That laugh! That Laugh!
COLLIERVILLE, Tenn. -- Doug Collins is the most famous local celebrity you've never heard of.
Although you might have heard him.
The Collierville resident has a laugh so distinctive and contagious that an Internet video of him and his hee-haws has received more than 1,226,027 viewings in the last two weeks.
It's so popular that as of Wednesday, it was ranked No. 15 on the most-watched YouTube list for the past month - not as many hits as Saddam's hanging, but more than a video clip of The Donald vs. Rosie.
The nine-minute clip, titled "Dad at Comedy Barn," shows Collins on the stage of the Comedy Barn Theatre in Pigeon Forge, Tenn. He's one of three audience members called up by comedian Eric Lambert to be part of a routine.
As Lambert starts his shtick, Collins starts laughing. When people hear him, they get tickled. And the more they giggle, the more he guffaws and pretty soon everyone in the joint is hooting, howling, wheezing and cackling.
When it begins to fade, Lambert puts a microphone in front of Collins, and people start splitting their sides and slapping their thighs all over again.
Collins, 61, has had this laugh forever. In the fifth grade, bullies chased him until he fell down - laughing. They became his friends.
He's a bus driver for Shelby County Schools and works at Wal-Mart. Yes, the kids do try to get him to laugh, which isn't tough to do since Collins admits that "I try to keep as happy as I can."
His infinitely patient wife of 39 years, Linda, says she didn't quite know what to think when she first heard it. But she didn't hear it at all for the first few dates.
"I didn't want to scare her off," Collins said. "I got me a good-lookin' chick and I didn't want to lose her."
He was right to be cautious. That laugh can be a social Taser, bringing events to a dead halt.
David Cross is pastor of the Collierville First Assembly of God church that Collins attends. He remembers when the church's previous pastor said something amusing during a church service. Collins laughed along with the congregation, which then got to laughing because of Collins' laugh. Cross said, "Everyone got to laughing so hard the pastor said let's end it here." The flock was sent home chuckling.
That laugh actually starts out like any standard ha-ha. But then it shifts into high gear, usually coming in threes and sounding like something between "nyuk" and "hnuh." Or "kyunk" and "hyok."
You've really got to hear it to get it.
The Collinses have two boys. One son, Tim, lives in Maryville, Tenn., and is responsible for putting the video clip on YouTube.
The Comedy Barn tapes performances and sells the tapes to audience members. The tape was made Dec. 27 and Tim put the YouTube clip up a few days later. He told his dad it might get a couple of thousand views.
Pretty soon, it spread like a funnybone virus with people sending the link all over the globe. "We've gotten comments from Russia, Poland, Germany, Norway, Finland and Greece," said Collins.
The clip was featured on ABC's "Good Morning America" last week and there's talk about Collins going on "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno."
Now if you watch the clip, you'll see Lambert reacting as if he'd never heard such a thing before.
But the fact is, Collins and his wife, son and daughter-in-law have been going to the Comedy Barn Theatre a couple of times a year since 1998.
That first time, he was called on stage by Lambert who really was surprised, saying, "Did that noise just come outta you?"
Since then, Collins has been called up on stage by Lambert every time he's been there. With predictably hilarious results.
"I get tickled at my own laugh. Once I get going, I can't stop."
See Doug's video (now with more than 25 million hits) here.
The Commercial Appeal, January 18, 2007
Although you might have heard him.
The Collierville resident has a laugh so distinctive and contagious that an Internet video of him and his hee-haws has received more than 1,226,027 viewings in the last two weeks.
It's so popular that as of Wednesday, it was ranked No. 15 on the most-watched YouTube list for the past month - not as many hits as Saddam's hanging, but more than a video clip of The Donald vs. Rosie.
The nine-minute clip, titled "Dad at Comedy Barn," shows Collins on the stage of the Comedy Barn Theatre in Pigeon Forge, Tenn. He's one of three audience members called up by comedian Eric Lambert to be part of a routine.
As Lambert starts his shtick, Collins starts laughing. When people hear him, they get tickled. And the more they giggle, the more he guffaws and pretty soon everyone in the joint is hooting, howling, wheezing and cackling.
When it begins to fade, Lambert puts a microphone in front of Collins, and people start splitting their sides and slapping their thighs all over again.
Collins, 61, has had this laugh forever. In the fifth grade, bullies chased him until he fell down - laughing. They became his friends.
He's a bus driver for Shelby County Schools and works at Wal-Mart. Yes, the kids do try to get him to laugh, which isn't tough to do since Collins admits that "I try to keep as happy as I can."
His infinitely patient wife of 39 years, Linda, says she didn't quite know what to think when she first heard it. But she didn't hear it at all for the first few dates.
"I didn't want to scare her off," Collins said. "I got me a good-lookin' chick and I didn't want to lose her."
He was right to be cautious. That laugh can be a social Taser, bringing events to a dead halt.
David Cross is pastor of the Collierville First Assembly of God church that Collins attends. He remembers when the church's previous pastor said something amusing during a church service. Collins laughed along with the congregation, which then got to laughing because of Collins' laugh. Cross said, "Everyone got to laughing so hard the pastor said let's end it here." The flock was sent home chuckling.
That laugh actually starts out like any standard ha-ha. But then it shifts into high gear, usually coming in threes and sounding like something between "nyuk" and "hnuh." Or "kyunk" and "hyok."
You've really got to hear it to get it.
The Collinses have two boys. One son, Tim, lives in Maryville, Tenn., and is responsible for putting the video clip on YouTube.
The Comedy Barn tapes performances and sells the tapes to audience members. The tape was made Dec. 27 and Tim put the YouTube clip up a few days later. He told his dad it might get a couple of thousand views.
Pretty soon, it spread like a funnybone virus with people sending the link all over the globe. "We've gotten comments from Russia, Poland, Germany, Norway, Finland and Greece," said Collins.
The clip was featured on ABC's "Good Morning America" last week and there's talk about Collins going on "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno."
Now if you watch the clip, you'll see Lambert reacting as if he'd never heard such a thing before.
But the fact is, Collins and his wife, son and daughter-in-law have been going to the Comedy Barn Theatre a couple of times a year since 1998.
That first time, he was called on stage by Lambert who really was surprised, saying, "Did that noise just come outta you?"
Since then, Collins has been called up on stage by Lambert every time he's been there. With predictably hilarious results.
"I get tickled at my own laugh. Once I get going, I can't stop."
See Doug's video (now with more than 25 million hits) here.
The Commercial Appeal, January 18, 2007