Philippines is not short of talents who have made a huge mark in Hollywood. Majority of them, though, was raised/born in the US. What sets Jo Koy apart is the pride that he takes from being half Filipino. Check out the video here , he wore a jacket with a Philippine flag in his first appearance in a major TV show (The Tonight Show with Jay Leno). It is also in the same show where he got one of the best recognition you can ever get as stand up comedian – a STANDING OVATION. It was barely a 3-minute gig, he was to go on and get out but he was so freakin’ funny, Jay Leno invited him to sit down with him for a short chat.
Jo Koy proudly wearing the Philippien flag in The Tonight Show with Jay Leno
It officially made him a rockstar. Stand up comedians perform in 200-seat theatres. Koy fills up 10,000-seat arenas not just in California or Las Vegas but in hundreds of cities across the U.S.
He has since been offered a Comedy Hour on Comedy Central and his own show, “The Jo Koy Show”. He was named one of the Top 10 comics to watch in 2007. Well, he made the world watch him and he delivered big time.
Jo Koy (Joseph Glenn Herbert) is a Filipino-American stand-up comic. Born in Washington, Koy credits his Filipina mother for his comedic and acting talents. I personally think Filipinos have three rare comedic abilities:
- Ability to find the funny even at the hardest of times
- They don’t take themselves too seriously
- Being funny without even trying
Koy got those three from his mom. Pinoys also have a flair for shamelessly pursuing showbiz careers. I think it’s cute how Pinoys find showbusiness amusing and that is also why his mother encouraged him and his sister to take part in school talent shows and impromptu performances in front of anyone who would watch.
The cool thing about him is the fact that he is unapologetic for everything in him and his family that is Pinoy. More than any other country, our comedy is as slapstick as slapstick can get. Many frown on it. Even Jim Carrey is still unaccepted by many. Koy embraced slapstick and combined it with wit and in the process, gave him a style all his own.
He is amused of Pinoy culture, too. Amused, not embarrassed. Many Pinoys are embarrassed of their own traits but not him. He puts a spotlight on these traits, tells the whole world these are the things that make the Pinoys a truly unique, entertaining, amusing, hardcore, and totally awesome race and anyone who is not down with it is missing half the fun of what life can offer.
Jo Koy on his way to the Taal Volcano
Jo Koy is one of those people who make you feel good for being who you are. In his odd eccentric way, most likely unintentionally, he performs his acts and makes us all realize that we all have $h!t to bear in our life. It is fully our choice, though, whether we will allow that to hit the fan and make our life stink or look at it from a different perspective so we can laugh at it.
There will be many Pinoy stand up comedianswho will try to follow his footsteps and I have no doubt that many will make it but the ride will be muddy as hell because Jo Koy is tough-as-$h!t to follow.
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