When you ask Wayne Brady to describe his talent, he is quick to call himself an improvisational storyteller.
“My job is to be creative to millions of people. It is truly a blessing,” said Brady, 39 who resides in Los Angeles but was born in Columbus, Ga and raised in Orlando, Fla.
Brady will be continuing that creative streak with a new television show, “Trust Us with Your Life” set to air on ABC July 10.
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The new improvisational show puts Brady back on the small screen with his old pals Jonathan Mangum (who currently serves as the announcer for “Let’s Make a Deal,” which Brady hosts daily on CBS), Colin Machrie and Ryan Stiles. The show will be hosted by Fred Willard.
On “Trust Us with Your Life,” Willard will interview celebrities and based on the life stories they tell, Brady and the other comics will create short improvisational scenes.
“It’s done by the same team that did ‘Whose Line is it Anyway?’ I think we’re going to have a hit on our hands. It’s a great TV show,” Brady said.
Brady became a household name in American households after joining the final season of the British version of “Whose Line is it Anyway?” with Machrie and Stiles in 1998 when it was filmed in Hollywood.
He went on to become a regular on the American version of the show, which was hosted by fellow comedian Drew Carey. Brady’s radiant talent on the show won him a primetime Emmy in 2003.
He has won four daytime Emmy Awards for the short-lived gabfest, “The Wayne Brady Show.” He has been hosting the revival of “Let’s Make a Deal” since 2009. He was recently nominated for another Emmy for his work on the game show.
But don’t call him a game show host.
“Monty Hall was a great host. I have my own shoes to fill. This is not Monty Hall’s version of the show. We pay homage to Monty, but his interaction with the people was different than mine is and the prizes are different,” Brady said.
The multi talented performer stopped by the Pittsburgh Improv to perform an improvisational comedy shtick to sold out audiences.
It just proved that improvisational comedy is here to stay.
Much like he does on “Let’s Make A Deal,” Brady invited audience members up on stage to participate in his act. He allowed them to ask questions, “to get to know him” and once he answered several of the audience questions—which ranged from “why don’t you lower your ticket prices” to “how old were you when you lost your virginity”—Brady turned the tables and asked the audience member a question about themselves.
Brady asked the audience to write made-up song titles on slips of paper that were sitting at each seat in the club. He randomly chose some of those song titles and made up on-the spot lyrics to the songs set to some of music’s most memorable songs like “Purple Rain.”
In addition to his improvisational tour, which will hit the Mirage Hotel and Casino on June 1, Brady is putting the finishing touches on a new CD that will be hitting the airwaves in February of 2013.
“It will have the melodies of soul like Sam Cooke combined with old school hip-hop,” Brady said of the yet-to-be titled project.
He is also developing a sitcom and is in the process of writing a one-man show that he is planning on taking to Broadway next year.
“The one-man show will encompass my thoughts on how music has shaped my life. People will get to see more characters from me,” Brady said.
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