Bald men may be the brunt of a few jokes, but it was the prospect of losing his hair that led Derek Edwards into comedy,
“Your hair jumps out, it gets allergic to you,” said the Timmins-born comedian, who found himself diagnosed with alopecia — a fancy word for hair loss — 15 years ago.
“It just leaps out, it was so bizarre. I just had this little golf ball sized spot at the back of my head. God, it was bizarre. My wife almost threw up it was so attractive.”
At the time, Edwards was working at a shoe store and decided — since he should start wearing a hat — to get into house painting. He was also doing comedy, and it wasn’t long before he hung up his paint splattered overalls.
“I was puttering around with standup for about five years,” said Edwards, who is starting a comedy tour of Atlantic Canada this week — including a stop at the Rebecca Cohn on Friday, May 30.
Called The Other Shoe Drops, the show is a 90-minute look at growing older, growing wiser, and the freedom of not worrying about what others think of you.
“You can soldier on, lead your life,” he said. “It’s not all about being decrepit and miserable. It is freeing being older.”
