By Matt Robinson
Contributing Writer
CAMBRIDGE – During his days serving as a janitor in Cambridge’s city hall, Lenny Clarke may not have seen himself making it as a stand-up comedian.
However, it has been his willingness to do what is necessary that has served him so well as a comedian and in so many other aspects of his life.
“When I was a janitor working my way through college,” Clarke recalled, “people would encourage me to run for office!”
Political connections
Though he was not aware that at least not all of his apparent backers were serious, Clarke was willing to take on the challenge and entered a crowded field in the race for mayor of Cambridge.
“When I didn’t win, I was assigned to clean garbage trucks,” Clarke remarked, noting that he was not “promoted” to his former job until he promised not to run again.
Even though he might have stepped away from politics, Clarke’s political connections continued to come in handy.
“One day, I came home and my mother was crying,” the third of eight children remembered. “She explained that my father was out of insurance from his job…so I called Tip O’Neil!” O’Neil, a Cambridge native and career politician at both the state and federal level, famously served as Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives for a decade during the seventies and eighties.
After explaining to the legendary politician that the wait to be considered for the local veterans home was three years, Clarke promised to support the future Speaker of the House however he could.
“Five minutes later, [O’Neil] called back and told us my dad had been admitted to the veterans home the next day!” Clarke recalled, still brightening at the news. “I ended up working for him every time he ran.”
Later, when O’Neil held court on the Merv Griffin Show, Clarke once again asked him for a favor.
“I asked him to get me on Merv,” Clarke explained. “He said he wanted to see me perform and invited me to perform at his St. Patrick’s Day party.”
And though O’Neil introduced him to the politically-charged hall as “Larry Clarke,” Clarke quickly commanded the room and made an impression that may have launched his career.
Committing to comedy
“From there, I decided to work on comedy,” Clarke explained, recalling regular gigs at what was then known as The Springfield Street Saloon.
“I saw Steve Sweeney there,” Clarke said, citing another early influence who became a dear friend and staunch supporter, “and performed and got a standing ovation and I never looked back!”
After touring as part of the Leno and Clarke Expedition with fellow Massachusetts comic Jay Leno, Clarke came back to the Bay State. He wanted to try to build the scene here so that he and his fellow comics did not have to go to New York City or further afield just to make a living.
With the help of Sweeney, Barry Crimmins and his brother (now manager) Mike, Clarke turned the Springfield Street Saloon into the Ding Ho Chinese restaurant and launched the legendary Boston comedy wave of the 1980s there.
“I was nuts,” he suggested, “and that was where the nutty people were!”
Birthplace for many careers
From Bill Burr and Dane Cook to Paula Poundstone and Steven Wright, the Ding Ho became the birthplace of many of comedy’s most storied careers.
“We insisted that each show had new material.” Clarke noted, “and it pushed people to come up with new stuff all the time.”
The success of the club led to Clarke being offered a gig on WSBK-TV 38 where he would show horror movies and do comedy bits at the ad breaks.
“I loved TV,” he said, “mainly because they can’t throw anything at ya!”
And though he has since played to a sold-out crowd at Boston Garden and appeared in a wide range of television shows and movies, Clarke always holds a special place in his heart for the place that started him off.
“If I could do my life over,” he muses, “I’d be an F-1 driver, but if I could go back in time, I’d go back to the Ding Ho!”
Giving back
In addition to making people laugh, Clarke said he loves his job because it gives him the opportunity to give back to his community and to help other people.
As two of his sisters and many of his friends are dealing with multiple sclerosis, Clarke regularly participates in and performs at fundraising events that support research for the debilitating condition and has pushed himself to be part of their 150-mile bike rides year after year.
“As long as I don’t finish last, it’s good,” he reasoned, “but even if I did, it’s still good.”
He has even taken up skiing so he could participate in events for cystic fibrosis and is always up for anything that can support children, including emceeing events for Boston Children’s Hospital.
“My charity work is what made my parents the most proud of me,” he said, tearing up a bit. “It’s easy to write a check, but to donate your time, you got to prepare and be on time and stay to the end and be into it to make it work.”
As much as he gives for people in need, Clarke was also very much in need himself a while ago when he suffered a stroke in his Martha’s Vineyard home and had to be helicoptered to Mass General. And even though he temporarily lost his speech (and so his livelihood), Clarke is speaking out about health to anyone who will listen as even he realizes that it is no joke.
“A lot of people who have had strokes do not like to talk about it,” he observed, “but I talk about it because I want to help people.”
“I’m still bangin’ away,” the 70-year-old Clarke said proudly, “but I’m playing with house money, so people should go see me because they never know when it’s my last show.”
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