Number 76 on Comedy Central's list of the 100 greatest comedians of all time (of course, that factoid came from Wikipedia, so it could be complete bullshit), Robert Schimmel deftly mixes outrageously frank sex jokes with philosophical musings inspired by his own life; he's from the thought-provoking stand-up school whose other graduates include Lenny Bruce and Bill Hicks. Schimmel was diagnosed with cancer 2000 and, since beating it, has made the experience a large part of his act, lending serious credence to the old saw about laughter being the best medicine. See him this weekend at The Tampa Improv. March 16-19, 7:30 p.m. Thurs., 7:30 and 10 p.m. Fri.-Sat., 7 p.m. Sun., 1600 E. Eighth Ave., Centro Ybor, $16-$20, 813-864-4000, www.tampaimprov.com.
This article appears in Mar 15-21, 2006.