TV star finds new life in Cape Coral
So where does a guest star of an award-winning
television show move to after leaving the bright
lights of Hollywood? For Jimmy Labriola of “Home
Improvement” fame, it was Cape Coral of course.
Since moving here in 1999, the life of this stand-up
comedian and actor has taken a number of twists. Most
notably, it was "finding God" and turning away from
the glamour he knew when he played Benny Baroni, a
butcher and friend of "Tool Time" host Tim Taylor.
Nowadays, Labriola still performs comedy routines
around the country, but he’s toned it down from his
beginnings at New York's famous Catch a Rising Star
Comedy Club and later his “Night of a Thousand Guidos”
routine that was racy and blue.
"There’s no more profanity, it’s just good clean
comedy now," said Labriola, 47. "It took reading the
bible and looking at myself to find a relationship
with God that made me look at life differently. Now I
do comedy for the glory of God and to entertain
people. I enjoy that 100 percent more."
After opening a comedy show in New York for Tim Allen,
the star of Home Improvement, Labriola later won the
Benny Baroni part. He joined the show’s third season
in 1993-1994 when it went on the to be the No. 1 rated
non-news show in the nation for the second consecutive
year.
"I walked away from that," he said. “"I was flying
high. But after about three years you start landing
and realize that a lot of these people in show
business who had everything they ever needed were
really kind of empty. It was all about the business."
It wasn’t an easy move to follow his faith.
"I walked away while I was at the top of my game,"
Labriola said. "I was very popular. Networks were
calling me, and that’s the highest compliment."
Consider: Even before Home Improvement aired its last
episode in 1999, Labriola had bigger plans for TV
stardom. He inked a contract with Disney for a new
show. With that prospect came a lot of “friends”
wining and dining him as he was on the heels of what
everyone expected would be a big hit. Big money would
not be far behind. "Entertainment Tonight" did a
two-part story about him.
“Everybody was kissing my tush, but when the deal fell
apart when they brought in new people after Disney
bought ABC, I looked around and said, "Where did
everybody go?” he said. "That crushed me for a couple
of years. I started looking at things really
different."
Part of that new-found vision included finding a new
home. While visiting in Fort Myers, he ventured across
the bridge for the first time to find out about Cape
Coral.
"“Why Cape Coral? I don’t know, maybe God’s got a
sense of humor," he said jokingly. "A friend of mine,
Frankie, said they’ re all old over there. I heard
nothing but bad things. But I fell in love with it,
all the water and everything. So I bought a condo the
same day.
"I couldn’t get a closet in L.A. for $69,000,” the
price he paid for his first home here.
Since then, he’s been performing for churches, on
cruise lines, in Las Vegas hotels and for companies
such as Dr. Pepper and IZOD.
On Saturday, he took his routine to Sanibel Harbour
Resort and Spa to help raise money for the Cape
Coral-based Lifeline Family Center, a two-year
residential and educational program for pregnant
teen-agers and their babies.
Kathy Miller, founder and president of Lifeline, likes
his style.
"Everybody I talked to (Sunday) said they had a really
good time," Miller said. "He’s a funny man, and he
doesn’t have to get raunchy to be really funny. So
that’s always a pleasure."
With his help, Lifeline inches closer to its goal of
raising $1.4 million to build a new home here that
will add nearly five times the space of its current
facility.
That’s the kind of work Labriola is more about these
days, he said.
He’s also reached out to service men and women in
Iraq. For eight days in September, Labriola joined
other comedians for the Department of Defense’s
“Comics on Duty” tour of U.S. military camps in
Baghdad, Fallujah and other hot spots. Some of the
shows took place in Saddam Hussein's former palaces
for as few as 25 people, while others played out atop
truck-trailer platforms for more than 1,000.
"The big thing I got from soldiers is they love when
people send them stuff," he said. "It makes them know
people are thinking about them."
Labriola gets his comedic material from “everyday life
and the stupid things people do”
He’s also a self-proclaimed “Realtor to the stars.” As
a licensed real estate agent, Labriola encourages
people such as Ray Romano of “Everybody Loves Raymond”
and Kevin James of “King of Queens” to buy land in
Florida. His real estate credentials date back to 2002
when he sold more than $5 million worth of property in
Naples for US Home.
On March 24, television viewers can hear more about
Labriola, who was born and raised in Queens, New York,
and is the youngest of five children. He’s a guest on
James and Betty Robison’s “Life Today” on Christian
Television Network, where he and his wife Rhonnda talk
about his struggles with post-Hollywood days.
"My wife has been the greatest gift in my life," he
said. "We talk about how a good women stood through it
all and how it made our marriage stronger."
Still, Labriola maintains relationships with close
friends in Hollywood. When he participates in the
annual Alice Cooper Celebrity Golf Tournament in May,
for instance, he’ll stay with actor Judge Rienhold.
They’re working on movie and TV ideas. He’s also in
regular contact with comedian Richard Lewis, and is in
talks with the executive producer of Home Improvement
on yet another idea for television.
"My true gift is to make people laugh," he said. "I
still have the edge and the attitude but it’s clean.
I’m back in it in a whole different way."
On the Web: www.hahajim.org and www.jimlabriola.com.
