Comedy tour is spreading laughter

By John Benson

As part of “The Steve Harvey Morning Show,” heard locally weekday mornings on WRBP-FM 101.9-FM, comedian Nephew Tommy (born Thomas Miles) is looking forward to spreading the laughter when he makes his Youngstown debut Saturday with the “The Young Kings of Comedy Tour” at Stambaugh Auditorium.

“With a vehicle like Steve Harvey, he’s of course a King of Comedy, we’re hilarious on the radio and we’re very informative at the same time, especially when there are some political things happening,” said Miles, calling from his hometown of Houston. “So as the sidekick, and it’s one hell of a job, I think the biggest thing that people will get in Youngstown if they come to see me is they’ll get way more than they get on the radio.

“I’m limited on the radio to what I can do, but when you come watch me for an hour and 15 minutes you’ll get silliness, funniness, seriousness, theatrics, characters.”

What started out over seven years ago when he first joined “The Steve Harvey Radio Show” with impressions such as Rocky Balboa, Al Pacino’s Scarface and Loui s Farrakhan has blossomed into Miles’ own slew of original characters – Educated Harvard Type, Old Man from the Deep South and Urban Thug – that have become his trademark. So who is the funnyman channeling when going into character?

“Really when you say hypothetically The Thug, those are just guys I grew up with back in the day,” Miles said. “I’d sit back and watch and look at their mannerism. And the old man is my grandfather, who I spent a lot of time with as a kid. So you grab those people as you’re growing up. And being a theater major, you just don’t forget.”

Miles’ theatrical talents shouldn’t come as a surprise considering he was the first African-American to graduate from Texas A&M’s theater arts program. In fact he spent the first decade out of school touring as a professional actor, including appearing in London’s Shakespeare Royal Theatre Company, before discovering his natural talents as a stand-up comedian.

Soon thereafter, he found himself opening for Luther Vandross and hosting BET-TV’s “Comic View” before Harvey brought him to his radio show. However, Miles is already looking ahead.

“Radio is beautiful, it pays the bills, and I’m doing stand-up, but we’re starting to slowly move into the film world,” Miles said. “I’m getting calls about taking this role or that role. I’m pretty much picking and choosing to make wise decisions about what I should and shouldn’t do. So that’s where I’m at right now, and the big goal at the end of the day is when I can get to the point of doing three motion pictures a year, then I’ve arrived.”

Still, when it comes to arriving, Miles feels as though he’s already there as a stand-up comedian.

“I’m funny, I’m the next big thing that’s happening,” Miles said. “You’ve seen a lot of people blow up from Bernie Mac to Steve Harvey to Cedric the Entertainer, and everybody keeps looking around asking, ‘Who’s next?’ Well, guess what? It’s me and I’m coming to Youngstown, so you come see who’s next. And whether there are 200 people there, or 2,000 people, Nephew Tommy is going to give you a show.”

He added, “So I’m going to stand and I’m going to deliver and that’s the bottom line. I said it and I ain’t taking none of it back.”