Watch Comedian Roy Wood Jr. Guest Host The Daily Show April 3-6

Today’s article is a shameless plug to encourage you to watch my dear friend and college classmate, Roy Wood Jr., as he guest hosts The Daily Show this week on Comedy Central! Long before we were successful adults, Roy and I were two teenagers trying to get through our journalism classes at Florida A&M University. Roy was your typical class clown, but he really stood out because of his tall stature, guy-next-door smile, and self-deprecating charm. Roy made friends with everyone, and I think I was always surprised to hear him shout out my name as he’d walk by on the yard. After college, he’d come to Atlanta for a periodic gig at the Uptown Comedy Club, and I’d send him a “remember me, Rattler” email and ask for free tickets to watch him perform. Being the lovable, home-team person that he is, he’d always oblige me by adding my name to his guest list.

Roy is amazing to watch on stage! Whether he’s telling jokes about the audacity of a fast-food restaurant trying to charge you for an extra dipping sauce or taking digs at the latest political scandal, by the end of the set, you will have had your fair share of hearty, guttural laughs that make you glad to be alive. Laughter is good for the soul, and Roy knows how to make people laugh and think.

Eventually, we both made our way out to Los Angeles and Roy’s career was beginning to pick up steam. He was a contestant on NBC’s Last Comic Standing and I, again, bummed a ticket to go watch him perform. This time, however, after watching him slay on stage I knew a star was being born right before our eyes. So I did what any savvy person of discerning taste would do and I popped the question to Roy…..”Will you let me be your publicist?” We arranged a meeting, I pitched my shot and he graciously agreed to let me handle his publicity! I got to work making media kits and sending copies of his hilarious crank call CDs to media as I pitched him for interview opportunities around his comedy tour schedule.

Shortly thereafter, Roy joined the cast of the TV series Sullivan & Son, which was the perfect role to highlight his personality and the perfect opportunity for me to secure interviews for him with top tier media. I booked him on a ton of national entertainment TV and radio, including The Insider with Kevin Frazier and the radio shows of Tom Joyner, Rickey Smiley, and the late Doug Banks. When he was promoted to a series regular for season two, I booked an exclusive for him with the Hollywood Reporter to announce his promotion and was annoyed when they added the other actor in the show to the news brief. I also served as Roy’s liaison with the show’s network publicists who would contact me to present any show related opportunities for his consideration, such as how to position him for an Emmy submission as a Best Supporting Actor. ?

Two of my favorite bookings for Roy was getting him an appearance on Conan. I think I was more nervous about it than he was! They had the dressing room all decked out with his name on the door and fresh fruit inside to nibble on while he waited for the show to begin. I also we very happy to help him secure his first magazine interview with Upscale Magazine. Roy gave tips on how to persevere through challenges. He used his own experience of getting heckled as a young comedian at Uptown as an example:

“It was here that I became a ‘getting booed connoisseur,’” said Wood. “They’d scream random things like: ‘KILL YO SELF!!’ or ‘TAKE YO ASS BACK TO ALABAMA!!’ Our first instinct is to run from our failures and never relive them. However, when giving in to that impulse, we lose the true purpose of why failure is presented in our lives – to educate us.”

Fortunately, Roy persevered and now he returns to Alabama on his own terms, and that’s to visit his mother.

Sadly, I had to make the tough decision to step down from working with Roy in 2013 when I moved back to Florida to return to higher education PR. Although it would’ve been nice to keep the work going with such a cool client, I knew it would be difficult to keep a pulse on the Hollywood scene without living in the midst of the chaos daily. Soon after his next publicist got him in the Wall Street Journal, go figure! On the bright side, Roy says he credits me as the reason why he’s a dad! Apparently while interviewing other publicists after my departure, he met and became smitten with the woman who would become the mother of his child. And, you didn’t even make me Godmother, SMH!

So, please mark Comedy Central, 11 pm ET tonight through Thursday as your opportunity to watch a certified, star-power comedian take on jokes about Trump’s indictment and arraignment with finesse and gusto! The stars have aligned to allow ALL that great comedy content to line up with Roy’s time at the desk. You now have two degrees of separation from Roy, so you’re practically family! Host a watch party and follow him on social media @RoyWoodJr. Tell him his first publicist and FAMU classmate, Alonda, sent you!