Honest John" In June of 1987, John Basinger was working as a nurse and heading into a predictable middle age. Maybe it was midlife crisis that caused him to take the name Honest John and start running around Los Angeles telling jokes.
"I just went anywhere I could get on stage," he recalls, "Clubs ,coffee houses, bars restaurants, anywhere I could get up. After a while I was like a fanatic, I just couldn't do it enough. I knew that this is what I was meant to do."
Then one Thursday night a comedian named Gerald Mcquirter invited him to an open Mike at the Comedy Act Theater, one of the foremost black venues in the country.
"Actually, he dragged me along with him, just called me up and said, 'Saddle up, John, we're going.' And I got up and slammed."
Soon Honest John became a fixture on the black circuit in the Los Angeles area. "People would come up to me on the street and ask where I was going to perform next. It blew my mind."
Triumphant appearances on Black Entertainment Television's "Comic View", HBO's "Def Jam", and "Showtime at the Apollo" introduced him to fans all across the country, leading to appearances at clubs and theaters nationwide and a two year run on the Def Jam tour. He has also done many military tours in places as far away as Korea, Okinawa, and Japan.
He has guest starred on "The Jamie Foxx Show", "Lyricist's Lounge" and "Showtime in Harlem". He can also be seen films like "The Wash", "For Da Love of Money", "Foolish" and other urban comedies.
As for the future, Honest John says he's working on a comedy special and would like to do more acting.
FILM
* FOOLISH * THE WASH * BEVERLY HOOD * UP AGAINST THE 8BALL FILMS
TELEVISION
* WHITE BOYZ IN THE HOOD * COMIC VIEW * DEF COMEDY JAM * THE JAMIE FOXX SHOW * LYRICIST’S LOUNGE * VIBE * SHOWTIME IN HARLEM
