Rising comic from Valley returns for show

One of the Ursuline grad’s goals? To be on ‘Saturday Night Live.’

By JOHN BENSON

VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT

Being funny for an audience is nothing new to Youngstown native Tony Hinchcliffe.

The 2003 Ursuline High School graduate was the class clown, poking fun at whatever he could. So it’s no surprise that four years later the funnyman is pursuing a comedy career in Los Angeles. The way Hinchcliffe sees it, he’s on the fast track to comedy gold.

“I started out six months ago by signing up for an open-mic night,” said Hinchcliffe, calling from West Hollywood. “They asked me to come back, and now I’m performing all over Los Angeles — The Comedy Store main room, The Improv, The Laugh Factory. I’m a quick success out here.”

The wunderkind of the Sunset Strip said his jump into the world of stand-up was never intentional, even though everyone around him knew he was a cut-up. After graduating from high school and dropping out of Columbus State after a year, he moved to California for its good weather and worked restaurant jobs to pay the bills.

It wasn’t until his open-mic night experience that he finally started writing down his material and crafting a set. He said he had a lifetime of jokes and stories just pent up and waiting for release. Perhaps more importantly, audiences and club owners responded quickly and favorably to his performances.  

Specifically, Hinchcliffe points to his open-mic debut as something special.

“They liked me, even though it was my first night,” Hinchcliffe said. “They said I’m better than some people who have been doing this for 10 years. And I’ve never seen it since or before. They have 15 [open-mic-night performers] every Sunday and Monday, and I’ve never seen it done.

“I’ve been to every single [open-mic-night shows] for the past six months and never saw anyone get called back.”

A big fan of being agile while on stage, Hinchcliffe said his comic style covers all areas, ranging from crowd work and improv to set material and observational insights. Currently the Burbank resident, who is inspired by his daily drive to work past the “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno” studios, is honing his live show at night while working at The Comedy Store during the day.

“I want to be the best at it,” Hinchcliffe said. “I want to bring stand-up back. I really want to be on ‘Saturday Night Live.’”

Hinchcliffe returns to Youngstown for a show Saturday at County Maigh Eo. Joining him on stage will be comedian Jeff LaBeouf, who is the father to current hot actor Shia LaBeouf.

“I love the joint,” Hinchcliffe said of County Maigh Eo. “It’s just a great bar where you can relax, smile and hang out. I did a show in May when I was only a month into my career and I killed the joint for an hour and 10 minutes.”

He added, “Now I have material about Youngstown that’s hilarious. I’ve been doing so much Los Angeles work that I haven’t even hit my Youngstown book yet.”