Jason StuartIF YOU GOWhat: Comedian Jason StuartWhen: 7:30 and 9:30 p.m. Friday, May 24; 7 and 9:30 p.m. Saturday, May 25Where: The Comedy Catch, 3224 Brainerd RoadAdmission: $14Phone: 423-622-2233Website: www.thecomedycatch.comJASON STUART BIOJason Stuart has done dozens of film, television, commercial and theater projects, as well as a veteran stand-up comic who has performed around the country. Also an entrepreneur, he markets T-shirts with the line “Come on straight people … if you let us marry each other we will stop marrying you.”SCREEN CREDITSTelevision: “Everybody Hates Chris”; “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia”; “Fat Actress”; “Will & Grace”Film: “Holy Land”; “Big Gay Love”; “American Bistro”; “The Guest House”; “Dawg”; “Puff, Puff, Pass”; “Kindergarten Cop”Theater: “Above the Line”; “Mister Roberts”; “The Sand Castle”; “Harvey”; “Pinocchio”
Comedians often draw on their upbringing or family life for their material. Being born in Brooklyn as the son of Jewish parents provided Jason Stuart with plenty of material. So did moving to Los Angeles and living there as a gay and Jewish comedian/actor.
“Oh, yeah, it has colored my material,” he said. “All of these things color my material. They don’t just color it, they’ve created it.”
Stuart was one of the first, if not the first, mainstream entertainers to come out, doing so 20 years ago on the “Geraldo” show. He says going public did affect his acting career, though his resume is several pages long with credits including almost three dozen feature films and numerous television guest spots.
Coming out was a life- and career-changing moment for Stuart. Mostly, he said, it changed how some people looked at him, particularly film and television talent scouts. He said telling people that he was gay seemed to influence their expectations of how he should act, and that made him see himself differently, he said.