Fred Burns
When
Fred Burns comes on stage with his psychedelic painted crutches, you
know that you will be in for a real comedy trip. His “off-the-wall”
look at disabilities and today’s world in general has kept audiences
laughing for almost fifteen years. Born with Spina Bifida, Fred knows
physical difficulties but in response to the most asked question, he’s
quick to reply, “ I don’t know what it would be like to be
able-bodied, I have been this way all of my life. To me, this is
normal.”
Fred’s comedy began to take shape fifteen years
ago when a friend was assigned to do a documentary for his film class.
Fred volunteered to be the subject for what was to be a ground-breaking
video on disabilities. Entitled simply, “Fred”, the film won honors
at the First International Disabled Film Festival in Munich, Germany and
strangely enough, Fred found himself sort of a cult hero throughout
Europe, Japan, and Africa. He still tours the world for screenings.
Returning to the states, he ventured into a comedy
career which included club management and stand-up. He won the $10,000
Grand Prize on the new “Extreme Gong Show” and was awarded “The
1999 Norman Lear Comedy Award which is annually presented to the “Best
Comedian with a Disability” by the Governor of California’s
Committee on the Employment of Disabled Persons.
Fred continues to be one of our most requested
comics, with or without a disability. He is widely known on both the
college and corporate entertainment and diversity circuits. Fred’s
humor is sharp and witty and frequently compared to George Carlin. When
someone says that Fred is “off the wall” that’s
perhaps is the best compliment that you can pay him.
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