Post Classifieds
Face of COD, alum serves experiences with humor
By Jennifer Waters
On November 14, 2012
Well into their fall tour, the GIs of Comedy took a time out to stop by Buffalo State for a chuckle with
WBNY on Tuesday.
The comedic meet and greet gave students the opportunity to network with veterans who have
traded tours of duty for comedy tours.
Leading the comedy troop's visit was 2004 Buffalo State broadcast alumni Thom Tran.
Highlighting his resume is work for CSI: New York, Call of Duty Black Ops, Call of Duty Modern
Warfare and the new Black Ops game.
Aside from also being an Army vet, Tran has about 10 years in Buffalo broadcasting, including
working for 103.3 The Edge and Kiss 98.5 before he took his work to Los Angeles.
While in LA, Tran began his work as a stand-up comedian and created the GI's of Comedy show in
2010 along with three other veterans. Joining Tran are Jose Sarduy, Will C and Tom Irwin.
"We do a lot of comedy clubs and are currently on a 14-state, 16-base tour which the army asked us
to take around the world," Tran said.
The tour started in August after many fans requested they do a hometown show, and the two-show
plan may expand to allow for a third since both are quickly selling out, Tran said.
"Our show is about everything. It's not just a military show," he said. "We all have careers outside
of the military, we have a combined 27 years of comedy experience, we talk about marriage, kids,
we just had dinner at Texas Road House last night and I'm pretty sure we got a few good bits out of
that."
Sarduy said that comedy is not as easy to get into as many may think, as he started in New York City
comedy clubs and working as an extra on Telemundo at age 17.
"The whole point would be to get people to come to the shows and to stay present in mass media so
when someone hears about my show in the city they say, 'Oh, he's back in town working on a new
special,'" Sarduy said.
The group will perform twice on Friday at the Forum in Amherst, with shows at 8 p.m. and 10 p.m.
Having traveled across the country for the show, Tran said he has returned to Iraq to do his stand
up for the soldiers.
Starting as a jock at WBNY, Tran said it was really the strong department and alumni connections
he made that allowed him to achieve so much in his career.
"I remember when I had to pick a college. I had just gotten back from the Army and it was either UB
or Buff State. I looked at the alumni lists for my career field and that made my decision," Tran said.
He lucked out, his hard work paid off and he said there were always alumni there to help out.
"I saw people here doing great things in the industry," he said.
Tran said he hopes the students he saw at the meet and greet will look to him as a network
connection for their careers as he was able to find at Buffalo State.
He said that making it in the industry takes more than just knowing someone and students need to
remember to start small and work up.
"I worked on Race to Witch Mountain my first week and then GI Joe and Transformers and I could
legitimately put those credits on my resume and have people go, 'This dude is moving and shaking
in the industry, get him on stage.' and that's literally how I got on stage at the Improv," Tran said.
Tran's fellow comedian Will C suggests that students be over prepared for the industry they want to
go into.
"Always be writing. Always have a finished product in your pocket ready to go because people are
always looking for ideas. You cannot hesitate in this business at all," he said. "If someone asks you if
you want the job, you have to be willing to drop everything to do it."
Jennifer Waters can be reached by email at waters.record@live.com.
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