When someone wins an award for a record called Celery Stalks at Midnight, you know he must have an outrageous sense of humour. Al Simmons has that and much more…

words yvonne teh

Musical comedian – or should that be comic musician? – Albert ‘Al’ Simmons hails from a family of punsters, funsters and flat-out eccentrics. The Winnipeg native’s Uncle Nick toured the USA’s Eastern Seaboard as Steamboat Harris and was best known for playing a ukulele made out of a toilet seat! So we can’t be surprised when Simmons names his father and mother, whom he describes as having “a gentle way of making people laugh and feel comfortable around them”, among his comic heroes (along with Abbott and Costello, Jack Benny, George Burns and Gracie Allen, and Hong Kong’s Harry Wong). The inventive funny-man also credits his father, in particular, with encouraging him to explore and develop a fascination for gadgetry and performing, which he brings to Hong Kong in a series of International Arts Carnival shows with a plethora of peculiar musical instruments and downright weird theatrical gadgets. Intrigued, bc probed Al about what he has, and does, on stage…

You have been called “The Thomas Edison of entertainers” because of your various invented gizmos and gadgets. What kind of inventions and props can we expect to see at your Hong Kong shows? Also, which of your inventions (including costumes) are you particularly proud and/or fond of?
Besides a fashion show of my mechanical hats, honking shoes and quick change costumes, I will be playing the entire 1812 Overture, including the fireworks, cannons and‑church-bell parts on my upright, Bb, four-bell, 12-valve, baritone Simbonium. I am [particularly] proud‑of my peacock costume!

Back in 1999, you reported that customs officials often didn’t quite know what to make of your luggage. In these times of heightened security at customs checks, what has particularly disarmed officials when they go through the contents of your baggage?
There is nothing in my baggage that would suggest that I was about to do something wrong. I imagine the sight of my crazy costumes and wacky props and inventions make the customs officials want to dig deeper into the cases to see what else I could have in them. I don’t think that they will ever get ac-customed to me.

How long have you been an entertainer and what has kept you going at it all these years?
I have been performing for 38 years and it seems that being on stage is my life force. There is a saying that laughter is the best medicine. When my audience laughs they feel better but their laughter also makes me feel better. At the end of a performance I always feel elated.

You worked as a gas jockey, steelworker and clerk prior to entering the world of entertainment. What’s the connection, if any, between these diverse jobs and your present work and way of life? If you hadn’t become an entertainer, what do you think you would have been at this point in your life?
To be a good actor you must be a good observer. I gained so much knowledge from my diverse background that it made it easier to play different characters. I also spent a lot of time making my co-workers smile.‑I don’t think it would be possible for me to not be an entertainer. Even if I wasn’t a professional I would have spent my life making people smile.

What kind of music do you play in your show?
I tend to sing and play a lot of novelty tunes from before 1940 but my show encompasses a lot of music from symphonic to rock ’n’ roll.

Your Celery Stalks at Midnight won a Juno – think Canadian equivalent of the American Grammy – award for Best Children’s Album. Does this mean that much of your comedy is verbal as opposed to visual?
My show is normally full of puns and jokes but I am designing a show especially for Hong Kong audiences that relies more on goofy props and visual sight gags.

Having performed in places as varied as Calgary, New York, the Bahamas and Hong Kong. Where have you found your most demanding audience and what finally won them over and got them really laughing?
My toughest audience was actually in Hong Kong. I was performing at the Children’s festival in 1988 and, though the audience laughed and enjoyed my show, when I spoke Cantonese they would stop the show to correct my pronunciation. They appreciated the fact that I was trying to speak Cantonese and was willing to laugh at myself.

You will perform four times – and in three different venues – while in Hong Kong. Will you be performing the same skits each time around or will each performance be quite different from the others?
I imagine that my show will vary slightly as I become more comfortable with the language and culture. I also know that, even though I will be quite nervous, my first show will probably be the best. There is just something magical about opening night that can’t be duplicated.

What should people going to see an Al Simmons show for the first time particularly look out for?
My show is the kind that appeals simultaneously to the child in the adult and the adult in the child. I like nothing better than to see a child sitting on their parent’s knee and sharing a laugh.

What else would you like people to know about Al Simmons and his show?
I am very much looking forward to having a great time making new friends in your wonderful city.

Al Simmons – Inventive Music and Comedy will kick off on July 26 and 27 at the Sai Wan Ho Civic Centre Theatre at 7:30pm, on July 28 at the Tai Po Civic Centre Auditorium at 7:30pm, and on July 29 at the Tsuen Wan Town Hall’s Cultural Activities Hall at 3pm and 7:30pm. Tickets for the July 26 and 27 shows are priced at $160 and $100 while those for the July 28 and July 29 shows are $120 and $140 respectively. Tickets can be obtained through URBTIX, 2734 9009.