SCOTT SIMON, HOST:
Things can take time. Andy Huggins has been a stand-up comic for over 40 years, much of it on the Houston comedy scene. Last year, at the age of 73, Andy Huggins finally got his own comedy special, and a lot of his act is about growing old. It is unsparing and explicit, but here's one of the lines we can actually put on the air.
(SOUNDBITE OF COMEDY SPECIAL)
ANDY HUGGINS: I took a quiz on Facebook called What's Your Spirit Animal.
(LAUGHTER)
HUGGINS: I got extinct.
(LAUGHTER)
SIMON: Andy Huggins joins us now from Houston. His comedy special is called "Andy Huggins: Early Bird (ph)." The special is available to stream now on several platforms including Apple TV Plus and Prime Video. Mr. Huggins, thanks so much for being with us.
HUGGINS: Well, thank you so much for asking me.
SIMON: Do you use your age - and I can use this phrase with you - as comic schtick?
HUGGINS: Yes, sir. You know, it's what I know better than anything at the moment. I sit down and write what I'm familiar with, and age is inescapable. The best jokes, I think, come from some sort of emotional place. You know, getting old, is certainly that. I talk about my past drinking history. That's certainly that. Women, certainly that. So, yeah, it's inescapable, and I'd be silly to ignore it. Plus, I look every bit my age when I hit the stage. Can't pretend it's anything other than 73-years-old or 74 now.
SIMON: What do you see when you look out at the audience? Who is your audience?
HUGGINS: I am very blessed. I see 20-year-olds, and I see 80-years-old. The audience age-wise, generation-wise is very much mixed. For whatever reason, I do better with young kids as an audience. Maybe it's out of respect for somebody that looks like they could be their grandfather, whereas before I looked like somebody who could be their parent. Maybe that's the difference.
SIMON: Let's listen to another one of your best lines now.
(SOUNDBITE OF COMEDY SPECIAL)
HUGGINS: I am blessed to be able to do stand-up at my age. There are problems from time to time. A couple of Saturdays ago, before I went onstage, I asked a club manager, how much time do I have? He said, can't be much.
(LAUGHTER)
SIMON: Sorry (laughter). I laughed and laughed at that. But, you know, I probably don't have to tell you, as we both know, that could be true. There are more people living now into their 80s and 90s, but, you know, someone goes at our age, Mr. Huggins, nobody says, oh, so young.
HUGGINS: Too soon is not a phrase we would hear.
SIMON: Yeah. So do you ever squirm to make those jokes?
HUGGINS: Not at all. Quite honestly, I would squirm if it didn't get a laugh. As long as it gets a laugh. You know, it's - like you just said, it's a fact of life. It might be the last fact of our life, but it happens. I don't worry about it being prescient. As long as it gets a laugh, I don't care.
SIMON: What do you think of comedy today?
HUGGINS: I love it. The width of what constitutes stand-up these days is enormous. And, you know, there's - not all of it I enjoy. But, yeah, it's great. I enjoy it. There are more clubs. There's more places where I can work. And I think because of TV and YouTube and all the different streaming venues, that people are a little more sophisticated about comedy. That makes for a better audience. So overall, I'm pleased. Yeah.
SIMON: What's the charge you get out of performing? What's fun about it?
HUGGINS: It's so deeply satisfying. It's so deeply reassuring that I got a useful purpose while I'm alive. One time when - I don't know if you remember in the late '60s, early '70s, the Marx Brothers enjoyed a revival. And there was a revival house in D.C. - The Biograph. We lived in Northern Virginia. So one night, I went over there with my family to watch "Duck Soup," which I had seen many times before. Place was full, and the laughter was unbelievable. And at one point, I just kind of stopped watching the movie and just started listening to the laughter. And it was just so joyous. And I thought, you know, one of these days, I want to be on the other side of that laughter. It's just a wonderful, joyful sound. And to write a joke that the audience laughs at as a group, it's just so satisfying. Brings me selfish joy.
SIMON: Oh, I don't think there's anything selfish about it. You're making a lot of people laugh. I hope you do it for a long time to come.
HUGGINS: Oh, I'm - plan on doing it till I literally cannot do it anymore.
SIMON: Andy Huggins, he has a special now running on Apple TV+ and Prime Video. Thanks so much for being with us.
HUGGINS: You're very welcome, and thank you for having me.
(SOUNDBITE OF EL TEN ELEVEN'S "MY ONLY SWERVING") Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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