May 30, 2023 • 11 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. You can find out more about his comedy stylings here (http://www.roblittle.com/).
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
My favorite port is the Galveston, Texas Port. It's always
a good time with those people. If Texas are by
far the most fun people.
Speaker 2 (00:09):
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
(00:29):
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 1 (00:49):
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 2 (00:58):
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 1 (01:14):
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 2 (01:25):
As wild as it may sound, to have your life
plan decided by the age of five, that's exactly what
happened for Rob. He knew then and there, while evesdropping
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
(01:45):
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 1 (01:54):
I worked at McDonald's and I won three national awards
when I worked there, and I won mister Mcopener, mister mcsmile,
and then the big one was mister mcservice. And I
got to do a real commercial on TV and a
photo layout and it was ridiculous.
Speaker 2 (02:11):
What's mister Mcopener.
Speaker 1 (02:14):
It's just not like I was the first one there
in the morning. But old people are rough on you
in the morning. Man. If they don't get their senior coffee,
they're pulling their teeth out.
Speaker 2 (02:24):
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 1 (02:33):
And even in my senior book, when you're graduating, we
had to make predictions. And my prediction was I might
go to college, get my computer degree, and then I'm
going to be the best comedian I can be.
Speaker 2 (02:42):
So is it any wonder then that Rob did go
off to college and get his computer programming degree, of
course not, because Rob's got that farm boy work ethic
matched with an unwavering dedication to his ultimate plan. And
the next step in that plan was to put that
programming degree to work earn a little money until he
(03:03):
figured out this whole comedy thing.
Speaker 1 (03:05):
My first time about of college, I was worked for
GM and then I worked at kmart headquarters and I
did kmart dot com.
Speaker 2 (03:12):
And with steady money coming in from computer programming, Rob
moved to Detroit to actively pursue comedy.
Speaker 1 (03:19):
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. I
grabbed all the passes and I went up to the bartender.
I goes, there's a comedy club and he's like, right there,
it's literally connected to the building. I was like what.
I ended up living at that club after that.
Speaker 2 (03:38):
So that farm boy work ethic that made Rob an
award winner at Mickey D's and an in demand website
builder now focused itself on comedy stand up became Rob's life.
But all you math whiz is out there know that
you can't devote yourself one hundred percent to multiple things,
which meant something had to give.
Speaker 1 (04:00):
And I became the worst computer programmer any of the
companies gonna have. I was making all this money, but
I was the worst employee.
Speaker 2 (04:08):
But as Rob started to book himself for bigger and
bigger events, he just couldn't be bothered to show up
at the office anymore. So, while working for IBM, he
decided enough was enough. It was time to fulfill that
life plan he'd formulated at five years old and committed
to history in his high school yearbook.
Speaker 1 (04:26):
I sent out a company why email telling people they
should quit their jobs and follow their dreams. And I'm
going to be a stand up comedian. Here's my website.
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
(04:48):
he goes, oh, you're not coming back, are you? I goes,
I wasn't coming back, and they made me worse up
and coming comedian.
Speaker 2 (04:58):
And from there Rob was off to the races. He
threw himself completely into comedy, and once again being in
Michigan played a big part in realizing his dreams.
Speaker 1 (05:09):
Within a four hour radius, I could hit fifty clubs.
Speaker 2 (05:11):
Probably eventually, though Rob had exhausted that circuit. So he
gave La a shot, didn't love it, gave New York
a try, really didn't like that. And then one day
his agent suggested he apply for cruise ships. And Rob thought,
cruise ships.
Speaker 1 (05:28):
It wasn't even on my radar. And he said, hey,
why don't you come out in audition for these? And
I was like, okay, And when I did, a man
like instantly all the cruise lines were like, Yeah, we'll
take them.
Speaker 2 (05:43):
When we come back from the break. We set sail
with Rob Little.
Speaker 3 (05:55):
A strong work ethic, takes pride in a job well done.
This is the kind of person you need. Express Employment
professionals can help because in good times or bad, we
understand how critical it is to manage your business for
today with the right workforce. We offer hiring solutions to
fit changing demands. Express knows Jobs. Get to know Express.
(06:20):
Go to expresspros dot com to find a location near you.
Speaker 2 (06:26):
We're back with comedian Rob Little, who, after a successful
few years of performing on dry land, has just booked
his first gig aboard cruise ships.
Speaker 1 (06:35):
And the only difference is we have to do family
friendly shows on there, so you'll have little kids right
in the front row. And a lot of comics get
caught up by that. They get tripped up by it,
and they worry more about the kids. And it isn't
about the kids. They're gonna laugh if they see their
parents laughing.
Speaker 2 (06:54):
And even with the adults in the audience. For many
of them, stand up comedy is not something they do
in everyday life. But on a cruise, all bets are off.
They'll drink a few my ties, hit the buffet, then
play a little shuffle board. So what the heck, why
not check out this stand up comedy guy.
Speaker 1 (07:12):
People come right up and go, we don't normally go
to shows, and then they're like, we need to do
this more often. This was a good time, and they'll
come back to every one of your shows.
Speaker 2 (07:22):
Rob's quickly learned that these cruise gigs are pretty ideal
for a comedian because comedy has become big business on cruises.
Most of the ships have large regal theaters, and if
a comedian does well, their subsequent shows will often sell out.
As hype circulates around the ship.
Speaker 1 (07:40):
People are like, oh my god, you gotta go see
which one the bald one? You gotta see It's always
the bald, white, chubby guy or whatever they say, you know.
Speaker 2 (07:48):
And for those few days aboard the ship, a comedian
can become a bit of a celebrity.
Speaker 1 (07:53):
You like, you'd be walking around the ship and they're
like a rat, you know, and then come join as
you know, next thing you know, you're drinking, you're in
them and stuff like that.
Speaker 2 (08:02):
Well, comedians would normally have to travel from one city
to the next to perform. Cruises offer consistent work and
a steady lucrative paycheck.
Speaker 1 (08:11):
I mean, financially, I make more than I even did IBM,
So it's definitely worked out in the long run for sure.
Speaker 2 (08:17):
And with all the cruises out there now, a comedian
can really line up in gigs.
Speaker 1 (08:22):
And this week coming up, I'll be doing my two
hundred and third cruise.
Speaker 2 (08:26):
Oh my gosh.
Speaker 1 (08:27):
Yeah. I keep track of them all night, keeople, like
a little diary of them.
Speaker 2 (08:30):
That's incredible. But of course, a job is still a job,
and like any job, it has its pitfalls.
Speaker 1 (08:39):
A lot of people think we only work one hour
a night, and that's so not true. That's the easiest
part of our job is going on stage. The rest
of the stuff we're online. We're too kick booking gigs,
or we're doing research on jokes, or we're making flyers,
we're promoting, we're doing all this other stuff.
Speaker 2 (08:55):
And despite working a boarder ship packed with people, the
job can be surprisedly lonely.
Speaker 1 (09:01):
You're surrounded by people that are on their vacation, but
you're not on vacation. You're working. People will say that too.
You're like, oh, man, you know, I'm not having a
great day. I'm kind of bummed out. I'm stuck on
the ship and people are like, oh, poor you, and
I'm like, you have no idea, man, I didn't choose
(09:22):
a vacation by myself.
Speaker 2 (09:24):
It's even worse around the holidays.
Speaker 1 (09:27):
I did a Thanksgiving one time. Oh my god. It
was like stabbing me in the heart. They're like, this
ain't a Thanksgiving. This is this is a prison. Is
what this is? You know. It's hard to say that
to people because they just say, oh, oh, you're in
Saint Martin. I'm like, yeah.
Speaker 2 (09:47):
But in spite of the occasional workplace challenges, which let's
face it, every single job has, Rob Little realizes that
he did it. He freaking made his dreams come true.
Speaker 1 (10:02):
I just love it. I literally just passed twenty five
years so I've been doing it.
Speaker 2 (10:06):
Congrats. Wow.
Speaker 1 (10:07):
Thanks, that's a.
Speaker 2 (10:08):
Pretty long career in comedy now.
Speaker 1 (10:11):
Yeah, I think so.
Speaker 2 (10:14):
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.
(10:35):
When's your next cruise ship out?
Speaker 1 (10:38):
I actually go on one next week on a celebrity cruise.
And you have no clue where you're going, now that
you say that, I don't
Speaker 2 (10:50):
From the job, I'm Avery Thompson.
My favorite port is the Galveston, Texas Port. It's always
a good time with those people. If Texas are by
far the most fun people.
Speaker 2 (00:09):
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
(00:29):
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 1 (00:49):
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 2 (00:58):
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 1 (01:14):
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 2 (01:25):
As wild as it may sound, to have your life
plan decided by the age of five, that's exactly what
happened for Rob. He knew then and there, while evesdropping
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
(01:45):
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 1 (01:54):
I worked at McDonald's and I won three national awards
when I worked there, and I won mister Mcopener, mister mcsmile,
and then the big one was mister mcservice. And I
got to do a real commercial on TV and a
photo layout and it was ridiculous.
Speaker 2 (02:11):
What's mister Mcopener.
Speaker 1 (02:14):
It's just not like I was the first one there
in the morning. But old people are rough on you
in the morning. Man. If they don't get their senior coffee,
they're pulling their teeth out.
Speaker 2 (02:24):
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 1 (02:33):
And even in my senior book, when you're graduating, we
had to make predictions. And my prediction was I might
go to college, get my computer degree, and then I'm
going to be the best comedian I can be.
Speaker 2 (02:42):
So is it any wonder then that Rob did go
off to college and get his computer programming degree, of
course not, because Rob's got that farm boy work ethic
matched with an unwavering dedication to his ultimate plan. And
the next step in that plan was to put that
programming degree to work earn a little money until he
(03:03):
figured out this whole comedy thing.
Speaker 1 (03:05):
My first time about of college, I was worked for
GM and then I worked at kmart headquarters and I
did kmart dot com.
Speaker 2 (03:12):
And with steady money coming in from computer programming, Rob
moved to Detroit to actively pursue comedy.
Speaker 1 (03:19):
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. I
grabbed all the passes and I went up to the bartender.
I goes, there's a comedy club and he's like, right there,
it's literally connected to the building. I was like what.
I ended up living at that club after that.
Speaker 2 (03:38):
So that farm boy work ethic that made Rob an
award winner at Mickey D's and an in demand website
builder now focused itself on comedy stand up became Rob's life.
But all you math whiz is out there know that
you can't devote yourself one hundred percent to multiple things,
which meant something had to give.
Speaker 1 (04:00):
And I became the worst computer programmer any of the
companies gonna have. I was making all this money, but
I was the worst employee.
Speaker 2 (04:08):
But as Rob started to book himself for bigger and
bigger events, he just couldn't be bothered to show up
at the office anymore. So, while working for IBM, he
decided enough was enough. It was time to fulfill that
life plan he'd formulated at five years old and committed
to history in his high school yearbook.
Speaker 1 (04:26):
I sent out a company why email telling people they
should quit their jobs and follow their dreams. And I'm
going to be a stand up comedian. Here's my website.
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
(04:48):
he goes, oh, you're not coming back, are you? I goes,
I wasn't coming back, and they made me worse up
and coming comedian.
Speaker 2 (04:58):
And from there Rob was off to the races. He
threw himself completely into comedy, and once again being in
Michigan played a big part in realizing his dreams.
Speaker 1 (05:09):
Within a four hour radius, I could hit fifty clubs.
Speaker 2 (05:11):
Probably eventually, though Rob had exhausted that circuit. So he
gave La a shot, didn't love it, gave New York
a try, really didn't like that. And then one day
his agent suggested he apply for cruise ships. And Rob thought,
cruise ships.
Speaker 1 (05:28):
It wasn't even on my radar. And he said, hey,
why don't you come out in audition for these? And
I was like, okay, And when I did, a man
like instantly all the cruise lines were like, Yeah, we'll
take them.
Speaker 2 (05:43):
When we come back from the break. We set sail
with Rob Little.
Speaker 3 (05:55):
A strong work ethic, takes pride in a job well done.
This is the kind of person you need. Express Employment
professionals can help because in good times or bad, we
understand how critical it is to manage your business for
today with the right workforce. We offer hiring solutions to
fit changing demands. Express knows Jobs. Get to know Express.
(06:20):
Go to expresspros dot com to find a location near you.
Speaker 2 (06:26):
We're back with comedian Rob Little, who, after a successful
few years of performing on dry land, has just booked
his first gig aboard cruise ships.
Speaker 1 (06:35):
And the only difference is we have to do family
friendly shows on there, so you'll have little kids right
in the front row. And a lot of comics get
caught up by that. They get tripped up by it,
and they worry more about the kids. And it isn't
about the kids. They're gonna laugh if they see their
parents laughing.
Speaker 2 (06:54):
And even with the adults in the audience. For many
of them, stand up comedy is not something they do
in everyday life. But on a cruise, all bets are off.
They'll drink a few my ties, hit the buffet, then
play a little shuffle board. So what the heck, why
not check out this stand up comedy guy.
Speaker 1 (07:12):
People come right up and go, we don't normally go
to shows, and then they're like, we need to do
this more often. This was a good time, and they'll
come back to every one of your shows.
Speaker 2 (07:22):
Rob's quickly learned that these cruise gigs are pretty ideal
for a comedian because comedy has become big business on cruises.
Most of the ships have large regal theaters, and if
a comedian does well, their subsequent shows will often sell out.
As hype circulates around the ship.
Speaker 1 (07:40):
People are like, oh my god, you gotta go see
which one the bald one? You gotta see It's always
the bald, white, chubby guy or whatever they say, you know.
Speaker 2 (07:48):
And for those few days aboard the ship, a comedian
can become a bit of a celebrity.
Speaker 1 (07:53):
You like, you'd be walking around the ship and they're
like a rat, you know, and then come join as
you know, next thing you know, you're drinking, you're in
them and stuff like that.
Speaker 2 (08:02):
Well, comedians would normally have to travel from one city
to the next to perform. Cruises offer consistent work and
a steady lucrative paycheck.
Speaker 1 (08:11):
I mean, financially, I make more than I even did IBM,
So it's definitely worked out in the long run for sure.
Speaker 2 (08:17):
And with all the cruises out there now, a comedian
can really line up in gigs.
Speaker 1 (08:22):
And this week coming up, I'll be doing my two
hundred and third cruise.
Speaker 2 (08:26):
Oh my gosh.
Speaker 1 (08:27):
Yeah. I keep track of them all night, keeople, like
a little diary of them.
Speaker 2 (08:30):
That's incredible. But of course, a job is still a job,
and like any job, it has its pitfalls.
Speaker 1 (08:39):
A lot of people think we only work one hour
a night, and that's so not true. That's the easiest
part of our job is going on stage. The rest
of the stuff we're online. We're too kick booking gigs,
or we're doing research on jokes, or we're making flyers,
we're promoting, we're doing all this other stuff.
Speaker 2 (08:55):
And despite working a boarder ship packed with people, the
job can be surprisedly lonely.
Speaker 1 (09:01):
You're surrounded by people that are on their vacation, but
you're not on vacation. You're working. People will say that too.
You're like, oh, man, you know, I'm not having a
great day. I'm kind of bummed out. I'm stuck on
the ship and people are like, oh, poor you, and
I'm like, you have no idea, man, I didn't choose
(09:22):
a vacation by myself.
Speaker 2 (09:24):
It's even worse around the holidays.
Speaker 1 (09:27):
I did a Thanksgiving one time. Oh my god. It
was like stabbing me in the heart. They're like, this
ain't a Thanksgiving. This is this is a prison. Is
what this is? You know. It's hard to say that
to people because they just say, oh, oh, you're in
Saint Martin. I'm like, yeah.
Speaker 2 (09:47):
But in spite of the occasional workplace challenges, which let's
face it, every single job has, Rob Little realizes that
he did it. He freaking made his dreams come true.
Speaker 1 (10:02):
I just love it. I literally just passed twenty five
years so I've been doing it.
Speaker 2 (10:06):
Congrats. Wow.
Speaker 1 (10:07):
Thanks, that's a.
Speaker 2 (10:08):
Pretty long career in comedy now.
Speaker 1 (10:11):
Yeah, I think so.
Speaker 2 (10:14):
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.
(10:35):
When's your next cruise ship out?
Speaker 1 (10:38):
I actually go on one next week on a celebrity cruise.
And you have no clue where you're going, now that
you say that, I don't
Speaker 2 (10:50):
From the job, I'm Avery Thompson.
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