Olympics organizer hoping for golden touch onstage

Sept. 14, 2000

Mark Wolf organized the Olympics this year.

OK, maybe this was not the event Down Under with several thousand athletes, but Wolf says putting on the Cleveland Comedy Olympics earlier this year also was a time-consuming event.

"I probably put several hundred hours in," the North Royalton resident says.

In the next couple of weeks, Wolf says he'll decide if he is going to have another Olympics competition for local comedians.

Wolf first gave comedy a shot in the early '80s when Showtime had a contest for the funniest man in America. After submitting his videotape, he decided to try his act at the old Cleveland Comedy Club.

There he found found just how long 10 minutes can be. "My spit glands moved to Atlanta," he says. "I did not try it again for 14 years."

A police officer in a Cleveland suburb, Wolf says things like undercover work have made him good at "spontaneous BS" and that may be why he now can feel comfortable onstage.

Wolf decided to give the stand-up stage another chance after he was asked to host a retirement dinner three years ago. "I just had such a good time that I wanted to keep doing it."

Earlier this year, Wolf had a gig in Tiffin, Ohio, and was worried he might have a meltdown like that first performance in the '80s.

"I was in the Marines for four years, have 15 years in law enforcement, but I was having flashbacks to 1983. I wasn't sure that I could get the words out. But I remember something a guy told once that once you're on stage you're a performer, and that helped."

Wolf admits his act tends toward the risque. "I don't watch my language. I grew up in the inner city."

He counts George Carlin as one of his big influences. "He pointed out the stuff we've all seen but forgot to laugh at."

Wolf says Cleveland's comedy landscape has changed tremendously since the 1980s. "In 1983, you could do comedy anywhere. Clubs were looking to foster local talent."

Now, he adds, it's a struggle to find stage time anywhere.

"Cleveland is the biggest little town in America," he says. "For example, I'm a big blues fan, but there are not many blues clubs in Cleveland."

Although he would like to become more heavily involved in comedy, Wolf says working a 3-11 p.m. shift and having other commitments means he has to be selective.

"I'm a divorced civil servant with a kid in college. I'm not going to be quitting my day job anytime soon."

When he is eligible for retirement from the police force, Wolf says he might look at getting more involved in the entertainment industry.

"I may not be able to perform full-time, but maybe I can do a combination of doing promotions for events and performing."

If there is a second Cleveland Comedy Olympics, Wolf says his goal would be simple.

"If I do it again, I want to make it bigger and better."

ON STAGE: Emo Philips, who has had specials on Showtime and Comedy Central, headlines through Sunday at the Cleveland Improv.

Hypnotist the Incredible Boris tops the bill through Saturday at Hilarities in Cuyahoga Falls.

Rodney Bengston, an editor in Sun Newspapers' Metro office, covers northeastern Ohio's comedy scene.