Taylor Williamson.
Courtesy photo.
He’s like the boy next door, the nerdy kind you’d trust with your daughter.
Only he’s funnier than your typical nerd — and he has experience with women.
“I went out with a girl … true story” and proud to “have zero percent body muscle” were among his comedic lines when Taylor Williamson was vying for a $1 million prize and Las Vegas show during the eighth season (2013) of NBC-TV’s “America’s Got Talent.” Kenichi Ebina, a dancer, emerged as the winner.
AGT judge Heidi Klum found Williamson funny “in a shy, dorky way,” while fellow judge Howard Stern proclaimed Williamson “genius, genius, genius.”
Williamson’s a zany guy, asking the AGT audience during the semifinals, “Anyone here ever go to elementary school? Me, too — we have so much in common.”
Like Piff the Magic Dragon, who has also starred at The Stage at Santa Ana Star Casino — where you can see Williamson this coming weekend — he finished second. If only he’d win, he told the quartet of judges, “I’d buy everybody ice cream.”
His finish meant to Williamson, 33, “I’m the second-most talented person in America. If you don’t see me, shame on you.”
Recently, the San Diego resident has been overseas, entertaining members of our military and doing USO shows.
New Mexico, he said, “is one of the few states I’ve never been to. They haven’t had a comedy club there in years.”
He knows just enough about the Land of Enchantment, thanks to “Breaking Bad,” to have a small grasp of it: “I heard you guys have a lot of meth; maybe I’ll do some meth before the show,” he joked during a telephone interview with the Observer. “I’ve never smoked a cigarette — people think I’m on drugs.”
If you’re not familiar with Williamson’s shtick, think a younger, slender version of Stephen Wright. Williamson, according to his biography, started doing stand-up comedy as a high school senior in Del Mar, Calif.
“I like talking to the crowd a little bit,” he said. “What’s great is nobody’s never heard my jokes before — they don’t know the expertise and brilliance that goes into a dumb fart joke.”
His biggest influences, he said, have been the late Mitch Hedberg, Mel Brooks and Norm McDonald. He said you’ll never compare him to Jerry Seinfeld: “I don’t think I could do Seinfeld jokes; he’s more observational.”
It’s important for a stand-up comedian, he said, that “the crowd trusts you and likes you,” and uniqueness helps, too.
“My favorite thing about comedy is people can’t steal your character, timing and voice,” he said. “I like dry, smart-(alecky) comedy.”
At 33, he said, “I feel old and young at the same time.”
He was indeed young when he became the youngest person to appear on Craig Ferguson’s late-night show in 2007; he’s also been on the twice-canceled “Last Comic Standing.”
But, naturally, with countless millions watching AGT every fall, “The biggest thing I did to make people come see me was AGT.”
Don’t worry: he won’t be doing any meth those nights at The Stage.
