Barry Crimmins

Biography

Barry Crimmins is considered one of the founders of the Boston Comedy scene, thanks to establishing one of the first comedy rooms at Cambridge’s Ding Ho Chinese Restaurant. With Crimmins’ generous nature and willingness to let people experiment on stage, the Ding Ho became the birthplace of many of the lauded performers of the first comedy boom including Steven Wright, Paula Poundstone, Lenny Clarke, Kevin Meaney and Denis Leary. In 1983 he would subsequently found the Stitches Comedy Club, which had a 10 year run in Boston.

While Crimmins found success in the comedy boom himself - appearing on HBO on one of their Young Comedians Special as well as shows like “Evening at the Improv” - he couldn’t simply entertain. He saw his comedy as a vehicle to speak out against injustice and societal inequities. The material may have made challenging for some audiences and TV in general, but it beloved him to comics. Crimmins is likely the textbook definition of a Comedians’ Comedian.

Crimmins also has become known as an advocate against Child Pornography. Due to his willingness to discuss being raped as a child, along with his formidable presence, Crimmins was brought to testify on the subject before the Senate Judiciary Committee in 1995. His testimony forced American OnLine to take a zero tolerance policy on the child pornography trading that was going on its service.

In 2015, Crimmins began receiving much-deserved attention as the subject of Bobcat Goldthwait’s documentary “Call Me Lucky.” After premiering at the Sundance film festival, the documentary received fantastic reviews.

2016 saw Crimmins get his first hour special. Louis CK produced the special and released it as a $5 digital download through his website.

Crimmins is the author of a book of essays entitled “Never Shake Hands With a War Criminal.” The book was published by the independent publisher Seven Stories Press. He was also a long time contributor to the Boston Phoenix.