Not For The Faint Of Heart!

Frank Lunney was a talented standup comedian impressionist when I first worked with him in 1981 .
He was the middle act and I was the MC for headliner Paul Mooney who wrote most of Richard Pryors material and I have the photo below.

Years later I featured Frank on my TV show and then four years later he had re-invented his act to become one of the bluest stand- up comedians I ever produced called:

Captain Rowdy.

So what happend to him?

Here is a article and then a link to his rare comedy performance that is rated -XXX-  "Not For The Faint Of Heart."

Parental Guidance is advised! 

Rowdy's gone forever;

Lunney is still funny

If everything is cyclical, the day will come when comedy makes a comeback in the nation's midsize cities.

Scott Kennedy, a professional comedian in Los Angeles, explained, "All those mom-and-pop shops like the Froggy Bottoms club in Lubbock helped so many comedians, but you just can't find those anymore." Any return to greatness for comic Frank Lunney will be slow and measured, however, and won't involve the leathers-and-Mohawk persona of Captain Rowdy, a character he slipped into like comfortable shoes every time he headlined at comedy clubs.

He has retained his sense of humor.

Living in Blacksburg, Va., he says that he is "47 legally, 68 physically and 14 mentally." The personalized Virginialicense plate on a car equipped with hand controls - which he chooses not to drive - reads GIMP.

He says that he can wobble, rather than walk, but not for long distances.

His injuries occurred on Dec. 15, 1999, during a 56-hour radio marathon for the Toys for Tots campaign in Anchorage, Alaska.

"I had been sitting over a heating vent for hours, at a temperature later determined to be at or above 140 degrees," Lunney explained.

It turned my boots into virtual ovens and melted the skin off the back of both feet." Lunney is a diabetic who has neuropathy, a lack of sensation in his extremities.

Skin grafts could not stop either Achilles tendon from rupturing.

He was flown to the University of Virginia's burn unit, where more skin grafts over the next month allowed him to keep his feet.

But he won't ever do the Rowdy strut again.

Braces on both shoes aid his attempts to maintain balance.

Lunney said that he wanted to mention his depression and anger, the years pushing people away, the nights contemplating suicide.

He and his wife, Mo, now are separated but "work together to raise our son, Gage." Two years of therapy have helped, but he calls Gage, who will turn 7 in January, "my reason for being alive."

His leather jacket and gloves have been retired.

He cut off his Mohawk to raise money for charity.

The Captain Rowdy who found a home at Froggy Bottoms and went on to headline two shows at the Lubbock Memorial Civic Centeris gone. Lunney's still around.

And he appreciates Wes Nessman at KFMX radio for giving him airtime at 1:35 p.m.Fridays.

"I truly owe a lot to Wes Nessman for getting me to call in and do my slant on offbeat news every Friday," Lunney said.

"He gave me my voice back.

He helped me to see I could still be funny, which, at one time, I really wasn't so sure about.

"I don't come out like a raging bull anymore.

I go to the local Holiday Inn on my electric cart for Comedy Night, and I do a 15-minute guest spot every four weeks.

"I can still make them laugh, and on occasion still cringe, which is the way it should be.

"The proposed reunion concert by Frank Lunney, aka Captain Rowdy, on April 22 in the Lubbock Room at the Lone Star Events Center has been canceled because of Lunney's recent medical procedure.

The big toe on Lunney's left foot had to be amputated because of complications from diabetes and the prior burn injury that caused his Achilles tendons to rupture.

Lunney, now living in Blacksburg, Va., indicated that he's starting to feel better and hopes to reschedule his Lubbock concert after Texas Tech students return for classes in the fall.

He was, however, miffed when told that he would not be allowed to keep his amputated toe.                                                                                                     

 Joel Samuel 1969 top photo

 Paul Mooney Show 1981

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SEMJiJRcSRg

Here is another one for you if you are sophisticated enough to follow my channel- here is a classic one for you that you might enjoy.

For all my fans & Friends

unbagged- Murray Langston- the Real Unknown Comic

http://www.youtube.com/v/GHtdnFrVCFo