Ron Shock

Ron Shock
Born	Howard Ronald Shock (1942-10-19)October 19, 1942 Houston, Texas
Died	May 17, 2012(2012-05-17) (aged 69) Las Vegas, Nevada
Nationality	American
Occupation	Comedian
Years active	1982–2012

Howard Ronald "Ron" Shock (October 19, 1942 – May 17, 2012) was an American comedian and storyteller who is best known for his reenactments of stories that he got out of newspapers. He died Thursday, May 17, 2012 at the age of 69 from complications due to urethral cancer.

Early life

Ron was born in Houston, Texas. According to his website biography, Shock has been "a many great things" throughout his childhood, including a student of the priesthood, member of a chain gang, jewel thief, prison inmate, vice-president of MacMillan Publishers, and an inventor with three patents in electronics. “One went on to become Quick Alert,” Shock said to Salt Lake City Weekly. “I sold it for $15,000, and the guy I sold it to made millions. In financial circles, I’m called an idiot.”

Career

Shock began his comedy career at age 40, playing the Improv in Los Angeles, a gig that ultimately helped lead to his Showtime special "Bad Gig Blues". But it was on one of those Improv shows that Shock got his big break on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson. “As I came offstage, a man stood up out of the audience and grabbed my hand and said, ‘I’m Jim McCauley, and I book The Tonight Show,’ Shock said in his laid-back Texas drawl. McCauley hadn’t actually seen the show because he and Shock wound up getting drunk together. “Jim says to me, ‘Are you gonna be funny?’ I said, ‘I’m gonna kill, Jim.’ So we drank some more and then went home.”

Shock formed the legendary Texas Outlaw Comics with his friends Riley Barber, Jimmy Pineapple, Andy Huggins, Steve Epstein and Bill Hicks. “There are about 60 people out there that claim to have been "Outlaws", but they’re lying,” said Shock, adding that the group is also often confused with Sam Kinison’s Outlaws of Comedy. “It got to the point where I don’t even use that as a résumé item.”

Shock's blend of stand-up comedy and storytelling, which he referred to as “comedy from a life fully lived”, made him a favorite at comedy clubs across the country as well as on such television shows as Comic Strip Live, Comedy on the Road and Showtime’s Bad Gig Blues. He toured 40 weeks per year and, at one point, was hitting Salt Lake City’s Comedy Circuit two to three times every 12 months.

Shock’s success culminated in a one-man show in San Francisco called The Storyteller. Billed as a “concert of stories,” it featured Shock backed by musicians Kenny Moore and Scotty May, who performed original music. “The show was critically acclaimed and sparsely attended,” said Shock.

Personal life

In 1998, Shock's wife, Ellen Harrington, was in a devastating car accident, and Shock had to briefly quit his comedy career to care for her. After Harrington's death in 2000, Shock moved to Las Vegas, where he played poker, resumed his career onstage and created his own website, RonShock.com. “The feeling I had when I first walked back onto a stage,” said Shock, “was how glad I was to be there. It’s more than what I do; it’s who I am.”

Shock then remarried and went back to touring 10 to 20 weeks per year, although the demand permitted him to be nearly as busy as he was in his heyday. Shock had done a reunion show with the Houston comics and headlined on the Las Vegas Strip on his 65th birthday. “Gotta love that!” Shock later quipped. In Oct 2011 Shock conducted a comprehensive audio interview with Music Life Radio about his life and career.

On December 14, 2011, Shock was diagnosed with urethral cancer, a rare, aggressive form of cancer that does not respond well to conventional treatment. According to an update from the Facebook profile of his daughter-in-law, on May 17th, 2012 Shock passed away peacefully from complications of his cancer. He went with his wife Rhonda by his side and while listening to one of his favorite songs.

External links

• Official Website
• Ron Shock at IMDb
• Obituary from the Las Vegas Sun