Perrycycle
- What?
Perry first moved to San
Francisco in March of 1979 from
Philadelphia with a dream to be "A
Comedian" (always said melodically). His
apartment was located on the ever-famous
Haight Street, a few blocks east of
Ashbury St., where The Grateful Dead
started. One of the problems with living
in S.F. (never call it Frisco to a
Friscan) is the intense lack of parking.
(When looking for a parking space, pull
over at the beginning of the block and
wait 5 minutes for someone to pull out)
Being a party town, there is one bar for
every five adults, AND there is one
parking space for every 3 cars. You can,
however, rent a garage for about a hundred
bucks a month (property owners make a
bundle). This explains why people in San
Francisco drink so much.
With
parking scarcer than Kojak's hair, Perry
decided to buy a motorcycle. He plunked down
a few grand and got a blue 1977 Kawasaki
650, a 4 cylinder, smooth riding, road
machine. And if you know Perry, you know
that he is one mean road monster. It was a
match made in the showroom. He outfitted it
with a windshield (bugs taste terrible and
leave pock marks in eyeglasses), cruise
control (for freeway naps), and a matching
blue trunk. On the gas tank and trunk was
the word "PERRYCYCLE", meaning it was
Perry's cycle. Not everyone got the joke.
Often people would pull up next to him at a
stop light and ask, "What's a Perrycycle?"
"Mine." "Your name is Perry?" "Yes." "What
are you, a comedian?" On replying yes, they
would usually try to run him over. Defensive
driving became a way of life.
In
1981, he traded it in on a 1979 model with
the same coloring (cause it was cheaper)
and continued to cruise the Bay Area and
the rest of the West Coast. For many years
he was the "Biker Comedian," as he had no
car, and became an occasional writer for
Motorcyclist magazine spouting his limited
ideas on comedy from the biker's viewpoint.
Sometimes, late at night, on his way home
from some hell-gig in the boonies, San
Francisco police, who knew the bike &
rider well, would pull him over just to
make him tell them jokes. They even let
him park it on the sidewalk in front of
the door of The Legendary, now
closed, Holy City Zoo.
After
a few dozen trips to Los Angeles and
becoming a paid regular at The Comedy
Store (his name is on the back
wall) in Hollywood, passersby would
spot it parked out front and come to the
club looking for a few good Perrylaughs.
Boy, did THEY learn their lesson. Perry
moved to L.A. in 1989. A short year later,
Perry met his wife ONLINE.
In
1994, the Perrycycle developed some major
engine problems and passed away. It is
still a softly spoken legend to older San
Francisco Comics and fans. It WILL be
replaced with a new Perrycycle soon.
Perry
now resides in Los Angeles where he
continues to perform at corporate events,
clubs, senior and convalescent housing,
Elks & Moose Lodges, and colleges
(that sounds awfully familiar)
around The United States and Canada, as
well as Military Bases throughout Japan
and South Korea, teaches comedy privately
and in local adult schools, is a
free-lance writer for The Tonight Show, a
father of four, including 12 year old
Bella, who performs with him at senior
centers.
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