![]() ![]() And as you read, you’ll hear Jo Koy’s familiar voice in your head, telling you everything, the careful comedian giving you a peek behind the curtain, and fully allowing you into his world. In it, you’ll get to see sides of Jo Koy you don’t see when he’s on stage-sad, frustrated, vulnerable. Sad, frustrated, vulnerableīut there are many, many stories in “Mixed Plate” that you haven’t heard before. If you’ve watched Jo Koy’s stand-up-maybe his Netflix specials “Live From Seattle” or “Comin’ In Hot,” his live performances in the Philippines, the States or elsewhere, or even clips you found on YouTube-some parts of the book will already be familiar to you: his Cool Whip lunch box, his Michael Jackson performances as a child, his sisters moving out, and of course, tales about his strict Filipino mom and his son Little Joe. And the best part is you already know the ending-he’d win. ![]() “Mixed Plate” is a story of a boy and, later, a man, who fought really, really hard for a dream he believed in. And it’s not just because of Pinoy pride (although that is, of course, in abundance). I have read many of them and enjoyed some of them, but there’s something about “Mixed Plate” that hits hard. So many of them have done it-Steve Martin, Artie Lange, Ellen DeGeneres, Jim Gaffigan, Tina Fey, Amy Poehler, Sarah Silverman, Amy Schumer, Chelsea Handler, Ali Wong, the list goes on and on. Comedian memoirsĪ comedian writing a memoir isn’t new. He wrote about it in his book “Mixed Plate: Chronicles of an All-American Combo” (HarperCollins, New York, 2021, 311 pages). Sixteen years later, I got to relive that “Tonight Show” episode from Jo Koy’s perspective. I had a feeling I’d be seeing more of him in the future. Even during Leno’s “Tonight Show” reign, the invite to the couch was an honor saved only for stand-up comics who did really, really well. ![]() It may have been Leno and not Carson who invited Jo Koy to the couch that night, but that was still a huge moment. Carl Reiner compared it to being blessed by the pope The New York Times called it “the grail of Carson compliments.” ![]() It’s a tradition that started back when Johnny Carson was still hosting it. Being invited to sit on that show’s couch after doing your stand-up is a very big deal. He was killing it.Īt the end of his quick set, as the applause went on and on, Leno invited Jo Koy to the couch. Then he launched into his orange chicken joke, which had them hollering in laughter. You guys are looking at me like, ‘What flavor is that?’” Jo Koy laughed and clapped and kicked off his set by telling the studio audience, “OK, I am Asian so stop looking at me like a Math problem. I spotted the Philippine flag sewn onto his jacket. He walked on stage, this bald guy rubbing his hands together in excitement. The first time I saw Jo Koy was while watching “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno” on cable in 2005. He had another show scheduled in Cebu in two days. 15, 2020, and just four days before, he did two back-to-back shows at Solaire-the live taping of “Jo Koy: In His Elements,” his third Netflix special. Not that he didn’t have enough time on stage that week. “I don’t want to leave,” the comedian told the happy crowd at SM Mall of Asia Arena. What should have been a 45-minute set had already stretched to two hours but he was having so much fun, he still didn’t want to go. ![]()
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