‘Saved by the Bell’ actor cracks jokes at Funny Bone

Joking briefly about his well-known role as Screech on “Saved By the Bell,” Dustin Diamond’s stand-up comedy act this weekend at The Funny Bone Comedy Club made fun of everyone from his past cast mates to members of the audience.

Diamond performed six shows during the course of four days, selling out for the Thursday show and the Friday and Saturday late shows.

Brad Wilhelm, a comedian who has been performing stand-up in Bloomington for 15 years, was host to the shows. Wilhelm’s segment included the “Bad Joke of the Week,” a “bad joke” which he told “poorly” to make the following comedians seem funnier.

After Wilhelm’s introduction came the opening act. Different young comedians from the Bloomington area were given the opportunity to perform a short sketch.

“We have a good crop of young comedians,” Funny Bone owner Jared Thompson said.
Ashley Bullington, a senior and friend of the club, opened for the 8 p.m. show Saturday. The majority of her act revolved around her relationships with ex-boyfriends.

Diamond’s act began, as promised, with a few jokes about his years on “Saved by the Bell.”

“There’s something about making fun of Slater’s perm mullet that gets me to laugh every time,” Thompson said.

Diamond did not concentrate on the sitcom during the rest of his act except for the off-hand comment here and there.

From there, his show focused on anything from Wal-Mart workers to feminine products that can be used as air fresheners. Diamond also brought the audience into the act by pointing out certain people in the crowd who went along with his routine.

“I like how he made fun of everyone,” freshman Rosie Cramer said. “He related to the audience a lot.”

Diamond said all of the crowds were really good. But, some audiences are better than others. Most comedians prepare themselves for the late-night shows knowing the audiences will not be as good, Diamond said. The 10:30 p.m. Friday show was an exception and really great, he said.

“I think that audiences don’t know what to expect sometimes,” Diamond said.

The audience at the 8 p.m. Saturday show seemed to fit into this category.

“I wasn’t sure how funny he would be, but I liked him,” Cramer said.

Overall, Thompson said Diamond’s shows were a success.

“We had a lot of people come up to us and say how funny his set was,” Thompson said.

Diamond was on-par with the comedians the club has previously had, Thompson said.  
“The thing that you want more than anything else is someone to make people laugh,” Thompson said. “(Diamond) was a class act, a really nice guy. We definitely are going to want him back.”