Early Stand-up Comedy Years
About a year into Harry’s comedy career, a then unknown but very well respected Jerry Seinfeld approached Harry and said, “You’re a good writer,” and added, “I don’t just say that to anyone.”
About the same time, Joan Rivers also caught Harry’s act and invited him to hang out in her dressing room before her shows at the Diplomat Hotel in South Florida.
Over the years, Harry has toured the country, opening for comics like Jerry Seinfeld, Tim Allen, Dennis Leary, Andrew Dice Clay, Paul Reiser, Pat Paulson, Drew Carey (who actually opened for Harry) and many more.
He became friends with Ray Romano and Richard Jeni and opened for both in numerous theaters and clubs across the country, including Carolines in New York City.
In the late 80’s and early 90’s, Harry was featured on VH1 Stand-up Spotlight with Rosie O’Donnell, Comedy on the Road with John Byner, Carolines Comedy Hour on A&E with Richard Jeni, (which Harry also wrote for) and was a prize winner on America’s Funniest People.
He was also a regular at New York’s top comedy clubs including The Improvisation, The Comic Strip, and The Comedy Cellar. In addition, Bill Maher became a big fan of Harry’s, and used to put him on at Catch a Rising Star.
But all of that was merely a prelude to Harry’s next move.
Becoming A Keynote Speaker
When a friend asked Harry to help in preparing for a corporate comedy put-on, Harry wrote much of the material and knew immediately this was something he also wanted to do. After that friend gave his blessing, a then unknown Ray Romano, also a friend, got offered a put-on for a hospital, which he passed on to Harry.
The video from that speech got Harry 10 more put-ons in the next 6 months. He soon began entertaining some of the biggest companies and associations in the world including Dell Computer, The American Bankers Association, Cox Radio, IBM, and many more.
Beginnings
Harry has always been funny. In high school he was elected to the student government after making a hilarious speech about school policies that got his 600 fellow classmates rolling with laughter, while the school vice principal looked on with an expression of shock.
During his senior year at SUNY Binghamton, Harry was one of only a handful out of 2000 elite New England students, including Ivy Leaguers, to win an award as outstanding delegate at the Harvard Model United Nations. He had become a sharp debater.
After attending 3 semesters of law school in Miami Florida, Harry realized his fathers wishes for him to follow in HIS footsteps as a lawyer and judge were not his own. He did however learn to explore both sides of every issue in depth, which became invaluable for joke writing and he also excelled at Moot Court.
Over the next few years, Harry worked as a managing editor for a humor magazine and feature writer for a Miami Beach Newsweekly. Then he decided to go after his own dream – standup comedy.
When South Florida’s first comedy club opened in Hollywood Florida, on opening night, Harry “killed” for a crowd of 250 people, receiving 5 ovations in 12 minutes. That show changed his life.
He moved back to New York and the rest is history.
ABSOLUTELY! Harry has performed his put-ons for virtually every industry and has convinced audiences that he is an expert in anything from healthcare to energy to sales and marketing. He has pretended to be anything from a White House advisor to a new Vice President of the company.
In each case, Harry’s put-ons are completely customized to the client’s need and situation. Sometimes the “spoof” takes the form of poking fun at a general topic you agree on with Harry; sometimes it’s poking fun at specific people that you and Harry select. In either case, you can rest assured it will be a hit with your group.
