When Learie Joseph was a boy, the principal at his school told him he would be a fool when he grew up. "I cried so much because there were many other boys around, but now I wish he was here so I could tell him thanks. "Ah mean, come on, it has a whole lot of fools out here making money, go in Parliament..." he said with a grin.
In an interview with Joseph, 53, last Tuesday, it was almost impossible to be serious. That's because the comedian doesn't change when he steps off the stage. He remains the same in reality, always making someone happy and always laughing at himself. But beneath the comedian is a man who once was a street child for just over a year. Perhaps that's the reason Joseph does not like to see children unhappy. "I have a dream...My dream is to take every child off the street. I try to help people who cannot fend for themselves," Joseph said. So it was no surprise that the second favourite character Joseph enjoys portraying is a vagrant.
"I was there, so I know," he said with a hysterical laugh. Joseph and his brother, Ashton, suffered that fate after their mother left them. "She packed her things and asked us to help her pack. And so we did." After a face splitting grin, Joseph said at that time he was glad the stress had left. He said, "To add insult to injury the landlord came the next morning and said we had to leave, so they gave us one week." It was not the first time that she had left Joseph as he spent at least 13 years at an orphanage in Belmont. "They (the nuns) are the ones who have me the way I am. I am still grounded." Perhaps that's why the comedian said he didn't like being called a star or a celebrity. "People put you on a pedestal and then they can't reach you. I want to be down on the ground." Celebrating 30 years as an entertainer this year has not made him swell headed. Not even people screaming out his name in public, even when he slept at his former Maraval home, has given him a puffed up view of himself.
Washing cars for 50 cents
Though Joseph and Ashton lived on the streets, the comedian said they were happy. Joseph said he created a world of his own when he was frustrated.
"I was an unhappy child but I made myself happy." Joseph said, "We washed cars for 50 cents. In those days that was a lot of money." He recalled paying 25 cents to see a movie; "a coconut drop' cost just ten cents." Joseph had ambition and told his brother that they should look for jobs. "I was always a thinking person. I told Ashton that I needed an education. The thing with me is that I don't like failing." So, the two brothers got jobs at Farmhouse Baking Powder packing custard powder, among other things. Eventually, they rented an apartment in St Augustine for $39 a fortnight.
"That was tough," Learie said with a laugh.
Soon enough, Joseph began studying accounts, economics and English, among others, for the General Certificate of Education (GCE) exams. The well-spoken comedian gained five subjects. "In those days passing GCE was like a degree," he said. Joseph forged ahead and sent money abroad to get course information from Bennett College, London. He studied the course content here in Trinidad. Joseph worked at a variety of places after Farmhouse, including the cafeteria at the University of the West Indies, TechniCentre Ltd as a sales manager and as an administrative real estate manager. He had already been rehearsing for plays when he decided to open his own business, which involved marketing for others.
But something, he said, was still missing. He had a passion for acting, a passion for making people happy. "I closed down my business. I had a little money saved but then I started to catch my...! "Life is not about money. Life is about being happy." So, although at that time one could not make a proper living off of comedy, Joseph said he adopted a "do or die" approach. He continued his performance until he began writing his own scripts in the early 90s. The passion and creativity have paid off for Joseph who has become a household name, not only in Trinidad, but in several Caribbean islands. He's well known and loved. Thinking of asking Joseph for a complimentary ticket to his shows? He puts it this way: "Why don't you compliment me and pay to come to the show?"