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http://www.omniture.com --> Sections Home Page Local News AP News AP Entertainment Archives Business Classifieds Event Calendar Forums Life Opinion Obituaries Photo Gallery Readers Photo Gallery Sports Tempo Weather Special Coverage 2006 Britt Festivals --> Shop Our Valley AutoFinder HomeFinder JobFinder Search Our Valley Special Sections Distinctly Northwest Readers' Choice Homelife Magazine Joy Magazine Holiday Guide Oregon Golf Info Oregon Wine Info Other Publications Local Links Ashland News eSouthernOregon Newspapers In Education Personals Moving Here Movie Listings TV Listings Volunteer Customer Service Advertise With Us Media Kit Place Classified Ad Contact Us FAQ's Home Delivery Site Map --> Email Story to a Friend January 5, 2007 Miles Kehoe became a professional stand-up comic by working at open mic sessions for nothing. His "other" job Miles Kehoe enjoys working as a professional comic and as a care specialist By LAURIE HEUSTON Mail Tribune Miles Kehoe got his start in comedy in 1976 at the now defunct Holy City Zoo, an open mic club on Clement Street in San Francisco. He and other comedians such as Dana Carvey and Robin Williams appeared at the club for free, working on their acts and garnering fans. "It was a couple of years before I started getting paid," Kehoe says. "I'll never forget the feeling. It was astounding." Kehoe will perform at 9 p.m. Friday, Jan. 5, at Ground Zero, 123 S. Front St., Medford. Tyler Foley will open the show. After many appearances at the Holy City Zoo, Kehoe and Carvey performed together one night at a club called The Other Cafe in the Haight area. "After the show they gave us envelopes with money in them," says Kehoe. "We ran out onto the street and counted it, and there was $95 in each envelope. We just looked at each other dumbfounded. Didn't they know that we worked for nothing?" Advertisement Kehoe went on to become a professional. He headlined in clubs across the country and appeared on A&E's "An Evening at the Improv," MTV's "Half Hour Comedy Hour" and on Comedy Central. Then he made a decision to leave show business in 1985. "I wanted a simpler life," he says. "So I got one." He moved to Grants Pass, took a job as a retail clerk, got married and had a daughter. But four years later he was back in stand-up comedy. "It was my wife's idea," he says. "She said she wanted our daughter to know me as a comic and not a clerk." He now works part-time as a comedian, making regular appearances in venues such as the G Street Bar and Grill and Hart's Cafe in Grants Pass and Chadwick's Pub and Ground Zero in Medford, along with other venues throughout Oregon. "It's like a night out for me," he says, "I get to catch up with old friends and have some laughs." When he's not charming audiences on the weekends with his stories about growing up in the Sunset District of San Francisco, attending Catholic school and confusion about life in general, Kehoe finds fulfillment working with developmentally disabled adults. "I think that humor helps these individuals open up and feel comfortable with other people," he says. Admission to the show at Ground Zero is $5 and includes a buffet dinner. Call 779-4827. Ray Lawrence and Huck Flyn will take the stage this weekend at Chadwick's Pub, the "other comedy club" in Medford. Lawrence hails from Liverpool, England, and likes to give new meaning to the phrase "Mother England." He now makes the U.S. his home, and appears in Northwest clubs such as Swannies Comedy Underground in Seattle and Harvey's Comedy Club in Portland. Flyn calls himself a "rock 'n' roll comedian" and has appeared in films and television. He's worked as the opening act at concerts by Sammy Hagar, .38 Special, Starship, Joe Walsh, America, Otis Day and The Knights, Marshal Tucker and Louden Wainwright III. Shows start at 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday, Jan. 5 and 6, at Chadwick's in the Rogue Regency Inn, 2300 Biddle Road, Medford. Show admission is $5. Call 282-2122. Would you like to respond to this story? If so Click Here to visit our forums. Advertisement Copyright © 1997-2007 Mail Tribune, Inc. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions | Website Feedback online casinos news Home Security Systems Online Casino Reviews Men's Clothing Fundraisers UK Homeowner Loans Discount Hotel Reservations Send Flowers Casinos Canada Texas Electric Choice Compare Electric rates in Texas Windermere Van Vleet Trunks, Footlocker Online poker at AbsolutePoker.com