Local resident Elliott Threatt wanted to be a comedian since he was a kid. When he graduated from high school, he immediately jumped head-first into the comedy world.
On graduation night he took his cap and gown and went on stage for his premier performance.
Now, 44 years later, he’s still performing, and has entertained audiences in all 50 states and six countries around the world.
Over the last four decades he was nominated for a Grammy for Best Spoken Word Comedy for his CD, ‘Biscuits Made From Scratch and Other Funny Stuff.’ He lost to Robin Williams.
“The Grammy nomination was kind of a complete fluke,” Threatt said. “The president of the Nashville chapter of the Grammy Awards came to my show in Springfield Mo. and he submitted me, and took it from there.”
In the late 1980s he was named the runner-up to Ellen DeGeneres in Showtime’s Funniest American competition.
He later won the Merit National Comedy Contest and was presented the grand prize by DeGeneres.
“At the time Ellen DeGeneres wasn’t famous, she was just another comic,” Threatt said. “I was happy for her, but I wished I’d come in first. It’s funny how things turn out because seven years later when she was in fact very famous I won a comedy contest and she gave me a big check for $5,000.”
Threatt continues to do stand-up comedy. He recently performed for the Winning Women Wednesday group at C-Point Pavilion at Weatherby Lake. “It was a great time,” Threatt said. “I timed it perfectly because as soon as I got done with my act a thunderstorm rolled in.”
He has toured with Smokey Robinson and Patti LaBelle, and opened for Joe Cocker and Tim McGraw.
“The most important part about opening up for any famous artist is to remember it’s their show, and you’re just the appetizer, so be funny, stick to your time, and you’ll do fine,” Threatt said.
His comedy routines that garnered the most laughs were ‘old school’ and many famous comedians made an impression on Threatt, including Bob Newhart and Richard Pryor.
Since 2001, he and his late wife, Kathryn, also operated food and retail stores in 26 locations at KCI and other airports around the country. He continues to operate these businesses.
Helping charities and non-profits that support people and animals has always been important to Threatt.
In 2005, he focused his charity work on raising money for the replacement of the Barry Road bridge at Weatherby, after the tragic deaths of Park Hill High School students Brandon McPherson and Darren Floyd.
The project replaced the narrow steel bridge and made the dangerous two-lane road much safer by adding turn lanes.
“That hit me really close because they were high school tennis players just like I was back in the day,” Threatt said. “I never got to meet them but I met their families. And it was convenient at the time because I owned the comedy radio station that carried the pro tennis team, the Kansas City Explorers, and we did a couple of fundraising events for them at the Plaza tennis court for a couple of years after that.”
Recently, he and his son, Robbie collected and dropped off 700 pairs of socks at Hope Faith in Kansas City.
Threatt’s parents were involved in the civil rights movement, and hosted Jackie Robinson, Arthur Ashe and Martin Luther King Jr. the week before he was assassinated. James Threatt, Elliott’s father, brought his family to Kansas City after he became the assistant city manager at KCMO.
“My mother and my father taught me to be nice and decent to folks, and to have empathy, and that stuck with me, and now I try to teach my kids that and I think it’s already stuck with them because they’re already going out and finding new charities to work with,” Threatt said.
One of his favorite comedy performances was at a club in El Paso, Texas. “One of my best friends, Bart Reed, owns the place and I met my wife Kathryn, through working at the club. And my favorite times were after the show when we’d walk over the bridge to Juarez, Mexico and go to this little diner and have a ‘Fred Sandwich’ which was Mexican ham, cheese and guacamole on a cheese torta.”
For Threatt, one of the most challenging parts of being a stand-up comedian was being on the road a large part of the time.
“You know we don’t have a big tour bus when you’re a comic, it’s just a car, and you hope it’s a good one, and you have to drive back, so it takes a lot out of you,” Threatt said. “That’s why it’s good to start when you’re young.”
For Threatt, comedy is extremely important during challenging times to help people cope and relax.
“The guy who got me started in comedy was David Naster,” Threatt said. “His whole act and speaking career were built around ‘You just have to laugh and I’ll calmly help you cope and deal with stressful situations.’”
His multi-faceted career, family and charity work have been rewarding for Threatt.
“Stand-up comedy is very tough and it’s hard to get recognition, but my most rewarding thing is that I got recognition. My parents were still alive and they got to see me do shows and concerts. On the business side in 2003, my whole family got to see me win the Businessman of the Year award from the Black Chamber of Commerce.”
Threatt has no plans to say goodbye to his stand-up routines and continues to travel, perform, and make people laugh.