Standup comedian Big Wood's comedy is what they call “real talk.” It's based on real life experiences. “I don't make up stories,” he'll tell you. “If I say it on stage, it's the real thing.” True to his name, his act showcases a big personality and a big heart. Like Richard Pryor, his style is easy and conversational while also being rowdy enough to bring down any house.
Big Wood was born Winston Churchill Woodard Jr. in Forest City , Arkansas , one of five kids. “The rest of them all had normal names,” he says, “but I missed that boat.” Wood was raised in a small house in the country with cows and chickens, their own garden, and a pond nearby where he would sometimes fish for dinner. The whole family had a sense of humor, especially Grandpa Boyd, who taught Big Wood to play the dozens. “He was the funniest man alive!” Wood recalls, “and when the family got together with my grandpa and uncles, there was constant laughter.” Sometimes he went too far. Wood recalls one family dinner where “my brother's feet stunk so bad I asked him if he stepped in s*@%! I was excused from the table and got a good old fashioned butt whippin'. But later that night as I lay in my bed in pain, I could hear my mother and father laughing like crazy at what I had said!”
In 1978, The Woodards moved to Pomona , California , where Big Wood earned his nickname dishing out hard hits on the football field, while cracking people up in class. Always the life of the party, his gifts for comedy prompted many friends to tell him he should be on stage. Inspired by his early exposure to Richard Pryor and Redd Foxx, as well as contemporary comics like George Lopez and Kevin Hart, Big Wood eventually took the advice, and began performing as a standup comic. He has performed at the Presidential Inaugaral Ball for Barack Obama at the Fox Theater, and at the Ice House Comedy Club. Big Wood now is now knocking ‘em dead all over Los Angeles .
“They say having a good laugh at least once a day makes you live longer,” Big Wood says. “I want to be the one to deliver that laugh and to make someone's day! I like to make people use the muscles in their face they never use. When I see that, I know my job's complete.”
