Once upon a time, there was a (relatively) mild-mannered salesman named Jon Stites. He had a great job, a nice house with a white picket fence, a wife and a dog named Sam. He was living the American dream. That dream turned to a nightmare, however, when the powers that be decided to take a big, steamy sh*t right on his ugly-ass head. In rapid succession, his wife left him for another guy, the recession claimed his job, the bank claimed his house, and his dog Sam got hit by a bus. While some people would have turned to drugs or whiskey, Stites found solace in a new love: comedy. And vodka. And some pills. The result was a cosmic comedy explosion and Stites soon found himself writing for National Lampoon, the Bob and Tom Show, doing stand-up in front of thousands of people in large theatres, doing radio all over, fronting the world's only all-white James Brown tribute band (Jimmy Jay Brown and the Cracker Jax) and starring in a feature length National Lampoon comedy film that he also wrote.
The two words that best describe Jon Stites are Social Chameleon. On stage he is an intense, albeit intellectual, ball of energy: dancing, singing, doing impressions, and finding the funny in everyday life. He has been a college Spanish professor, a grunt in the Army Infantry, a brawling bouncer, white collar sales executive and a world traveler to places both glorious and shady as hell. Equally comfortable sipping a martini and discussing world affairs at a black tie gala or a slammin’ a 40 oz at a barbecue in the hood, his simultaneously cerebral yet intense style of expression shatters the monotony of cultural myopia and takes the audience on an irreverent journey of unique self-expression. Stites says what you think but are afraid to say.
Stites has also founded his own comedy tour, OPERATION COMEDY, in conjunction with National Lampoon, the Indiana National Guard and the Wounded Warrior Project. In 2010, the OPERATION COMEDY juggernaut tore out of the gates like a Texas Twister and has left a tattered trail of tear ducts in its wake. As it continues to pack massive theatres, military bases and comedy clubs, OPERATION COMEDY is quickly becoming the hottest ticket in town. Proceeds are donated to the Wounded Warrior Project, which helps our service men and women who have been wounded or endured hardship as a result of their heroic service.
