Paul Mecurio

Street legal: Comedian Paul Mecurio

By P.F. Wilson | Columbus Alive | November 29, 2007

For several years Paul Mecurio lived a secret double life. By day he was a Wall Street lawyer, and by night a stand-up comedian.

"I was to the point where I would take two notebooks into meetings," he recalls. "One was for the deal, and one was for jokes. And I wasn't taking any deal notes-I was just taking notes for the jokes."

Keeping it up became more and more difficult. "I went back to the law firm [after performing at an open mic show], and...the senior partner is screaming at me, 'Where have you been?!' So, it just became...real stressful.

"I didn't want anyone on Wall Street to know I was a comedian, 'cause they wouldn't have taken me seriously, and I didn't want anyone in comedy to know I was a Wall Street guy," Mecurio continued.

"I didn't even tell my girlfriend...who is now my wife. She thought I was cheating on her because I was supposed to be working and I was coming home [smelling like] beer and cigarettes. I was a nervous wreck...for a good couple of years."

A former writer for the The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, Mecurio still warms up the studio audience before tapings.

"For 20 minutes you talk about whatever you like," he said of the pre-show gig. "It's like survival of the fittest in that environment. You find a way to be funny in the moment by talking to people about anything and everything, and that's just carried over into my stand-up act."

He's not shy about jumping into the audience in comedy clubs to talk to people. "I'm just trying to figure out a way, without shooting golf balls out of my butt, to bring something different to the table. It's kind of become part of what I do and what people remember about my act."

Besides chatting with club-goers, Mecurio talks a little about politics. "People ask, 'Are we ready to elect a woman for president, are we ready to elect an African-American for president?'" he says. "Well, if you have to ask, it seems you're not ready."

He also talks about bonding with his son. "I took him to spring training in Arizona. I wanted to do some bonding, teach him guy stuff. Like shutting down emotionally with women."