Jim Norton
Jim Norton
At age 18, Jim Norton attempted suicide by slitting his wrist. He describes the attempt as more attention-getting than serious. Subsequently, he went to rehab for alcohol abuse. He completed the program and has maintained his sobriety until today.
Clay took a shine to the younger Norton and ask him to fill in when Clay’s opening act dropped out at the last minute. Norton began to tour with Clay regularly.
After rehab, Norton completed his GED as he had missed his high school graduation. While living with his parents, he got a job in a warehouse working a forklift.
His mother was a librarian and his father a postal worker for the military. Norton describes his childhood as relatively positive, but eventually low self-esteem led him to begin drinking alcohol to excess at an early age.
Jim Norton was a frequent guest on Tough Crowd, a late night roundtable show with Colin Qunn as host and moderator. Norton was well suited the format, where comics such as Patrice O’Neal and Nick Di Paolo would crack on each other as they discussed the issues of the day.
A trait of Norton’s comedy is an unflinching honesty about his sexual behavior. Norton admits to having sex with escorts frequently - occasionally even suggesting that he’s paid girls to use him as a toilet. Norton currently is in a relationship and has said he does not frequent prostitutes any more.
During the second season of the NBC reality show Last Comic Standing, Jim Norton reached the semi-finals. He ultimately had to drop out of the contest due to a prior commitment to MTV.
In 1989, Norton started to pursue stand-up comedy, attending an open mics. His first was at central Jersey’s Varsity Pub, which would become a frequent haunt. Norton was afraid of performing and would often wish that shows would be cancelled so he wouldn’t have to go on stage.
