He has performed to sold-out audiences worldwide, but you don’t get more South African than everyone’s favourite cousin, Barry Hilton.
And he will be returning to his roots in Gqeberha with his new show “Here to Slay!” for two nights only at the end of the month.
The braai-loving entrepreneur said this week that even while abroad about 50% of his audiences were South African.
“South Africans make friends easily wherever they are and tend to bring their friends from their new country to my shows. We all laugh together,” the funnyman said.
“I enjoy working to any audience in any country.
“It’s great to laugh with expats, but it also makes me sad that so many South Africans have left our beautiful country.”
The former Gqeberha family man, who relocated to Hermanus, recently decided to move to Somerset West to support his youngest son’s budding soccer career.
“Jack has signed a player contract with the Young Bafana soccer academy based in Somerset West,” he said.
“We were travelling to Cape Town five days a week and it just got too much for us.
“But we support Jack 100% in following his dream and so we made a plan and moved closer to the academy.”
An old hat at comedy, Hilton always ensures he has fresh jokes, and so he “likes to write 10 seconds of good stuff a day”.
“It’s a process that I use during my day. I don't actually physically write it down, it’s all in my head and I just keep adding to it,” he said.
Asked about some of his favourite entrepreneurial ideas that had paid off, he said the biggest had to be his Nou Gaan Ons Braai story which turned into a merchandise store.
“Everything is now available online. This venture has been going for more than a decade and I’m very proud of that.”
He said one idea which sadly had not worked out had been his online DVD store CousinsDVD, but he wasn’t about to let that hold him back.
“I’m shifting gears and changing to become an inspirational speaker with ‘My life in 3D’.
“It’s proving quite a challenge to move from being typecast as only a comedian, but I love a challenge and every talk I’ve presented has been met with rave reviews.
“I’ve developed a talk that is both hysterically funny and at the same time walks you and your employees through my life of depression and dyslexia. This is some seriously funny stuff.
“At every step, I show how I’ve used humour to overcome my challenges. And more importantly, how you can, too.”
Asked which comedians he thought “slayed it”, he said Billy Connolly came to mind.
“He was the best in my era and I have huge respect for him. I don’t have too much time to watch other comics,” he said.
But with the good comes the bad and Hilton readily admits that he has had some bad sets along the way.
“Of course I have had bad shows. Any artist who says they haven’t is not telling the truth. But you can learn from a bad set.”
He said such a time that stood out was in the late 80s when he was booked to do a gig at Newcastle University.
“I got up and said 'hi, I'm from SA', and with the political climate as it was at that time, that's as far as I got. I got paid off straight away.”
He said since then he had learnt to avoid comedy about people who could not defend themselves, or had a challenge in life. He also prefers to avoid politics.
He said his wife, Sandy, was his rock, and she always believed in him.
“She also completely manages my life for me, I’m very lucky to have her.”
Open about his depression, Hilton said it was good to realise that everyone experienced tough times.
“I use humour to push through. I remember when my brother called me from hospice as I was about to go on stage once.
“He told me he had only days to live. I was beside myself but ‘the show must go on’.
“I did the best 75 minutes of my life and then had to leave the stage as I was crying,” he recalled.
And his humour is similarly used to help others.
“I did a huge sold-out show at Carnival City. A woman came up to me and asked if I had time to chat to her hubby as he was sick.
“It turned out he had terminal cancer and had booked himself out of hospital, against the advice of his doctors, just to see me perform one last time.”
But the most unusual request was being asked to do a short set at a funeral as the deceased was a fan.
And Hilton has many a time also found himself on the other end of the joke.
“I did a whole corporate show at the wrong venue. They waited until the end to tell me I was at the wrong venue,” he laughed.
“Here to Slay!” is presented by Centrestage and will be on at the PE Bowling Club on Friday May 31, and on Saturday June 1 at Old Grey Sports Club.
Tickets cost R180 through Quicket.
Shows start at 7.30pm and meals will be available on both evenings.
And you never know, if you're lucky enough, your cousin might just arrive at your house with the words “nou gaan ons braai”.
“I love that people support me and enjoy my comedy.
“I am extremely happy that I have so many fans and if time and the situation allows, I’m always happy to engage — and often take people up on their offer of a braai.
“I wouldn’t be where I am today if it wasn’t for my fans and the people who love me,” he said.