Tom Wilson, formerly known as Thomas F. Wilson, has made no secret of his irritation with fans who only know him as Biff or Griff or Mad Dog Tannen from the Back to the Future trilogy. He has refused multiple offers to appear at reunions, reality shows, and autograph signing events that would allow him to easily capitalize on this role. He’s even made public statements that he no longer signs autographs and his stand-up comedy act conveys a humorous disdain for geeky fans who ask him to pose for pictures, repeat lines from the movie, or to sign autographs. So I had very little hope of ever getting to meet this fine actor, and knew that if I did, there was no way I wanted to get on his bad side.
I have a confession: Back to the Future is one of my all-time favorite films, and the character of Biff Tannen is one of the greatest ever commited to screen. Since this film and character have reached iconic status, I would go far, far out of my way to have an encounter and get an autograph and photo op with Mr. Wilson. In fact, I do that regularly with anyone who has been associated with such iconic movies. But the difference with Tom Wilson is that I legitimately have a tremendous appreciation for the work he’s doing today, unlike so many other actors who do their best to convince the fans to go see the latest thing they’ve, but of which I usually have no interest.
It made me ecstatic to find out that Tom Wilson was coming to the area to perform his stand-up comedy in Newport, Kentucky. But I was even more pleased when that show was cancelled and he was re-scheduled to appear in-person at the Funny Bone comedy club at the Greene, just fifteen minutes away from my home. Thinking that he might avoid encounters with the fans, I began to scope out the establishment to find out how I might get the chance to meet him outside the club. Sure it sounds stalker-ish, but sometimes you must go to great length to meet your heroes.
By the time Thursday, November 29, had rolled around, I had prepared myself for his visit. I had checked out his video clips on YouTube, I had purchased the DVD of his stand-up comedy act called Tom Wilson: Bigger Than You and watched it twice (it’s that good), I had abandoned the notion of bringing anything Back to the Future related to have signed, and I prepared myself for one of the funniest comedians working today. No joke… he really, really is.
I went to the show with Leslie (who left midway through, but that’s another story), ordered my traditional Bleu Cheese bacon burger, sat through opening comedians Matthew David Stanley and John Garrett, and then finally sat back and enjoyed the show that I had waited nearly six months to see. Of course, I was a bit nervous about how to make sure that I could meet and get a picture with Tom Wilson. The autograph wasn’t quite as important as I had recently found his website and purchased an autographed poster of his Big Pop Fun artwork (he’s a multi-talented guy). But I wasn’t sure if he’d take off immediately following the show, whether he’d be receptive to pictures and autographs, or if I could even find him after he’d left the stage.
But near the end of the show, he announced that he’d be in the lobby selling his DVD (the same one that I purchased) and to feel free to stop by and say hello whether you purchased anything or not. A weight was lifted from my shoulders. I was going to meet Biff….I mean Tom Wilson.
I was one of the first to meet him after the show, and I kept my distance from the table before making eye-contact with him so that he could see that I had brought my own copy of his DVD. I could tell this pleased him and he told me he’d be glad to sign it and asked me if I had fun at the show. I told him truthfully that he was one of the funniest comedians in the business and that I recalled watching him on David Letterman when doing promotion for the Back to the Future sequels and thinking the same thing back then: this guy was good enough to have his own show.
He is either an incredibly nice guy to all the fans, or he took a liking to me because his appreciation seemed truly heartfelt. He even asked where I lived, and I made it a point to tell him that even though I lived nearby, I had been excited when he was going to play in Newport, Kentucky, an hour and a half away. He told me that he had had to bail on that show because he got called for an acting gig. I also made sure to tell him that I really enjoyed his artwork as well.
In the end, I can say that Tom Wilson is not only one of the funniest comedians working today, but also one of the nicest. It seemed that the irritation about all of the requests for him to say “Listen Butthead!” is mostly just part of his act. So while he doesn’t aim to capitalize on his past, he is certainly not avoiding the true fans of what he’s doing today. It was a brilliant show, and he’s a brilliant guy that I will be sure to see again if he returns to the area.
Return to December 2012…
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