Comedy's hardest working heckler-handler creates opportunities for other comedians.

Comedy's hardest working heckler-handler creates opportunities for other comedians.

BY Dr. Brian King

Comedian Steve Hofstetter is famous. With over a billion views across platforms like YouTube, Facebook, and Instagram, and over 3 million followers, there is a good chance you’ve heard of him.

Clips of him handling hecklers have gone viral but as a comedian, I’ve seen a side of Steve that might not be obvious to the casual fan. We have yet to meet in person, but we have interacted a few times over the years. Steve really cares about comedy, and maybe more so he cares about other comedians. He has provided more opportunities to other comedians than almost anyone in the business. After growing a large audience online, he was offered a TV show, Laughs, where he hosted stand-up clips. He is the reason that many comedians of the era can now list a major network TV credit. He bought and renovated a failing comedy club in Louisville, and provided countless performance opportunities to comedians, including me, at The Laughing Derby. He regularly offers advice to up-and-coming comedians, and posts tips on his website comedyhints.com. During the pandemic, he started the Steel City Arts Foundation in Pittsburgh to provide grants to comedians struggling to come up in comedy.

And he has a history of providing opportunities for younger comedians to reach larger audiences by taking them on tour. Which brings me to his upcoming show at Paddy’s, Saturday, April 25th, because now he’s highlighting some of the funniest people from Fayetteville in a show that is bound to be one of the most memorable nights of comedy this city has ever seen. Not just a night of great comedy for the audience, it is an enormous opportunity for the comedians who get to perform with him. The show will feature interactivity with Steve, incredibly clever stand-up sets, and the crowd decides which new acts are invited back.

Will I make the cut? I don’t care. I’m just happy to have the opportunity to witness a Steve Hofstetter event first-hand.

Seriously, get your tickets as soon as you can, this is going to be good.