You would think a young Jim Carrey would just hop on stage and become an A-lister the next day. Not exactly. In fact, on stage at the ‘Yuk Yuk’s,” Carrey would find that the comedy world is pretty cut-throat.
His impressions totally bombed, and the crowd was not into it. It would be a few more years until he got it right.
Big Decision, Little Jim
While trying to hold down the job, Jim Carrey hit the comedy scene in the hopes of making it big. He auditioned for films, tried stand-up, whatever he could that would hone his skills for the big leagues.
It also turned out that school was just getting in the way, which is why he dropped out at 16 years old.
Fully Supported
Most parents would not take too kindly to their kids dropping out of school at such a young age, but Carrey's parents knew his talents would shoot him into stardom eventually.
His father, Percy Carrey, was his number one fan and would even help the young comedian prepare his acts for the Toronto club's stage. Carrey tried his hand at the famous Canadian standup comedy club called "Yuk Yuk's." It looked like he would be on his way.
Getting it Right
It took some time for him to find the rhythm, but when it that happened, he was up, up, and away. As Carrey started to show some promise in the local comedy scene in Toronto, it became evident that he was destined for bigger things.
Soon Carrey would have to head out to Hollywood and make a name for himself.
Coming to America
Things started to look promising, but it wasn't perfect. This was not the local comedy scene in his hometown, and landing the gigs he wanted would obviously prove to be complicated. The first knock was getting rejected from "Saturday Night Live."
Carrey auditioned for the live sketch show for the 1980-81 season. Had he made it, he would have been starring alongside Eddie Murphy. In the end, things didn't work out for him on the show, but he surely would return some forty years later.