If
you compared Wild Bill Bauer’s and Patrick Ryan’s stand-up acts — which
you can do tonight and Saturday at Famous Johnnys Comedy Club at I-435 and
Metcalf in Overland Park — you probably wouldn’t peg them as father and son.
“I’m
a writer,” Bauer said. “He wings it.”
Bauer,
56, and Ryan, 28, tried out for NBC’s “Last Comic Standing” last year in
Chicago. Out of 450 who auditioned, the Minneapolis father and son made the
final 15 before being eliminated. The year before, Ryan also made the final 15.
“Now here’s the thing: The judge for that books the
‘Tonight Show,’ he said. “And I said to Ryan, ‘He likes you. If I were
you, I’d put together a 20-minute demo and send it to him.’ He hasn’t
acted on that yet.”
For
now, Ryan is happy opening for his dad, albeit with a different last name. Why?
“To
be honest, I have as many enemies as friends in the business,” Bauer
explained. “If you’re a hack, please don’t talk to me. And don’t ask me
what I think, because I’ll tell you.”