Dick Hardwick Brings Music, Comedy to South OC

When Dick Hardwick moved to Southern California—from Indiana, through New Orleans—in 1978, he was a talented musician who was pretty funny, but with no material or act he had no idea what the future had in store for him.

It wasn’t until Disneyland hired him that his future as a comedian started to take shape.

These days, Hardwick, who lives in Fullerton, is one of the most sought-after, hardest-working entertainers in the world of comedy. And following a recent four-day stint in Seattle, Hardwick will be appearing tonight at The Hills Hotel in Laguna Hills, 25205 La Paz Road.

Doors will open at 6:30 p.m. for the 8 p.m. show. The cost is $10 per person, no drink minimum.

“To tell you the truth, I’d rather be playing music than getting the laughs,” Hardwick said. “(Tonight) I’ll be playing the drums, but it’s all wrapped around comedy. I’ll be playing the guitar, the juice harp, the harmonica…a little bit of everything. And if my wife comes with me she might sing a song or something.”

The oldest of five children, Hardwick grew up in Greencastle, Ind., but at age 18 he and some buddies took a trip to New Orleans, where they discovered a sound called Dixieland and listened to the legendary Pete Fountain for the first time. It turned out to be a trip that would change his life.

Following a short stint at the Conservatory of Music in Cincinnati, nine months at the Delta Queen in New Orleans, and performances from St. Louis to Lake Tahoe to the Carolinas, Hardwick ended up in California playing drums with comedian Jerry Van Dyke. He then took a job at Disneyland, where he worked for the next 10 years.

One of the first shows he participated in was called the Yahoo Revue, in which he played Bluegrass music using a washboard. But whenever there was a dead hole during the performance, Hardwick would plug it with something funny. Management was impressed enough that they asked him to intern for the Golden Horseshoe Revue.

From there Hardwick played five shows, three days a week, and after eight years he found himself in the Guinness Book of World Records under the "longest run" for a live theatrical presentation.

By the time the Revue finally ended, it had been seen by more than 16-million people.

“I learned timing and how to deal with someone who jumps on the stage in the middle of the performance,” said Hardwick, who met his wife, who was a can-can dancer at the Golden Horseshoe, of nearly 30 years there. “I’ve never gotten a huge break, although I’ve had breaks throughout my life. But it was a great experience.”

What makes Hardwick different from most comedians these days is his “clean” brand of humor. He never utters a dirty four-letter word. That has made him one of the most desired comedians in Corporate America, performing at hundreds of business meeting and conferences throughout the country, as well as in Iraq, where he has performed twice before U.S. troops.

“It seems like the pendulum has swung so far to the other side that you have to out f-bomb somebody or be so outrageously gross or deliberately mean to get laughs in comedy clubs, which today are no longer about being funny but having an attitude,” Hardwick said. “The people who work at comedy clubs are hoping that somebody is going to find them and put them on a TV show. They don’t have to be funny. They just have to have a look, a weird look, or shock people.

“So it’s a thin narrow path that I’ve carved out for myself. There are not many people in that path so it’s produced for me.”

As far as life in South Orange County, Hardwick had this one-liner.

“With plastic surgery in Orange County, you can’t tell if the person was ugly or not. You have to look at their kids.”