Ity (left) and Fancy Cat.
Tanya Batson, Staff Reporter
IT HAS been said that laughter is the best medicine. If that is so, then Ity and Fancy Cat have dedicated themselves to the healing profession. The two, born Ian Ellis and Alton Hardware, became a comedy duo in 1992 although they grew up as friends.
Interestingly, they had been on the path to becoming deejays when a chance performance steered them on this new path. The two comics point out that they made their way to the stage on the Komedy Klub, which was put together by Claudette Pious, Dorothy Cunningham, Judith Thompson and Pat Cumper. The duo remark that when Ity was informed by Ms. Pious that one of the scheduled acts would not be able to make it, he asked for the chance. Ity then called his friend Fancy Cat to join him on the stage. They gave a very energetic performance which was well received and they have not looked back since.
That same year, 1992, was the first time they made it into the Courts Jamaica Ltd. advertising campaign. Since then, they have continued to work with Courts through the years. Fancy Cat points out that they were recommended to do that first campaign as the furniture giant was looking for fresh faces to attach to their product and the duo was just starting out in comedy.
When not working as one of the major stars with the campaigns, the duo worked in the entertainment aspect when the campaign took to the road. "It helped us a lot," Fancy Cat notes. "It helped us to master the art of talking to an unruly open crowd." As such, he states that they are able to deal with things that no other comedy act can. The two have come a long way with the campaign and were first allowed to host one of the outdoor shows three years ago.
"Dem really put dem faith in us," Fancy Cat says. Now, however, the two are again the major faces attached to the campaign.
Ity notes a comic moment related to this change. He points out that he met a man who said to him" "Yo Ity! Yuh tek weh Beenie Man food. Soun' good same way."
The two see the new campaign as not only a great accomplishment, but also recognition of their talent. This is a trend that has been growing over the years. They were named comedy duo of the year in the Gleaner Awards for both 1999 and 2000. They have been a part of several comedy shows, usually with good reviews. Additionally, Ity notes that they intend to put on a Caribbean comedy festival.
As another hallmark indicating how far they have come, the duo recently made their way to Trinidad to represent Jamaica in the first round of 'Who Wants To Be a Millionaire Caribbean' game show. Their winnings were donated to the Children First organisation which operates out of Spanish Town. It was their first trip to Trinidad.
Being in the comedy business does not seem to be simply a barrel of laughs. Thus, although the duo is often seen on the dancehall circuit, they point out that they have a harder time being paid what they demand for gigs, because promoters believe that comedians do not have has much drawing and exportable power as deejays.
Fancy Cat points out that this is despite the fact that audiences have hung around simply to see their portion of the show. "If him call we fi do a show an wi tell him $20,000, im a go say no, because comedian can't export," Fancy Cat complains of promoters.
It would appear however, that the duo are indeed exportable as they have done a fair amount of touring. "We're the type a artiste weh no media hype," Fancy Cat explains. "Nobody nuh know weh wi do, but we carry some flyer and keep it."
Additionally, while they are aware that one way to get additional earnings and make themselves exportable is to make a recording, they have as yet made no attempts to do so. To this Fancy Cat states: "We've had a lot of people coming up to us about that, but mi nuh know if a lazy or don' cya."
Whatever it is, the stars seem to be favouring the duo so far.
