Celebrity Jobber with Jeff Zito - Henry Cho

Summary

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Celebrity Jobber Podcast with Jeff Zito

Episode: Henry Cho

Release Date: January 2, 2026

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Episode Overview

In this episode, Jeff Zito speaks with comedian Henry Cho about his unconventional rise from Knoxville, Tennessee, to being the first Asian American member of the Grand Ole Opry. The conversation delves into Henry's first jobs, his sudden break into stand-up comedy, how his Korean-immigrant family reacted to his career choice, and key moments that shaped his journey. With candid humor and warmth, Henry reflects on the cultural expectations he faced, the mentors who helped him, and the improbable trajectory that led him across decades in showbiz.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

Henry's Early Life and Pre-Comedy Years

• College Years & Comedy Origin:

  • Henry was in his sixth year of college (“fifth major”, 02:57), close to graduating but unsure of his path.
  • Decided on a whim to try stand-up at Knoxville's Funny Bone comedy club for a local competition.
  • “I just kind of got up and did it… I went up there and told stories and my first joke destroyed. And from then I went, okay, all right, I like this. So yeah, I got a standing ovation first time ever.” (04:38)

• The Accidental Big Break:

  • The competition was actually for Showtime’s "Funniest Person in America"; the owner of the Funny Bone chain, Jerry Kubach, was in the audience and hired Henry on the spot.
  • “So I started working on Wednesday and I dropped out of college on Friday. True story. And I’ve been doing it ever since.” (04:03)

Family Reactions & Cultural Expectations

• Telling His Parents:

  • Henry’s father, a Korean immigrant and nuclear physicist, was stunned by Henry dropping out of college for comedy.
  • “He did not really speak to me for about a year and a half.” (09:16)
  • “There are like 16 doctors in my family, right. So that's what I was supposed to be. But I was born here, so that's what I tell my dad all the time. I said, look, you left. I was born here. So my priorities are girls, sports, school.” (07:43)

• Parental Acceptance:

  • His father only came around after catching Henry on TV 18 months later: “18 months after, he wasn’t on board. He was on board. He told me I should stick with it. And, you know, after that, I was bulletproof.” (10:25)
  • Some in his extended family still don’t approve, with relatives forbidding their children from watching him: “I have cousins who were forbidden to watch me on tv. Their parents didn't want them to be influenced by me whatsoever.” (12:02)

Henry’s Career Path, Early Jobs, and Work Ethic

• First and Odd Jobs:

  • “I had a paper route when I was in elementary school… cleaned up after concerts at the Coliseum… drove a truck delivering auto parts… worked on barges… butcher shops… worked at Target for two weeks at Christmas rush.” (20:51)
  • “I've never had a real job.” (21:47) – Stand-up became a full-time pursuit at age 24.

• Work Ethic in Comedy:

  • Did any gig he could to get stage time and improve quickly: “Even though I didn't do open mics, that didn't mean I didn't do horrible shows… I was just getting paid for it.” (13:55)
  • “I did my first headline show within my first year.” (14:29)

Key Breaks and Mentorship

• Luck, Opportunity & Mentors:
  • First break: Won the Knoxville competition, hired by Jerry Kubach (15:22).
  • Second break: Got to open for Jerry Seinfeld as a clean comic (clean comedy became a hallmark).
  • Mentorship: Seinfeld, Gary Shandling, and Bill Engvall all played important roles, often introducing Henry to major scenes and opportunity (17:52, 18:58).
  • “Gary Shandling ended up being, hate to name drop, but I'm going to… a long, long time mentor of mine. And I'll never forget Gary saying, you know, if you ever write a book, we'll write the first two chapters of how to start out in comedy. Because no one does it like you did.” (13:56)

Ethnicity, Audience, and Breaking Barriers

• Grand Ole Opry Induction:

  • “I'm the first comedian inducted in over 50 years.” (23:43)
  • 229th overall member, first Asian American – an honor never expected:
    “It was never on my radar… No. Why would I dream this? Are you crazy?” (24:19)

• Navigating Ethnic Identity as a Performer:

  • “Here's another thing people can't figure out. You look at any other ethnic comedian, and their audience is 95, 98% that ethnicity. Mine is 98% white. No one's figured it out.” (25:05)
  • Struggles to be written for in TV: “I'm a Tennessee guy who happens to be Korean… she [a Korean writer] couldn't figure that out.” (26:18)

• Unique Legacy:

  • “I’m the only person on the planet who’s a member of the Grand Ole Opry and Harvard’s National Lampoon.” (26:44)

Reflecting on “Sliding Doors” Moments

• Possible Alternate Lives:

  • “Every time I walk off stage, I just kind of go, wow, I got away with another one. I feel like I've snuck in and stolen the last cookie out of the jar.” (28:30)
  • Never lost on him how improbable his path was, going from odd jobs and multiple majors to showbiz success.

• Encounters with Legends:

  • Steve Allen, after seeing Henry, remarked: “You have 10 years, and you probably have more. Just in that set alone, you had 10 new jokes that no one has ever heard that I've never heard that I never even thought I would hear.” (30:12, 30:39)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On his spontaneous stand-up debut:
  “I went up there and told stories and my first joke destroyed. And from then I went, okay, all right, I like this. So yeah, I got a standing ovation first time ever.”
  — Henry Cho (04:38)

• Family expectations:
  “There are like 16 doctors in my family, right. So that's what I was supposed to be. But I was born here, so that's what I tell my dad all the time. I said, look, you left. I was born here. So my priorities are girls, sports, school.”
  — Henry Cho (07:43)

• Explaining his break to Jerry Kubach:
  “He goes, how long you been doing comedy? I said, that was it… that's the first time he's ever done anything.”
  — Henry Cho (15:52)

• On being a “sidebar” and navigating ethnicity:
  “The fact that I'm Asian is the sidebar, and it's always been the sidebar of my entire career… Mine is 98% white. No one's figured it out.”
  — Henry Cho (25:05)

• On the improbability of his career:
  “Every time I walk off stage, I just kind of go, wow, I got away with another one.”
  — Henry Cho (28:30)

• Steve Allen’s assessment:
  “You've told 10 jokes that no one has ever come from your perspective, ever. And no one else can tell those jokes but you.”
  — Steve Allen to Henry Cho (30:39)

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Timeline of Important Segments

| Timestamp | Segment | |-----------|--------------------------------------------------| | 02:57 | Henry explains how he randomly entered comedy | | 04:38 | His first time performing stand-up—instant success | | 06:32 | Parental expectations and early family reaction | | 10:23 | How his father learned about his comedy career | | 13:22 | Henry’s circuitous path through multiple majors | | 15:22 | Details of his first major career break | | 17:52 | Mentorship and early big-stage opportunities | | 20:51 | Henry’s first jobs and odd jobs | | 23:43 | Being inducted into the Grand Ole Opry | | 25:05 | On his audience's unusual demographic split | | 28:30 | Reflection on alternate life paths | | 30:12 | Steve Allen’s praise for Henry’s unique voice |

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Conclusion

This episode tells the remarkable story of Henry Cho’s accidental entry into stand-up comedy, his navigation of family expectation, immigrant identity, and Southern culture, and how mentorship, opportunity, and relentless work propelled him to unique comedic achievements—including Grand Ole Opry membership. Henry's story is one of serendipity, perseverance, and staying true to his voice in the face of doubt.

For more information, tour dates, and Henry’s socials:
henrychocomedy.com
(See also: @henrychocomedy on social media)

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Transcript

[Capital One Announcer]

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[Jeff Zito]

Hey, Happy New Year everybody. It's Jeff Zito and thanks for checking out. Another episode of the Celebrity Jobber Podcast you can follow on Insta Celebrity Underscore Jobber Underscore podcast. Also, the YouTube channel is YouTube.com the Signce Celebrity Jobber also streaming on Apple podcast iHeart Spotify. Wherever you you listen to podcast and please hit the subscribe button. Would love a five star rating and please leave a review. If you want to check out past guests and episodes, you can do so by going to celebrityjobber.com how did it all happen for some of these people? Maybe they had a dream early on and they worked towards it for years and hit the big time after a lot of hard work or sometimes it was kind of a complete accident. Perhaps that was the case for our guest today, comedian Henry Cho. Born in Knoxville, Tennessee to Korean born parents, Henry became the first Asian American invited to become a member of the Grand Ole Opry. Henry is well known as a clean comedian. We'll find out how Henry got his big break and how the comedy and showbiz career all got stuck. You know, I'm sure with Korean born parents, stand up comedy wasn't a family tradition. Jobs outside of comedy. He's had a few. We'll talk about those. And of course his first job on tour here in the new year. You can go to henrycho comedy.com for more details. That's henrychocomedy.com in his 40th year in stand up comedy and again the first Asian American invited to become a member of the Grand Old Opry. Henry Cho is my guest this week on Celebrity Jobber the Celebrity Jobber Podcast with Jeff Zito. If you like what you hear, please subscribe, give a five star rating and leave a review. Check out all our past episodes on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you put what if these celebrities weren't famous? What would they have become? What was their first job? We're about to find out. I've known of Henry Cho for a long time. So how long you been in show business for.

[Henry Cho]

I've been doing stand up. January will be 40 years.

[Jeff Zito]

Wow. 40 years.

[Capital One Announcer]

Wow.

[Jeff Zito]

Tell me a little something about your life before stand up. Tell me.

[Henry Cho]

I was in, I was in college. I was, you know, and I told my buddies I was going to try to stand up. And of course they thought I was crazy. And I went down to the local comedy club in Knoxville, Tennessee, Funny Bone. They had some competition and I entered it not knowing what it was, and I thought it was like 12 guys like me. And it ended up being a real competition, right? So it was me and 11 guys that knew what they were doing. And it was a Monday night and I told my buddies I was just gonna go up and try it and never talk about doing it again. And lo and behold, I won. And the, the guy who owned all the Funny Bone chain, there were 12 comedy clubs at the time, Jerry Kubach, he happened to be there because it was that big of a deal, which I had no idea. And he hired me right there on the spot. So I started working on Wednesday and I dropped out of college on Friday.

[Capital One Announcer]

And.

[Henry Cho]

True story. And I've been doing it ever since.

[Jeff Zito]

Now this is a pretty amazing. Because you hear about, I mean, this, these are like stories that are told in a movie, right? Like, I mean, that shouldn't have happened. You shouldn't have gotten up on stage for the very first time doing a comedy competition and won with no. Like, you didn't know what a premise was. Did you have any idea how to tell a joke? Or are you just like, yeah, I'm a funny guy, I'm gonna get up there and do it. Or were you a student of comedy or like, you just got up and did it?

[Henry Cho]

I just kind of got up and did it. You know, I used to watch Seinfeld and Blake Clark and Rich Shiger on the Tonight Show, Gary Shanling, Leno, all these guys. You know, I watched it Tonight show like all kids did back then, you know, when you had three channels and Johnny Carson was it, you know, So I knew what a stand up comedian was. I'd never hung out in comedy clubs. I wasn't one of those guys. I never did open mics. I just thought on a whim that I would try it. And when I called down there to find out the protocols, they said, hey, well, there's a competition next week on Monday. We're full, but we'll make you the first alternate and if somebody drops out, you can have their spot. And I said, okay. And sure enough, on Friday, they called and said, somebody dropped out, so you're in. I went, okay. So driving my truck with my two college roommates were driving to the comedy club and we're. They're going, your serious? I said, yeah. They go, well, remember when this happened? Remember this? So we just started talking about what I should say. Say, wow. And I went up there and told stories and my first joke destroyed. And from then I went, okay, all right, I like this. So yeah, I got a standing ovation first time ever.

[Jeff Zito]

So, okay, Henry, let's. I mean this is, this is pretty surreal already. Now, you grew up in the south, you're an Asian American, you're going to college. I want to know what the conversation was like between you and your dad when you're like, hey, dad, I want to quit. I want to quit going to college and become a stand up comedian. I can't think that conversation went well. You know, tell me a little about it.

[Henry Cho]

You're spot on. So I do this and I get hired and I go back to class that week and I'm just writing jokes in class. And you know, my college roommate says, he says when I walked off stage that very first time, he said, you, I don't know if you remember, but you high fived me and said I may never have to take another college course the rest of my life. And so my parents immigrated here 75 years ago. They didn't speak English. They learned English because that's what you did back then. And they're, you know, they were the top students at their schools in Seoul, Korea. That's their reward was come to college in the United States. And back then it was Warren Wilson Junior College in Asheville, North Carolina. I mean, nowadays they go to Harvard or Yale or something, right? Back then you did. It wasn't that way. And so, you know, There are like 16 doctors in my family, right. So that's what I was supposed to be. But I was born here, so that's what I tell my dad all the time. I said, look, you left. I was born here. So my priorities are girls, sports, school.

[Jeff Zito]

Right.

[Henry Cho]

School's a distant third. So, you know, I was close to graduating. I was on in my sixth year of college and my fifth major. And my mom had no problem because she always knew I was going to do something else. I mean, I was going to play pro baseball. That was my whole.

[Capital One Announcer]

Really?

[Henry Cho]

Yeah, that was my, that was my whole attitude. And yeah, you know, the funny thing is playing, I only played through high school. But, you know, we were, we were city champs. We lost one game, that kind of thing. We were really good. And so, you know, we travel and play baseball, and everybody kind of freaked out that, you know, here's this Korean kid playing baseball. I mean, you know, this is late 70s. I graduated in 1980. And so even in college, you know, we play intramural football, and I was the quarterback because I was always the quarterback. Right. And. And all these other teams were playing. They'd never seen an Asian kid be a quarterback.

[Jeff Zito]

Right.

[Henry Cho]

So they had this whole thing. I. You know, it's like George Lopez said, yes, ethically impossible for me to be an athlete back then. Right, right. So. So I told my dad, I said, hey, look, I dropped out of college. I'm not gonna finish school. I'm gonna stand do stand up comedy. And he had no idea what that was.

[Jeff Zito]

He didn't even know what you were talking about? Oh, my gosh, no.

[Henry Cho]

No, he didn't know. And so I tried to explain him, you know, like on Johnny Carson, when we see these guys, and he's like, oh, you're gonna be on Johnny Carson. And I said, well, not yet.

[Jeff Zito]

Not exactly.

[Henry Cho]

Yeah, I just started last, you know, Monday, so.

[Jeff Zito]

Oh, man, this is.

[Henry Cho]

This is Sunday afternoon because I dropped out of coast on Friday. This Sunday, I went by the house, and he did not really speak to me for about a year and a half. And then I did a thing on Showtime, and he happened to catch it on tv. And before that, I was doing a show in Cincinnati because I hit the road a couple months after I dropped out of college. He was up there for some, I don't know, nuclear physicist seminar.

[Jeff Zito]

You're not kidding. He. He's a nuclear physicist?

[Henry Cho]

Oh, yeah. He had an MD degree. He was. He had a couple doctors.

[Jeff Zito]

God.

[Henry Cho]

So he.

[Jeff Zito]

He.

[Henry Cho]

He was up there for some conference, and his colleagues came to the comedy club. Well, I was mcn. So they went back talking about this kid. They saw that. They never seen anything like, he's in it. He's Korean, but he was born in Knoxville. And my dad's like, going, what was his name? And they said, henry Cho, man, you're Joe. Do you know him? And my dad, he did not tell him that I was his son. He just said, no, I don't know him.

[Jeff Zito]

Oh, my God.

[Henry Cho]

But he found out. That's what I do. And then, you know, 18 months after, he didn't really. He wasn't on board. He was on board. He told me I should stick with it. And, you know, after that, I was bulletproof. And I was off and running.

[Jeff Zito]

Wow. What an incredible story. Henry. Celebrity Jobber brought to you by the.

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[Jeff Zito]

The Celebrity Jobber podcast with Jeff Zita. You're telling me the story and in real time. I'm thinking to myself, what would I do and how would I feel if I had to tell my old man what my new career path was going to be? And I would have been frightened. You had to be. Your father had to be strict. I know, you know, they, you know, I'm sure Asian American or, I'm sorry, Asian parents are strict and they want their, their kids to do well and they want their kids to get an education. It's probably the most important thing in, in their life is for you to be successful and get an education. So this had to absolutely destroy him, which it did for a year and a half. He wouldn't talk to you?

[Henry Cho]

Yeah, it did. And I still have ants and who, you know, I still have relatives that don't appreciate what I do to this day. I have cousins who were forbidden to watch me on tv. Their parents didn't want them to be influenced by me whatsoever. I mean, it's still, you know, it still holds true. And, and, you know, for the most part, I get it, but, you know, like I said, I was born here. So there's your first mistake.

[Capital One Announcer]

Wow.

[Jeff Zito]

And he turned into a success. And now it's. They've got to understand. Tell me, so when you're in college, you said your, your plan was to become a doctor. Was that your major? Were you going to med school? What were you planning on doing?

[Henry Cho]

I was. Well, I started out in pre vet because I was not going to be a real doctor.

[Jeff Zito]

Okay.

[Henry Cho]

I was going to be a. And I loved animals. And I thought, okay, if I'm forced down this path, this is what I'm going to do. And then I found out I had to go to school for seven years. I went, I ain't doing that right. So I went into engineering. I took all these chemistry and physics, all these classes, and I did well, but I I'm like, I can't do this. And then so I noticed more girls were in business, so I changed over to business.

[Jeff Zito]

Right, Right.

[Henry Cho]

And then I was in accounting and I thought, this gonna be boring for me. So I went into marketing and then went into advertising, which was actually kind of my lane. And I was doing really well. Then I started doing stand up and I just quit. And you know, the crazy thing is, back when I started, I mean, I did any show anywhere to get as good as I could get as fast as I could. So even though I didn't do open mics, that didn't mean I didn't do horrible shows. Right. Horrible, horrible situations. I was just getting paid for it.

[Jeff Zito]

Right.

[Henry Cho]

That was the difference. And I was actually getting real time. I wasn't doing two minutes every third Monday of the month. I was doing 1520 minute sets. So I worked super hard to keep moving up. And you know, the, the funny thing is Gary Shandling ended up being, you know, hate to name drop, but I'm going to he and Seinfeld, long, long time mentors of mine. And I'll never forget Gary saying, you know, if you ever write a book, we'll write the first two chapters of how to start out in comedy. Because no one does it like you did.

[Jeff Zito]

Right?

[Henry Cho]

No one gets hired. No one gets to that kind of stage time. No one gets that good that fast. I mean, you know, I did my first headline show within my first year.

[Jeff Zito]

Oh, my God. You know, one of the things, one of the things I wanted to ask you, Henry, and I'm sure you could probably elaborate on. On it, but I think you already gave it to me. Like I was going to ask you, like, what. What was your big break? I mean, it seems like you were off to the races immediately. All this happens to time that you get on stage and you try comedy. But, you know, after that, can. Can you remember a moment where your life changed forever? Was it an appearance on Johnny Carson? What. What was the thing that happened to you that changed your life forever? The moment, the big break, if you will.

[Henry Cho]

Okay. There's probably three or four. The first one was being on that stage during that competition when I had no idea what. What it was. I just thought it was a local competition and it was a funniest person in a Tennessee competition for Showtime's funniest person in America.

[Jeff Zito]

Okay.

[Henry Cho]

That's why the owner of the Funny Bones was there. And it was packed. And everybody in that room knew what was going on except for me.

[Jeff Zito]

Right.

[Henry Cho]

And my Two buddies. We had no idea. I mean, I barely had enough gas to get my truck there, so. And so the biggest break was that me doing as well as I did, which was crazy. And Jerry Kubox seeing me and hiring me right there on the spot because I came off stage. He goes, hey, how long you been doing comedy? I said, that was it. He goes, no, really? And I said, that was it. And my buddies are like, going, that was it. That's the first time he's ever done anything. And he said, well, I need an emcee this week. So that's the other big break. They had a show that week which is, you know, mc, middle act, headliner in a comedy club, and they didn't have an emcee. Had they had an emcee, this probably wouldn't have happened, right? But the emcee that week had had bailed on him or whatever. So he said, hey, I need an MC this week. Do you want to work this week? And I said, what's that? He goes, you do 15 minutes and you introduce the other acts. And I said, Well, I got five. I don't have 15. He said, we'll do that five. It's the best five I've ever seen in my life. Wow. So I said, okay, I'll do it. He goes, I'll pay you a couple hundred bucks. I went, really? Okay. So I started working on Wednesday, and then I worked with a guy named John Hinton, who was the middle act, the headliner. He didn't have that great a device, but John Hinton was the middle act, and John Hinton just became an actor on Living Color. So I'm sorry, not Living Color.

[Jeff Zito]

Was that the Hemi guy? Was that the. You got a Hemi? Was that him?

[Henry Cho]

No, no, no, that's. No, no. John Hinton's a black comedian. He was on Living.

[Jeff Zito]

Living Single.

[Henry Cho]

Single. Living Color.

[Jeff Zito]

Okay. Living Single with Martin or with. With Tudi From. From Facts of Life. I know.

[Henry Cho]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. So. So John Hinton gave me advice the first night he ever saw me because he knew the story that. And he was freaking out because I can't believe you've been on stage three times now. So that was. That was the biggest break. The second break was Jerry Seinfeld was in Atlanta, and there was a. His opener couldn't make it for some reason. And I was. Been doing comedy, I don't know, six months at this time, but already had a reputation in the area that I was clean. I've always been clean since day one. So I get a call to go open for Jerry Seinfeld in Atlanta, and Seinfeld took me under his wing and helped me out, gave me great advice, went back to la, told, you know, Leno and Gary Shandling and all these guys about me. So lo and behold, the next couple years, I'm torn. 75% of my shows are with the best standups in America. Early on, I worked with Bill Engvall. Bill Engvall took me under his wing, had me out to la, stayed at his house, introduced me to comedians and all the clubs there. And so I went up on stage in 1986 and then I moved to LA in 1989 and Linda Bloodward Thomason saw me on TV and next thing I knew, I'm doing Designing Women and all these things are happening so fast because that was all I did. I ate, drank, slept, stand up comedy, writing jokes. I toured. First two years I was ever working, I worked 50 weeks a year, right?

[Jeff Zito]

Wow.

[Henry Cho]

You know, the first tour I had was, I was gone from my house 18 weeks. I worked my way, nine weeks out and nine weeks back. So, you know, I was doing shows anywhere and everywhere. So the biggest breaks came from the first night, Jared Kubach being there, being clean. So I got to work with Bill Ingbo and Jerry Seinfeld early on, and then the other break was doing the Tonight Show. Back when it, when everybody watched the Tonight show, it was just one of those things.

[Jeff Zito]

The Celebrity Jobber podcast with Jeff Zito.

[Capital One Announcer]

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[Jeff Zito]

Celebrity Jobber. You did not have, I'm sure, a similar path like others that have have gone before you, Henry. I mean, have you ever had a regular job? What was your very first job and then, you know, while you were developing your, your standup comedy, did you ever have to work odd jobs outside of comedy?

[Henry Cho]

No. Yeah, you know, I had, like all kids, I had part time job, you know, I had a paper route when I was in elementary school, middle, junior high school had a paper route, you know, and then I'd clean up after concerts at the Coliseum when I was like 15, 16, that kind of stuff. But in college, I drove a truck for four years. I deliver, delivered auto parts in 100 mile radius of Knoxville. So I was gone somewhere after I go to school in the morning and drop the truck in the afternoons and evenings. So I had all these part time jobs. You know, I was a temp job. I mean, I worked on barges on the, on the Clinch River. I worked in butcher shops. I did all these horrible jobs just to make cash.

[Jeff Zito]

Sure.

[Henry Cho]

And then I worked at the post office and actually I was really good. They wanted to hire me, but I started doing stand up, thank goodness. So I worked at Target. I worked at Target for two weeks during Christmas rush.

[Jeff Zito]

Right.

[Henry Cho]

I was Christmas help for two weeks just to get a paycheck to go watch Tennessee beat Miami in the. Or Sugar bowl in New Orleans, all these things. So, you know, I had jobs, but not real jobs. So I've never had a real job.

[Jeff Zito]

Your very first job was the paper route. Very first paycheck was the, was the paper route when you were a kid?

[Henry Cho]

Yes. First one we, you know, is the old school. Deliver papers, you had your book, you'd go collect on Tuesday or Wednesday. Right. Deliver all week. So.

[Jeff Zito]

Man, and then, and then, at what point, how old were you when all the odd jobs kind of went away? You didn't have to do this stuff anymore because you were a full time comedian that was successful and making it. How old were you?

[Henry Cho]

I was, I was in my sixth year of college, so I was 24 when I started.

[Jeff Zito]

Unbelievable.

[Henry Cho]

And, and I've never had a. Yeah, I've never had to like clock in anywhere since.

[Jeff Zito]

Wow, man. And inducted into the Grand Old Opry. This has got to be kind of, you know, first, you know, they don't, they don't induct many people. I mean, how many people have been inducted into the, to the grand old Opry? Like 200 and something people. I mean, this is a. Yeah, kind of a, kind of a huge thing. You're the 229th member of the Grand Ole Opry and I would imagine the first Asian American. And I say that, and I don't mean to bring your ethnicity into the mix, but when one thinks of the Grand Old Opry, you think about Southern boy, which you are. You are American. Southern guy, born and raised in Knoxville, Tennessee. But it's just something that you, you don't hear about. It's a, it's a pretty amazing.

[Henry Cho]

It's, you know, it's crazy because I'm the first comedian inducted in over 50 years.

[Jeff Zito]

Wow.

[Henry Cho]

Right, Right. And I. I've been a guest performer probably 100, 110, 120 times before this happened. I've been going to the Opry and performing for 15, 16 years, something like that. And the fact that I'm a member and, you know, I was born and raised Knoxville. I know all about the Opry.

[Jeff Zito]

Right.

[Henry Cho]

It was never on my radar. You know, right after I got inducted, you know, I was getting interviewed, People say, is this a dream come true? And I'm like, no. Why would I dream this? Are you crazy?

[Jeff Zito]

Right?

[Henry Cho]

Yeah. I mean, I never even thought about it. Even when. When I was performing all those times, I'd never thought about it, even though, you know, all the. All the old school, veteran, historical performers there always told me, you know, we got to make you a member. We got to make you a member. The staff, I mean, the crew. Everybody's telling me this. I'm like, you guys are crazy. Gonna be no member of the Opry.

[Jeff Zito]

Right?

[Henry Cho]

And lo and behold, I'm a member of the grand old Opry. So for something like that, and the fact that I'm Asian is the sidebar, and it's always been the sidebar of my entire career. Here's another thing people can't figure out. You ask, you look at any other ethnic comedian, and their audience is 95, 98%. That.

[Jeff Zito]

That ethnicity. Yes, that.

[Henry Cho]

That ethnicity. Mine is 98% white. No one's figured it out.

[Jeff Zito]

That is something. That is something.

[Henry Cho]

And. And marketing people have always tried, how's this happen? You know, come to my show and they'll. It'll be 100% white.

[Jeff Zito]

Right?

[Henry Cho]

And they're like, how's this happen? And I'll never forget, I had a deal with cbs, and they hired a Asian writer. I want to. I think she was Korean. And she came to watch me do a set at igby's in West LA, and the audience was probably 95% white. Maybe there may have been eight Asian people and, you know, 20 African Americans and some Latinos, because it is LA. But it was over 95% white. And she noticed white people were reacting to me like she'd never seen anyone react to an Asian man. And she couldn't figure it out. So she couldn't write this sitcom because she couldn't figure out. She kept trying to write me like a Korean guy. And I said, I'm not a. I'm a. I said, I'm Korean, but I'm not A Korean guy. I'm a Tennessee guy.

[Jeff Zito]

Right.

[Henry Cho]

Who happens to be Korean. And she couldn't figure that out. So. Yeah, being a member of the Gran o'd Opry, it's one of the coolest things in the world. And here's something for you too. I, I'm, I'm the only guy on the planet, the only person in the planet who's a member of the Grand Ole Opry and Harvard's National Lampoon.

[Jeff Zito]

That's that. Yeah, that's on two opposite sides of the spectrum, isn't it?

[Henry Cho]

Exactly. And two of the most iconic.

[Jeff Zito]

Absolutely.

[Henry Cho]

Institutions in America, I mean, you know, they do it. So they made a caricature of me and they, they put my caricature on the wall, you know, next to John Cleese and Billy Crystal.

[Jeff Zito]

I mean, come on, how iconic?

[Henry Cho]

Yeah.

[Jeff Zito]

Unbelievable. Yeah. I mean, look, man, you need, you need somebody to help write your movie. I'm telling you, I'm interested because what a hell of a story. I mean, this is, this is a movie. I mean, your, your life is a movie. Celebrity Jobber. The Celebrity Jobber podcast with Jeff Szeto Henry. Have you ever like, sat back and like, I don't know, maybe a burn one. You get a little buzz and you, you think to yourself, oh, man, reflecting on everything, reflecting on your life and, and you're like, man, I, I almost, you know, became a doctor or veterinarian or a marketing advertising executive. I almost became like, have you ever had that thought? Like, man, you know, this is kind of crazy how this happened. I, I might have been wearing a pair of khaki pants and a short sleeve dress shirt and a tie and going to work every day as, as this. Have you ever thought about that? Or is it just so far in your rear view that you've never really took time to ponder?

[Henry Cho]

No, no, no, no, no. If I did burn one, I wouldn't need the help to ponder, but I don't burn one anyway, so. But I do ponder. And trust me, it's not lost on me. Every time I walk off stage, I just kind of go, wow, I got away with another one.

[Jeff Zito]

Right?

[Henry Cho]

I mean, I, I feel like I've, I've snuck in and, and stolen the last cookie out of the jar, right? Because, yeah, I mean, I, I was definitely not thinking about doing this as a career. I was, you know, for my entire life. It's not like I love, you know, I studied stand up and I wrote jokes all the time and stuff like that.

[Jeff Zito]

Right.

[Henry Cho]

This is just something I I thought I could do and I went and tried it and it. All the planets aligned, as they say, because Jerry Kubach was there and it was a huge national, statewide competition. And I mean, it was, it was, it was working comedians and me. I mean, right.

[Jeff Zito]

Real, real working comedians and you. That's crazy.

[Henry Cho]

Yes. And you know, a lot of these guys, I get it. I would have been mad too, or maybe not mad. I've been maybe a little resentful because they're like going, wow. He had to be doing, you know, he must have been doing spots in Atlanta and came up here. There's no way that was his first time.

[Jeff Zito]

Right.

[Henry Cho]

You know, because it was, it was, it was lightning in the bottle and it just happened. And no one had ever, you know, so Steve Allen, who invented the Tonight show.

[Jeff Zito]

Right.

[Henry Cho]

And every stand up joke, every joke probably traces back to Steve Allen because he's done them all. Steve Allen was a huge fan of mine. And in 1989, I did the comedy festival in Las Vegas and I came off stage and Steve Allen is standing there.

[Jeff Zito]

Wow.

[Henry Cho]

And he introduces himself and I'm like, oh, Mr. Allen, I know you are, right. He said, you know the old saying, there's no such thing as a new joke. I said, right, because you did them all. He said, well, besides that, he said, there's no such thing as a new joke. He goes, but you have like 10. Because there's been Southern comedians and there are some Asian comedians, but they don't speak with a Southern accent.

[Jeff Zito]

Right.

[Henry Cho]

And you've told 10 jokes that no one has ever come from your perspective, ever. And no one else can tell those jokes but you, right. You have 10 years and you probably have more. Just in that set alone, you had 10 new jokes that no one has ever heard that I've never heard that I never even thought I would hear. And I'm like, yeah, wow, you're Steve Allen.

[Jeff Zito]

Yeah. Wow.

[Henry Cho]

Yeah. I was speechless.

[Jeff Zito]

I would. Yeah. It's just such an incredible story. And by the way, Henry Cho, comedy.com you can see a list of all of Henry's shows again, henrychochowcomedy.com by the way, locally here in the Gulf coast of Florida, January 23rd at one of my favorite venues, the Tampa Theater.

[Henry Cho]

24Th. January 24th.

[Jeff Zito]

24Th is Barbara B. Mann Performing Arts hall in Fort Myers and January 28th in Orlando at Dr. Phillips center for the Performing Arts. Those two venues, though, the one in Fort Myers, great. And up in Tampa. I love the Tampa theater. It's an iconic theater. Up in Tampa. So get Henry's tour dates again. Henry Cho, comedy.com for more information on where he's coming. And man, I gotta tell you, I really, I had some technical difficulties. People listening, they don't know. I had to call, you know, I talked to Henry and I said, hey, I'm having, having some technical difficulties. Can I call you back in about five minutes? Henry was grac enough to give me the time and give me a little extra time. So I really appreciate it, but I really enjoyed the conversation and it was just a hell of a story. Great, great story. I would say good luck to you, but seems like I'm a little late for that and, but congrats, my friend. Congratulations. Congratulations on, on all your success. What a great, what a great story. And again, I get the anxiety just thinking about that conversation between you and your old man. Dad, I'm quit, I'm quitting college to become a traveling stand up comedian. I can only imagine how frightened you were with that conversation.

[Henry Cho]

Terrified. Terrified.

[Jeff Zito]

Henry Cho, comedy.com Once again, thank you so much, Henry. It was a real pleasure speaking with you.

[Henry Cho]

Thank you. Yeah, everything I do is Henry Cho comedy, every social and all that. So thanks for having me on the air. And local boy Nathan Wallace will be with me in Fort Myers, Florida. He's been touring with me for three, four years. So come check out all the Florida shows. I'm going all over Florida.

[Jeff Zito]

Excellent. Thank you so much, Henry. Take care. Have a great day. Thank you, man.

[Henry Cho]

You too.

[Jeff Zito]

Bye bye now.

[Henry Cho]

See you, man. Thanks.

[Jeff Zito]

All right, so he was in his sixth year of college, fifth major, and one night with his college buddies, tries stand up at like an open mic night, maybe some like local contest that he wins. Just a natural. Had no idea, never did it. Didn't know anything about telling jokes. Just kind of a funny guy. And from there it all happened. His comedy career, which is not usually the story for 99.9% of the people. This was like kind of a special thing that happened to Henry Cho. You know, his parents were from Korea. So I mentioned, you know, breaking the news to his father that he was quitting college to become a traveling standup comedian. Had to absolutely destroy him. And he said, yeah, his old man didn't talk to him for about a year and a half. They wanted him to become a doctor. So obviously when you say, hey, not only do I not want to be a doctor, I want to be a traveling stand up comedian and I'm quitting college, I could see where that conversation went south. But hey look, things like that don't usually happen to people like they did for Henry. He said he wanted to be a professional baseball player and he said he almost worked at the post office, but the comedy career started right then and there. Very first job delivering newspapers. That was my very first job as well. And he said he had other jobs, you know, like part time gigs. He said he worked at Target, he worked at a butcher shop. Like I mentioned the post office, but he said he never really had a real job. Little part time gigs here and there, but other than comedy, that was his only real job to date. Or I should say show business. Pretty incredible story, isn't it? On tour in the New Year. You can go to henrycho comedy.com as well as all of his socials for more info on where Henry Cho is touring. So Happy New Year and thank you once again for checking out the Celebrity Jobber Podcast. Past guests and episodes online celebrityjobber.com, streaming on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Iheart or wherever you listen to podcasts. Please hit the subscribe button. Would love a five star rating and please leave a review. I'm telling you, this story from Henry Cho could turn into a movie. Hey man, sometimes you just step in it and then the reason that Henry's successful is a lot of hard work followed. Anyway, thanks again for listening. Happy New Year. Until next week here on the Celebrity Jobber Podcast. I'll see you then. I'm Jeff Zito.

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