Blog Archives - Summit Comedy, Inc.

Summit Entertainment

Chuck Johnson — Thu, 01 Jan 2026 12:49:40 +0000

What’s in a name?! Apparently, everything! When a business owner is trying to think of the name of his/her company, there’s a lot of thought that goes into it. You want it memorable, relative to your product and maybe even something personal. So in 1998 when I decided to start my own entertainment business, I was brainstorming for ideas. It was on a road trip up to Boone, NC when I looked up at the approaching Appalachian mountain range and my wife said “Summit Entertainment”. It was perfect! We both had gone to Appalachian State University, and the phrase “You can’t get higher than the Summit” still spills out of my mouth sometimes while doing sales pitches in trade show booths. Yeah, I know that sounds completely cheesy, but if you know anything about trade shows, you get tired of saying the same sales pitch over and over and over.

And so it began. Summit Entertainment was born. I knew there were not any comedy agencies in the country with a competing name so I went to downtown Charlotte to register my company name. Back in 1998 the internet wasn’t where you’d go yet to search any competing company names. The internet was pretty fresh and new! I did register the website domain www.summitentertainment.com and began my comedy business!

Within a year from my start up, I did discover that there was another company named “Summit Entertainment” on the west coast that was a movie production company that had started a few years before my company. I didn’t think too much of it since they did movies, I sold jokes. I don’t think anyone was confusing the 2 of us, until…..

After a few years I started getting emails sent to me that was clearly for the “Summit Entertainment” movie company. I would kindly reply, telling them they had the wrong company every time and went about my own business. Sometimes I would forward the emails to the other company as well just to be nice as I started getting more and more of them. Note to reader: *being nice in “business” doesn’t always help you unfortunately. One day I got an email that said “Final Script: ‘The Mexican’ starring Brad Pitt & Julia Roberts”. I thought it was funny that I would be getting this one, but I still forwarded it on to the appropriate business. Within a week of that email I had a Cease & Desist letter from their lawyer. After all, we had the EXACT same company name, and a very similar mountain range logo who my buddy Jeff Katowitz had designed. My lawyer said I could fight them in court, but I would probably lose since they had the name registered first.

Now here’s where the biggest error I’ve ever made in my business thus far. I sold them the website domain www.summitentertainment.com I did get a decent about of money for it back in 2001, but this was before this company hit it BIG! How big, well, let’s just tell you that Summit Entertainment went on to produce many movies as well as the entire “TWILIGHT” Vampire movie series. I still kick myself every time I see their logo pop up, knowing that I could have held on to that domain longer and asked for a much bigger price tag. In 2012 Lionsgate Films acquired Summit Entertainment for $412.5 million. You live and you learn I guess! That’s the nature of business!

I incorporated my business in 2001, changed my company to Summit Comedy, Inc. and I’m waiting for someone to offer me $412.5 million for it. No takers yet, so I’ll continue to sell jokes to masses. Good thing I LOVE what I do for a living! Someone once said, if you love what you do for a living, you’ll never work a day in your life! I haven’t “worked” since 1998! 😉

-Chuck Johnson
President; Summit Comedy, Inc.
www.summitcomedy.com
800.947.0651

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Make Clean Comedians Work for You

Chuck Johnson — Mon, 20 May 2019 23:19:03 +0000

I have been in the comedy booking business since 1995. Ok, yes, I know I’m getting old, however remarkably, I’m not bitter or jaded….YET. I still love what I do for a living by booking comedians all over the world for countless events at colleges, corporate events, nightclubs, fundraisers, military bases, cruise ships and every other imaginable scenario….even a strip club booking in Atlanta just two months into my first industry job with a comedian who’s now pretty famous . I’ll save that story for another post. 😉

I wish I had kept a tally on the number of shows I’ve booked as it would be pretty cool to see the actual total amount of events I’ve booked over the years. It has to be at least in the 15,000+ range. Maybe I can start using the term “Over a billion jokes sold!”??? Ok, that’s cheesy…that’s why I SELL the jokes, not TELL them.

Not every comedy show goes off without a hitch. There have been many “hell gigs”. I’ve booked more than one show where not a single person showed up in the audience. I’ve booked countless “nooner” shows where the comedian is performing literally in a school cafeteria at lunchtime and is trying to “be funny” yet is competing with the tater tots that are being stuffed into human faces. I’ve booked many outdoor comedy shows; which NEVER work well. Comedy, unlike music, needs a captive audience that is actually paying attention to make it successful. I’ve seen comedians get heckled. I’ve seen comedians get items thrown at them. I’ve seen comedians get boo’d & bomb. I’ve literally seen it all…So much so, that I can’t even imagine a scenario in the business that I haven’t seen yet, nor would surprise me if I did?

On the flip side, I’ve had many shows that keep me doing what I do for a living. I’ve gone to Comedy Central comedy special tapings. I’ve been to many Late Night Comedy TV show tapings. I’ve booked theater shows with thousands of people in attendance. I get to book famous celebrity comedians on the regular. I’ve booked shows to raise money for families after tragedies. I’ve booked comedy shows to raise money for education, for cancer foundations, and countless other great causes. Those are the ones I’ll remember the most! Putting smiles on people’s faces and making people laugh for a living doesn’t stink. It’s literally a dream job I fell into and I totally acknowledge how blessed I am that I love what I do for a living.

One of the biggest requests I get (which has never changed since I started in the comedy business) is “I would like clean comedians“. Comedy is very subjective, and every one has a different version of what “clean comedy” actually is, however when you’ve done this job for over 20 years, it doesn’t take long to figure out exactly what the client is looking for and your booking brain automatically starts thinking of people within your talent stable who would be a good fit for their specific event. Since 1995, I have NEVER once gotten a follow up report from a client saying “The comedian(s) you sent were too clean!”. But do you want to know how many times I’ve gotten the opposite feedback? Phew, that’s a number I don’t want to tally.

Good clean comedy always wins! Event planners have bosses, and their bosses have bosses, so having talent that can perform clean doesn’t typically raise any red flags, or have to send anyone down to the HR office the day after an event. 😉 This is nothing against the countless hilarious dirty/edgy comedians out there who are working the comedy clubs, but even they themselves know that working “clean” when starting out in the business, opens more work opportunities for them.

So when you’re navigating your comedy show and don’t want to ruffle any feathers, find a talent agency that is going to make you look like a rock star! Ask the agency or comedian if they have any references. A good agency will provide you that information. A bad agency won’t care. They will book a “dirty” comedian to ring up a sale and not care what happens after they’ve already gotten your money. Also, always remember that you get what you pay for. If you’re booking a celebrity name act such as Jerry Seinfeld, Jim Gaffigan or Brian Regan you’ll have to spend top dollar for your stand up comedy show, keynote speaker, or emcee but you know you’re going to get a slam dunk show. There are still countless clean stand up comedians that aren’t household names such as Jeff Allen, Ryan Hamilton, Henry Cho, Andy Woodhull, Collin Moulton, etc. that won’t break your bank yet leave everyone at your event talking about it for years to come! Don’t go cheap if you’re looking to make a good impression with the people attending your event, it’s just going to hurt you and your audience in the long run, and hurt the industry over all.

I often say “this job isn’t brain surgery” but maybe it’s not in your wheelhouse, so I’m here to help you with all of your comedy needs if/when you need it. We’re just an easy call, email, or booking form away! Looking forward to adding you to one of those positive success stories. 😉

-Chuck Johnson; President
800-947-0651
www.summitcomedy.com

CLICK HERE TO BOOK CLEAN COMEDIANS

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COMEDY FIRST IMPRESSIONS

Chuck Johnson — Thu, 23 Mar 2017 21:33:03 +0000

Many moons ago I was courting a lady friend. She had attended the same college I did, hung out in some of the same circles as myself, but we didn’t start “hanging out” until after graduating and out in the “real world”. We met up in the Fall of 1996 during Homecoming at a mutual friend’s cabin he was renting for like 20+ people. Hindsight, it was probably only like 3-4 bedrooms, but comfort isn’t a huge priority when you’re still young, and sleeping on a floor next to a keg just “happens”. ????

We started dating soon after that Homecoming weekend. Our first date was to a Charlotte Hornets game. I had already entered the Comedy business at that time and was scouting talent and seeing shows every week somewhere trying to familiarize myself with as much live stand-up comedy as possible. I had a home-work assignment from my boss to drive to Rock Hill, SC just south of Charlotte, NC to go watch 2 comedians performing at a show the agency had booked, to meet with the new client who owned the bar, and to ultimately hand paychecks to the talent performing.

I decided to ask the girl I was “hanging out” with if she wanted to go see a comedy show with me. This would have been our 3^rd or 4^th date and she must have been digging me since she decided to make the trek down to SC on a “school night” to join me. She was an elementary school teacher, and this show didn’t even start until 9pm.

This was in the mid-90s when BET’s “Comic View” and HBO’s “Def Comedy Jam” were huge hits and boosted the urban comedy market with shows all around the country. This was one of those shows. Funny is funny in my mind, plain and simple and we were going to the show to be entertained. I told the bar owner who I was upon entering the club, and we slipped in the back of the room without meeting the comedians. I cannot remember the opening act’s name to this day, but he was funny, interacted with the crowd well and all were entertained. Next was the headliner. I DO REMEMBER HIS NAME. I’ll never forget it, however for this post, let’s change his name to “Poo-Poo Frown”.

“Poo-Poo” started his “act” with some of the most rude, vile and disgusting “jokes” and after discovering me and my date were the only white patrons at the show, WE became the butt of every “joke” following. Yes, comedy is subjective, and “dirty” comedy is a thing. He just wasn’t funny, many people just got up and left, and honestly, I was embarrassed for my date and wondered if this would be our last. After the show, I went up to the fella and handed him his check and told him that I was with the agency that hired him, and if I had my way about it, that would be the last time I’d ever be giving him a paycheck for his “jokes”. It wasn’t a pleasant meeting and he was not very professional with me even then. 20+ years later, I still think about “Poo-Poo Frown” periodically and try to tell this story to comedians as a reminder that you never know who’s in the crowd that can potentially help or hurt your career. I’ve never booked that fella since, however that girl married me. All these years later, she’s still not really a live stand-up comedy fan, first impressions are lasting ones especially in comedy. Haha. True Story.

Chuck Johnson
President, Summit Comedy
800-947-0651 ext 2 | chuck@summitcomedy.com
https://www.summitcomedy.com

chuck@summitcomedy.com
https://www.summitcomedy.com

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How to hire a Celebrity Comedian

Chuck Johnson — Fri, 17 Feb 2017 19:16:19 +0000

Over here at Summit Comedy, we book comedians….sometimes they have “celebrity” status. We have had the pleasure of working with many of the biggest names in the comedy business over the last 19 years. Here is just a small sampling of talent we have worked with:

Hal Sparks, Josh Blue, Tom Segura, Iliza Shlesinger, Chris D’Elia, Colin Jost, Dave Coulier, DeRay Davis, Doug Stanhope, Jay Pharoah, Judah Friedlander, Michael Ian Black, Pete Davidson, Trevor Noah, Cecily Strong, Cristela Alonzo, Loni Love, Sasheer Zamata, Ben Bailey, Bo Burnham, Craig Robinson, Dave Attell, Hannibal Buress, Jim Breuer, John Oliver, Lavelle Crawford, Mike Birbiglia, Ralphie May, Richard Belzer, Amy Schumer, Bob Saget, Daniel Tosh, Dave Chappelle, Demetri Martin, Dennis Miller, Gabriel Iglesias, Kevin Hart, Rickey Smiley, Shawn Wayans, Marlon Wayans, Kathy Griffin, Lisa Lampanelli, Monique

Hiring a celebrity comedian really isn’t that much different than hiring any other comedian. The biggest differences are simply the price, and typically a celebrity comedian demands a bit more in their hospitality rider and maybe more production bells and whistles.

Step One: Reserve your venue. Make sure it is available on the day of your event, and has the proper production needs for your event.

Step Two: Determine the budget you want to spend on your talent. Celebrity Comedians typically start in the low end of $10,000 plus expenses and can go all the way up to $500k. A good agent should be able to point you in the right direction with talent options that fits your specific budget, style of comedy desired &/or theme of event.

Step Three: Submit a formal offer for the talent you are interested in and the performance date desired. If your offer is accepted, a contract and rider requirements will follow.

Step Four: Once your contract is fully executed between all parties involved, you need to promote your event if selling tickets. Even if you have Jerry Seinfeld booked, no one will show up if the masses don’t know about the event.

Now I’ve simplified this process as there are many other small details and steps involved, but this is a great starting point in booking your celebrity comedian. If you have any additional questions, please feel to contact us at Summit Comedy, Inc. and we will hand hold you from beginning until the end of your show to make sure your event goes over as smooth as possible making you look like a rock star in the process.

-Chuck Johnson
President; Summit Comedy, Inc.
www.summitcomedy.com
800-947-0651

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Chris Rock

Chuck Johnson — Thu, 16 Feb 2017 14:07:24 +0000

As a comedy agent, I get free tickets to countless comedy shows throughout the year. Sometimes it is for comedians you really want to see, sometimes it’s actually just for “work” to evaluate new comedians for potential work opportunities with Summit Comedy. Watching comedy as a 20+ year agent makes it hard sometimes since I’ve heard countless jokes, puns, premises, and “average comedy” just doesn’t do much for me with actually “laughing”. My wife hates seeing comedy shows with me since I mostly sit stone faced “judging” the people onstage and even when I do find a joke “funny”, many times just nod and say “that was pretty funny”. Periodically though I find comedians that make me laugh out loud and those are the people who I want and will work with. These comedians are just a few examples: Chad Daniels, Tommy Johnagin, Roy Wood Jr, Jessi Campbell, Kevin Bozeman

I can think of only 3 times (besides fund raiser events which I’m excluding) that I’ve actually had to purchase tickets to a comedy show. One was for Brian Regan who is one of my favorite comedians, next was many years ago at the Comedy Cabana in Myrtle Beach who after me telling the owners “Hello, I’m Chuck from Summit Comedy” they said “Oh hey, I’ve heard of you, that’ll be $12.50 please!” (Hahaha), and last month I purchased tickets for comedian Chris Rock for an upcoming date in NC.

Part of my tasks as a baby agent in the mid-1990s was to shuttle comedians around from airports, radio stations, TV stations, and sometimes even shady bus stations (Thanks for that one Akintunde Warnock). Yes, it’s not always so glamorous in the entertainment business folks! Back in 1995 I had to pick up comedian Chris Rock at the Charlotte, NC airport as he was performing at the Comedy Zone that weekend. He wasn’t a household name at that time, but he had recently finished up working as a cast member on Saturday Night Live, and was making the comedy club rounds.

This was pre-9/11 days when you could actually go all the way to the airport gate to great guests. Well, I’m not sure if I was late, or his flight was early, so when I got to his gate, the plane had already emptied and I was forced to run around the airport looking for him. To no avail, I then had to go to the info desk and have him paged to meet me at baggage claim. Picture this scene…”Paging Chris Rock….Mr. Chris Rock, please meet your party at baggage claim!” Again, this pre-dates cell phones and in my defense he wasn’t a huge star yet so I knew this wouldn’t create a TMZ-like paparazzi mob, and it was the only way I knew how to get him to where I was waiting for him.

Well, turns out, he already left the airport grabbing a cab to the hotel where he was staying. I never went to see his show that weekend for whatever reason, so to this day I’ve never met nor seen Chris Rock live. I’ve met and have worked with thousands of comedians both famous and not yet famous over the last 2 decades. Some just stand out with amazing talent that you should take time out to go see them if nearby regardless if you have to purchase tickets or not, so when Chris Rock announced his new tour for this year, I jumped at the chance to see the comedy legend and bought tickets for a Comedy field trip to see him at a casino stop in North Carolina. Something tells me I’m going to put away my “judging cap” and laugh out loud at this one!? 😉

-Chuck Johnson
President; Summit Comedy, Inc.
www.summitcomedy.com
(800) 947-0651

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Tim Homayoon

summitcomedy — Wed, 01 Feb 2017 17:59:40 +0000

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Dwight Slade

summitcomedy — Tue, 31 Jan 2017 14:05:17 +0000

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Comedy Field Trips

Chuck Johnson — Mon, 30 Jan 2017 20:37:47 +0000

If you are a comedy agent, you typically are booking comedy shows all over the country and if you’re lucky, even outside of the United States. The more shows you book, the harder it is to visit and meet the clients face to face that are utilizing your booking services, it’s just part of the job.

When the shows are somewhat within driving distance to my office, I like to visit them and watch the comedy shows I’m booking to see & evaluate the comedians performing their jobs, as well as personally meet and thank the clients that Summit Comedy are working with. I call these “Comedy Field Trips”! Sometimes I’ll bring close friends of mine as well to enjoy the comedy show, and if possible, make a fun trip out of it to include the local sites of the destination and possibly get a round of golf in pre or post show. Yes, the phrase “I’m working!” sounds hard to swallow as you’re reading this, but I can’t help that there are many perks to my job, and as Taylor Swift says “Haters gonna hate, hate, hate…”, or however that song goes?! 😉

Upon graduating college and before starting Summit Comedy, I worked with the now defunct comedy agency Creative Entertainment. In my first month of being hired, the company’s owner, Brad Greenberg, said to me, “On Saturday, you and I are driving to Atlanta to go meet with a new club client we are working with.” This was indeed my first comedy field trip.

Saturday came & we were off to Atlanta, GA! Brad, was on the phone the entire time making business calls on his big Motorola flip phone like the one pictured below. I drove, he made calls….one after another. I was in full learning mode listening to him make and negotiate comedy deals. I learned a lot from this man and still appreciate the fact that he took a chance on me.

This trip had 2 objectives. One was to meet up with the very talented guitarist (Gibb Droll) who was apparently a family friend of Brad’s who he wanted to meet up and possibly chat about representation. Even though he owned a comedy agency, Brad was always looking outside the box on how to make more money in the entertainment market. He was apparently in the “Wrestling bear” and “Chippendale” business before striking gold in the 80s during the comedy boom. The second objective was to go visit the new venue they were booking comedy for.

After our dinner with Gibb Droll, we had to shuffle over to the venue. We drive up to a building that had a marquee saying “ALL NUDE DANCERS” in big letters and underneath in small print saying “& free comedy”. Yes people, comedy at a strip club. This doesn’t say a lot for the establishment if you have to offer comedy as a second form of entertainment for a gentleman’s club?! It was a one comedian format designed to have comedy sets during the “breaks” of the dancers. That comedian was Billy Gardell. If you’re not familiar with Billy, many moons later he had a big hit on the CBS show “Mike & Molly”. Not too long ago I was watching late night TV and saw Billy discussing working up the ranks of the comedy business and Conan O’Brien asked him about the “toughest gig he ever had”….

I literally laughed out loud watching this. Also, he mentioned in this clip that it was approximately 1990. My story was actually in 1995, so either he was off on his year, or he worked a LOT of strip clubs early in his career and many other agents have this exact same story. Haha. I’ve only met Billy twice early on in my career, but I can’t wait until our paths cross again to tell him this story personally regarding my first ever comedy field trip. This business is a crazy roller coaster ride full of “comedy field trips”.

-Chuck Johnson
President; Summit Comedy, Inc.
www.summitcomedy.com
800.947.0651

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Chris Monty

summitcomedy — Mon, 30 Jan 2017 09:43:19 +0000

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Bill Boronkay

summitcomedy — Sun, 29 Jan 2017 10:24:30 +0000

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