Read more at variety.com/2020/legit/entertainers/legend-and-groundbreaker-jo-koy-just-for-laughs-1234791083/

— by Jenelle Riley: The first time Jo Koy ever performed stand-up comedy, he bombed. He had wanted to be a comedian since age 11, having listened religiously to Richard Pryor and watched Eddie Murphy’s “Delirious” special on repeat. When he was 15, he even bought tickets to see Murphy’s “Raw” tour; to use him mom’s credit card over the phone, he put on a Filipino accent and pretended to be her. But living in Las Vegas in the 1980s, before the comedy boon, he wasn’t sure what the path was to becoming a comedian…

Image courtesy of Mike Miller