Norlhey Simon, a freshman computer engineering major, burst out laughing just at the thought of Ralphie May.
“I don’t know if you guys are clapping for me or you guys are saying ‘Oh yeah, fatty made it all the way to the stage!’” he remembered as his favorite joke from the hefty comic.
The 450-pound comedian, May, was scheduled to perform at last year’s homecoming comedy show, but nearly died from pneumonia. Lexi Rosario, this year’s Program Board director, remembered the moment she found out May wasn’t coming.
“I volunteered last year for this event, and then I didn’t even know the whole switch until like two hours before,” she said. “I was offset, and I was like ‘Oh the students are going to be so mad.’”
Student Government Coordinator Mike Burdman knew students were upset when it happened.
“When he got sick last year, people were sad,” Burdman said. “They want to see him. He has a huge following, he’s hilarious. He’s on TV all the time.”
During his fight with pneumonia, May tweeted, “hey kids I have two types of pneumonia and it caused a blood clot to go into my lungs I was close to death.”
He battled back from his near-death bout, with Rosario and her board going after him once more.
“This year, when we were talking about it,” she said, “I was like ‘We have to [get Ralphie May back to perform].’ Then the rest of my board was like ‘Well, are the students going to trust us?’ I was like ‘Just do it! You know how excited everyone was last year and the fact that we get to bring him back this year, it’s going to be renewed excitement.’ I can’t wait.”
Last November, May planned to share the stage with comedians Tony Roberts and Josh Blue, performing as a trio, but he was replaced with Brandon T. Jackson. This year, however, comedians Malik Sanon and Juan Villareal will open for him, and May will take over the stage solo.
“Me and Ralphie [May] we’re both from Houston so I’ve known Ralphie for 20 years,” Villareal said. “My material is mostly stories about everyday life. I don’t do jokes. I just talk about my life, I do it for the laughs. I don’t really like to touch current events because every comic does that. I like to be a little bit original, a little bit different.”
Program Board is paying May $20,000 out of their $430,000 budget this year. Opening acts Juan Villareal and Malik Sanon are being paid $4,500 and $4,000, respectively, according to the Student Government Accounting and Budget Office.
“He wrote a personal email to send to FAU to say like ‘Hey, this was unexpected. I’m so sorry, this doesn’t represent me.’” Alicia Keating, director of Student Involvement & Leadership, said. “We just cared that he was better, and now he’s coming back.”
Tickets are available at the Student Union Box Office, free of charge for students.
