
Not Just the Best-Looking Man in Comedy: Fancy Ray on Comedy’s Radical Love
For decades, anyone watching local Twin Cities television was familiar with the iconic Fancy Ray McCloney. Armed with a pencil mustache, flamboyant clothing, and comedic exuberance, this local legend has appeared as a pitchman for a range of commercials, ranging from video stores to Taco Bell. A staple of the Minneapolis comedy scene since the ’80s, Fancy Ray chatted with the Walker about making positive change in his hometown, running for governor with his mother, and the radical secret behind his unique brand of comedic showmanship—love.
Jake Yuzna
Would you mind introducing yourself to our readers?
Fancy Ray McCloney
All right! My name is Fancy Ray McCloney, and I am a legend here in the Twin Cities. Now, let me explain why I’m a local legend. It’s not because I am the best-looking man in comedy. It’s not because I’ve been doing comedy for 20-plus years all over the United States. It is not the fact that I’m the world’s greatest television pitchman. That I’ve been pitching products to Minnesotans and across the country since 1989. The reason I’m a legend is the fact that I celebrated my 29th birthday more times than anyone else on the planet.

JY
How did you get into comedy?
FRM
That is an interesting thing. My career started at First Avenue in 1984. Back then, they had lip-synch contests. At that time, lip-synch was a craze and very, very popular in the Twin Cities. You would lip-synch other people’s songs as a little novelty act. When I first considered doing one of these lip-synch contests, I thought about a certain gentleman named Little Richard. Next thing I knew, I threw on a wig and some makeup and jumped on the stage at First Avenue. And a star was born!
I would tear up the stages to the “Tutti Frutti” and “Long Tall Sally.” We put on this incredible live show. I just won so many lip-synch contests at First Avenue, and it led to me appearing on a national TV show called Puttin’ on the Hits. Later, I started doing the Screamin’ Jay Hawkins’s song I Put a Spell on You on that show, and I went to grand final.

This led me to performing these lip-synch acts all over the Cities, where I discovered that when I did Little Richard, sometimes I could talk a little bit and make the crowd laugh. That planted the seed of doing comedy. As time went on, I found my own voice apart from mimicking Little Richard and other singers. Along the way, many, many influences shaped and molded me in tandem with my own natural creativity, forming the performer that I am today.
JY
Did you always want to be a performer?
FRM
See now, Jake, my performing started when I was in second grade. I was a ventriloquist. A counselor at school got me a ventriloquist dummy, and I would entertain the classroom with the ventriloquist act. That started me very, very young.
Later, I toured a little bit locally with the Billy Graham Association with my ventriloquist act. Years later, when I was attending Harrison Open School, the school decided to put on an organic play. Now, Harrison Open School was a throwback to kind of a hippie approach, very creative. The organic play meant they would go room to room and write a play based upon what each classroom came up with. When they came to my classroom and started saying this play was going to be about a hunter who lived in the forest with his dog, I instantaneously wrote a song about it. The song was a hit, and I was asked to star in the play. I’ve been performing ever since.
JY
Did you grow up in a funny family?
FRM
Well, if you are an African American in this country, you must have a sense of humor. I think that is part of our culture. Growing up, my family would be watching Flip Wilson and Redd Foxx on TV, while Richard Pryor and Dolomite records were aways around the house. All those influences mixed with local characters and family members who had a lot of charisma. The two strongest things that bond people together are music and comedy. Those two things can cross all cultures, all lines, and all races. If you can make someone tap their toe or laugh, that means you’re making them feel good. The way that I connected with people was through laughter.
JY
Speaking of your family, where in Minneapolis are you from?
FRM
Harrison Neighborhood! I say that with a lot of pride!
JY
Have you always lived in the Twin Cities?
FRM
I moved around and came back. I studied philosophy at Lamar University in Texas and lived in Los Angeles for a few years. But I have a great love for the people and culture of the Twin Cities. I’m very proud to say that I’ve been immersed in the fabric of the comedy, TV, and all the good stuff that happens here in the Twin Cities.
JY
What about the Twin Cities drew you back?
FRM
The Twin Cities is a very special place insofar as we have a great comedy community that so many wonderful comedians have come out. Louie Anderson, Scott Hansen, Jeff Jena, Scott Novotny, Charlie Walker, Alex Jackson, and all these stand-up comedians who started at Mickey Finn’s back in 1978. That was the first generation. There are also new generations of fantastic comedians and places, like the Acme, Rick Bronson’s, as well as a lot of local promoters and hustlers who are doing fantastic, wonderful comedy shows.
It is such a rich environment for comedy, a supportive and wonderful scene. You mix that with all the theater and the music scenes, well, there isn’t anything else like it in the world. It’s just wonderful.

JY
Why do you think the Twin Cities has such a rich comedy and music and culture?
FRM
Man, I think it’s so cold in wintertime that we gotta find something to do. (laughs)
JY
Do you think comedy has brought different people and communities together in the Twin Cities? Has it had a positive impact?
FRM
There is no doubt that when you go see the comedy show, everyone just comes together. Black, white, male, female, young, old, everyone in-between, and otherwise. If you got funny, folks will come see you. They’ll enjoy what you have to say to hear your perspective on the world. Because what comedy truly is is someone looking at the world and trying to make sense of it all. What bonds people together is experiencing how the mind of this person on stage works. Very often that person is finding the funny in a situation that is painful. They take that funny and present it to the audience to laugh at it. That communal laugh brings everyone together. I think if you’re being offensive or derogatory, then you’re pushing people away. What brings folks together is the love that the individual on stage is showing the audience and their talent in communicating their unique spin on the world in a humorous way.
Fancy Ray McClooney Interviews Gloria Steinem on Get Down With It.
JY
How did you get into politics?
FRM
Oh, that! You know, that is something real. It’s not a joke. (laughs)
From 1989 through 1999 I produced and hosted a local TV show called Get Down With It!. For one episode, we had Jesse Ventura on. At the time he was a really, really popular candidate for governor. A lot of my friends were going crazy over Jesse Ventura. One day a cousin of mine was raving about Jesse, and I was telling him, “I like Jesse. Jesse’s a buddy of mine. I have great, great respect for Jesse and think he’s fantastic. But Jesse’s not speaking for us. His point of view isn’t my point of view. He’s not talking for the people who are of color. He’s not talking about people who have a disadvantage. He’s not speaking for me.”
I kept trying to persuade him that Jesse wasn’t a voice for the voiceless. While discussing it, I got really passionate and somewhere in there I talked myself into running for office. We needed someone to speak for Black people and the rest of the underclass. I got into the governor’s race, and I started my very own party: the People’s Champion Party. I named it that because I championed all the people of the Minnesota. I was the first Black Minnesota to run for governor. My lieutenant governor running mate was my mother, Toni McCloney.
JY
Can you tell me a little bit about choosing your mother as your running mate? For some, it can come across as a joke.
FRM
My weakness in the race was that I had no political background. There wasn’t a big political party behind me. A lot of politics, as you know, is based upon party and money. Instead, I had to use my weakness as my strength. No one knew me in politics, and running with my mom was great publicity. It also helped to immediately make clear to voters what was most important to our platform: family values. Here’s a man articulating the concerns of people of color, the poor, and socially disadvantaged people. Guess who his running mate is? His mother. What are her qualifications? She raised him. (laughs)
The other important thing for me was to define what winning was for me. Was winning for me actually becoming governor of Minnesota, or was it talking about these issues and hopefully moving that meter a little bit? Running for governor really changed my life.
JY
How so?
FRM
Before, I was just known as a big loudmouth with a TV show. (laughs) I’m running around talking about how pretty I am and going on and on and on. (laughs) People might not have realized it, but at the same time, Get Down With It! was covering serious issues too. We covered the Rodney King riots in 1992. We talked with people who wanted to burn the books and records. We discussed race and gender. We even interviewed Brian Coyle.
A lot of folks may have forgotten Mr. Brian Coyle. He was a Minneapolis city councilman and the first local elected official to announce that he had AIDS. After he announced that publicly, there was so much talk that he decided to have a media blackout. Mr. Coyle wouldn’t talk to the media at all anymore, but all of a sudden he decided to do my TV show. That appearance was his last interview. It was such a touching, powerful, poignant moment to share with Mr. Coyle.
That show transformed my life because I went from this jokey guy to being covered in the City Pages and the Star Tribune. People saw me in a different light, and that made me see myself differently. I discovered that I could help get people to talk about these powerful, important issues in a way that was welcoming. I could use my humor and performance to help articulate issues in a way that could positively affect the Twin Cities. Running for governor was taking that realization and doing something with it. It also led to so many other things, like becoming a TV pitchman.
JY
How did that come about?
FRM
Someone said, “This guy would be a good TV pitchman.” (laughs)
After the run for governor, I started to be hired as a television pitchman. I’m a natural television pitchman. It is something I do as easily as breathe.

In addition to that, I started doing talent shows for kids at local public libraries. The director of the Hosmer Library saw me and said, “Hey, I heard you run for governor, and you were articulating some great, great issues. Have you thought about doing stuff with the kids?” At first, I said, “No, because I’m a comedian and do shows for adults. I’m not no kids’ entertainer.” He said, “We'll pay you.” I said, “I’ll do it.” (laughs)
People also started asking me to officiate their weddings, which led me to go deeper into my spiritual study. That run for governor was a cosmic shift in my life. Mm-hmm. And I had fun doing it, too.
JY
What keeps you so positive?
FRM
All you gotta do is look at my picture and you’ll understand. (laughs)

The thing with positivity is a spiritual base. Knowing who you are and how you are connecting with that power that is greater than you. Walking with that power in my life, that’s how I keep positive.
JY
That positivity beams out throughout all the local commercials you’ve appeared in over the years. Is there a connection between being a pitchman and your love of the Twin Cities?
FRM
I’ve done ads around the country as well as locally. I’ve done ads for homeopathic health food stores, for adult bookstores, used-car lots, supermarkets, jewelry stores, pawn shops, video stores, strip clubs, restaurants, and clothing stores. I’ve even had the honor and privilege of doing a Super Bowl ad for Taco Bell.

And what is a pitchman? A pitchman is someone that grabs your attention and can deliver a message, hopefully in a way that touches you. You deliver that message in a way that gets the viewer to respond and check out the client, whoever that is.
I’m also going to let folks in on a little secret. I’m going to let you in on the making the of the sausage. A lot of times for me, the TV commercial is just a vehicle to make you feel good. What I try to do with the TV commercials, every one of my commercials, is make you feel good. I’m trying to put a smile on your face. Although I’m hired to deliver a message for the client, my real goal is that when you see me, you feel good.
JY
That seems to be the connection between everything you do, what could be seen as disparate activities, such as pitchman, TV hosting, politics, and stand-up comedy.
FRM
You’re exactly right. It’s all part of the same thing because the comedy is the base of everything. Whatever I’m doing, if I’m preaching or teaching, it starts from a place of humor. Sharing a laugh breaks down a lot of barriers because we all put our pants on one leg at a time. We all have to work, and we all want a better future for our kids. We all look at the same sun and the same moon. The golden rule—Do unto others as you would have them do unto you—I think we all have that in common. We have differences, sure. The common denominator we share is what I connect with. From that common denominator, I go and produce laughter.
JY
Can you tell me about Fancy Ray Day?
FRM
Oh man, that is beyond fantastic. In 2020, the mayor of Minneapolis and the mayor of St. Paul declared March 27th Fancy Ray Day. We had this great big celebration planned, but we had a little thing called a pandemic. (laughs)
Although everything was shut down that year, we still celebrated Fancy Ray Day on March 27th. And we've done an annual comedy show every year celebrating joy and beauty, which is Fancy Ray Day. This year we’re celebrating it on March 25th at a small intimate venue, Spring Street Tavern in Northeast Minneapolis, with some fantastic comedians who are also my friends. We are going to have the biggest celebration, the best comedy show. Love and laughter will fill the air on that day. It is the day that you can celebrate your inner Fancy Ray. Your joy, your love, and your laughter, it all comes together. And if you get a chance, come on down and see me live.
JY
Speaking of local comedy after the pandemic, do you see any developments that you’re really excited about in local comedy?
FRM
What is most exciting is that there is so much comedy locally! It just keeps growing and getting more diverse. You have your established comedy clubs, which are wonderful, but these days you can find a show at a bar in south Minneapolis. Recently, I went to a locally produced show by a Black promoter with local Black comedians. It was fantastic.
What I’m saying to the folks that are reading this is: Go to our main clubs, they are truly great, and also seek out the smaller shows put on by local talent. It may take a little research to find it, but you will be satisfied beyond belief. You can find rich and diverse acts. There’s a night that happens on Mondays over at the Bryant Lake Bowl that showcases the talent of those who are nonbinary. Those kind of nights challenge some of the national comedy that will stop in town while on tour. That’s what I love about the Twin Cities: there are places for comedy where anyone, no matter who they are, are accepted and shown love.
JY
How do you think comedy can make a difference in our local community?
FRM
How can comedy make a difference? I think by bringing folks together. If you can come to my comedy show, you’ll laugh, but I’ll also talk about issues that are important. Maybe I talk philosophically about aging or about race. Sure, you came to laugh, but you’re also learning my point of view. In there, wisdom is being dropped.
No matter what’s going on in your life, you can be with a group of people and experience laughter together. For an hour and a half, you can get some relief and joy. You know that you need sleep and exercise, but you also need human connection. Something that heals you. That thing is comedy. Everything in your life is better when you have laughter. I’m joking around, but I’m also delivering a message that you can love yourself.
For me, comedy is love, and no matter where you see me—on stage, TV, or walking down the street—my duty and job is to make this world a better place. I lift up the vibration of wherever I go. When you see Fancy Ray or when you read these words, know that there’s a vibration that’s running through me to you. If you’re feeling good, it’s not by accident. That love is in my heart and touches the whole world.
If anyone reading this spots me out in the Twin Cities, say “Hi,” come get a handshake, come get a hug. I am of service to the universe, and I love you all.
That's who Fancy Ray is.▪︎

Not only is Fancy Ray McCloney a comedian, pitchman, TV personality, and wedding officiator, they are also a poet. In celebration of this interview, Fancy Ray shared the following poem with the Walker.
I’m on Top of the World
By Fancy Ray McCloney
I'm on top of the world.
A diamond and a pearl.
The beauty of a boy. With the sweetness of a girl.
I'm like a rocket ship zooming towards the sky. I'm baseball, hotdogs, and apple pie.
I am a Picasso in a museum that can't be touched.
I'm little kids skipping rope in the parkway and they're doing the double Dutch.
I'm a man in the ocean swimming to be free.
I'm man found in the sycamore tree.
My heart is beating in my chest. It tells me out loud. I am the best.
My looks are diamonds.
My jokes are pearls.
I'm going to be on the Walker Art Museum’s Reader.
And I'm on top of the world.
Learn more about Fancy Ray McCloney here or listen to his comedy album Fancy Ray McCloney - The Best Lookin' Man In Comedy from Stand Up! Records.