Palm Springs, CA
Laughter has long been a tool in handling life’s challenges among disenfranchised and minority communities, for award winning comedy trailblazer Sampson McCormick, who is black and gay, a native of Washington, DC currently residing in Los Angeles– it’s been no different. Before journeying into a career in comedy, McCormick grew up experiencing unstable housing, violence both at home, in community, and spent time in foster care. A class clown, he used humor to overcome a sad, disadvantaged and neglectful childhood. As he ventured into adolescence and recognized that he was gay, facing homophobia in the church, on the school basketball team and the personal acceptance of his identity, he once again remembers how important it was to laugh.
“My earliest years weren’t pleasant at all, thinking back, had I not had such a great sense of humor, I’d probably have grown up into a very angry and horrible person.” McCormick remembers. It was at the suggestion of his Drama and English teachers that Sampson began pursuing comedy professionally at 16 years old. For over two decades his conviction and understanding of how important laughter is to help us overcome life’s challenges and bring people of all backgrounds together in unity has grown even stronger.
He’s headlined venues including The Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, historic Howard Theater, Harvard University and in 2017 made history as the first LGBTQ comedian to headline a Smithsonian Museum (National Museum of African American History and Culture) television appearances include BET, VICELAND, Fox Soul and the Amazon Prime dramatic comedy “Love the One You’re With” (2021).
McCormick brings the laughs to Palm Springs for Black History Month on Saturday Feb. 25, 2023, at 7PM PST at Toucan’s Tiki Bar & Cabaret Lounge.
The show will cover a variety of hilarious social and cultural topics and guaranteed to be hilariously funny. Tickets are $25 and available at reactionshows.com
Toucan’s Tiki Bar & Cabaret Lounge is located at 2100 N Palm Canyon Palm Springs, CA and can be found online here.