This Thursday, two of Hollywood’s best known funnymen will be passing through Atlanta on a 14-city national comedy tour. Roll on the floor, barely-breathing laughs are to be expected as Vince Vaughn and Kevin James host the show and perform live sketch comedy with three other headliners, as well as a few unbilled special guests.
The Vince Vaughn and Kevin James Comedy Roadshow began in Boston on Nov. 1, and will travel down the East Coast before stopping in Atlanta on Nov. 11. The comics will be performing at the Cobb Energy Center starting at 8 p.m. The tour will then travel a little through the South and finally mark its finale with a show in San Diego.
Although the pair hasn’t worked together before, both Vaughn and James have made big names for themselves in the industry and are considered to be two of Hollywood’s biggest comedic actors working today.
Vaughn catapulted to fame with the 1996 film, Swingers, about the lives of single, unemployed actors living in Hollywood during the Swing Revival of the ‘90s. Since then, Vaughn has appeared in big blockbusters including Old School, Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story and Wedding Crashers.
James is nationally recognized for his role as Doug Heffernan on the CBS sitcom The King of Queens, but has also stepped into movie roles alongside seasoned Hollywood actors. James has starred a slew of popular comedies, including Hitch, I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry and Grown Ups.
Nationally recognized comedians Owen Benjamin, Steve Byrne and Richie Minervini are also on the bill, and will be performing their stand-up comedy at all stops on the tour.
“A huge part of comedy is being with people offstage as you travel and tour, and that’s what makes our group special — they’re just really awesome people,” said Benjamin Owen.
Owen Benjamin was a regular on MTV’s Punk’d and has made several appearances on Chelsea Lately on the E! Entertainment network. While performing in Los Angeles, comedian Adam Sandler saw Benjamin and cast him in Chuck and Larry and in a small role in House Bunny. His comedic career took off from there.
Steve Bryne’s stand up comedy has been featured on various late night talk shows, including appearances on the shows of Jay Leno, Jimmy Kimmel and Carson Daly. The comedian also hosted a one-hour special on Comedy Central, The Byrne Identity.
Richie Minervini is a veteran comedian who has headlined other tours as a stand-up comic and has credits in the movie Paul Blart: Mall Cop and on the show The King of Queens with James.
Benjamin said that he is most looking forward to the camaraderie that will be built between the comics on the tour, all of whom he admires and is looking forward to working with. Hitting a different city every night is exhausting, he said, but the comic expects the show to evolve and get better as they pass through each city.
The group hopes that the tour will bring in a large number of people who are looking for a night of good laughs.
“The best time to write is when you are in front of that many people. You can really see if something is good then,” Benjamin said about performing in front of more than an estimated 42,000 people total during the tour.
“Comedy nervous is more like first-kiss nervous than fall-out-of-a-plane nervous — it’s more exciting. You know something really cool is going to happen and your heart is racing, but it isn’t fear,” Benjamin said.
The dynamic duo of Vaughn and James can be seen gracing the silver screen after the tour has stopped at its final destination. Vaughn and James will star in the Universal Pictures comedy, The Dilemma, slated for release on Jan. 14. The film, directed by Ron Howard, will feature a cast consisting of Queen Latifah, Channing Tatum and Winona Ryder.
Vince Vaughn
Notable Film Credits: Swingers (1996), The Lost World: Jurassic Park (1997), Old School (2003), Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story (2004), Wedding Crashers (2005), Couples Retreat (2009)
Fun Fact: In 2008, Vaughn was at the top of Forbes list of actors who “give studios the best return on their initial investment.” For every $1 that Vaughn is paid, his movies make an average of $14.75 for the studios. (From imbd.com.)
Kevin James
Notable Film Credits: Hitch (2005), I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry (2007), Paul Blart: Mall Cop (2009), Grown Ups (2010)
Notable TV Credits: The King of Queens (CBS, 1998-2007)
Fun Fact: James was discovered in 1996 when he won Montreal Comedy Festival’s “Just for Laughs” award.
