Dan Greuter: comedy from Buckeye country
By John Benson
Being Ohio born and Ohio bred is what comedian Dan Greuter believes makes him a funny guy. Known for his hilarious family stories, the funnyman who grew up in the Akron area has quite a Buckeye State history. Not only did this veteran comic, who has appeared on “The Late Late Show,” “Friday Night” and “The Bob and Tom Show,” graduate in 1983 from St. Vincent-St. Mary High School (you know, LeBron’s alma mater), but he’s also a 1987 graduate of Ohio State University.
Specifically regarding the latter achievement, the Los Angeles-based comic famously appeared in the HBO documentary “Michigan vs. Ohio State: The Rivalry,” saying, “Michigan smells like hot dog water.”
“It’s true,” said Greuter, calling from his Southern California home. “My wife is Canadian, and she really doesn’t understand the fever surrounding Ohio State Football. Actually, we went to the USC game out here a few years ago; that was like the first big game she had ever been to, and she enjoyed it. I enjoyed the first 18 seconds of that game.”
Buckeyes love aside, Greuter is hoping 2011 provides new opportunities. Even though he’s appeared on a few late-night shows, there’s one in particular that he’s hoping to add to his r sum sooner than later.
“I’ve been green lit for ‘The Tonight Show with Jay Leno,’ but I don’t have a date for that,” Greuter said. “That’ll be my ‘Tonight Show’ debut. It’s hard to get the green light on that. It’s auditioning and stuff. I was sort of on my way to do ‘The Jay Leno Show,’ but that got canceled. And then I auditioned for the same guys who were booking it, and this was last May, and he was like, ‘You’re on. I just have to find a slot for you.’ What’s going to happen is they’ll just all of a sudden call. It’ll be like the Godfather asking for your services. Hopefully, it’ll happen this year. I don’t know why they’d go through the energy of [expletive] with me. Why do that? I guess I have to take them at their word, so we’ll see what happens.”
Greuter’s F-bomb may seem surprising considering he’s spent nearly two decades honing his style as a clean comedian. In fact, it’s his wholesome but funny talent that recently led him to work his first cruise ship.
“It was great, and you hope it goes good because if not, you’re trapped with the audience for a few days,” Greuter said “You could literally be trapped with an audience that does not like you, but fortunately, it went well. There are different shows. The early show has to be almost Disney clean, and it’s almost like a variety show with music, singing, acrobatic dancers. And at the end of the cruise, you do a late-night show, and that’s for hard-core comedy fans, and you can do whatever you want.”
Greuter promises an entertaining mix of both styles when he returns to the Youngstown-Sharon area for shows Friday and Saturday at The Funny Farm.
“I do a lot of family stuff,” Greuter said. “That’s the gist of my act — the family I grew up with and the family I’m raising now. I’m from a large, large family, youngest of 11, and I have two kids now. So it’s going from being the baby to raising some babies. And now I perform in front of drunk, drunk babies.”