Gary Fields' departure left a comedy void in Battle Creek, but the stand-up scene is back
For the first time in as long as he can remember, Gary Fields was nervous ahead of a stand-up set.
At 71, his slicked-back ponytail and white goatee make him a dead ringer for George Carlin.
But his audience remembered him best as the goofy kid who would pull his pants at half-mast and walk around as the character "Droopy Drawers" for no other reason than making them laugh.
It was for what he called a "mini-reunion" among the snowbird contingent of his former Lakeview High School classmates.
"An elderly couple in their 90s were both having problems remembering things, so during a checkup, their doctor tells them they might want to start writing things down," Fields said, unable to resist a joke or two about aging.
"Later that night, they were watching television, and the old guy gets up from his chair and goes to the kitchen. His wife asks, 'Could you get me a bowl of ice cream?' Sure! 'Should you write it down?' Nah, I can remember that. 'Some strawberries on top? Maybe write that down.' I can remember that. 'I would also like whip cream.' He says, I can remember it - ice cream, strawberries, whip cream. I've got it.
"So he toddles off, and 20 minutes later, returns and hands his wife a plate of bacon and eggs. She looks and says, 'Where's my toast?'"
Fields is retired now, living in Sarasota, Florida, but his itch to entertain never left.
"There is a lot of truth in comedy, and you can learn a lot in comedy," he said. "Your comedy fix is so important."
In his hometown of Battle Creek, he was the comedy gatekeeper for more than three decades.
But on the heels of the Great Recession in 2009, his downtown comedy club was closed due to unpaid taxes.
It left a behind a void, and it appeared for a time that stand-up had left Battle Creek with him.
But it has returned. Big-name acts, established professionals and rising comedians tour through the area at FireKeepers Casino Hotel and Cornwell's Turkeyville USA. And other venues could be adding comedy shows in the near future.
Battle Creek's comedy king
If Battle Creek has a comedy godfather, it's Fields.
The "class clown" joined the Marine Corps upon graduation from high school. He returned home from his "13-month paid vacation in Vietnam" and took a job at Clark Equipment.
He worked there for 17 years as a clerk and operations manager, and his comedy chops were evident when he would serve as master of ceremonies for company events.
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After touring as a stand-up comic for eight years and learning the industry, he opened Battle Creek's first professional comedy club, The Gaslight Comedy Stop on North Monroe Street in 1986. He later moved his club to Minges Creek Place (where his friend and fellow Marine veteran Drew Carey performed) and then re-located along the Interstate 94 corridor.
A large cartoon logo of a smiling mustachioed Fields wearing a baseball cap greeted countless passing motorists on Capital Ave. He had a commercial broadcast locally that featured one of his trademark bits — and a lot of innuendo.
"We're located here in Battle Creek," Fields said in the commercial, standing onstage while making a Michigan map with his hand, "right between I-69 and Climax. Where would you rather be?"
Fields continued to bring nationally-recognized comedians to the city, names like Jeff Dunham, Rodney Carington, Bobcat Goldthwait, Pauly Shore and Tommy Chong.
"It was some of the best times of my life," Fields said. "The fact little ole' Battle Creek was able to have these guys go through. Amazing."
He opened a second club in Kalamazoo in 2004 and returned to downtown Battle Creek the following year, moving his main club to a 250-seat theater on West Michigan Avenue.
The Kalamazoo club, in the basement of what is now Shakespeare's Pub, closed in 2006 after being told to vacate the property for failure to pay rent.
Then in 2009, Fields agreed to sell his Battle Creek location to a former employee, but the deal was never finalized before it closed. City records at the time showed the property owed over $20,000 in delinquent taxes.
"The time we went down, I had sold my club and everything went haywire," Fields said. "The economy was so bad nobody had the disposable income... When I closed, I heard a whisper several times, 'Gary didn't know how to run a business.' Well, I ran a business with 30 employees for 30 years."
Now in his retirement, Fields enjoys spending time with his girlfriend and vast network of friends, riding motorcycles, going to comedy shows and concerts and proudly boasting about a family that includes three children and five grandchildren.
He returns to Battle Creek on occasion to host benefit events.
"Battle Creek people were so cool and supported me and kept coming out to my comedy for 50 years," Fields said. "You've got to give back. I get to do comedy and give back."
Comedy stars align
Fields didn't put down his microphone once his club closed.
In 2009, he was hired to help book acts and tell jokes at the newly-opened FireKeepers Casino in its Kabaret Lounge.
FireKeepers added a hotel and a 2,100-seat event center in 2012, giving Battle Creek a venue that would eventually host nearly a dozen headliners a year.
The list of stand-up comedians to perform at FireKeepers includes stars like Tim Allen, Whitney Cummings, Brian Regan, Dane Cook, Kathy Griffin, David Spade, Paula Poundstone, Ron White, Andrew Dice Clay, Jeff Foxworthy and Louie Anderson.
"Obviously we love comedy as an entertainment choice. There is a natural relationship between casinos and comedians," said George Jenkot, vice president of entertainment at FireKeepers Casino Hotel. "We definitely do like to mix it up, we like to think our customer base is large and diverse, so we like to meet their interest level. Our best formula is a comedian with solid name recognition, a TV presence, someone who speaks to the largest group of people does well here."
Anderson, who has been in comedy for 40 years, performed at FireKeepers in January.
"I came up in the golden age of comedy. I feel like those '80s, that was a real fertile time," Anderson said, ahead of his set. "Now I feel like this is the platinum age of comedy. There are great comics and more of them than ever...You can be a YouTube star.
"People are hungry for laughs," he added. "It's a tough time right now."
Part of the circuit again
While Fields attracted some big-name acts to the area, the bread and butter of his club was the touring professionals without much name recognition and locals hoping to break into the world of comedy.
John Face of Albion was a regular at Fields' Club in the early 2000s. Working as a paramedic in Marshall at the time, he was there enough that Fields encouraged him to try his hand at stand-up.
Going by the stage name "Richard Face," he performed stand-up shows throughout the Midwest, mostly at bars, bowling allies and "venues where comedy wasn't the first thing they did."
"Gary used to tell me, 'You use Richard Face, I promise you this, the fans will remember you.'" Face recalled. "It was a few months later, I had done a show in Archbold, Ohio, on a stage in the middle of a bowling alley. About a year later, they called us up. 'We want you back.' I walk in and hear, 'Hey! Dick Face is here!' I stood there and said I'll be damned, Gary Fields was right.'"
A stroke left Face with some memory issues, so he retired as a stand-up comic. But he continued his efforts to bring rising comedians to the area by promoting shows in Battle Creek, Albion and Marshall.
He hosted a show for four months in 2015 and 2016 at the Bohm Theatre in Albion called "Comedy at the Bohm." But the shows only drew maybe 50 people, and paying for the comics and the venue became too much of an obstacle.
"I want to bring comedy back to Calhoun County. I've tried in the past in Battle Creek, bringing in professional comics and doing shows," Face said. "When I was doing 'Comedy at the Bohm,' I was bringing national headliners, some that have done spots on Showtime and Comedy Central."
"I'm ready to go," he added. "I need to find my sponsors, people who will pony up money to bring live professional comedy back to Calhoun County."
The people who run the Bohm Theatre, a 400-seat venue that operates as a non-profit, are receptive to having comedy return and are holding dates in the event the shows come together.
"I know there are a lot of good comedians in Michigan that are really funny. The lineup that John was bringing in here was really funny," said Nancy Doyal, executive director at the Bohm Theatre. "I support John in his efforts 110 percent in terms of just bringing talent to Albion and a lovely venue."
There is at least one spot in Calhoun County where comedy fans can see professional stand-up comedians on the rise: Cornwell's Turkeyville USA in Marshall.
The restaurant has hosted stand-up comedy nights at its 175-seat theater on the first Wednesday of each month since 2017.
"Part of (its origin) is the lack of comedy nights in the area, and we're always looking to expand and grow," said Elyse Bibbings, general manager at Turkeyville.
"I think it was harder in the beginning," she said, "but, as people realize we do have professional comedians and they come from all over and what standards we set, they know what to expect, so we're getting a lot of repeat customers... The turnouts have been growing as the word gets out."
COMEDY SHOWS IN SOUTHWEST MICHIGAN
• FireKeepers Casino Hotel: Lewis Black (March 1), Dennis Miller (May 17)
• Turkeyville USA: Comedy Nights at Turkeyville, first Wednesday of each month.
• Belle's Eccentric Café: first Monday of each month
• Louie's Trophy House: Tuesdays
• Harvey's on the Mall: Wednesdays
• Shakespeare's Lower Level: First and third Thursdays of each month.
Ruperts Brew House: Sundays