Loyola Academy: Always Good for a Laugh by Susan Reich

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A Quarterly Newsletter for Alumni, Parents and Friends

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SPRING 2013

Always Good for a LAUGH

Patrick C. Finn ‘83

With a new Nickelodeon show, a string of film and television roles to his credit and a critically acclaimed improvisational comedy ensemble, Pat Finn ’83 is still spreading the cheer after all these years.

hree decades later, Jim Conroy ’83 is still laughing as he recounts one of the many stunts that his pal Pat Finn pulled during their Loyola years.

“Pat and I were heading out to a party in my parents’ car,” he recalls, “and Pat spied a bag of old clothes I’d thrown into the backseat to donate to charity. He decided to wear everything in the bag to the party and piled on so many layers that he couldn’t even put his arms down. He looked like a cross between the Michelin Man and the Incredible Hulk. The best part was his low-key demeanor during the hilarity that ensued. He kept asking everyone, ‘What’s so funny?’ with a totally straight face. “Even the teachers and priests laughed at Finn,” Conroy adds. “His humor was witty and light enough that you remembered it, but he never went overboard and got himself into trouble.” Finn, now 47 and living in Los Angeles with his wife and three children, recalls an exchange with a Loyola teacher that proves Conroy’s point. “Mr. Clark, my theology teacher, had a great sense of humor,” says Finn today. “He talked to me about the skits he’d seen on Saturday Night Live and we developed a kinship over our shared appreciation of comedy. One Finn is currently playing the role of “Dad Bob” on the Nickelodeon sitcom Marvin, Marvin (above), which premiered in November 2012. Over the years, Finn has acted in more than 20 day, while taking an essay test in his class, I encountered films, 50 television shows and 100 commercials alongside talent such as Alec Baldwin, Candice a question I couldn’t answer, so I improvised a funny Bergen, Steve Martin, Meryl Streep and Lily Tomlin. answer to fill in the space. When I got the test back, I saw that I’d gotten credit for all five questions. When I asked him if he’d ‘Hey, something fell off the statue’ and I thought, ‘This is great, I’ve got a read my last answer, he responded, ‘Yes, it was hilarious.’ He’d given me line and all the cute girls are looking at me.’ But after we ran through the full credit because my answer was creative and funny. So I tried it again scene, the director stood up and said, ‘The music was great, the exits and on the next test, but I only got credit for three out of the five questions. entrances were flawless and Pat, what was that line you had?’ I repeated I asked to talk to him after class and he said, ‘Yeah, those last two just the line and he said ‘We’re going to give that line to someone else.’ I was weren’t that funny.’ Of course, he also said, ‘From now on, let’s try to read the only thing wrong with the entire eight-minute scene!” the chapters instead of doing a comedy show.’” According to Finn, the stage door at Loyola closed pretty quickly Ironically, given Finn’s penchant for comedic performance, he didn’t after that, but he did have one chance to redeem himself in a variety spend much time on Loyola stages during his Rambler years. show called the Loyola Follies. “I was in the chorus of only one play at Loyola because I was too “One of the teachers asked three of us to come up with a comedy nervous to get up in front of people,” he recalls with a pained chuckle. bit,” says Finn. “There was an all-female band called The Go-Gos that “While we were rehearsing, the director said, ‘Pat Finn, why don’t you say was pretty big at the time and one of their album covers had a photo of the band members wearing nothing but bath towels, with Noxema on their faces. So we came onstage wearing towels and Noxema and lipsynced their song Our Lips Are Sealed (see photo at bottom left). It went over really well, but it by no means propelled me into thinking that this was going to be my new livelihood.” After Loyola, Finn headed to Marquette University to study communications. During his freshman year, he met two people who would dramatically alter the course of his life: Donna, the woman and “best friend” he would eventually marry, and Chris Farley, a Marquette sophomore with an oversized physique, an over-the-top personality and an outrageous sense of humor. “Chris and I hit it off right away and began to pal around together,” 2 remembers Finn. “We’d listen to comedy albums and watch funny movies and go to anything we could find that had comedy in it.” Finn still remembers the first time the pair performed together. “It was an open mic night at a dive bar on the east side of Milwaukee, and we got up and did four minutes of improvisational com-

Four Jesuiteducated friends weigh in on Finn “Pat’s humor is very ‘everyman.’ You relate to it because he comes from a very solid base of normalcy. A lot of comedians use filthy language or cheap humor, but Pat does average human being, regular guy stuff. He doesn’t have to sink to blue humor to get a laugh.”

“Pat started to take on this comic role early in high school. It was just something in him that he had to let out.” John J. O’Donnell ’83

“Pat is the funniest guy I’ve ever met. He is exceptionally quick-witted, with a very sharp sense of humor — but never at someone else’s expense.”

James M. Conroy ’83

“Besides being the nicest human being on the planet, Pat has a playful comedic energy that never grates — always charms.”

continued on page 4

1 Pat Finn (front row, right) with fellow Ramblers at Loyola’s 1983 senior prom 2 Finn and close pal Chris Farley during their Marquette days 3 Clad in tow-

els and Noxema (l-r): Luke A. Stella ’83, M. Casey Kelly ’84 and Finn lip-sync The Go-Go’s song Our Lips Are Sealed at the 1982 Loyola Follies. 4 Finn with George Wendt on the set of The George Wendt Show in 1995

Joel F. Murray ’80, actor God Bless America, Shameless, Mad Men, Dharma & Greg

George Wendt, actor Cheers, The George Wendt Show (Campion Jesuit High School and Rockhurst College)

1 Finn as Santa Claus in the 2012 Disney film Santa Paws 2: The Santa Pups 2 Finn with Joel Murray ’80 on the main stage at The Second City 50th anniversary show, The Second City Alumni: One Night Only, in 2009 3 Finn (second from left) with costars Candice Bergen, Lily Tomlin, Michael Jeter and Joe Reglebuto on the set of Murphy Brown in 1998 4 Finn with costar Lucas Cruikshank on the set of the Nickelodeon sitcom Marvin, Marvin in 2013 5 Finn with his wife, Donna (second from left), and children (l-r) Caitlin (15), Ryan (10) and Cassidy (17) in 2012

Always Good for a Laugh continued from page 1

In 1987, after Finn graduated from Marquette, the pair headed to Chicago to break into the city’s burgeoning comedy scene. “Chris and I went down to Wells Street and basically just paced back and forth in front of The Second City comedy club. We obviously thought in our optimistic minds that somebody would see us through the windows and say, ‘Those two guys look funny; let’s get them onstage.’” While they were pacing, Second City cast member Joel Murray ’80 happened to walk by. “I knew Joel because he and my

Then we signed up for the classes and just dove in.” Soon Finn and Farley were performing alongside the likes of Mike Myers, Tina Fey, Steve Carell, Stephen Colbert and Amy Poehler. Finn sold insurance and worked as a beer salesman by day to pay the bills while performing at ImprovOlympic at night. After writing and performing in two Second City resident shows, he landed the part of George Wendt’s younger brother in The George Wendt Show and eventually moved out to L.A. Over the years, he has appeared in TV shows such as Murphy Brown,

“Comedy brings people together regardless of color or creed. It’s something great to have in your quiver.” — Pat rick C. Finn ’83

Third Rock from the Sun, Friends, Seinfeld, The Drew Carey Show, That 70s Show, Las Vegas, Wizards of Waverly Place, Curb Your Enthusiasm, House and The Middle. He has acted in some 20 films — including I Love You, Beth Cooper; Space Buddies; Santa Paws 2: The Santa Pups; and opposite Meryl Streep in It’s Complicated — as well as more than 100 commercials. He recently completed the 20th episode of the Nickelodeon sitcom Marvin, Marvin — and he continues to perform improv every week at ImprovOlympic West in L.A. as a member of the critically acclaimed ensemble show BeerSharkMice. Yet for all of his comic and commercial success, Finn isn’t just about getting the laughs. He has a deeply spiritual side, which keeps him grounded in a town — and an industry — that can

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In MemOriam LA

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Karl Alsens, father of Karl ’73 and Anita Alsens LdM ’74. Brian C. Baker ’72, father of Brian C. Jr. ’99 and Matthew T. Baker ’02, son of George M. Baker ’46 and brother of George M. Jr. ’71 and John M. Baker ’76. Charles Barbaglia, father of Charyl Barbaglia Szydloski LdM ’81. Robert A. Bartik, grandfather of Maryclare B. Bartik ’15. Dorothy A. Beverley, mother of Pauline Beverley Boness LdM ’72. Ursula S. Blix, grandmother of Elise E. ’12 and Simone C. Gruber ’12. Margaret A. Boyle, sister of Louis L. ’67, Alexander P. ’70 and Laurence S. Schorsch ’78. Stephen Bucol ’45. Bart Joseph Burns, grandfather of Morgan C. ’12 and Charles J. Kuhn ’13 and father-in-law of Kevin G. Kuhn ’82. Frances O’Meara Byrne, wife of Richard D. Byrne ’33 RIP; mother of Stephen J. ’66 and Daniel A. Byrne ’78; grandmother of Matthew P. ’06, Michael A. ’08 and Rose O. Broccolo ’11, Matthew M. ’92, Samuel D. ’11, Jack A. ’13 and Mary Kate Byrne ’16 and Arthur R. McGivern ’93; and mother-in-law of Peter J. Broccolo ‘74, Loyola Board chair 2008-present. Virginia C. Cawley, grandmother of Angela Baiocchi ’08 and Katie M. ’98, Kelly A. ’99, Margaret C. ’05 and Joseph T. Chiczewski ’07. Marian B. Case, mother of Robert A. ’72 and John G. Case ’77. R. Frank Cerniglia ’53, brother of Charles J. Cerniglia ’56. Fr. Anthony Chen, Loyola faculty member 1969-1972. Walter L. Cook, father of Gerard W. Cook ’71.

leave many people feeling emotionally unmoored. The day before he spoke with us for this article, Finn slipped away from the Paramount set of Marvin, Marvin to spend his lunch hour in a Catholic church down the street. “My faith grounds me,” he says simply, “and so does my family and my network of Jesuit-educated friends. The tough part about being in L.A. is that we don’t have our extended family out here. But we have surrounded ourselves with an amazing community of Loyola alumni and other Midwestern transplants. “Right now,” adds Finn, “we are filming Marvin, Marvin on Stage 25 of the Paramount lot and I’m four or five stages over from Chris O’Donnell ’88, who is currently working on NCIS Los Angeles. When I was doing The George Wendt Show, Joel Murray was working on a sitcom on the same CBS lot. Whenever I went back to Wilmette to visit my family, my mom would give me a bag of her homemade cookies for Joel, and I’d head over to his trailer, knock on the door and hand them over.” This deep and enduring connection with family and friends — and the bond that can be forged with the rest of humanity through humor — is what Finn is all about. “Pat doesn’t have any pretentions,” points out longtime friend John O’Donnell ’83. “He’s not out here trying to climb any social ladders. He doesn’t need the bright lights of Hollywood or the glitter and the glamour and the accolades. He is inspired by the simple things. He’d rather be hanging out with a handful of his Loyola buddies, watching the Bears or the Blackhawks with a case of beer and some cheeseburgers on the grill. In his mind, there’s no greater place to be.” ✛

older brother, Kevin ’80, were good friends,” explains Finn. “He walked up to us and said, ‘Hey little Finner, what are you doing?’ And I said, ‘Hey Joel, this is my friend, Chris, and we want to get into comedy.’” “I remember running into Pat and a rotund friend,” says Murray today. “They offered to buy me a drink because they wanted to pick my brain and get my job. So we went across the street and had five or six. They were very funny guys. I knew they were the real deal.” “Joel told us to take classes at Second City and ImprovOlympic,” says Finn. “Then he said, ‘Take it easy,’ and headed off to rehearsal. Chris and I turned to each other and grinned as if someone had just given us the keys to the world — which, in a way, he had.

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edy that was really atrocious. We came up with this Skipper and Gilligan routine and the whole bit consisted of Chris yelling at me and hitting me with his hat. Most of the people at the bar were Pabst Brewery night-shift workers on lunch break, and they just stared at us and laughed at the oddity of two guys carrying on while standing on top of 12 milk crates that had been duct-taped together to create a stage.” Amateurish as it was, the fourminute improv energized the two undergraduates. “We were excited,” Finn recalls, “so we signed up to do a dating game skit for the Marquette Follies. But every time Chris and I and the other students in the skit got together to rehearse, it was at a bar with 50¢ beers. Needless to say, we didn’t get much rehearsing done, and we soon found ourselves standing in front of an audience of 1,500 people at the Follies with nothing to say. So Chris turned to me and flipped up the collar of my shirt, turned to another guy wearing overalls and said, ‘You be a farmer’ and then put on glasses and said, ‘I’ll be a nerd.’ “Then the guy playing the emcee in our skit yelled, ‘Let’s bring the bachelors out!’ So we ran out on the stage, but the girl we’d recruited to be the bachelorette had quit because we’d never written anything down. Chris and I realized at that moment how important the girl was to the skit, so we just improvised about not having the girl there.” The audience roared with laughter and Finn and Farley got a huge round of cheers and applause. “It was a pretty amazing feeling because we were literally flying by the seats of our pants,” recalls Finn. “I remember Chris turning to me and grabbing me by the lapels and looking me in the eye and saying, ‘I think this is what we’re supposed to do.’”

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William A. Fortman, father of William A. ’82 and David J. Fortman ’85 and Patrick C. Gagin ’83. A. James Gallagher Jr. ’39, brother of Robert E. ’40 RIP and John P. Gallagher ’45 RIP. Patricia A. Gulinski, wife of C. Chris Gulinski ’67. Kathleen Halter, mother of Michael S. Halter ’89. Laurette Heinz, mother of Edward N. III ’62 and Raymond J. Heinz ’64; mother-in-law of George L. Enriquez ’77; and grandmother of Kristi M. ’05, Mary Margaret ’07 and Pamela J. Enriquez ’10 and Kelli Heinz ’04. James J. Hermann Jr. ’54. Florence F. Cooney, mother of Walter E. Jr. ’66 and Timothy J. Cooney ’71. Lawrence Hickey ’41, father of Brian L. ’75 and E. Lawrence Hickey ’77 and brother of Joan C. Coursey, mother of Edward P. ’91 and Mary Kate Coursey ’95. John G. Hickey ’39 RIP. Joseph L. Cunniff, father of Joseph L. Jr. ’65, Robert T. ’67, William P. ’73 and John H. Hudson ’52. David M. Cunniff ’78. Rosemary Hynan, mother of Daniel J. Hynan ’73. Helen J. Daly, mother of Robert E. Daly Jr. ’81. Joan Jardien, mother of Robert A. Jardien ’67. Hon. John J. Dempsey ’44, father of Frederick R. ’74 and David A. Dempsey ’82 Joseph Jedd, father of Joseph J. Jr. ’77 and Jonathan J. Jedd ’80. and brother of Thomas W. ’50 and John T. Dempsey ’55. Peter J. Joyce, father of Julie Joyce Correll LdM ’76 and Mary Joyce Flink LdM ’79. George E. Dernbach ’46. Matthew Just, grandfather of Christine M. ’99, Andrew J. ’01, Julie ’04 and Laura M. Joseph S. DiFrancesco ’73. Collins ’09 and Bradley P. Just ’16. Patricia Dolan, wife of Burtis J. Dolan Jr. ’43 RIP; mother of Burtis J. III ’77, William G. ’78, Edward L. Kator, grandfather of Martin R. ’92 and Matthew F. Kator ’96. Patrick J. ’79 and John P. Dolan ’80 and Amy Dolan Malaney LdM ’75 and Mary Alice Carole J. Keefer, mother of Guy W. Keefer ’80. Dolan Noone LdM ’82; grandmother of William G. Jr. ’06, Patrick J. Jr. ’08, Burtis J. IV Grace S. Kelly, mother of Thomas J. ’60 and Patrick D. Kelly ’62. ’09, Ellen M. ’09, John P. Jr. ’09, Michael M. ’09, Casey J. ’10, Brendan S. ’11, Ian P. ’12, J. Timothy Kelley, Loyola faculty 1963-1967, father of Timothy J. ’93 and Michael P. Kelley ’94. Katherine ’13, Sean M. ’13 and Laine E. Dolan ’15. Margie D. Koerber, mother of John V. Koerber ’72. Dorothy J. Downing, mother of Michael D. Downing ’62. Robert W. Kozel, father of Thomas F. Kozel ’68 RIP. Frances L. Duggan, mother of Frank E. ’66, Jeffrey X. ’67 and Richard J. Duggan ’77. Robert B. Kupski, grandfather of Jeffrey M. Kupski ’08. Keelan Emily Edens, daughter of Nora Berletich Edens ’99. Joann LaPorte, mother of David J. ’80 RIP and Richard T. LaPorte ’83. Barbara Mosier Fegan, wife of John J. Fegan ’63. Terence Leahy ’58, brother of John H. ’55 and Thomas K. Leahy ’60. Charles T. Ferrera, Loyola staff member 1980-1999. Catherine Lee, mother of Robert C. ’67 and Richard T. Lee ’71 and Corinne Lee McClintic, Allen E. Fink, father of Edwina Fink Del Giudice LdM ’77. Loyola Trustee 2000-2004 and grandmother of Ryan ’04 and Celia E. McClintic ’13. Rita FitzPatrick, mother of William J. ’62, Robert C. ’64 and John M. Phillips ’68. Mary Angela Leider, mother of M. James Leider ’56, grandmother of Gerard S. Leider Jr. Diane S. Francis, mother of Debra Francis Ingargiola ’03 and Sarah Francis ’07 and sister of ’90 and great-grandmother of Sean R. Leider ’16. Gary G. Stanton ’68. Carmen M. Leisner, mother of Paul A. Leisner ’74 and grandmother of Joshua M. ’92 and Margaret Ann Foley, mother of Thomas G. ’94 and Daniel P. Foley ’97. Rose C. Leisner ’08. Robert I. Luczak, father of Rev. Andrew Luczak ’61.