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Janesville native faring well in online comedy contest

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Pete Lee

JANESVILLE — The holidays are full of opportunities to change the life of a child.

Maybe, for fun, you’d like to change the life of a smart-mouthed man-child.

Janesville native Pete Lee would sure appreciate the help.

Lee, a 1995 graduate of Craig High School, has been holding his own in Comedy Central’s 2010 Stand-up Showdown. He’s had a steady spot in the top five among the 100 comedians hand-picked by Comedy Central for the annual contest.

Lee said his solid hometown support has been a big factor.

“I wouldn’t have almost 11,000 votes if it wasn’t for Janesville,” Lee said Tuesday afternoon from his home in New York. “The town is making this happen. There have been groups of people—let’s call them ‘retired’ autoworkers. These are people who have been sitting on the computers voting like they’re playing a video game.”

Viewers can vote online or via text message for their favorite comedians. The contest runs into January. The network will count down the winners in a special.

If Lee places well, it would boost his chances of pitching his newest project, “Unsportsmanlike Conduct,” to Comedy Central, he said. “Unsportsmanlike Conduct” is an online series in which Lee, a self-described wimp, makes fun of athletes.

“If I finish in the top five, I can use this to go back to Comedy Central or go to other networks, and say, ‘Look at how strong I am. Look at how many followers I have,’” Lee said.

Lee then spent a couple minutes making fun of himself by saying, “Look how strong I am,” in a strongman voice.

This isn’t Lee’s first comedy competition, but it is his biggest so far, he said.

“This is a comedy competition made up of all the veterans who are working right now,” Lee said. “All of them have half-hour specials or multiple specials. The people who are competing against each other are top notch.”

Lee has been getting messages from friends and strangers claiming to have voted for him multiple times.

He’s grateful, but he’s not surprised.

“When you get any message from anybody who’s a fan of yours, it means the world to you,” Lee said. “But the fan base from Janesville is incredible. But that’s Wisconsin in general. Wisconsin is full of people who just can’t wait to go somewhere and cheer.”

Still, Lee thought he would throw in a little extra motivation to win votes.

“If you vote for me, I’ll mail you a free puppy,” Lee said.