Tony Rock Quotes

Like other kids wanted to become firemen or astronauts, I wanted to make people laugh.

From the first time I saw Sid Caesar be funny I knew that's what I had to do.

Mama is my chance to be a stand-up comedian. In my mind, it's my chance to be Chris Rock.

I made people laugh as a kid, but that's not how you make a living.

My mom and dad are both in stand-up comedy, so that's where I started, that's where I got everything. My roots are holding the mic.

I started as a stand-up comedian. I wanted to be Carol Burnett when I was growing up.

I consider myself a court jester - motivator.

I would like to be someone like Steve Martin. That's the path I'd like to follow.

I'm not an artist. I tell inappropriate stories and jokes and I try to make people laugh.

I wanted to be a comedian.

When I was nine, we'd take a bus to the seaside. Coming back, we'd take turns entertaining, singing songs and the like. I tried some stand-up comedy. I had a captive audience in that bus. Then I realized I wanted to do more than that.

My brother was an improviser. He's now a lobbyist, but he used to perform improv in the city when he was in high school, and one of the funniest guys I know to this day.

It seems like when I first started, people got into comedy because they wanted to be good comedians.

It takes both courage and talent to stand up in front of fellow human beings and make them crack a smile, and at the same time keep it clean.

Right when I started in show... Milton Berle was my first idol. When I was a kid, I went to see Milton at Lowe's State, and I never laughed so much, and I said, 'That's who I want to be; that's what I want to be.'

I really love standup because it's something that I've been literally doing for 40 years, which means I'm a thousand years old.

To this day, if you gave me $1,000, I really can't stand up - You can tell a joke. You're a good storyteller and a good joke teller.

If my mother hadn't laughed at the funny things I did, I probably wouldn't be a comic actor. After she had her first heart attack, the doctor said, 'Try to make her laugh.' And that was the first time I tried to make anyone laugh.

I remember watching Eddie Murphy's stand-up act when I was little, and just being mesmerized.

Since childhood, I've been a clown. I've always liked being very funny or trying to make people laugh. It's my original self.

I love storytellers. When I was growing up, my inspirations were watching Eddie Murphy, Dennis Wolfberg, and Louie Anderson. These guys were great at telling stories, and I made that my own style, talking about things that happened to me and trying to make them funny.

I started pursuing stand-up comedy in 12th grade.

I was destined to make people laugh.

I don't do stand-up anymore.

I've always been funny, but I never considered it as a particular career path until my early 30s, when I realized that hip-hop wasn't going to be the long term.