Laughter is the Best Medicine: A Conversation with Comedian George Wallace

Join us for an entertaining episode of Rise and Grind featuring the legendary comedian George Wallace! Known for his sharp wit and humor, George shares his incredible journey in comedy, from the storied stages he’s graced to the experiences that shaped his voice. 

In this episode, we dive deep into George's life, discussing the challenges he's faced, his unique approach to comedy, and how he connects with audiences across generations. Don't miss this fun-filled conversation that highlights the grind behind the laughs!

Be sure to like, subscribe, and join the conversation in the comments! Tune in for a dose of inspiration and humor with George Wallace!

Thank you for listening to this episode of Rise and Grind! If you enjoyed Thurl Bailey's inspiring basketball journey and insights, be sure to subscribe to the podcast for more powerful stories and motivational conversations. 

Help us spread the word by leaving a review and sharing this episode with friends and fellow basketball enthusiasts. Connect with us on social media to join the conversation and stay updated on future episodes. 

Remember, your journey might have its challenges, but with grit and determination, you can rise above and achieve your dreams. Keep grinding, and we'll see you next time!

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Well, what happened was I always loved laughter. And everybody, when you laughter is healing for the soul. So you can't even make a smile without feeling better. So I've always enjoyed being a happy person. But when I watched television back in the day, Red Skelton and moms maybe, moms, maybe a red pops, people like that, I would take your jokes back to school and make your kids laugh. And uh, I was not the class clown, but I was the happy guy to make my job was to make everybody else happy, hello everybody, and welcome to Rise and Grind.

SPEAKER_01 0:46

I'm your host, Thurl Bailey. And today we have a true comedy legend in the house. George Wallace, known for his infectious laughter and sharp wit, George has been a standout figure in the world of stand-up comedy for decades. With a career that spans television, film, and live performances, he's not just a comedian. This man is a cultural icon. From his unforgettable appearances on shows like The Tonight Show to his successful comedy specials, George has a unique ability to connect with audiences through humor that resonates across generations. He shared the stage with the best in the business, and his storytelling captivates listeners with relatable insights and laughter. In this episode, we're going to explore George's journey in comedy, the challenges he faced along the way, and his perspective on life, success, and the art of making people laugh. So join us as we dive into the grind behind George Wallace's incredible career and discover what keeps him inspired and motivated. So, without further ado, welcome to the show, George Wallace.

SPEAKER_00 2:05

Hello, everybody. Hello, it is George Wallace. I am here. I am so happy to the rise and grind. All I know is I don't have a job, so I'm not gonna work today. I can tell you that right now. No work today for me.

SPEAKER_01 2:18

Oh, has it ever been work though? I mean, if you love what you do, I know you're getting paid to work, but does it feel like work?

SPEAKER_00 2:27

Let me tell you something. I wanted to be a comedian since six years old, and now I'm into my 50th year. And let me tell you something, I am the most blessed person, the most uh to be able to live your passion for 50 years, man. And sometimes I choke up and I and I and I thank God for what I do because basically, thoroughly, all I do is lie. I just love to lie, I love to make up stuff. It's good to lie. If you ain't lying, you ain't living. I'm telling you right now, you've got to lie to survive in this world. I don't care. Every Sunday morning, you preach a lie. That's the first thing he does. You walk up in the pulpit and say, I won't be long. You got to lie.

SPEAKER_01 3:06

And they end up being real long, don't they?

SPEAKER_02 3:09

Real long.

SPEAKER_01 3:11

So I was gonna ask you about your you know, you your career span several decades, as you mentioned. What initially, I mean, you were what, six years old, what initially drew you to comedy? Were you always a funny kid?

SPEAKER_00 3:24

Well, what happened was I always loved laughter, and everybody, when you laughter is healing for the soul. So you can't even make a smile without feeling better. So I've always enjoyed being a happy person. But when I watched television back in the day, Red Skelton and moms may be moms, maybe a red fox, people like that. I would take your jokes back to school and make the kids laugh. And uh, I was not the class clown, but I was the happy guy to make my job was to make everybody else happy.

SPEAKER_01 3:54

When was it as you continued to to get older and make people laugh? When was it that you discovered this is what I want to do? This is my call.

SPEAKER_00 4:05

It was at six years old, it was at six years old. That's what I want to do the rest of my life. Make people happy. Yes. Even in school, I would like I said, I want to be just like those comedians on TV, and that's what I'm gonna do. And what a blessing to live your passion. And uh, you know, I knew I had to go to school to get something involved back on education-wise. I uh my first degree was in transportation. A lot of people don't even know what that is. Transportation happens to be the number one industry in the world. People fail to realize the shirt on your back, the chair you're sitting in, the lights in the room, how it came to you through some way, um, through some form of transportation. So I love transportation, I love traveling. To this day, in the last six months, I've been around the world. Um, but I I wanted to get that transportation degree, and then I got a degree in marketing and advertising, um, just to make a lot of money to uh get a financial cushion to get into the um beers arena. So um I was vice president of the world's largest outdoor advertising agency. If you've been in New York City, everything at Times Square, um all the 5,000 buses in New York City, the advertising I sold that I was vice president of that. I made a lot of money in a young age, uh, but uh that was to get that financial cushion to enter the showbiz arena. And I've been uh uh I went on stage one night selling advertising to a comedy club in New York City called The Comic Strip. I went on a Thursday night and I've been working ever since then. And what a blessing, what a joy. Just to be all I do is lie. I just go up there and just start lying, like to weather man. I'm gonna lie to weather man.

SPEAKER_01 5:39

Uh you know, I'm not sure you lie all the time because you tell some hard truths too that are that have to deal with life, life experience. I think that's why I enjoy listening to you so much and why people connect with you is because you know, you tell the truth and and you put it in a way that's like I look at myself like, wow, that's right, I've been through that. So, how did you practice as a young kid? Did you did you bring the family around at home? Did you have your little private shows with relatives?

SPEAKER_00 6:17

What I did was um I would watch and observe things like even going to church. And some people don't understand this today. Even going to church when I was a little boy, and the preacher would say things like, the doors of the church are open. And I would turn around and look to the back. And I said, Ma, there's those doors not open. I didn't even. And then the preacher would say something, and uh in the pulpit, he'll do something stupid. I would come home and I'll say, Ma, you know what the preacher said? The preachers would tell him a lie, and uh and and my mom would do things in church like your preacher would tell everybody to close your eyes and bow your head in prayer. And I said, Oh my, you know, you may close one eye, but you're not gonna close both eyes. And my mom, listen, my mom used to say to me, close your eyes, bro. And I would say, How do you know? How do you know you close your own eyes? But little, I would observe and do things like, don't go to funerals. I would, oh, if you go to the funeral office, I would mock. I'm looking at everything. No matter what you do or where you go, that is my job. Yeah, is to try to make a joke out of it and uh to make you happy and make it. I to this day, like I'm writing a new joke right now. Most cities have these marathons, okay? Yeah, so now I'm a little angry. When I'm president of the United States, no more marathons on Sunday morning. You cannot block this old city off. I can't get home because you want to run. Because you want to run. You want to run, run on the interstate, go to the racetrack, go to the airport. You want to run. I'm sitting here in traffic. I can, it's eight o'clock in the morning. I just got off the airplane and I can't get to my house. My house is across the street because you want to run. So I'm I'm making I'm making jokes about everything that's going on in the world today. From uh people work at Chick-fil-A. The second law I'm gonna pass, if I'm ever president of the United States, Chick-fil-A will be open on Sunday. I don't give a, I don't care. You know how much money you can make on a Sunday. Even Jesus wants some chicken on a Sunday. So little things like that that people are concerned about, you know. I travel around the world. Travel is so important to me. When you travel, you learn other cultures and you just learn how to be happy. And uh, and there are good people everywhere. You know, they they teach us in school America has it going on, America's number one. Other countries are living and living very well. Don't you let anybody fool you. Uh, like I said, this past six months I've been from Dubai to Shanghai, and there's some happy people. And they're um and they're living in 2035. We're in 2026, they live in 2036, they're ahead of us in some of these countries. You'd be surprised.

SPEAKER_01 8:55

Yeah, I did. I spent uh some time playing basketball over in Greece and Italy and found the same way. And not in a hurry either, right? We want everything fast. Exactly. We want everything better. So let me ask you, you performed at some some of the most prestigious venues. What was your experience like working uh at the Apollo Theater?

SPEAKER_00 9:17

Apollo, oh my goodness, going to the Apollo man, that's like, oh, I I I'm here. Uh this is the place the Apollo, everybody started at Apollo. Oh my goodness, from mom's maybe to Sammy Davis Jr. to uh I wish I had started back in those days. You know who I started there? Um Judge Pete Meek Markham. A lot of people don't know about Judge Pete Meek Markham, but I bet you do. Uh there's so much happened at Trapolo. That's the street for blackness.

SPEAKER_01 9:42

Yes. So comedy has its ups and downs like everything. Can you talk about maybe some of the biggest challenges that you faced building your career?

SPEAKER_00 9:56

I'm gonna tell you about a challenge that you would not suspect or even think of. The tonight show with Johnny Carson. A lot of people don't know this, but I'm gonna tell the truth. Johnny Carson was a racist, he never brought black entertainers over to the sofa. Of course, he brought over uh Bill Cosby and Sonny Davis Jr. They were the in-crowd. But if you go back and look at your video, one of the greatest nights of laughter, Flip Wilson was on the tonight show and deserved it over to the couch. Didn't go. There's a comedian named George Wallace. Did a great job on the first tonight show, didn't go. Didn't go. Only people went over people that were involved with NBC, such as Eddie Murphy, Tonight Show. But and I found out later uh from Doc Jefferson's um manager that he didn't get, he just he said he didn't think he had anything in common to talk about with people of color. Joe White, was it Joe White or Joe Williams? He was a singer, black guy with silver hair, Johnny Carson's favorite singer. He was on the tonight show at least 20 times, never brought him to the sofa to talk to him. Never once. Never once. The last night of the show, of the tonight show of the last week, they said bring him over. And Joe Williams or Joe White, whatever his name is, he was headed to the sofa. He tripped and fell. Never made it to the sofa. So this is one of the things that I had a problem with, and I talked about it on CBS not too long ago on Sunday morning CBS. Um, I didn't like that. I don't like racism because that held a lot of people back, and that's the great Jenny Cost. Of course, he had a uh a grandchild, uh a kid of color, he denied um disowned the grandkid and the disowned his son, too. So uh that's the toughest thing I had to deal with in in comedy as far as racism. But otherwise, everything else has been fine. I find myself um to be the most successful person in comedy or in show business. It's not how much money you make, it's how you enjoy your life while you're living. And I had a great life. Uh, enough people know me to uh satisfy my little ego. I got enough money to do anything I want to do, go where I want to go. I love life. It's life is just good. And it's of course, and I started the same night with Jerry Seinfeld. A lot of people don't know this. Seinfeld and I have been friends. I'm the real George, I'm the roommate for 13 years. I'm the best man at Seinfeld's wedding. I'm the father of Seinfeld's kids. So people don't know this stuff, but now you know. And uh, people like Seinfeld and my friend Anderson Cooper, we talk all the time. And um, they can't go to the bathroom, they can't go pee. There's a camera on them all the time. My life, not enough people interested in me just to follow me everywhere I go, but I I love life. Um I live in New York City, I live in Atlanta, I live in Los Angeles, I live in Las Vegas. Life is just good. So that's why there's a smile on my face, Tara.

SPEAKER_01 12:53

Well, you uh you you mentioned a little bit that you know your humor often tackles uh social issues and personal experiences. How do you how do you stay relevant? How you and to to connect with audiences and and especially, you know, what kind of strategies do you employ that just keep your act refined?

SPEAKER_00 13:15

You just continue to live and you continue to listen, you continue to read and just observe what's happening in life on little things. It could be sports. We could talk about sports. And I know you play basketball, and um Seinfeld said last night we were watching the um the Knicks and the Spurs. Seinfeld said, wouldn't it be nice if you just play basketball, the first team reach 100 and it's over? I said that might be cool, but people want to see, you know, it's four quarters, and because we think like that, stuff like that. Now I'm thinking baseball. I'm thinking people want to um they want to shorten the game with baseball. Some people say it's boring. Now, what I want to do, I have four laws, four rules I want to pass. Number one, to speed up the game. When we sing the national anthem, we just go, oh, and cut it right there. Tell me to sing that old damn song. Number two, rule I want to pass is a 9:30. A 9230 rule, uh, thorough. 9230. Nine innings or two and a half hours, whichever comes first, you know that's the game. Seven o'clock the game starts, nine: thirty, you know you're gonna be out of there. Whatever the score is, that's the score. Number three, the seventh inning stretch, move it down to the four and a half, right in the middle of the game. Stop singing that song, take me out to the ball game. You're already at the damn ball game.

unknown 14:33

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 14:34

Number four rule we're gonna pass is speed up the game. Is when a batter comes to the plate, if he hits a home run, why the hell should he have to run around all those damn bases to get back to where he just came from?

SPEAKER_02 14:47

You got a point.

SPEAKER_00 14:48

Little things like that, then you get into politics, you get into phone, you get into anything, you get into television, commercials. My job is to look at it and watch it, observe, and try to come up with something funny.

SPEAKER_01 14:59

You know, uh I've been to your show, I was at your show several times in Las Vegas, and I know you you sharpen your craft, but you're so good at improvisational comedy.

SPEAKER_00 15:16

Well, I love to have fun with people when people come in late, you know you can have fun, and I will never embarrass anybody. If I talk to you, that means we're gonna have a good time. People pay my rent. I'm not crazy, I'm never gonna embarrass anybody. Even a blind lady came to my show one night and I chewed her ass out. I said to the blind lady, she came in late. I said, How the hell can you walk in late? You got somebody leading, guide you. And I said to the blind lady, look at all these other people here together. Look at all these other people here together on time. So she's just pointing at me. She's pointing at me. I said, You ain't that blind either because you're pointing straight at me. But we have fun with everybody, no matter life is good. All you gotta do is just listen to the news and and have some fun. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 16:04

Uh, so everybody faces setbacks. Um, you know, you do you have a specific moment as you look at your career that's spanned over decades?

SPEAKER_00 16:13

That well, I just did a new TV show last year called Clean Slate. I wanted to reboot Sanford and sign. I went to know him allure before he passed away. And uh he said, No, that's my iconic show. We're not gonna reboot. I said, You're rebooting everything else, why not that? We're good friends, so we talked like that. He said, I just want to go, he says, if you go back and if you come with some kind of twist, maybe we can do something. So I thought about it at the time, uh a few years back. Orange is a new black was the number one show in America. And Laverne Cox was starring in the show. I didn't know anything about her. I never watched the show. I just heard so much about her. And the thought in my head to create a new show was, oh, instead of sapping son, what if I had a son that left my home down south because we're kind of backwards down south, old black man down south that owns a car wash. My son goes to New York. I didn't hear from my son for 23 years. I get an email and it says, Dad, I'm coming home tomorrow. And I tell the whole world that my son is coming home. I'm so proud. I haven't seen my son in 23 years. The next day, ding dong, I go to the door, and the most beautiful lady you've ever seen in your life. I said to the lady, Lady, I don't know what you're doing here. I don't know what you're selling, Avon, or maybe you're selling the watchtower, but you got to go. My son is coming home. And she says, Dad, it's me.

unknown 17:37

Wow.

SPEAKER_00 17:37

And I'm going, what the hell? My son has transgendered, and now my son is my daughter. And the story here is that I'm old and I gotta become, I don't know what the hell's going on. And I said, Well, come on in. We get to know each other, and she tells me about her life, and uh um, it was kind of hard to take. But the great thing is that I was educated as a character, I was educated as a man as George Wallace to learn how other people live, and that's what it's all about, more about living, loving and living. And um, how am I saying this right because I talk all the time? Uh, it's just good to let everybody be who they want to be and and do what they want to do. As long as you're happy, I'm happy. Okay. But we got into the point where she told me about her transgender life, and then she told me she's a trans, uh, she told me she was a vegetarian. That's when all hell broke loose. That's when all hell broke loose when she told me she was a vegetarian. I could feel less about the transgender stuff, but we eat meat up in here, Theryl. So it's the show was about love. So that was kind of a setback, and we had it showed last year all eight episodes, and then because of the climate of the country, what's going on in America today? Uh, kind of negative uh attitudes, the show didn't go, but we were promoting love more than anything else. Promote love and laughter, that's what we did. So that was kind of a setback, but I'm still laughing, I'm still promoting, I'm still all over the world. I'm on my way to Wisconsin. You ever been to Wisconsin? I was there's some crazy people in Wisconsin. You ever watch the Green Bay Packers? Yes, I have. 33 degrees below Zero. They're sitting in the station with no shirt on and a piece of cheese on their head. I I listen to me. I got to talk to these people. So I'm gonna have some fun up in Milwaukee and coming all over the country. I go to that's what I like about going to each in different region. People say, What is your favorite uh place to work? It doesn't matter to me. Everybody loves to laugh. We gotta get you to Salt Lake. I you know what? I wrote a joke on Salt Lake one time. I said, I went to Salt Lake, it was so boring in Salt Lake City. You actually read that Bible in your hotel room. It was so I'm gonna come to Salt Lake and have some fun. I've been there actually, and because guess what? People in Salt Lake like to laugh.

SPEAKER_01 20:03

That's right, that's right.

SPEAKER_00 20:05

I'm gonna go with the Mormon Torment Tabernacle. I'm gonna go up there and do some jokes. I'm gonna make me some real money. I'm gonna go to the Mormon Torment Tabernacle. I'm gonna be like Joel O'Steen. I always like to start with a funny story. So and once you tell a joke, you got them.

SPEAKER_01 20:22

Yes, you do. So you know, the industry I was in, obviously, the sports industry. I played back in the 80s and 90s, Carl Malone, John Stockton, and my teammates, the game has evolved, which a lot of things do. Is it the same in your industry and in the in the laughter industry? Exactly.

SPEAKER_00 20:46

When I started, we had three television stations. They're all you remember we had and the station would go off. You know, you look at the your your your producer, he's just he doesn't know about this, he's so young. The television stations used to go off at midnight. Yep, that's right. But now the game has evolved in sports, but just as it has in comedy. Now we started with three stations ABC, CBS, and NBC. Now, the young kids today they don't need television, they make your own television. Social media is different today. You got some young kids making millions and millions of dollars, never been on TV. They made your own television and they make it on the cell phone. Everything has evolved. You can do everything. I want to write a joke right now about this cell phone. Do you realize I'm talking to you? I'm on television right now on a cell phone. Look how times have changed. I can do anything. I think this is the greatest invention of all time, the cell phone. I used to think it was the airplane or or whatever, but this cell phone, I can buy an airline ticket on this cell phone right now. I have to pick my seat. I can buy groceries if I want another thing. I'm in a Hotel last night and uh show you how people say stupid stuff. I'm in the hotel last night. I order some food on the cell phone by DoorDash. My food comes to the hotel, the concierge calls me and says, Mr. Wallace, your food is here. Do you want us to send it up? Stupid stuff like that. I said, No, you keep it. Do you want us to send it up? Oh don on the cell phone. And that I mean you can do you can order anything. You can have groceries, you can have it just. I just love this cell phone. I the problem is I go to bed with my cell phone. You're not supposed to do that. I cannot do if you lose your cell phone for a day, you go crazy on you for an hour. Yep. Now not you know, you throw you already crazy, but if you lose, if you lose your phone, let me know.

SPEAKER_01 22:52

You ain't lying. You ain't lying. Plus, my wife's trying to get a hold of me, and I can't find my phone, so she doesn't understand. I lost the phone. It's like I didn't want to pick up.

SPEAKER_00 23:03

Phone is crazy, but everything has evolved. Comedy has evolved, and uh life is just good. I I'm for it too. Some of the older comedians they don't like because the young comedians are making advancements so quickly because of the the media and the cell phone, and uh, I just think it's great. I had it my way, I made a lot of money working in lost papers. I did it my way, they're doing it their way, and life is just good. Just keep on being happy, keep on working and make uh everything come to fruition and just keep a smile on your face.

SPEAKER_01 23:33

We're gonna take a little break right here, and we're gonna be right back with uh I'm not taking no break.

SPEAKER_00 23:38

I don't have time to take no damn break.

SPEAKER_01 23:39

I've got to pay the bills, George. I gotta pay the bills. We'll be right back with George Waller. We'll be right back. Hey guys, time out. You know, you give your best to your work, your family, and your responsibilities. But to keep showing up strong, you've got to stay dialed in. At Game Day Men's Health, the nation's leading men's clinic, they help you get back in the game with a custom game plan built around your labs, your goals, and your performance. Testosterone, peptides, real optimization. Come in today for a free testosterone test and consult. Tell them Big T sent you, and you get 50% off your first year membership. Game Daymenshealth.com. Victory starts within. Welcome back to Rise and Grind, everybody. This is just a fabulous time we're spending here with legendary comedian George Wallace. Uh, George, a lot of aspiring comedians out there. Give him some advice.

SPEAKER_00 24:41

Make sure you enjoy your life, make sure you be true to yourself, just love what you do, and don't let anybody. That's another stupid thing people say. If I can do it, anybody can do it. That is not true. You see, your producer over there on the board and you got pressing buttons and things like that. I can't do that. On the other side, he can't do what I do. So it's all a lie, but make sure you, if you want to be a comedian, just make sure you're true to yourself. It's hard work, but don't worry about it. Just keep going until you uh meet your goals. And you uh don't worry about being on top of the mountain. Don't worry about being on top of the mountain, just make sure you're on the mountain. Everybody can't be on top of the mountain, just make sure you're on the mountain. I've been on the mountain for 50 years. I've been to the top of the mountain. I looked over and I see the parts land. Well, I saw Salt Lake City, it wasn't the Palmsland, but you know. But yes, to the young comedians, make sure you love what you do. When I started coming, there were not 50 comedians in America when I started. Now there's 50 in every city. There's 15 in every city, and they're having fun and they're making money. You know why they're making money? Because the world needs laughter. You need laughter in your life, and we don't grow because we stop laughing. We don't we don't stop laughing because we grow older, but we do grow older because we stop laughing. You've got to keep laughter in your life. Powerful.

SPEAKER_01 26:05

So, what do you hope your legacy in comedy will be? How do you want to be remembered?

SPEAKER_00 26:11

I want to be remembered. Um making people laugh, making people happy. When George Wallace walks into a room, it's all about laughter and happiness. And that's what I do. Used to bring uh uh happiness. When you walk in a room, you ever walk into a room, you ever hear people say when speaking of the devil? See, when I walk into a room, people want to go on a smile on your face. That's what it's all about. I'm just blessed to be able to be in the laughter business. I even know the book. I I wrote a book called Laughing Off, no matter what you do about it. Uh here it is. I just for some reason I'm rereading my book. It's about laughing off. No matter what you do, keep laughing your life. Okay? It's uh forwarded by Jerry Scientela, a little idiot that I know. Um, if you're gonna have a friend, you might as well have the richest friend in the industry, right?

SPEAKER_02 27:05

That's right.

SPEAKER_00 27:06

This guy is so rich. I stayed at his house last night. I got up at 3 o'clock this morning, I went to pee. I came back, my bed was made. And a chocolate on my pillow. That's too much money. But laugh it up, no matter what happened, some kind of worrying about a situation is worse than the situation itself. No matter what you do, at the end of the day, the bottom line is you should end up laughing. Even when you go to funerals these days, somebody's got to tell a joke. You got to laugh.

SPEAKER_01 27:36

Still the best medicine, right?

SPEAKER_00 27:38

The best medicine and the meta laughter is free medicine. That's why we encourage people to overdose on laughter, keep it in the reach of children. And when you start laughing for more than four hours, then you call your doctor and give the doctor the prescription so the doctor can laugh with you. Laugh it off.

SPEAKER_01 27:56

I I I seem to remember a connection. I came to one of your shows. You you had a video of a young kid, and that young kid was Justin Bieber.

SPEAKER_00 28:08

Well, I I thought it was Justin Bieber. I lied. I I found out it wasn't. I don't know who that kid was. He was like lift every boss and sing too. Doesn't matter who it is. Well, it was good to see the little kid on the stage. So I didn't know where it was. Somebody told me it was Justin Bieber. So it sounded like him. It did I thought it was. That was one of my favorite songs ever. Lift every boy, they sign. Yeah. Created and written in Jacksonville, Florida. By the Johnson brothers.

SPEAKER_01 28:42

Awesome. So let me ask you, uh, a lot of comedians have certain rituals or practices they follow, uh, like before going on the stage. Did you have any, or do you still have any specific rituals that you you could go through?

SPEAKER_00 29:00

Not really, but then again, there's a friend of mine, uh, he passed away, Bishop G. E. Patterson, Church of God in Christ. I used to listen to his gospel music before I would go on overnight. And for some reason it pumped me up. And uh and I would love to listen to his music, and yes, I listened to it. That was my little friend. Uh uh listened to some gospel music. It was just just great, just great.

SPEAKER_01 29:24

So you're still uh having fun at what you do, you're traveling the world. Uh, what's your favorite? You I know you've got some favorite cities. Uh of course, New York, I know, is one of your favorite.

SPEAKER_00 29:37

New York is one of my, you know, my favorite city in the world is Shanghai. Shanghai, why? I was just so advanced, it's so modern, it's so uh ahead of us. Uh I just like to see people doing better. And as uh one of the Asian ministers said over there, America's spending all their money, most of their money in the military. He said, We're investing our money into people. As you know, 30 years ago in China, they were not doing so well. Now they've come and they've passed us. They got bullet trains everywhere, they got cars that you can wave at the car and the car will come to you. It's it's so much. Uh I'm not even saying the right word right now, but they're so advanced and everything. I just love it. Does comedy always translate?

SPEAKER_01 30:29

Everywhere. It doesn't matter where you go. Yes, yes, yes. Like sometimes I know that sometimes uh a joke in England doesn't necessarily translate in other places, not not language-wise, but I mean comedy-wise. So it doesn't matter.

SPEAKER_00 30:46

Well, sometimes, you know, it could be um a regional joke. Um you could say things like uh the elevator, they would say the lift, you know. Um so you do have to do a little research. Okay, but it is when you do something funny, if you make a funny move, sometimes you don't have to have a word to make people laugh. It could be just a gesture on your face. Uh but it comedy transcends everywhere. It really does. Uh, even with a um, if you get on a train in China, if you get on a train in Italy, if you get on the train in Greece in Athena, as and you smile, people will respond with another smile. There you go, you're reciprocating with laughter. And you know how good it is in Greece. And uh, I just left Athens also. Oh my goodness. Oh my goodness, it's fantastic in Greece. I've been out there so many years ago, it's just wonderful.

SPEAKER_01 31:37

Italy. I loved it. I loved Greece. I had to get used to eating dinner so late.

SPEAKER_00 31:43

That's true over there, and uh, especially Greece and Spain. Dinner in Spain and Barcelona might be 11 o'clock at night, and kids are up drinking wine. Well, we call that stuff not wine in the sandria or something like that.

SPEAKER_01 31:54

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 31:55

So you have to get used to that, but it's beautiful. I just I love the world, I love America too. It's crazy here. We eat in the car, we eat in cars over here. We just drive up and screw it too.

SPEAKER_01 32:09

So looking ahead, let's talk about your future goals, any exciting projects or collaborations uh that you're working on that you can share.

SPEAKER_00 32:18

I'm working on a lot of things. Like I got another TV show. Well, I'm doing a lot of um voiceover, and I got some things I can't talk about, but uh, I'm still busy. Every weekend I'm in a different city. Look out Philadelphia, look out uh Jacksonville, Florida, look out. I'm coming to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, I'm coming everywhere, every city in America. What happened was when I went to Las Vegas, you saw me in Las Vegas? I went to Las Vegas for 30 days. I went to Las Vegas for 30 days, 60 days, 90 days, all of a sudden I was in Las Vegas for 15 years. And the great thing about it is that I own the show. I didn't work for the hotels. Wow. A lot of people think I own the show. I'm the only black man to go to Las Vegas to own a show. Own the show. I did all the marketing, I did all of the directing, I did the advertising. I did, I had 26 employees. Uh every night we got a room with 750 seats, you got to put her asses in the seats. I was doing everything. Uh uh, like I said, I'm from the advertising world. So it was great. I loved every minute of it. And uh, they're asking me to come back to Las Vegas, but it's it's harder now than it was back uh uh in 2004 up to 2019. It's difficult. Things have changed since COVID. And uh yeah, but life is still good. So tell everybody one where they can get your book. Oh, you can go online, you can go to uh what's the man's name making all that money? Amazon. Uh you can go online to georgewallace uh.com, George Wallace TV. Just google George Wallace, everything pops up. Google, Google, Google, Google George Wallace, it'll all come up in my book. This book, also bull twit. I'm pretty big in the Twitter world before they change the name of it. I wanted to say bulls, but it's bull twit. Not bull twit. So that's a book that I do. But life is good, and we're gonna continue telling these jokes. I'm trying to write a new joke on the word worsa.

SPEAKER_01 34:17

Worsa?

SPEAKER_00 34:18

You know, it's thicker. Worsa is not a word, just like ain't was not a word, but if you use it, it will come true for issues. Now ain't is in the dictionary. It ain't good, that ain't running. I want to get worse in there. Let me just ask you this question. I don't know how to write your joke yet, but you guys can help me, and the listeners can help me. Let me just ask you this. You've been living in America the last five years, right? Are you living are you better off now? Are you um worse? It's gotta be somewhere you can use the word worse. That is more, that is even oh, that's even more worse. It's worse. I'm gonna have to start using that. It's gotta be something worse than worse. Oh my goodness. I'm trying to write a joke. I whether it's funny or not, I'm gonna do it.

SPEAKER_01 35:10

Oh, it's gonna be funny. There's no question about it.

SPEAKER_00 35:13

George, there's many ways you can come up with to use the word worse. I bet your producer right now is going, this is this job is worse than the one last time I thought before.

SPEAKER_01 35:25

Oh George, thank you so much, man, for your time. This has just been delightful. Uh, you just you make so many people's days and weeks, just with what you do, uh, with how you dedicate your life to make people laugh. So thank you for watching.

SPEAKER_00 35:43

Mr. 41, let me tell you something. I want to thank you for having me on, and you need to know I love you. There's absolutely nothing you can do about it, but keep on making people happy and keep on doing what you do. I know you enjoy what you do because you just like me, you don't do nothing. We just haven't put it fun. I mean, I don't do anything. We don't do anything, but we love what we do, and everybody can't do it.

SPEAKER_01 36:05

That's right, you're right. Thank you so much, George. I appreciate you and thank everybody for joining us for this delightful episode of Rise and Grind with the incomparable George Wallace. From his journey in comedy to his insights on share the powerful message about the importance of pursuing your passion and joy in the grind.

SPEAKER_00 36:28

Right.

SPEAKER_01 36:29

That's right.

SPEAKER_00 36:29

Rise give through the glory. Rise. Grind.

SPEAKER_02 36:35

Give through the glory.

SPEAKER_01 36:38

Ride grind if you enjoyed this conversation. Take a moment to like, subscribe, and share this episode with friends and family. We'd love to hear your thoughts. Feel free to leave a comment about what resonated the most with you. Remember, in the hustle of life, it's important to find time to laugh and enjoy the ride. Keep rising and grinding, and we'll see you next time for more inspiring stories and insights. George, you are the man. Thank you, my man.