Did you know?
Petaluma, California is a small town located in the North Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area and is one of the oldest cities in the state. It may be a small town, but Petaluma’s events calendar is jam-packed with fairs and festivals that are a little bit quirky and a whole lot of fun. Some of the most popular are the Cow Chip Throwing Contest which is held during the Butter & Egg Days Festival and the World’s Ugliest Dog Contest at the Sonoma-Marin Fair. Its historic downtown features Victorian iron-front buildings that house many vintage shops and antique galleries and
it’s also known to be the birthplace of Tommy Highland, America’s Funniest Handyman.
In Petaluma, Tommy was an active kid who enjoyed playing sports and hanging out with friends. “Growing up, I became known for being really good at making people laugh,” he said. “A few friends challenged me to perform at our high school’s variety show during my senior year, so I came up with a funny skit and took the stage.” Tommy’s performance not only stole the show that night but also became the moment he knew that comedy would play a big part in his future.
Tommy spent the next few years dabbling in comedy, specifically improv, around the Bay Area. “I would have been a full-time performer, but I was never willing to be broke for as long as you have to be broke to break into show business,” he explained. “To make ends meet, I got an apprenticeship as a painter with a Victorian home renovation company, which eventually led me to discover my love for carpentry and a career in the trades.” Tommy opened his own remodeling company, which he operated for ten years, then decided to join the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers as a telecommunications lineman and installer.
By this point, Tommy had found his way to the East Coast. “I thoroughly enjoyed my 20s,” he laughed. “I loved building and fixing things during the day and doing comedy shows at night.” Tommy said that having flexible jobs even allowed him to travel around the country for a full two years while living out of his Volkswagen Camper Van. He eventually landed in Washington, D.C., then moved to the Philadelphia area.
Throughout his time on the road and various job experiences, Tommy collected stories that he turned into material and performed his stand-up at multiple comedy clubs and venues in the area. And while he thoroughly enjoyed working in the trades by day and comedy by night, he often wondered if there was a way to combine his two drastically different careers.
“I have an engineer’s brain, so I am always curious about how things work and how they are put together,” Tommy explained. “I love to dive in and take things apart, often knowing that I will have to learn something new in order to put it back together.” Tommy turned to watching do-it-yourself (DIY) home improve- ment shows and YouTube videos. “While they are excellent learning tools, you have to admit that most of what is available is
excruciatingly boring,” he noted. “You often have to sit through a long, painfully monotonous video just to get to the one or two kernels of information you really need to finish the repair.”
For years, Tommy thought about ways to solve this problem. “Then, one day, while I was working to install data cable in a downtown Philadelphia high-rise building, it finally came to me!” He said that the title, America’s Funniest Handyman, materialized in his head, filling his self-described “weird” brain with endless ideas of how to bring some humor and laughter into the home improvement process.
“I love working on homes and fixing things around the house, and I’m often cracking jokes while I’m doing it,” he said. I thought, why shouldn’t I run with this brilliant idea? Everyone deserves to laugh a little bit while learning to do work around the house.” So, in early 2020, Tommy started making his own DIY videos that allow you to laugh while you learn to work on your home. And just like that, America’s Funniest Handyman was born, and the rest is history.
Tommy created the America’s Funniest Handyman YouTube channel and began posting his hilarious DIY videos. He said, “Now you can learn to work on your house and have fun while you do it,” he said. “From painting and plumbing to carpentry and electrical, as the jingle goes, Let’s Laugh and Learn with this Handyman.” Tommy’s YouTube channel has thousands of subscribers who tune in for the knowledge and stay for the laughs. He plans on posting more videos in the coming months along with doing weekly live stream tutorials.
Today, you’ll find Tommy living in Newtown Square with his two daughters, Olivia and Vivian. The girls are active Marple Newtown High School students and enjoy playing on the school’s volleyball team. Olivia is also involved in the performing arts program and recently had a role in their production of Mamma Mia! The Musical. “Olivia and Vivian have very different personalities; Olivia is my quiet one while Vivian makes her presence known,” laughed Tommy. “The one thing they have in common, that I gladly take the credit for, is that they’re both really funny!”
Tommy said he loves living in Newtown Square and enjoys being the local handyman for so many of our friends and neighbors. “A versatile handyman is hard to find these days,” he explained. “I have the skills and tools needed to handle just about anything a homeowner needs, and I have the vehicle to store my equipment and inventory.” That vehicle just happens to be an out of commission ambulance that he purchased and transformed into his mobile workshop. You may have noticed it around town or parked in his driveway on West Chester Pike. It’s kind of hard to miss!
And while Tommy said he is busy making his home repair clients happy (and laughing), he is also excited to announce that he has recently partnered with Sterling Pig Brewery in Media to host monthly comedy shows. Comedy at the Pig will feature all-star stand-up comedians and will be hosted by Tommy. The first show on April 13th will feature Jake Mattera and is headlined by David James. The lineup for Tommy’s next show on May 18th will feature Chris Dolan and headliner Missy Hall. “This is a great opportunity to showcase some fantastic comedians from all walks of life,” Tommy said. “And Sterling Pig Brewery is the perfect venue for good food, drinks and lots of laughs.”
Tommy said that although it may have taken some time to hit his stride, he feels as though he is finally where he is meant to be. “Combining my love for comedy with my passion for a career in the trades is incredibly rewarding,” he said. “Knowing you can make a homeowner happy by fixing things around their home and at the same time, make a room full of people laugh at your jokes is a fantastic feeling.”
Thank you, Tommy for sharing your story with our Newtown Square Friends & Neighbors. For those interested in getting tickets to Tommy’s monthly comedy shows, visit Eventbrite.com and search for Comedy at the Pig.
Do you know a Newtown Square family, individual or nonprofit group who should become known by our community? Make your nominations for
upcoming feature articles by emailing your ideas to Sheila Turner-Hilliard at STurnerHilliard@BestVersionMedia.com.