JACKSONVILLE, Fla — Actor and comedian Rodney Perry is coming to Jacksonville at the start of the new year. The former co-host of “The Mo’Nique Show” will be performing at The Comedy Zone on January 2-3. I got the chance to chat with the stand-up comic ahead of his Jacksonville shows to reflect on his multi-decade career, recovering from his stroke, and his advice for aspiring comics.

In his 30 years of doing stand-up comedy, Perry says he only quit once. “I was stationed in my first duty station in New Orleans, Louisiana.[...] So I go do a gong show[...] I get gonged, ferociously gonged. Two days later, I meet Harry [Ratchford], and I encouraged him to get on stage. And he and I started a comedy career that would span another 25-30 years,” says Perry. “He was so funny to me, and I was trying to tell him that I used to be a comedian and that he should try it. He said I’m not going to do it without you, so we became a comedy team for the first decade.”

You can hear more about Perry’s recovery from a stroke that he suffered while touring, and his time in the Navy, in the full interview.

Tickets for Rodney Perry are on sale now.

You can listen to more of Chase’s interviews in the Chase Chats section.

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