Timothy Banister still remembers sneaking into the living room back in the late 70’s when he was seven years old trying to sneak a peek at John Belushi playing the Samurai Warrior on “Saturday Night Live.” He remembers watching shows like “SNL,” “SCTV,” and even old reruns of “The Smothers’ Brothers” and “Laugh-In.”
“I think it was some of the absolute absurdity of watching Andy Kaufman lip synching to Mighty Mouse that really piqued my interest. I mean this was crazy stuff and people were laughing at this crazy stuff,” he said.
And so it began. Timothy continued to take in all the comedy he could as he was growing up with the “Three Stooges,” “Laurel and Hardy,” and even home spun favorite Andy Griffith.
“I really loved “The Andy Griffith Show,” Banister said. He credits “The Andy Griffith” show with the realization that comedy could be really sharp and funny while also having a sweet spirit about it. “Sure, Andy would more often than not get Barney real good, but he would always turn Barney into the hero before the show ended,” noted Timothy.
Banister took his love for comedy to the stage for the first time in New York City soon after graduating from the University of Georgia in 1994.
“I moved to NYC to see how it was done,” he said. “The first time I got on stage following a standup comedy class, I nearly fainted when they introduced me,” noted Banister. He was a self described wimp when it came to speaking in public. “When it came to oral book reports in high school, I would just assume make a zero. I would have rather die than speak in front of a group of people,” Banister said.
Well, he has come a long way since. Banister has been doing standup comedy for a number of years now and relishes any opportunity to get up and make others laugh. These days you can find him all over Atlanta performing at numerous venues. He was just recently selected to perform in the “Laughing Skull Comedy Festival” which has quickly become one of the most prestigious comedy festivals in the country bringing together the best comics from all over the U.S. including L.A. and New York.
“It’s great that a few people think some of my stuff is funny, but the most important thing to me is to keep it sharp, intelligent and clean,” Banister said. “I want my kids or other kids to be able to watch my shows. I want to be a positive influence on the youth of today. If I am blessed to be behind the microphone, then I feel it is my responsibility to encourage the next generation to follow suit,” he said.
Banister will be performing at “It’s A Grind Coffee” in Fayetteville on Friday, November 18 at 8 p.m. Be ready for numerous references to Vladimir Lenin, Van Gogh, Cher, parachute pants, wrestling mathematicians, The Hamburglar and leopard print clothing.
For more information, visit www.timothybanister.org
