Keystone features funny veterinarian
By Kimberly Nicoletti
summit daily news
http://www.summitdaily.com/apps/pbcsi.dll/bildeSite=SD&Date=20100827&Category=AE...Kevin Fitzgerald, perhaps best known for his work on Animal Planet's “Emergency Vets,” has lived a colorful life. He's a veterinarian, television star and comedian, but in his younger days, he worked with a much different animal — fans of rock stars.
“He's the only bouncer for the Rolling Stones that I know, so he is legend in my book,” said JonScott McClung, founder of High Country Comedy in Breckenridge.
In 1978, after working for the Rolling Stones on and off for nearly 10 years, Keith Richards told him to get a grip on his life because the band gig wasn't going to last forever. (Little did he know.)
“When someone like Keith Richards tells you to go back to school and make something of yourself, you listen,” Fitzgerald said.
About eight years later — after teaching at the University of Hawaii and continuing to work summers as a bouncer for the Rolling Stones, The Who, Bob Marley and Elvis — he got into vet school.
Fitzgerald has practiced as a vet for more than 20 years and has performed stand-up comedy almost on a nightly basis since 1986.
His rapid, one-liner style, combined with his warm demeanor on stage, have led him to open for such legendary performers as Diana Ross, Bob Hope and The Neville Brothers. He has appeared on the “Nightly News with Tom Brokaw,” “The Maury Povich Show,” the Discovery Channel and “The Howard Stern Show,” among others.
In addition, his clean-style comedy has led him to perform at hundreds of corporate and benefit shows.
Fitzgerald takes his comedic style from such greats as George Burns and Jack Bennett. The two legendary comedians developed a style of delivering two to three punch lines per minute to prevent audiences from heckling them.
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