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X-WR-CALNAME:Robert Schimmel in Pittsburgh at Pittsburgh Improv - Even
	tful
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART:20090108T200000
DTSTAMP:20081124T030850Z
SUMMARY:Robert Schimmel
DESCRIPTION: In June of 2000\, everything was going Robert Schimmel's 
	way. The award winning stand-up comedian and writer had just been feat
	ured in his own HBO Special and his latest stand-up CD\, If you Buy Th
	is CD\, I Can Buy This Car\, was well received. Most exciting of all h
	e had just finished shooting the pilot for his own network sitcom\, Sc
	himmel. Then\, all of a sudden\, his world changed. He was diagnosed w
	ith non-Hodgkins lymphoma\, a cancer of the immune system. "I went to 
	my doctor to have this lump on my neck checked out\, and after the tes
	t came back\, he called me into his office and said\, 'Robert\, I'd li
	ke you to meet your oncologist.' I said back to him\, 'I thought oncol
	ogists were for people with cancer.' That's when it hit me." Tragicall
	y\, this was not Schimmel's introduction to the world of cancer. Eight
	 years earlier\, his son\, Derek\, had succumbed to brain cancer at ag
	e eleven. Terrified and confused\, Schimmel began treatment at the May
	o Clinic in Scottsdale. It was while undergoing treatment in Mayo's in
	fusion suite that Robert realized the impact that his positive outlook
	 could have\, not just on himself\, but on others\, as well. "Staying 
	positive and having the ability to laugh played a great role in my own
	 recovery. I think it was as important as the treatment I was receivin
	g. It's my mission to try and give other people fighting the disease t
	he same gifts of laughter and a positive attitude that I had. Hopefull
	y\, my career as a comic will give me the forum to touch these people.
	" Today\, Schimmel has resumed his hectic schedule performing around t
	he country\, just as he did before his diagnosis. He is starting to pe
	rform stories about his life which he plans on building into a one-man
	 show and filmed documentary. Robert recently appeared on "Extreme Mak
	eover: Home Edition" on ABC in which he performed for the neighbors of
	 an LA family\, whose house was being renovated\, in which the mother 
	had stage four cancer. "I'm known for my nightclub act and HBO special
	s and the material is no-holds barred. For this show\, which was prime
	-time network\, I had to put together a clean set\, which I wanted to 
	do for this special family as I knew exactly what they were going thro
	ugh. I considered it a privilege to do it". Schimmel's brand of all-to
	o-real humor has put him at the forefront of comedy ever since he firs
	t began writing gags for\, among others\, Yakov Smirnoff\, Jimmie Walk
	er\, Gabe Kaplan and Joan Rivers. After serving a stint on the staff o
	f In Living Color\, his big break came when he was singled out by Rodn
	ey Dangerfield and invited to perform on an HBO special. In quick succ
	ession he appeared on the Playboy Channel and Fox Network before landi
	ng a pair of his own Showtime Specials. From there\, guest shots in a 
	wide variety of TV and film productions set the stage for his recorded
	 comedy debut\, Robert Schimmel Comes Clean in 1997\, followed\, a yea
	r later\, by If You Buy This CD\, I Can Get This Car\, which helped to
	 land the performer the prestigious Best Male Stand-Up Comic award at 
	the 1999 American Comedy Awards. His third CD\, Unprotected was releas
	ed in 1999. \n
LOCATION:Pittsburgh Improv @ 166 East Bridge Street The Stacks at the 
	Waterfront, Homestead, Pennsylvania 15120 United States
SEQUENCE:1227496130
UID:E0-001-016742947-1
URL:http://eventful.com/E0-001-016742947-1
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