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Photo by Jon Anderson
Comedian Brad Upton performs at the Comedy 4 Kids fundraiser for the Hoover City Schools Foundation at the Stardome Comedy Club in Hoover, Alabama, on Tuesday, Oct. 24, 2023.
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Photo by Jon Anderson
Audience members at the Comedy 4 Kids fundraiser for the Hoover City Schools Foundation at the Stardome Comedy Club in Hoover, Alabama, on Tuesday, Oct. 24, 2023.
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Photo by Jon Anderson
Comedian Brad Upton performs at the Comedy 4 Kids fundraiser for the Hoover City Schools Foundation at the Stardome Comedy Club in Hoover, Alabama, on Tuesday, Oct. 24, 2023.
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Photo by Jon Anderson
Hoover City Schools Foundation Executive Director Shelley Shaw welcomes the crowd to the Comedy 4 Kids fundraiser for the foundation at the Stardome Comedy Club in Hoover, Alabama, on Tuesday, Oct. 24, 2023.
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Photo by Jon Anderson
Comedian Brad Upton performs at the Comedy 4 Kids fundraiser for the Hoover City Schools Foundation at the Stardome Comedy Club in Hoover, Alabama, on Tuesday, Oct. 24, 2023.
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Photo by Jon Anderson
Audience members at the Comedy 4 Kids fundraiser for the Hoover City Schools Foundation at the Stardome Comedy Club in Hoover, Alabama, on Tuesday, Oct. 24, 2023.
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Photo by Jon Anderson
Comedian Chris Ivey from Homewood, Alabama, warms up the crowd at the Comedy 4 Kids fundraiser for the Hoover City Schools Foundation at the Stardome Comedy Club in Hoover, Alabama, on Tuesday, Oct. 24, 2023.
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Photo by Jon Anderson
Audience members watch improv students from Hoover HIgh School at the Comedy 4 Kids fundraiser for the Hoover City Schools Foundation at the Stardome Comedy Club in Hoover, Alabama, on Tuesday, Oct. 24, 2023.
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Photo by Jon Anderson
Improv students from Hoover High School provide opening entertainment at the Comedy 4 Kids fundraiser for the Hoover City Schools Foundation at the Stardome Comedy Club in Hoover, Alabama, on Tuesday, Oct. 24, 2023.
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Photo by Jon Anderson
Comedian Brad Upton performs at the Comedy 4 Kids fundraiser for the Hoover City Schools Foundation at the Stardome Comedy Club in Hoover, Alabama, on Tuesday, Oct. 24, 2023.
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Photo by Jon Anderson
Paul Dangel, president of the Hoover City Schools Foundation board of directors, and foundation Executive Director Shelley Shaw welcome the crowd to the Comedy 4 Kids fundraiser for the foundation at the Stardome Comedy Club in Hoover, Alabama, on Tuesday, Oct. 24, 2023.
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Photo by Jon Anderson
Audience members at the Comedy 4 Kids fundraiser for the Hoover City Schools Foundation at the Stardome Comedy Club in Hoover, Alabama, on Tuesday, Oct. 24, 2023.
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Photo by Jon Anderson
Improv students from Hoover High School provide opening entertainment at the Comedy 4 Kids fundraiser for the Hoover City Schools Foundation at the Stardome Comedy Club in Hoover, Alabama, on Tuesday, Oct. 24, 2023.
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Photo by Jon Anderson
Comedian Brad Upton performs at the Comedy 4 Kids fundraiser for the Hoover City Schools Foundation at the Stardome Comedy Club in Hoover, Alabama, on Tuesday, Oct. 24, 2023.
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Photo by Jon Anderson
Comedian Brad Upton performs at the Comedy 4 Kids fundraiser for the Hoover City Schools Foundation at the Stardome Comedy Club in Hoover, Alabama, on Tuesday, Oct. 24, 2023.
Brad Upton, a Seattle-based comedian who has headlined comedy clubs across the country and who skyrocketed to fame after taping a special for Dry Bar Comedy in 2017, entertained a crowd at the Stardome Comedy Club in Hoover Tuesday night at a fundraiser for the Hoover City Schools Foundation.
The crowd of 75 to 100 people heard jokes about everything from the funny nicknames people get when they are kids to the idiosyncrasies of millennials, conversations between husbands and wives and people’s reactions when their cats are about to throw up.
Upton, who was a fourth grade teacher and high school track coach before he got into standup, has been doing comedy for nearly 40 years. He won the Las Vegas Comedy Festival in 2002 and appeared at Caesars Palace as part of the HBO Comedy Festival. He toured briefly with Joan Rivers and has spent the past 15 years as the opening act for Johnny Mathis.
He has also been seen in concert with The Smothers Brothers, Kenny Rogers, Dolly Parton, George Jones, Glen Campbell, Little Big Town, Smokey Robinson, Pam Tillis, Joe Diffie, Lewis Black, Jeff Foxworthy and Neal McCoy, according to his website.
Upton now has had two Dry Bar specials and has well over 200 million views on the internet.
Comedian Chris Ivey from Homewood preceded Upton on stage Tuesday night, and a group of eight improv students from Hoover High School entertained the crowd before that.
This was the second Comedy 4 Kids fundraiser for the Hoover City Schools Foundation. Last year, comedians Henry Cho and Eunice Elliott provided the entertainment.
This year’s crowd was about half the size of last year. Organizers were still calculating how much money was raised with the event Tuesday night. Tickets cost between $75 and $125.
Proceeds from the event will help the Hoover City Schools Foundation provide grants to teachers for innovative projects in their classrooms. This school year, the foundation is awarding more than $49,000 in grants.
Greg Harrelson, a Riverchase resident whose wife is a kindergarten teacher at Valley Elementary School in Pelham and who has a son that’s a junior at Spain Park High School, said he came to the event because he wanted to help support the work that teachers do.
He knows firsthand how much money they shell out from their own pockets to help kids, and anything the foundation can do to help teachers is awesome, he said. Plus, he’s been coming to the Stardome Comedy Club for about 30 years, and “any excuse to come out here is a good excuse,” he said.
For more information about the Hoover City Schools Foundation or to donate, go to hoovercsf.org.
To learn more about Upton, check out his website here.
