Jim Pharr: Is He Serious?

By April Norris

Those who love the Springer Opera House and No Shame Theater may have read on social media about the health issues of the talented Jim Pharr, host of No Shame and resident actor for The Springer. There is no replacement. I learned over coffee, (Fountain City Coffee,  where he begins each morning) that Jim was diagnosed with epilepsy when he was 23, roughly the time he began working at the Springer. “There is nothing like waking up after a car accident, talking to a police officer and then realizing you’ve pissed yourself.” After I spit my coffee, I was reminded why I chose him to highlight as a Local comedian/actor/screenwriter. He recently wrote a vignette, a small play production, that took place in The Lion House owned by Brian Luedtke (fellow No Shame player and January’s cover of The Local).

He was given his diagnosis of epilepsy in 2011 and things were calm until another major seizure in 2015. After three seizures in 2016 he had to dial back the play hours as they were only becoming more frequent. Doctors can’t explain why the seizures increased, but they are convinced that it is induced by stress and can be remedied with deep breathing and in his words “Buddhist-like methods.” As host of No Shame he has seen many odd/stressful human behavior including a time he was reading a poem rather than his usual bit at the end of the night and a woman kept laughing while he was reading his painful experience on stage. “I try not to be an asshole, but the format of the show is not always funny. So I had her escorted out.” Most people understand that No Shame theater is 15 acts and they feature original sketch comedy, poetry, and music. There is a time for crowd participation and then there is a time to “Shut the eff up!”—Jim’s request at every show on behalf of all the jittery performers.

I asked him about future endeavors and he said, “I dress like a cartoon/baby and I get paid to pretend…I feel like I’ve tricked people.” He will be working at Nonic as a server in addition to continuing his commitments to the Springer. Jim works 50 out of 52 weeks a year for the Springer’s No Shame theater and admits that it is a tough role to fill. Finding one replacement won’t be enough. Occasionally he will have someone fill in when he is sick, but the hosting of no Shame will have to be a shared position. I asked him to tell me a fantasy party he’d love to host; a future that I am certain he will see to fruition.

“I’d like to have a Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass Party. Everyone should wear sweater vests and for some reason everyone needs to have a perm. A punch bowl of cocktails (Shirley Temples for me) with a global invitation.”

If he is serious, I will be in attendance. You can see Jim almost every Friday at No Shame Theater at 9:30 PM (look for the “Lady”) if you want to get on the board as a performer. Acts begin around 10:00 PM. The cost is only $5 at the door and you can purchase beer/wine. You won’t regret the crowd participation and the variety of local talent. Jim will boss you around and you will like it!