I was born and raised in Los Angeles, following in the comedic footsteps of my grandfather, Alan Hale Jr., best known as The Skipper from Gilligan’s Island. We’d love to hear more about what you do. I mean as fun as it is to make fun of Kim Kardashian, I just realized I can do better.

She inspired me to get real and get honest in my work. She called me brave, and I thought “I guess I am.” It was that night that I realized my story might be able to help people. I felt so safe, and a woman came up to me after the show and said she lost her mother to cancer as well, and that hearing my set was so helpful to her. And they could not have been more supportive. I was in the middle of a joke about Gilligan’s Island, and I started thinking about family. I didn’t realize how affected I was by it until I got on stage. There was one night I was particularly emotional because right before going to my show, my aunt dropped off my mom’s jewelry box to me. It made me happy to honor her memory, and talk about how amazing she was to a room full of people who now get to know who she was. The more I got onstage and talked about her, even after she passed, the more I was able to accept it was real. My mom was funny up until her last day in the hospital, so I started writing down what she would say. But I started writing about it.Īt first, it was because I just needed to get it out, and writing jokes or making fun of the situation seemed easier than actually talking about it. What do I want to say? What really matters enough to talk about? Well, I just recently lost my mom to cancer, and I still tear up just writing that. I have just recently started giving that quite a bit of thought. I mean I write about pop culture, and funny dating stories as well, but that’s not what defines me as an artist. So when it comes to writing my set, I write about what upsets me. As a writer, I like to tackle dark subjects and try to find the funny in it, so that I can heal. I am a big believer that comedy is tragedy plus time. Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome? I still work with her eight years later, and now have the privilege of teaching some of her classes for her. Lisa Sundstedt, the creator of PFW changed my life. I signed up, and have been doing stand up ever since. Soon after that, I found out about Pretty, Funny Women from Natasha. I remember watching them and being so impressed. I pursued acting for years until one day a friend of mine invited me to the Laugh Factory to go see “The Women of Chelsea Lately.” It was Natasha Leggero, Sarah Colonna, Jen Kirkman and all of the awesome women who were regulars on that show. I come from a family of actors and always thought thats what I was supposed to do. Samantha, please share your story with us. Today we’d like to introduce you to Samantha Hale.

Everything Changes by Samantha Hale