When comedian Earleen “Queen Cookie” Mack Belcher took the stage for the first time in 2013 at the Toledo Funny Bone, she jokingly said she was on her way to performing at large venues, such as the Apollo Theater in New York. Her statement was met with laughs and cheers.
It’s possible the statement was funny because it was true, although neither Belcher nor her audience knew it at the time.
It’s not often that a now 71-year-old grandmother would start her comedy career so late in life, much less go on to perform at the Apollo as well as venues in California with the likes of comedian and Academy Award-winning actress Mo'Nique. But fellow Toledo-area black comedians say Belcher is one of a kind.
Like most comedians these days, Belcher has had to take a hiatus from performing on the live stage because of the coronavirus pandemic. She has always viewed comedy as a side hobby during her retirement, but she used to perform roughly once every three months.
The pandemic pause has hit Toledo-area performers especially hard. Demitrius McMullen, a local comedian who has performed for 20 years and moved to the Toledo area roughly six years ago, said Toledo is a rough area for comedians to get their start. Pre-pandemic, he would organize comedy shows throughout the area and said it was always difficult because a lot of people wouldn’t come to shows unless someone famous was performing because the competition for live entertainment was fierce.
If other live shows were occurring during the same weekend as his show, he said he would at times only get 30 people to attend, even with a popular comedian in the lineup.
“I hate to say it, but Toledo is not a good place for up and coming comedians. It’s barely a good place for experienced comedians,” he said. “I pulled my hair out trying to promote shows in the city. I had a couple of good ones where it was standing room only, and I had more than a few where there were a lot of empty seats.
“I have to almost give a free show to get people to come.”
Slowly but surely, he believes things were getting better for comedians and the comedy scene was starting to grow, but now he believes he and other comedy organizers will be back at square one as things slowly start to reopen and people begin to feel comfortable gathering again for shows, whenever that will be.
The elder stateswoman
McMullen fondly describes Belcher as his comedy mother, who he met in 2014 thanks to fellow comedian Kelly Williams. He and Belcher performed together at Club Evolution and he said he was floored by her raunchy style and her act.
Comedians tend to form tight-knit groups, and the three of them bonded over the years and have supported one another. Belcher said they all helped her grow as she sought to perfect her routine.
During her first open-mic event at the Funny Bone, where she was the last to perform, Belcher made a grand appearance dancing her way to the stage – something she decided to do because the crowd seemed to be getting bored. If audience members thought they were going to get a cleaner jokes because of her age, Belcher made quick work of dispelling those notions with her no nonsense talk of menopause and sex, with a few curse words thrown in.
The crowd loved it.
Soon after she was getting invites to perform for church groups and other gatherings. Some church groups learned the hard way that Belcher doesn’t tone down her comedy because she says she is who she is and is too old to change. When she talks about sex, her husband, Dennis, certainly doesn’t mind being a part of her acts and is often seen escorting “The Queen” to the stage for each of her performances. He also helps post videos to “Space Book,” and offers his support behind the scenes where he can.
“One of my favorites is talking about my husband and what we do in the bedroom,” she said. “It’s a sight to see, because he’s menopausal, and I’m menopausal too, and I’ve got this skit that I do, [talking about how] we only do it every other month, and it’s got to be a holiday in that month, because we’re too old to be ‘buckin,’ as I like to say.”
Not long after her first performance, Belcher caught the attention of Mo’Nique, who was performing at the Toledo Funny Bone. Belcher was in attendance and said the two comedians hit it off immediately, so much so that Mo'Nique then invited Belcher up on stage to perform.
“She’d never seen my act. She didn’t know if I was good, bad, or indifferent,” Belcher said. “But I went on stage and performed. And she liked my performance and asked me if I could perform the following week in Columbus at the Columbus Funny Bone.”
Mo'Nique would continue to invite Belcher to perform with her in other parts of the country. During that time, she would help advise Belcher on her standup.
“When I would tell her my personal problems and what I was going through, she would say, ‘Momma, put it on the stage,’ so a lot of things I perform in my routines have been in my personal life. That way I never forget the joke because it’s a part of my life.”
Kelly Williams, who has been doing comedy in the Toledo area for about 10 years, said that is what appeals to audiences and draws people to Belcher.
“She keeps it real. She’s going to cuss and she’s going to say what she wants to say to get jokes across,” Williams said. “Everything she says is really the truth, but it’s also the ways she says it – her body language and the facial expressions she uses are hilarious.”
Belcher half-jokingly says she believes performing is in her DNA. Her mother was a singer and her father was a renowned saxophone player.
While Belcher has seen success on stage, she admits she is far from making the big time. She said that honor goes to Toledo-based comedian Darrell Banks, who graduated in 1975 from Scott High School. Following a stint in the U.S. Coast Guard after high school, he went on to make a name for himself as a stand-up comic, performing for BET's Comic View, and HBO's Def Comedy Jam.
Despite his success, Belcher said Banks has stayed in the Toledo area and makes a point to help comedians like her and other up-and-coming performers.
However, his longtime friend and fellow Scott High School alum Felicia Howard said Banks had a stroke during a 2018 performance. Since then, he has been unable to perform after losing his ability to speak.
“He was one of the ones locally that told me, ‘Queen, you good,’ and that’s like a feather in my cap coming from someone who’s been in this business a helluva lot longer than I’ve been here,” Belcher said.
Being a close-knit group, local comedians banded together to help their fallen comrade after his stroke. Howard said Williams, McMullen and Toledo comedian Anne Logan volunteered to put on a comedy night to raise funds to help pay for Banks’ medical costs. Comedians from Detroit came down to join them in putting on the show, which raised $4,000.
“I’m hoping one day a miracle happens where he can come back and perform because he is funny,” Belcher said.
Future of the comedy
Prior to the pandemic, it was already difficult for rookie comics to not only get their foot in the door to perform, but find venues that consistently offered them that chance.
Local comedian Keith Bergman tried to help by creating a website called Comedy Toledo, which he would use to list comedy events as well as which bars and restaurants that were offering open mic nights for amateur comics. He’s since stopped updating the website because, as he sees it, “comedy is closed.”
Part of the struggle prior to the shutdown, he said, was getting local comics of diverse backgrounds.
“In Toledo, it’s not as diverse as is in other cities. ... Something we’ve tried to figure out is ... making sure the lineup is more reflective of our population,” Bergman said. “Regionally, it’s pretty diverse and a good mix, but here in Toledo, not so much. But because Toledo is a smaller scene, it has room to grow and maybe people just haven’t been aware of what those opportunities are. One thing we tried to do with open mic nights is help clear a path and make it more accessible for diverse talent.”
Belcher likewise would like to see comedy shows return, especially more open mic events. The Funny Bone has stopped putting on open mic events in recent years, which she knows from experience can go a long way to help up-and-coming performers not only hone her craft, but meet famous comedians throughout their journey.
As she, along with Williams and McMullen, continue to look forward to the day when comedians can again perform before an audience, Belcher advises others waiting to take their shot at the stage to use this time wisely and practice their craft for when comedy returns
“I would say, if you have a passion for anything you do, if you have a passion, especially these young people, you will go get it and not wait for people to help you,” she said.
First Published August 23, 2020, 1:00 p.m.
