Local comedian to film Amazon Prime special in Altoona

ALTOONA, Pa. (WTAJ) — A local comedian is gearing up to film an Amazon Prime special and the community is invited to attend.

Scott Kelly , of Duncansville, will be at ArtsAltoona (2212 6th Ave.) on Friday, Sept. 13 to film his stand up comedy special for Amazon Prime. Doors will open at 7 p.m., with the show scheduled to begin at 8 p.m. Tickets are currently on sale for $10 .

Kelly started his comedy journey in 2011 by traveling five days a week to Pittsburgh for open mics. Kelly decided to dive into comedy after a health scare in 2010, where he was in the hospital for a week, not knowing if he was going to be okay or not.

“I had a death scare in July 2010, and spent a week in the hospital,” Kelly said. “During my stay, my wife asked what I wanted to do if I made it out okay. I told her that I wanted to stop dreaming of comedy and just do it.”

Kelly then started focusing on local stand up after his son was born. In 2022, he was asked to start teaching a comedy class, to which he was hesitant to at first.

“I was hesitant to,” Kelly said. “I thought, why wouldn’t they get someone who had done that before to do the job. My wife though, she encouraged me to do it and so I took the job.”

During the class, Kelly became close friends with one of the members, who asked him if he wanted to do a special for Amazon. His friend had close connections and promised that he could get Kelly in.

The days turned into weeks and Kelly began to lose hope that Amazon was going to pick him up for a special. Then, during the week of Christmas, Kelly got the call that Amazon was greenlighting his stand up special.

Since then, Kelly has been spending his days sifting through material and his nights traveling to open mics and stand up events, all in preparation for his big night, which he purposely scheduled for Friday the thirteenth.

“I did pick Friday the thirteenth on purpose,” Kelly said. “Everything I’ve ever done living in this town, I’ve always heard that I couldn’t. So once again, I am going against the grain and picking a date that you just can’t forget.”

Kelly also made a note to point out that his show is for mature audiences only. While laughing is for everyone, some jokes may not be very family-friendly. The show is recommended for all those 18 and over.

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At the end of the day, Kelly said that he has always really enjoyed making people laugh, even from a very young age. He recalled how he loved making his grandparents and family laugh, knowing that he was meant for the comedy stage.

“I love it [comedy],” Kelly said. “Ever since I was a little kid I have loved making people laugh, it’s in my heart and soul. We all have our own issues but laughing is what can ground us.”

Kelly said that while he has zero expectations for the special, he does have hope that it will do well. The biggest message Kelly said he learned through this entire experience is to take chances because you never know where something might lead.

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