to get me giggling like the class jerk runs," An elegantly dressed woman walks into a loud crowded bar with a mallard under her arm. The bartender shouts above din and roar, 'Hey where'd you get the pig?' The grand dame frostily replies with dignity, ' This is a Canadian Mallard, you lout . . .a duck.' The bartender waxes chastened . . .for moment, while the noisy bar quiets and awaits his snappy rejoined. 'I know, Toots, I was I talking to the Duck!'
Some days, it takes every once of human will to manage a smile. Thank God for the people in our company who not only coax the corners of our mouths heavenward, but also squeeze the bladders of our humors so hard that not only laughter gushes forth, but every muscle is taxed to keep human fluids where they belong.
The four Leo Lions of Laughter are as different as our senses and sensibilities.
John Caponera is not only a great Canaryville Wit ( tall task that in itself), but a spot-on mimic:
Bill "Soups Campbell, now settled in Boston, MA, offers a family friendly cerebral consideration of laughter:
The youngest and the edgiest of the four Lions of Laughter is Kenny Howell. Kenny has comic chops honed sharp and is everywhere
Beverly Stand Up Stand out Paul Kelly is known as the comic laureate of Chicago is known for his offbeat perspective and a unique physical style. Audiences see themselves in his hilarious real life routines. Paul is a master story teller and a quick ad-libber. He is the winner of the WGN Comedy Bowl and is proud to have a bratwurst sandwich named after him.
The Chicago Tribune recognized Paul Kelly's genius -
"A lot of comics know what they're going to say before they get on stage, but I don't," added Kelly, who said he likes to start a show by "spritzing" (Yiddish for making it up as you go along).
"I try to clear my mind of all thought before I get started," said Kelly. "I have routines I do over and over again, but I'm always looking for the optimum way to do them. I believe in something James Wesley Jackson (a Chicago comic) once told me. He said, `Being a comedian is not the study of what makes people laugh but the study of the laughter itself.'
"I want to get to the laughter that comes from way down inside," added Kelly. "I don't do a lot of snappy one-liners because I want the laughter that comes out of a relationship or an emotion. Why sit around trying to think up jokes? Simple everyday reality is funnier."
Much of Kelly's stage persona came from growing up a South Side Irish Catholic. "I come from a family that had a lot of humor," said Kelly, whose sister Elizabeth Dadd of Los Angeles married another standup comic, Terry Dadd.
After graduating from Leo High School in 1966, he saw a different view of the world when he attended Michigan State University in East Lansing. "The main thing that was shocking to me when I first left the South Side was finding out that St. Patrick's Day was not a day off from school," said Kelly, whose family used to celebrate the holiday at St. Sabina Catholic Church.
Paul Kelly was the mixmaster of the Lions of Laughter and helped Leo Alums, John Gardner -Alumni President, Bob Standring, Mike Nix - Director the Beverly Arts Center, Public Relations Mogul Bill Figel and Leo President Dan McGrath offer a night of laughs and love for Leo High School.
This Stand-up, Knock-down, Drag-Up howl fest begins at 8 P.M. in the Beverly Arts Center on November 19th.
Lions of Laughter: A Night of Comedy wiith Leo H.S. Grads: John Caponera, Kenny Howell, Soups Campbell & Paul Kelly
At Beverly Art Center 2407 West 111th Street Chicago, Illinois 60655 7 P. M. November 19th 2011 Tickets - $40 in advance and $ 50 at the door
Tickets Available at Beverly Arts Center -Call (773) 445-3838, or buy them on-line www.beverlyartcenter.org/
Leo High School ( 773) 224-9600, or from a Leo Graduate with a wad of them in his mitts. For added ease, join the Leo High School Family in honoring our Veterans on Friday November 4th at 11 A.M. for the Annual Leo Veterans Observances in the courtyard War Memorial on 79th Street
Irish tan An Irish tan occurs when a very pale-skinned Irish person gets too much sun, causing their skin to become even more red and uneven. An Irish tan is not a sunburn; turning red and splotchy is just how some very fair Irish-Americans tan. Urban Dictionary
The day off at Leo High School, and yet I rose before Phoebus as is my habit. The Busy old sun who bothers lovers' locked arms and bids farmers to hie to the fields of corn and soy bean and the daily assessment about God and the Government in league to cheat a man, as well as that bastard Cotter over to the grain elevator in Herscher . . .; the Sun who bakes and breeds.
I showered and did not shave. I eschewed my nattier work day wear, for Chicago Yeomanry togs - a Leo High School polo and my white-guy hillbilly denim shorts and play shoes. Looking good,Hombre! Out into misting morning air.
I needed my morning amble for coffee and took the long route east so I could swing by CVS on Western at 111th Street and pick up some stuff that I forgot to get yesterday and County Fair opens at 8AM.
At 109th & Western next to the Dubliner Pub a crowd of maybe thirty folks, mostly African American, were lined up for jobs at the Security Guard Company. Folks would wait another hour or so in order to beat back the waves of economic mayhem, God Bless Them.
CVS was emptier than a politician's words and I picked my items discounted by the handy red Extra Care Pays You Back card. I reflected on my tasks today.
Leo High School is hosting a Comedy Night on the Friday after Thanksgiving at the Beverly Fine Arts Center just parallel to my morning's manly amble.
I needed to call back Leo Man, Comedian and Green Activist Paul Kelly about the performers - Leo Lions all and Kings of Comedy: John Caponera, Soups Campbell, Paul Kelly, and Kenny Howell.
Leo Men are rock-ribbed givers - not philanthropists, Philanthropists generally make more from their charity giving than they actually dispense. Witness Oprah, Bill Gates, Michael Jordan and the robber barons of old Carnegie, Rockefeller, and Vanderbilt. No, Leo Men, like people and foundations of good will, give. Huge difference.
Leo Men also will say exactly what is on their minds. I noted this fact in 1995 when I attended my first Leo Banquet at the now vanished Martinique/Drury Lane Theater. I was carrying three big boxes of Leo Sweatshirts for sale, through a throng of Brawny Stalwarts from the 1930's -1980's.
A tall gentleman from the Class of 1932 was making his way at his top speed through the beefy likes of Tom Hopkins, Joe Ramos, Moose Gilmartin, Barney Bulfin, Jack McNamara, Bill Holland and the saintly Jack Howard. At some point, I rather shyly asked the gentleman's pardon, in order to make a detour around the thick Alumni throng.
"You didn't go Leo, did you Kid." The well dressed gentleman who looked like he might have been the retired CEO of General Motors -Thomas Aquinas Murphy stated a fact and not a question.
"No sir. I went to Little Flower High School and . . ." I word- weaseled out.
" No kidding. You'd gone to Leo; you'd a told me to haul my #$%^ing old ass out of the way." concluded this Captain of American Industry Emeritus.
On this poignant encounter, I had good cause to connect - The Beverly Arts Center is run by a Leo Man -Mike Nix - who had run the Martinique. I was passing the Arts Center in my westward jaunt for coffee at Kean Gas - operated by Jimmy and Rolly Kean relatives of Leo President Dan McGrath and home to Leo Alumni patrons.
I bought my coffee, said hello to Kean Pumps Man and hero Ray and took my path homeward north on Talman. The white pick up truck of Leo Class of 1970 Man and plumber Mike Regan pulled in the drive before I hit the sidewalk. 'Hi, Hick!'
Leo men! Givers and Diogenes' Sons - the lamp of honest assessment and cant free courtesy.
At 109th Street Mike Regan's white pick-up slowed portending hearty fellowship and salutations of good-will.
" Next time you're at the beach, Hickey, try getting out of your car!"
This is but one of the rough hewn granite blocks of human experience that forms the pyramid to God's All-Seeing Eye!
Dad always said that I couldn't find my butt with both hands. I can. Allow me to add this imperative -“Defend the unborn against abortion even if they persecute you, calumniate you, set traps for you, take you to court or kill you." - Pope Francis to celebrate Pro-life Mass, Vatican
"You stand up for what you believe in, even if it gets in the way of what other people think. You are proud of yourself and your accomplishments and you enjoy letting people know that."
A peach of a guy with all the sweetness one could expect from a life well-spent and in good company: short on brains but a terrific dancer!
Author:
Every Heart and Hand: A Leo High School Story
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