Since his first gig early last year, the 40-year-old Malloy has filled his routine with cracks about his schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, which were diagnosed in 1984. He even starts every performance with an intro straight out of a Wackos Anonymous meeting: "Hi. My name is Bill, and I'm schizophrenic." But, he says, "Not everyone believes me."
Malloy — who shares the stage tonight with four other local comics, including Bill Squire and Mark Colella — writes jokes based on his crazy lifestyle. He once checked himself into a mental hospital because he squandered $50,000 on scratch-off tickets after winning the Ohio Lottery. He also claims that his paranoia cost him a spot at Cleveland State University's Marshall College of Law. "I had a 3.82 grade point average, but I didn't get in the first time I applied," says Malloy, who is two classes shy of a master's degree in public administration at CSU. "I guess an autistic guy with a lobotomy and a 4.0 beat me out."
A few months ago, Malloy's self-deprecating humor became on-air fodder for shock jocks Opie & Anthony, who invited him to New York for an hour-long gig on their syndicated radio show. The duo hid people in the studio and then tried to convince Malloy that voices were telling him to kill himself. But Malloy didn't fall for it. This time. "My job as a comedian is to make you laugh," he says. "My job as a schizophrenic is to scare you."
Fri., June 30, 9:45 p.m.
