Laughing All the Way with Comedian JonBoy: A Brief Introspective

Wednesday night I received the chance to go to Joker's Comedy Club in Centerville. There, I was treated to a very festive and lively atmosphere full of MySpace friends that had come together to see a very popular, yet unacknowledged, local comedian. His name, JonBoy. As I listened and watched the men and women in the crowd, I realized this is a man who was deserving of some much needed recognition for his hard work and unique outlook on life and comedy as a living

"JonBoy" (Jonathan Dean) of Middletown, Ohio is a local favorite with his quick delivery and thoughtful insights. His confident, yet strangely humble manner really appealed to both men and women in the audience. As he delivered his distinctive brand of humor, the crowd responded with raucous laughter and welcomed feedback. I had to find out more about this man and being that I was there and so was my recorder, I did just that. What I found out was much more fascinating than I could ever have anticipated.

After the show ended and the crowd was leaving, I caught up with JonBoy in the lobby and asked if I could talk with him for a few brief moments. Those moments changed my outlook on what I thought I knew about mental illness in America today.

Born Jonathan Dean (the middle child of ten) in Cincinnati , his parents were college educated , yet chose to raise their children in a much different fashion than what we would think of such potential wage earners. They chose instead to move to Dry Holler, Ky. (Lewis Co.) and bring up their family dirt poor. They felt it would give their children a more solid start in life and they would become more prosperous for learning the true value of working for a meal. JonBoy told me that the only water they had was "You run and get it water". An outhouse was their luxury restroom and heat was provided by sweat and calloused hands chopping wood daily. Mind you, this was in 1980, the Reagan Era. The decade of excess, the birth of "get rich quick" investment schemes. With his parents combined intellect and education, they could have easily provided their children with an almost affluent existence.

His mother, a woman with a Master's Degree in English, was diagnosed with Schizophrenia and was subjected to massive electroshock therapy in the 60's, the normal treatment for such illness' at that time. JonBoy frankly shared , "Sure there was child abuse...she had flashbacks and would have violent outbursts that resulted in some physical mistreatment."

With a family full of mental illness, some lesser, some more severe, JonBoy made the decision to go on his own very early. He began in his teens with a lawn care service and balanced this venture along with his education. He then went to work as a customer service representative for Tampa Electric and eventually worked his way up to Quality Control Manager. What you don't know is that while doing this, JonBoy has been diagnosed with Bi-Polar Disorder (Manic Depressive) with Schizophrenic tendencies and takes medication daily including Lithium. After a brief marriage that ended in divorce (after he had converted to Mormonism) he lost his brother to suicide in 2000.

Instead of taking this as a way out, which would have been the much easier path. Being diagnosed with the illness' he has, he could have much more easily received disability for the rest of his life. Instead he chose to sell his house, hit the road and make other's laugh. He first hit the stage in 2003 and has been touring the country ever since.

JonBoy's brand of humor is introspective, touching, truthful and sometimes scary in it's content. He makes you laugh at things you have been taught for years that you should NEVER laugh at. This man, while not well known at this point, will touch your heart in the best way.....with laughter .