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Daryn Jones's Costume Comes Off
By Shannon Bonefant
 Page 1
So you wanna be in show biz? It takes a lot more than being the class clown to make it big. Just ask Daryn Jones.
Daryn, along with “Mista Mo,” a.k.a. Morgan Smith, is the co-star of The Comedy Network show, The Buzz, and while Daryn has always known what he wanted to do in life, it didn’t come easily. Daryn started his comedic career at the age of seventeen, beginning as many comedians do — in front of the hard-to-please crowds in stand-up comedy clubs.
Daryn realized that with hard work and education, he could improve upon his natural talents. “Every little bit of experience prepares you for your next job. Build your skills through experience and eventually you will improve without realizing it.”
In Toronto’s comedy clubs he met some fellow comics and together they began shooting interviews on the street that were aired on Rogers Cable in Toronto. That show lasted three years, and turned into The Buzz, which is now shown across Canada on The Comedy Network.
Working long hours for free on the cable access show paid off. He was discovered by KISS 92 radio station in Toronto — they saw his work on cable access during their search for new on-air personalities. KISS 92 offered Daryn a spot on their morning radio show that quickly turned into a co-host position. He says that the work at the radio station was an exciting opportunity, especially since many broadcasters wait their whole career for an offer to co-host. When he left that job a year later, the morning show was ranked third in the market.
According to Brent Haynes, a production and development executive for The Comedy Network, comedians like Daryn need a little something extra.
“[Comedy] takes a quick wit, a propensity for public humiliation and a willingness to work for nothing,” said Brent. “Mostly you need to find humour in all the places that people don’t look or are afraid to look, which is usually in a mirror.”
Daryn knows all too well that a great deal of humour can be found in your own life. His first paying TV job was with YTV, hosting an afternoon block of cartoons called The Zone. When the station asked him to represent YTV at the Santa Claus Parade, Daryn felt he had hit the big time.
When he arrived at the location, he found that, instead of being the lead of a float, he was to fill in for the guy who normally wore the YTV Robot costume.
“As I walked around in the big bulky costume while kids pulled at my arms and kicked me in the shins, I remember thinking ‘welcome to show biz.’ It was pretty humbling,” he said.
Grabbing hold of opportunities has made Daryn successful in a business that is hard to break into. Along the way, he has learned some valuable lessons — especially that success can come and go.
Said Daryn, “I like to remind myself that my next job could be filling another costume.”
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