Comedian Paul Mecurio

Celebrity Interviews with Joey Mitchell

So how does a guy from Providence Rhode Island that studied Law and graduated in 89 from Georgetown University Law Center in Washington D.C. end up doing comedy??? Well, during his third year working at a mergers and acquisitons lawyer and later as an investment banker, he gets invited to a private party being thrown by Jay Leno to celebrate the comedian's taking over the Tonight Show from Johnny Carson. Mecurio, a comedy fan who had written some jokes for himself, handed 15 pages of his own material to Leno in hope of selling some for him to use on television. Leno contacted him and asked for more; Mecurio was paid $50 for his first joke which Leno used on the show.

Mecurio became a self-described "addict" to performing stand-up comedy. After Mecurio's father died in 1993, he had a seven-month absence from work to support his mother in Providence; after returning to New York, he resigned to focus on comedy. In 1995 Mecurio joined a friend's firm, telling himself and his girlfriend that he would leave comedy, but after seven months relapsed and again began performing. Then it was writing on the comedy staff for Jon Stewart's show, winning himself and Emmy and a Peabody and doing more stand up across the country...and Paul was hooked for good. So, much for the lawyer thing. Give a listen to our interview and I think you'll agree that Paul's career move....was the right one.