(April 12, 2013) The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has found that suicide is the third-leading cause of death among people ages 10 and 24, resulting in the loss of approximately 4,600 lives each year.
Pretty scary statistics, especially to parents of children who fall within that age range.
In 2007, local comedian Dave “The Fruit Guy” Miller and Kelley Green, who lost a son to suicide, introduced the Suicide Prevention Comedy Tour as a way to increase awareness of the need for youth suicide prevention.
“[Suicide] used to no be spoken of. [The Comedy Tour] is a way to get the word out that’s not so scary,” Green said. “We use comedy to break the scariness [of the subject] and increase awareness. Suicide is the No. 2 killer of high-school aged kids and it’s 100 percent preventable.”
The sixth annual comedy show, presented for the first time by the Ocean City Parrothead Club, is scheduled for Thursday, April 18, in Morley Hall at Seacrets on 49th Street in Ocean City. Doors will open at 7 p.m.
Headlining the event will be Bonnie McFarlane, who has appeared on “The Late, Late Show with Craig Kilborn,” the “Late Show with David Letterman” and “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno,” and was also a regular on “Tough Crowd with Colin Quinn.”
She also had roles in a number of pilots and television shows, including Gross Pointe, Scare Tactics and The Drew Carey Show. She has written for various television shows including The Man Show, Spy TV and Trigger Happy. McFarlane participated in the second season of NBC’s Last Comic Standing and became one of the show’s standout characters.
McFarlane continues to pursue stand-up, writing and acting, and she has created several multimedia stage shows, including The Fake, Fake Show starring Zach Galifinakis.
Also on the bill are comedians Keith Purnell, Ryan Dacalos and Bobby Masi.
The evening’s festivities, which also include a silent auction and 50/50 raffle, will be hosted by Miller. Lower Case Blues, with Bill Todd, will also perform.
Proceeds from the comedy show will be earmarked for the local childrens’ chari-
ties and organizations.
Patty and Todd Dundore are the OCPHC chairs for the sixth annual Suicide Prevention Comedy Tour.
“Parrotheads love to party with a purpose…As [the club] did not host the Mardi Gras this year, this is a great opportunity to increase our contribution funds. We have many local charities that we support throughout the year that will benefit from this fundraiser,” Patty Dundore said. “I am amazed and saddened to learn of how many lives are affected by suicide, even here on our beautiful Eastern Shore. As we are going around requesting either silent auction items or sponsorships, it seems everyone has been affected by some-
one that saw no other way than to end their own life. So sad. We need awareness and prevention.”
Tickets cost $20 in advance and are available at Seacrets or by calling 410-352-2020. Tickets will cost $25 at the door. The show will feature “adult comedy” so guests must be 21.
