Story by Cpl. Brian A. Tuthill

MARINE CORPS AIR GROUND COMBAT CENTER TWENTYNINE PALMS, Calif. (March 25, 2006) -- More than 500 Combat Center Marines, Sailors and family members packed the base theater March 22 for a night of laughs and entertainment.

Comedians Drake Witham, Jeff Hodge and Jimmy Della Valle took the stage during the Comedy Connection event, sponsored by Marine Corps Community Services. The show spanned two hours and was limited to patrons 18 years and older.

“I had a really good time,” said Pfc. Robert Perez, who attended the show with fellow Marines of 2nd Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment. “I think we all did. I liked the last comic especially. He was dirty, and I liked that.

“It’s great to have shows like this for the Marines because it’s good to be able to go and have a laugh,” said Perez.

All of the Los Angeles-based comics, who met for the first time backstage, said that their first visit to Twentynine Palms was a memorable one and they hope to return.

“These comedians were absolutely wonderful,” said Kelly Coe, MCCS special events coordinator. “They were very well-received by the crowd and they loved being here. I really enjoyed watching them.”

Coe said although the crowd has grown with every comedy show MCCS puts on, this was one of the biggest she had ever seen.

“These guys were all great, but we don’t want to have the same comedians back every time, unfortunately,” said Coe, who has already begun planning the next show for September. “We try to vary the different styles of comedy so that we are able to reach everybody.”

Coe said she hopes the next show is even bigger, but judging by the big laughs received during the show and smiles as people exited the theater, it may be hard to top.

Jeff Hodge
Age: 27
Hometown: St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands
How many years have you been performed? 15 years
What got you into doing comedy? “My friends and classmates thought I was funny. At college, a classmate got me thinking about performing since architecture didn’t seem to be working out. The journey has been amazing. If you had told me as a kid, I would never have believed that I’d be living in Los Angeles as a comedian.”
What was your initial impression of the Combat Center? “It was big! It’s amazing to think about the war and to see Marines back here doing their daily routines. Life goes on. I hear about a lot of the Marines from Twentynine Palms out in Iraq and Afghanistan but there are still a whole lot left.”
Where have you toured overseas? “I traveled to eight countries in 23 days in the Middle East. That was quite an experience.”
What do you like best about doing military shows? “How appreciative they are. Athletes and celebrities are worshipped by people, but really the people in the military do amazing things and that should be reversed. I was genuinely shocked at how appreciative service members are. Their sacrifices allow us to do what we’re doing.”
How was the show for you? “I really liked it. I was actually surprised at how vast the theater was. It’s up in the same class as some big university theaters. We had about 500 people in the theater and everyone came here to laugh. I’d come out here again in a heartbeat.”

St. Thomian Proves He's Really a Stand-Up Guy

By Lynda Lohr

    Feb. 21, 2006 – St. Thomas-born Jeff "Ox" Hodge, 39, thought he'd be an architect, but after friends convinced him he was funny, switched gears to a life in the entertainment field.
     Now living in Los Angeles, the son of Edgar and Zulah Hodge, of St. Thomas' Lindbergh Bay, has a growing list of comedic and writing credits on his resume.
     He and friend Denver Williams just came out with a book, "101+ Ways to Keep Your Man." Hodge said the book is based on Williams' departure from a relationship with a woman. It's available online from the publisher, iUniverse. [ http://www.Iuniverse.com/bookstore/book_detail.asp?isbn=0595376339 ]  
     Hodge's road to Los Angeles, like most entertainers, took years of perseverance and effort.
     After a year at Charlotte Amalie High School, he left St. Thomas in 1981 to live with his aunt, Ruby Vanterpool, so he could finish high school in Houston, Texas. Friends told him that because he was funny, he should be a comedian.
     He said he first tried an open mic night at a comedy club.
     "It didn't go well. I wasn't funny," he said.
     After a brief sojourn to St. Thomas in 1984, he went off to study architecture at the University of Houston. It wasn't a good fit, and Hodge said he was looking around for something to do when another friend told him to try comedy because he was funny.
     "I tried for a whole summer at an open mic. I didn't know what I was doing," he said.
     After this experience, he saw a flyer advertising lessons on how to be a stand-up comedian. With only half of the $200 fee in his pocket, his friend lent him the other $100 to pay for the eight-week class.
     Finally, the how-to's of comedy began to click, and he became a regular at Houston's Comedy Workshop. Needing a way to support himself, he became a traffic school instructor, an experience that provided fodder for several books, including "101+ Ways to Get Out of a Traffic Ticket."
     In 1995 he decided to expand his horizons and moved to live with his brother in San Diego, where he wrote a couple of books and kept up with his traffic school instructor jobs.
     In 1996, Hodge said he decided he was ready to try for the big time in Los Angeles.
     His credits so far include parts in the films "Crocodile Dundee in LA," "Deuce Bigalow," and "Director's Cut."
     He's also appeared in television shows "The Parkers," "City of Angel," and "Make Me Laugh," and written for the "Keenan Ivory Wayans Show."
     "I still do stand-up," he said.
     Hodge said, he went to the Middle East on a USO Comedy Tour.
     In his spare time, he said he likes to go dancing and travel. "And I like to create and think about creative things," he said.

Five years ago, Jeff Hodge had been doing comedy for a few years in Los Angeles. But even with his experience as a stand-up comedian, he had his setbacks.

One night after a successful show at the Laugh Factory, Hodge received a call from Magic Johnson’s T.V. show; they wanted somebody to warm up the audience. Hodge agreed to the gig and he drove to NBC studios in Burbank.

After not being able to afford parking, Hodge entered the studios where he was confronted by one of the big shots with a remark he will never forget.

"The lady said, ‘We looked at your tapes, you sucked,’" Hodge said. "I’ve had people tell me we don’t think you’re right for the project, we’re going in a different direction. I have never had anybody come to me point blank, you suck."

Hodge said even though that experience was the most humiliating and devastating moments of his career as a comedian, it made him persevere that much more.

"I was telling my friend the other night, when I’m up there accepting an Academy Award I’m going to thank all the people that wouldn’t give me the time of day when I was trying," Hodge said. "The more they told me I couldn’t do it the more I tried to do it."

Hodge grew up in the Virgin Islands (Jamaica) and was far from being the funny, laid-back comic he is today. Hodge’s brother, Kelvin, said out of all their siblings, Hodge was the most serious. His siblings used to call him "Big Brother Almighty."

"He was more like a father-figure," Kelvin said. "He always had a serious look on his face. He reminded me of my dad–looks like my dad (and) acts just like my dad."

It wasn’t until Hodge moved to Texas where he studied at the University of Houston that the idea of being a comedian for a career ever crossed his mind.

"(On the islands) there was no such thing as comedians," Hodge said. "I didn’t know what that was."

Having already taken a shot at comedy–memorizing a five-minute act one of his friends had written and regurgitating it on stage–Hodge was weary of ever attempting to be a comedian again.

In an architecture class at the University of Houston, one of Hodge’s classmates urged him to go for comedy.

"He worked with me and coaxed me to going to open mic," Hodge said. "Five minutes before I went on stage he said, ‘You’re not real easy to make laugh, so I don’t know if you’re funny.’ I went up on stage that night and I did terrible too. I bombed. I didn’t know what I was doing."

Hodge and his friend Ashley decided to join a private comedy class called, Comedy Gym Class. In the comedy class, Hodge learned what it takes to be a comedian.

"I thought you had to be grammatically correct so one joke would be a page long," Hodge said. "People would look at me like a dead headlight."

Hodge said his comedy instructors taught him to get to the joke as quick as possible and to talk about himself and what he knows. They wanted the "Cosby-like smile," Hodge added.

After three years of college where he bounced from major to major, Hodge dropped out of school as a senior and left for the road as a comedian. He came to Los Angeles and entered a foreign world.

"Moving to L.A. was an eye-opening experience," Hodge said. "You do the road, have great sets, people tell you you’re funny, you should do a sitcom. You come to L.A. and you realize it’s not about talent it’s about having the right management, making the right connections and persevering."

Having been in Los Angeles now for 10 years, Hodge has been a successful comedian. His fame includes Crocodile Dundee in LA, Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo, a writer for The Keenan Ivory Wayans Show and the author of three humor books: "101+ Ways To Get Out Of A Traffic Ticket," "Pet Peeves: Things That Tick- Me Off About Driving" and ‘101 Ways To Stay Awake While Driving."

He also owns his own production company, Yeah Mon Entertainment, which puts on a show called, "The Ambassadors of Comedy, A collection of America’s funniest foreign comedians."

"I like doing my own thing (because) I’ve never had someone do it for me," Hodge said. "When I wrote the books, printers said, ‘It will never sell.’ You’ll never make it in comedy, you have an accent no one will understand you; that club has since closed."

Hodge is taking classes at CSUN toward a major in cinema, television film. He plans to produce and direct comedy shows and movies.

"You gotta wear all the hats," Hodge said. "Once you achieve the level of (success), once you get there, (then) you can delegate."

Hodge said he is comfortable with comedy now that he can perform without being so structured.

"I take a lot of chances on stage with improv (and) wing a lot of stuff," Hodge said. "When you first start off you have to have that material solid. You can’t be winging it. They (comedy clubs) expect you to be funny. You get booked to do a 30-minute spot, you don’t want to be funny every now and then, you gotta be funny at least every 13 seconds–punch line, punch, punch punch. You ain’t funny, guess what, you ain’t comin’ back."

When the audience roars with laughter, Hodge said it is a great feeling.

"I leave the clubs high," Hodge said. "I’m up all night going through my Rolodex, ‘Who can I call.’"

What about when he doesn’t perform well?

"You can have a thousand good sets and two bad ones," Hodge said, "you’ll remember the two. Those two will haunt you forever."

A12-year veteran of stand-up comedy, Hodge hasn’t given up. Even after the greatest setback of his career at NBC, Hodge continues to pursue other avenues of comedy.

"I really like what I do," Hodge said. "The average person would’ve given up then. Something told me to stick with it and I have."

Jeff Hodge’s show, "The Ambassadors of Comedy: A collection of America’s funniest foreign comedians" will be playing in the University Student Union at the Performing Arts Theater tonight at 8 p.m.

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