Standup Comedian. Born Howard Ronald Shock in Houston, he didn't enter standup comedy until he was 40 years old. He formed the popular "Texas Outlaw Comics," the first major comedy club in the South, with several others comics including Bill Hicks. Like many other comics trying to hit it big, he was a frequent performer at the famed Improv in Los Angeles. His big break came when he was invited to perform on "The Tonight Show," and ended up being the last new comic introduced by Johnny Carson before Carson's retirement. Shock's blend of stand-up comedy and storytelling, which he referred to as "comedy from a life fully lived", made him a favorite at comedy clubs across the country as well as on such television shows as "Comic Strip Live," "Comedy on the Road" and Showtime's "Bad Gig Blues." At the height of his popularity, he toured an exhaustive 40 weeks a year. Regarding standup comedy, he once remarked, "It's more than what I do; It's who I am." In 2011 he was diagnosed with urethral cancer, a rare and aggressive form of the disease. He incorporated his illness into his act, saying that, "I don't know how this is going to end, and therein lies the rub."
Standup Comedian. Born Howard Ronald Shock in Houston, he didn't enter standup comedy until he was 40 years old. He formed the popular "Texas Outlaw Comics," the first major comedy club in the South, with several others comics including Bill Hicks. Like many other comics trying to hit it big, he was a frequent performer at the famed Improv in Los Angeles. His big break came when he was invited to perform on "The Tonight Show," and ended up being the last new comic introduced by Johnny Carson before Carson's retirement. Shock's blend of stand-up comedy and storytelling, which he referred to as "comedy from a life fully lived", made him a favorite at comedy clubs across the country as well as on such television shows as "Comic Strip Live," "Comedy on the Road" and Showtime's "Bad Gig Blues." At the height of his popularity, he toured an exhaustive 40 weeks a year. Regarding standup comedy, he once remarked, "It's more than what I do; It's who I am." In 2011 he was diagnosed with urethral cancer, a rare and aggressive form of the disease. He incorporated his illness into his act, saying that, "I don't know how this is going to end, and therein lies the rub."
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