Today we’d like to introduce you to Harold Foxx.
Hi Harold, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstories with our readers?
It has been in my blood since when I was a young kid in Memphis, Tennessee. When my mother had to go to work and she dropped me off at my grandma’s, that’s where it all started by watching the legendary comedians on the TV such as Sanford and Son, The Jeffersons, and Three Stooges.
Growing up watching those shows, I realized laughing is everything that will light up everybody’s day, and seeing them doing it as professionally as Redd Foxx, Richard Pryor, Sheman Hemsley, and Jamie Foxx. These legends are the ones that caught my attention from day one. They inspired me to host my mini stand-up comedy show on the school bus in the morning and after school.
All of my classmates on the bus kept asking me to tell comedy stories. That’s where I started and all of my classmates laughed so hard on the bus to the point where the bus driver moved all of us to the back of the bus because we were too loud. The driver laughed too yet at the same time we all needed her to keep her eyes on the road. It has always been part of me since day one.
Not just comedy, I loved acting too, like I said it always has been in me and even my elementary school teachers could see me being on the stage and on screen. I started to do some singing and dancing in the elementary school talent show. I am not sure If I remember if I won anything in the talent show. Then in high school, I was heavily involved in two different theater groups which were the deaf drama club and the regular theater club.
Those clubs gave me many opportunities to be in various plays like Guys and Dolls, Wizard of Oz, The leader of the Pack, and Memphis in May music festival. Also, I won second place in the state of Tennessee for Mime in Speech and Drama. I can go on but like I said it has been in my blood since day one.
You know there’s always someone that you look up to. I look up to Redd Foxx, Richard Pryor, and Jamie Foxx and continue to learn from the best. I also added crafts and tools I got from the training with The Groundlings for my stand-up comedy shows where it gets better and better every time and continues to make a name for myself. It has been a pretty long journey but at the same time, I see more opportunities and good things ahead of me.
It all started with the Vine days, 6-second clips until Twitter killed it. It is almost similar to what Tik Tok is now, just different. When I started doing comedy skits on Vine and it went viral so much that I got 50K followers. So, my friends and I discussed that we thought we needed to do something about my name because it didn’t look right as “brand or stage name” so we came up with “Dat Deaf Entertainer” which was sort of from Cedric The Entertainer.
I did use it for a while until another friend said that it didn’t reflect me as a comedian at all so we figured it out and I said what about Harold Foxx?? She said that made much sense and that led to The Harold Foxx Show brand which features comedy skits on social media platforms. As I said, Redd Foxx and Jamie Foxx are both my favorites of all time in comedy and acting.
They inspired me to do comedy and act professionally in my career at this moment.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
It has not been a smooth road because of barriers as a Deaf person and sometimes being Black is one of the factors.
I didn’t let that stop me from giving up on my hard work and dreams because that’s part of life. We all will always face some kind of obstacle. The only person that will stop me from working toward my goal and doing what I love to do is me. As I said, I am not giving up all the hard work I have been doing during my journey.
One of my favorite quotes from Frederick Douglass is, “Is there is no struggle, there is no progress.”
Like I said with obstacles, I have to learn to work through them because there is no easy way out.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I am known as a writer, producer, stand-up comic, and actor who happens to be Deaf. For the time, I am most known for stand-up comedy.
I have done a bunch of variety works like skits on social media I founded The Harold Foxx Show which is feature entertainment online feature comedy. which leads me to opportunities such as stand-up comedy, theatre, and TV & Film opportunities such as acting and writing. Now I do teach theatre and improv which I did in Utah recently.
My most proud moments were when I was homeless and sleeping in my car while continue working on my creative process and I didn’t give up. Then it all suddenly opened up more opportunities for me. That was when I remind myself to not give up and work hard to get what I want. That was a proud moment for me.
The only difference that I set myself apart from others is that I am Deaf and unique in my own way in arts and storytelling.
What would you say has been one of the most important lessons you’ve learned?
The most important lesson I’ve learned along my journey is to not give up and continue to work hard to reach my ultimate goal to do what I love the most to do which is being an artist, writer, producer, director, comedian, and actor.
Sometimes I do feel like I am about to give up but I go to remind myself why I am in Los Angeles for a reason and even when I was riding in my car with Troy Kotsur (CODA – Oscar winner for supporting actor), he told me he has been doing this for like 30 years and sometimes he feels like burned out but he didn’t give up.
Now, we see how Troy did on his long journey due to the fact that he didn’t give up. I got to remind myself during the tough times not to give up and just continue to work because you never know when the time is right.
Contact Info:
- Email: iamharoldfoxx@gmail.com
- Website: www.HaroldFoxx.com
- Instagram: instagram.com/iamharoldfoxx
- Facebook: facebook.com/iamharoldfoxx
- Twitter: twitter.com/iamharoldfoxx
- Youtube: youtube.com/HaroldFoxxTV
