Comedian Anthony Griffith tells an honest, poignant story at the US Comedy Arts Festival in Aspen in 2003. The title is “The Best of Times, The Worst of Times” and it will take your breath away.
Griffith touches on many issues core to us here at The Good Men Project: Fatherhood, saving face, being a provider, having to always be strong, anger, and issues within the Black community that keep men from asking for help.
Upworthy.com sums up what makes this so exceptional:
It’s so important to remember that the people we idolize aren’t the two-dimensional, easily digestible caricatures that we see of them in the media.
Griffith is an incredibly talented comedian, see some of his more traditionally laugh-out-loud comedy below. Follow Anthony Griffith on Twitter @MrLaffalot.
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Try and watch this… without crying. I dare you.
Done. This man’s life has been hell, and that’s a shame.
So, was this billed and scheduled as a comedy routine or not? I know it was at the Comedy Arts Festival, but that doesn’t mean he was expected to be funny for this event. If it was simply listed as “Comics tell some of their personal-life stories” this would’ve been appropriate.
With few exceptions, any time, any place ought to be a venue for a man to speak like this. Why we need qualifiers…i just don’t know.
You’d have to be the coldest person on Earth not to tear up watching this. Good thing I was alone!
I don’t know this guy. Never heard of him before. But that is what the Good Men Project aspires to be. Right there. Amazing.
Being a father of two grown daughters, I have had many of the opportunities Anthony missed. I am grateful for every one of those experiences(both good and bad). I am hoping that since the time of this story he has other children and can share his passion with them. That took great courage to stand up and bare his soul.
Growing up, I was obsessed with stand-up comedy. Laughter was my escape. I smiled to hide pain because no one wants to hear depressing stories…
I remember watching Blake on various shows and thinking he was a sad clown. Only people who don’t really see people believe in the happy comedian myth. Most are unhappy. The stage is their therapy/escape. If they can make others laugh, then they’ve succeeded. But who brings the comedian joy?
When you’re trained to be the comedian/survivor/superhero of the family, at school, with friends, it’s a struggle just to give yourself permission to cry.
We all cry with Blake.
And that’s the point of his daughter’s death: We need to learn how to accept and process that sorrow is a part of life, too.