“Creativity is thinking up new things. Innovation is doing new things.” ~Theodore Levitt

Back in 1975, Jose had a dream. Involving three things he loved – the sounds of people laughing, the spirit of celebration, and his adopted home, San Francisco – Simon began pushing the idea of a free outdoor daytime comedy “concert.” The vision became reality in 1981, when the first Comedy Day took place in Golden Gate Park.

Since that time, more than 500 of the world’s funniest comedians have performed free-of-charge for over a half-million people at Comedy Day. It started in the Golden Gate Park Music Concourse (affectionately known as the Band Shell), moved to the Polo Fields in 1986 to accommodate larger crowds and, for the past few years, has found a home in Sharon MeadoBorn to a show business family, he immigrated to San Francisco from Mexico City in 1959. Within a couple of years of arriving, he began performing with bands in North Beach and eventually joined SAPO, for which he was later inducted into the Kings of Latin Rock.

In the early 1970s, on his way to a rehearsal, Jose was introduced to a world that became his second passion: improvisation, through the legendary Committee, directed by Del Close. It was there where he first met another aspiring comedian, a guy by the name of Robin Williams, as well as John Cantu and Frank Kidder. John was a great comedy writer whose energy fueled Comedy Day, and Frank started the very first SF International Stand-Up Comedy Competition.

The seed was planted, and today, 27 years later, Jose’s spirit lives on not only at the five-hour funfest, but also through the comedy workshop outreach program conducted at Bay Area public schools throughout the year.

Believing in the healing power of laughter, Jose Simon was first and foremost an innovator. He was instrumental to the escalation of stand-up comedy in the city that is now considered the cradle of civilization for the genre. The Innovator Award will allow us to memorialize Jose’s legacy with the purchase of a bench in the park that was so near and dear to his heart. Thank you for your consideration.