September 1, 2023 • 5 mins
Rob Little has a very enviable work calendar. As a cruise ship comedian with over 200 outings to his credit, Rob has seen places and ports most of us only dream of. But life aboard the ship isn't all laughter and sunshine. Find out more about his set here (http://www.roblittle.com/)
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:03):
Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of iHeartRadio, Hey Listeners.
The following is a bite sized version of an episode
of On the Job, a podcast from Express Employment Professionals
that shares the experiences of everyday Americans finding their life's work.
These clips can be humorous and heartwarming, sometimes both at
(00:26):
the same time, and they're always insightful.
Speaker 2 (00:29):
Enjoy.
Speaker 3 (00:31):
My favorite port is the Galveston, Texas Port. It's always
a good time with those people. If Texas are by
fire the most fun people.
Speaker 4 (00:40):
That's Rob Little. He's a stand up comedian and somewhat miraculously,
he's been doing comedy professionally for a whopping twenty five years,
and one of the main keys to rob success is
that he is tapped into a lucrative gig that not
only keeps him employed, but allows him to live a
life that most of us can only dream of, or
(01:00):
at the very least save up for all year to
live for just a few days, because one of Rob's
main gigs is to perform his sets on cruise ships.
But before we go aboard, let's take a look back
at the meandering road that eventually led Rob down to port.
Speaker 2 (01:20):
My hometown is ping County, Michigan, where the cheese capital
of Michigan. Everybody's like, I thought it was Wisconsin. I'm like, oh, Michigan,
I said.
Speaker 4 (01:29):
And while a dairytown in the upper Midwest might seem
like an unlikely place to begin a life in comedy,
Rob's Michigan roots play heavily into his eventual success, and
it all started, as he remembers, on a family vacation
to Michigan's Mackinaw Island.
Speaker 3 (01:45):
My parents were watching HBO late at night. They thought
we were asleep, and they were watching George Carland, and
I just remember them laughing so hard that I was like,
that's what I want to do when I grow up.
Speaker 4 (01:56):
He knew then and there, while eavesdropping on his parents' laughter,
that he wanted to be a stand up comedian. But
as committed to this life plan as Rob was, he
still got that Midwestern pragmatism, so he understood that this
was a dream that would take some time to realize,
which meant that he'd have to take some other jobs
in the meanwhile to pay the bills.
Speaker 2 (02:18):
I worked at McDonald's. Old people are rough on you
in the morning now if they don't get their senior Coffee,
they're pulling their teeth out.
Speaker 4 (02:27):
Many people believe that to make a dream come true,
you first have to manifest it. We're told to say
our life goal is out loud or write them down.
Speaker 2 (02:36):
And even in my senior book, when you're graduating, we
had to make predictions. And my prediction was, I may
go to college, get my computer degree, and then I'm
going to be the best comedian I can be. My
first job out of college, I was worked for GM
and then I worked at kmart headquarters and I did
kmart dot com.
Speaker 4 (02:54):
And with steady money coming in from computer programming, Rob
moved to Detroit to actively pursue comedy.
Speaker 3 (03:01):
And I was at a bar one night and I
saw these passes in the window and it was for
an open mic night, and I was like what.
Speaker 2 (03:07):
I grabbed all the passes and I went up to
the bartender.
Speaker 3 (03:10):
I goes, there's a comedy club and he's like, right there,
it's literally connected to the building.
Speaker 2 (03:15):
I'm like what. I ended up living at that club.
Speaker 3 (03:18):
After that, I sent out a company wide email telling
people they should quit their jobs and follow their dreams.
Speaker 2 (03:27):
And I'm going to be a stand up comedian. Here's
my website.
Speaker 3 (03:30):
They wouldn't let me quit my IBM boss, let me
take a leave of absence. And the week after he
did that, the Detroit Free Press named me Michigan's best
up and coming comedian. And I sent him that and
he goes, oh, you're not coming back, are you? I goes,
I wasn't coming back if they made me worse up
and coming comedians.
Speaker 4 (03:49):
So and from there Rob was off to the races.
And then one day his agent suggested he apply for
cruise and Rob thought, cruise.
Speaker 3 (04:02):
Ships it wasn't even on my radar. I just love it.
I literally just passed twenty five years to I've been
doing it.
Speaker 4 (04:10):
Congrats. Wow.
Speaker 2 (04:11):
Thanks.
Speaker 4 (04:13):
So, the next time you're on a cruise and you
want to laugh and also see a guy living out
his dreams, a dream that he came up with way
back when he was five years old, just look for
the bald white guy, or better yet, check out Rob's
itinerary and tour dates on his website roblittle dot com.
(04:33):
When's your next cruise ship out?
Speaker 2 (04:37):
I actually go on one next week on a celebrity cruise.
Speaker 4 (04:40):
And you have no clue where you're going.
Speaker 2 (04:44):
Now that you say that I don't.
Speaker 4 (04:49):
From the job. I'm Avery Thompson. A strong work ethic,
takes pride in a job well done.
Speaker 2 (05:06):
This is the kind of person you need.
Speaker 4 (05:08):
Express Employment professionals can help because, in good times or bad,
we understand how critical it is to manage.
Speaker 2 (05:15):
Your business for today with the right workforce.
Speaker 4 (05:19):
We offer hiring solutions to fit changing demands. Express those jobs.
Speaker 2 (05:24):
Get to know Express. Go to expresspros dot com to
find a location near you.
Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of iHeartRadio, Hey Listeners.
The following is a bite sized version of an episode
of On the Job, a podcast from Express Employment Professionals
that shares the experiences of everyday Americans finding their life's work.
These clips can be humorous and heartwarming, sometimes both at
(00:26):
the same time, and they're always insightful.
Speaker 2 (00:29):
Enjoy.
Speaker 3 (00:31):
My favorite port is the Galveston, Texas Port. It's always
a good time with those people. If Texas are by
fire the most fun people.
Speaker 4 (00:40):
That's Rob Little. He's a stand up comedian and somewhat miraculously,
he's been doing comedy professionally for a whopping twenty five years,
and one of the main keys to rob success is
that he is tapped into a lucrative gig that not
only keeps him employed, but allows him to live a
life that most of us can only dream of, or
(01:00):
at the very least save up for all year to
live for just a few days, because one of Rob's
main gigs is to perform his sets on cruise ships.
But before we go aboard, let's take a look back
at the meandering road that eventually led Rob down to port.
Speaker 2 (01:20):
My hometown is ping County, Michigan, where the cheese capital
of Michigan. Everybody's like, I thought it was Wisconsin. I'm like, oh, Michigan,
I said.
Speaker 4 (01:29):
And while a dairytown in the upper Midwest might seem
like an unlikely place to begin a life in comedy,
Rob's Michigan roots play heavily into his eventual success, and
it all started, as he remembers, on a family vacation
to Michigan's Mackinaw Island.
Speaker 3 (01:45):
My parents were watching HBO late at night. They thought
we were asleep, and they were watching George Carland, and
I just remember them laughing so hard that I was like,
that's what I want to do when I grow up.
Speaker 4 (01:56):
He knew then and there, while eavesdropping on his parents' laughter,
that he wanted to be a stand up comedian. But
as committed to this life plan as Rob was, he
still got that Midwestern pragmatism, so he understood that this
was a dream that would take some time to realize,
which meant that he'd have to take some other jobs
in the meanwhile to pay the bills.
Speaker 2 (02:18):
I worked at McDonald's. Old people are rough on you
in the morning now if they don't get their senior Coffee,
they're pulling their teeth out.
Speaker 4 (02:27):
Many people believe that to make a dream come true,
you first have to manifest it. We're told to say
our life goal is out loud or write them down.
Speaker 2 (02:36):
And even in my senior book, when you're graduating, we
had to make predictions. And my prediction was, I may
go to college, get my computer degree, and then I'm
going to be the best comedian I can be. My
first job out of college, I was worked for GM
and then I worked at kmart headquarters and I did
kmart dot com.
Speaker 4 (02:54):
And with steady money coming in from computer programming, Rob
moved to Detroit to actively pursue comedy.
Speaker 3 (03:01):
And I was at a bar one night and I
saw these passes in the window and it was for
an open mic night, and I was like what.
Speaker 2 (03:07):
I grabbed all the passes and I went up to
the bartender.
Speaker 3 (03:10):
I goes, there's a comedy club and he's like, right there,
it's literally connected to the building.
Speaker 2 (03:15):
I'm like what. I ended up living at that club.
Speaker 3 (03:18):
After that, I sent out a company wide email telling
people they should quit their jobs and follow their dreams.
Speaker 2 (03:27):
And I'm going to be a stand up comedian. Here's
my website.
Speaker 3 (03:30):
They wouldn't let me quit my IBM boss, let me
take a leave of absence. And the week after he
did that, the Detroit Free Press named me Michigan's best
up and coming comedian. And I sent him that and
he goes, oh, you're not coming back, are you? I goes,
I wasn't coming back if they made me worse up
and coming comedians.
Speaker 4 (03:49):
So and from there Rob was off to the races.
And then one day his agent suggested he apply for
cruise and Rob thought, cruise.
Speaker 3 (04:02):
Ships it wasn't even on my radar. I just love it.
I literally just passed twenty five years to I've been
doing it.
Speaker 4 (04:10):
Congrats. Wow.
Speaker 2 (04:11):
Thanks.
Speaker 4 (04:13):
So, the next time you're on a cruise and you
want to laugh and also see a guy living out
his dreams, a dream that he came up with way
back when he was five years old, just look for
the bald white guy, or better yet, check out Rob's
itinerary and tour dates on his website roblittle dot com.
(04:33):
When's your next cruise ship out?
Speaker 2 (04:37):
I actually go on one next week on a celebrity cruise.
Speaker 4 (04:40):
And you have no clue where you're going.
Speaker 2 (04:44):
Now that you say that I don't.
Speaker 4 (04:49):
From the job. I'm Avery Thompson. A strong work ethic,
takes pride in a job well done.
Speaker 2 (05:06):
This is the kind of person you need.
Speaker 4 (05:08):
Express Employment professionals can help because, in good times or bad,
we understand how critical it is to manage.
Speaker 2 (05:15):
Your business for today with the right workforce.
Speaker 4 (05:19):
We offer hiring solutions to fit changing demands. Express those jobs.
Speaker 2 (05:24):
Get to know Express. Go to expresspros dot com to
find a location near you.
Before Breakfast News
Host
Laura Vanderkam
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