George Wallace honored at Because They Are Funny Comedy Festival

In a room full of comedians, the laughter flowed freely for the “Because They Are Funny Comedy Festival” (BTF) (September 27-29) which kicked off at the Southwest Wharf for a weekend of joy in the nation’s capital .

Produced for a second year by entertainment company NICE Crowd in collaboration with Events DC, the festival weekend opened with a tribute to comedian George Wallace, who received the Comedy Trailblazer Award. Proceeds from opening night were donated to DC Central Kitchen.

Comedian, writer, producer and director Chris Spencer hosted the evening, but the entire weekend was dedicated to the actors supporting each other. Free workshops were provided to better understand the profession and improve your comics skills. Six comics were to appear in a national competition, hoping to win $0,000 after being finalists among more than 100 other comedians.

“This festival recognizes comedians of color, especially black comedians,” Spencer said. “This event was organized for us by the founders of the American Black Film Festival, Jeff and Nicole Friday.”

One of DC’s comedy legends, Sylvia Traymore-Morrison, led the Wallace tributes. She was featured in the documentary “The Mecca of Comedy: The Rise of Stand-Up Comedy in Washington, DC.”

Traymore-Morrison is known as the first African-American female impressionist and the first black female writer for Saturday Night Live.

An admirer of Wallace before meeting him, her career grew further when he noticed her talent and asked her to play with him in DC.

“He had already established himself as my favorite,” Traymore-Morrison said. “I was doing a residency in Las Vegas, and he came to my show and invited me to do a show with him at Bethesda Blues and Jazz. He is an extraordinary person.

Traymore-Morrison brought other guests to honor Wallace and the Because They’re Funny tribute. Her impersonations brought Whoopi Goldberg, Wendy Williams and Vice President Kamala Harris into the room. Video tributes were presented by comedian and actress Luenell and comedian, producer, actor and Wallace’s best friend of over 50 years, Jerry Seinfeld.

When Wallace showed up to accept his award, he made some comments primarily to younger comedians about how to view success.

“When I came to Las Vegas in 1976, I worked for Diana Ross,” Wallace said. “Now I’m the only black comedian working in Las Vegas who owns the show. I didn’t work for hotels. I was able to do all that, bring in other comedians and put on shows like they had never seen before.

Accolades from other comedians throughout the evening showed true appreciation for Wallace for being a leader in the comedy entertainment industry. Everyone wanted to take a photo with him. Wallace had his non-stop smile and words of encouragement for everyone who approached him.