Kevin Hart, now one of the most successful comics out there, struggled to find places to perform when he first started out as a stand-up comedian, so he picked some very unexpected venues.
The 44-year-old entertainer took gigs wherever he could get them: bowling alleys, cabarets and strip clubs. He doesn’t “know who thought that comedy and strippers mix,” but a strip club performance led to one of the most heartbreaking moments of his career on stage. Hart remembers hearing a woman say, “Oh, baby” during his set.
“[She was] so disgusted and heartbroken that this is what I chose to do with my life,” Hart said.
But things turned around for him. Hart is the highest-grossing comedian today. His last comedy tour made grossed more than $122 million and, last month, he was awarded the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor — as close to a lifetime achievement award as you can get.
Hart has always been confident, friends said. Comedian Na’im Lynn, who’s known Hart since Kevin was a teenager, didn’t get it at first.
“I mean, it was perplexing in the beginning,” Lynn said. “Like, ‘Why does this little ugly dude have this much confidence?'”
Hart grew up in a rough neighborhood in North Philadelphia. Home movies made by his mom, Nancy Hart, show he was always the family entertainer. Hart lived in a in a one-bedroom apartment with his brother and mom, who kept a close eye on him.
