R.I.P. Richard Bain, 1982-2020
Today, comedy lost a truly, unabashedly, unique voice in one Richard Bain. Bain’s relentless commitment to being silly made him stand out in any room he played. His unshakeable calm juxtaposed with how utterly zany he could get was something we’d look forward to any time he took the stage or was even just hanging in the green room/wings/bar/party/etc. Bain was just a delightful constant in and around comedy.
The first time we even heard the name Richard Bain was the second time we went to the Bridgetown Comedy Festival up in Portland. As several things fell through in going up there (namely, a car breaking down, running several hours behind schedule, and not having a place to sleep), we found ourselves at the long running Portland open mic at Suki’s. From what we had heard from the Portland comics that we knew, it could be a not so inviting open mic, especially if you were not part of the scene in Portland.
It just so happened that we went to Suki’s on the one night that they were dedicating the open mic as a farewell to Richard Bain from Portland down to LA. The warmth that Richard exuded was definitely flowing through the room. From the candor that the comics had for Richard, we could sense that Richard was something special. We still think about his joke about saying Barack Obama’s name a la Down With the Sickness.
Please go explore Richard’s comedy whether it be on YouTube, Twitter, or Instagram to honor his memory and enjoy his incredible dedication to being comedically ridiculous.