Comedian Learnmore Jonasi, a 31-year-old, Pittsburgh resident who was born in Zimbabwe, is making waves on NBC’s “America’s Got Talent,” breaking into the Top 44 and vying for a position in the show’s quarterfinals.
Host Terry Crews, whose roles in “White Chicks” and “Everybody Hates Chris” Jonasi used to imitate as a child, gave Jonasi a golden buzzer in season 19. Jonasi had stated on “AGT” that it was his ambition to be on the show. And when Jonasi grew older, he and his mother used to watch “AGT” on a daily basis.
“My mother always says, ‘I see you on this stage one day,’ ” he recalled. “For her seeing me on that stage, she’s like, ‘Oh my god.’ Her dreams really came true.”
“I’ve learned about [Pittsburgh] in movies, but I never thought I would stay there,” Jonasi said. “It’s one of those cities you don’t hear a lot about, but moving there was such an interesting move and I’m glad I did because I found community and friends.
” Prior to his first stand-up performance on “AGT” two months ago, Jonasi claimed he stood backstage racing through all the worst-case scenarios that might befall him when he went before the judges. This is how he started his stand-up career in his native Zimbabwe at the age of 18.
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“I was nervous, but then, as I walked on that stage, I was home,” Jonasi said. “I’ve been doing this since I was a teenager, and it felt like any other stage. … When I finished my performance and everybody gave me a standing ovation, that was enough.
I was like, ‘I’ve done it.’ I was so afraid of [getting booted with] the red buzzer, for Terry Crews to press the golden buzzer, that was the cherry on top, the stamp of approval from the person I used to watch when I was a kid.”
Judge Howie Mandel praised Jonasi’s performance that included jokes about his hometown in Africa and his comedic reaction to discovering in America some poor people are white.
“Stand-up comedy is hard enough as it is,” Mandel said, “but to come from another country where English isn’t your first language, not only communicate with everybody but tickle everybody, make everybody laugh, make this a better place, you are truly amazing.”
Judge Simon Cowell called Jonasi “one of the funniest people we’ve had over the years.”
Jonasi describes his style of comedy as self-deprecating, observational and physical, in part due to his 6-foot-5 frame, which he was bullied for in Zimbabwe, where he said people tend to be on the shorter side. He finds himself admired for his height in America.
“I’m very tall and big on that stage, and I use my body to make people laugh,” he said.
Jonasi dresses to make them smile, too, wearing colorful suit jackets (he and his sister made the one featured on his previous “AGT” appearance) and shoes.
“I like standing out,” Jonasi said. “I like to be the center of attention and that colorfulness, that’s me right there.”
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