Kuddes finds a career in comedy

Fremonter Jim Kuddes still remembers his first time on stage as a comic.

Living in Lincoln about 15 years ago, Kuddes, who goes by the stage name Jim K, regularly watched the weekly amateur comic open mic show at Duffy’s Tavern, 1412 O St. in the heart of Lincoln’s downtown.

Officially called Duffy’s Comedy Workshop, some of the comics he had gotten to know convinced him to try it.

“In high school I wrote satire, but I never thought about being a comic,” said Kuddes, 51. “I always listened to comedy. I listened to Bill Cosby, George Carlin and Freddy Prinze. I tried it. About the same time, I signed up for a comedy contest at a hotel in North Platte and won. I got hooked.

“For the longest time I just did it for fun. Then a friend told me I could make some money doing it. I started old for a comic. I started out a lot older than most comics. Most start like Ryan Cownie. He’s 19. He’s just a kid.”

Cownie has performed at the Comedy Night amateur comics competition held at The Blue Bottle Coffeehouse in downtown Fremont.

The Fremont comic said he can remember how his comedy career went to the next step.

“The first paying gig I did was at The Funny Bone in Omaha working with Larry Reed,” Kuddes said. “One of the comics that had been at Duffy’s was a regular at The Funny Bone. He knew they were looking for an emcee for the week, and he recommended me.”

There’s something addictive about being on stage, he said.

“There’s an adrenaline rush when you’re up there. It’s a legal high,” he said.

Kuddes grew up in Fremont and graduated from Fremont High School. He said he lived in Lincoln for about 10 years before moving back about five or six years ago.

“I was a headhunter for a while �” an executive recruiter,” Kuddes continued. “You can call that sales. I worked in Omaha and lived in Lincoln. So I commuted. When my job was cut, I came back to Fremont. It’s a good location, and it’s cheaper to live here.”

Kuddes still works in sales during the day at Buck’s Shoes in downtown Fremont.

But the move to Fremont doesn’t keep him from making the weekly Monday night trips to Duffy’s Tavern to organize the comedy workshop.

“The guy who used to own Duffy’s was always the one who ran the workshop and emceed it,” Kuddes said. “When he decided to spend more time with his family, he kind of hand selected me to run it. He wanted someone he knew could run it and would always be there.”

About the time Kuddes moved back to Fremont is when his nighttime career started to take off some with shows outside of Nebraska.

“I’ll try to do at least two or three shows a month,” he said. “I don’t travel as much during the winter. I may try to go further south next winter. One of the things that makes it tough lately is the price of gas.”

He defines his comedy as mostly observation.

“It’s just talking about things that happen,” he said.