Sammy's childhood dream comes true

By Alicia Visconti

visc0004@algonquincollege.com

Laughter roared from The Ob, Oct. 20, when Sugar Sammy, an up and coming comedian, performed in front of a full house.

Race, women, relationships and school were among the topics Sammy joked about.

“It was hilarious! The funniest shit I’ve ever seen in my life,” said Pelipe Leiva a first-year police foundation student who not only enjoyed the show but was a part of the humour himself. In fact, Leiva’s whole table was included in Sammy’s skit as the comedian razzed those sitting in the front row.

Still, both the crowd and those up front cheered and applauded the Indo-Québécois’s material.

“I always talk about what’s happening in my life,” said the comedian in an interview before Monday’s show. “My material comes from growth, my life and always finding the fun in it.”

This ability, he said, comes from being brought up in a funny family and a family that’s always cracking jokes, being sarcastic and making fun of one another.

“I was fortunate to grow up in an environment where [comedy] was encouraged and nurtured. Many families would have just said ‘stop clowning around’ but, this was a part of our daily lives.”

Sam Khullar, which is the performer’s real name, was only eight years young when he knew he wanted to make more of his family’s humorous home life and decided to make it a career.

“One day my parents helped me rent Eddy Murphy’s Delirious. I was eight! I remember seeing that and that day deciding that’s what I want to do for the rest of my life.”

And eventually his childhood dream came true. 

At 19, Khullar was asked to do a show in support of the Black Student Association at a college in Montreal. Khullar was known for being a funny guy and someone with experience hosting talent shows, making announcements and entertaining at his high school. He took the gig and helped raise $1,000.

Today he’s selling out clubs, doing the Just-For-Laughs festival, has toured 15 countries in the past two years and has even opened for Dave Chappell.

“That, I’m proud of,” Sammy said, “but I’ve got bigger goals.”

Sammy is soon making the move from clubs to theatres and wants to make a jump to TV and film.

But he will never forget his routes.

“I love performing at colleges because it’s where I started. It’s a young crowd who relate to me … it’s really the most fun.”