Those into show tunes, jazz, or Frank Sinatra would likely know My Funny Valentine, the Richard Rodgers-Lorenz Hart song composed for the 1937 coming-of-age musical, Babes in Arms.
Mitzi Green originally performed it, but the gender-neutral lyrics meant male and female singers have covered the song through the decades.
That little piece of musical history ties in with the rest of this article, which ironically, is not about a musical – though it is about a musician turned funnyman, Russell Curtis.
I attended his Valentine’s Day Special recently. It was hilarious. My home minister, and buddies Julia Nicholas and her husband, Ranjit Singh, were in tears after the show.
A 20-year veteran in the Malaysian music scene, Curtis’ new love is stand-up comedy. Late last year, he recorded his first one-hour special, which is now in the editing room.
“We hope to get it on air later this year,” said the 43-year-old Kepong native.
“I’m also pleased I did a comedy tour of Malaysia last year. I was one of the first to perform a stand-up special in Kuala Terengganu.
“It was great, and I hope to go on tour again this year.”
A consummate entertainer, Curtis’ regular singing gigs are peppered with jokes and entertaining, relatable stories. It was these performances that gave him the courage to try stand-up comedy.
He has been honing his comedy craft since 2021, and last year, he opened his KL Comedy Corner in Bandar Sunway after closing his Bangsar outlet.
Curtis joked at that time that “it is 2024, and I feel Bandar Sunway ‘identifies’ as Kuala Lumpur”. He explained the name was chosen because tourists use Kuala Lumpur when searching for activities in Malaysia.
As if to prove his point, during his act, Curtis was talking about the rabbit hole people fall into when they go to Reddit – “a social media platform where users can share content, discuss topics, and connect with others”.
“It’s a crazy place with plenty of weird or conspiracy theories,” said Curtis.
An audience member agreed with Curtis before adding: “But that’s how I found out about your show!”
The American, from Missouri, was travelling around Asia with his Japanese girlfriend. The couple only had five days in Malaysia and searched “10 things to do in Kuala Lumpur”.
Watching Curtis perform was one of the recommendations.
“I have to rethink my viewpoint of Reddit,” quipped a surprised Curtis, who also spoke about life, marriage, and love in his act.
He sang several songs to his “international audience”, which, besides the American and Japanese couple, had patrons from Scotland, Ireland, and India, and, of course, Malaysia.
The father of two showed his genius when he instantly changed the lyrics to Wonderful Tonight and wrote a new song to playfully roast members of his audience.
Among them were some teachers, who received an education on love and laughter from Curtis, as three of them were the “target” of his Eric Clapton remake.
“That’s what makes my shows unique. I’m able to write songs on the spot with the information provided by the audience,” said the Dave Chappelle fan.
Curtis gets better each time we see him, and he was definitely My Funny Valentine.
Do catch him at his KL Comedy Corner.
