Anatomy of a Joke: Jo Koy on Honoring His Late Stepfather With Hilarious Dodger Game Bit in ‘Blue in the Face’

Jo Koy says his viral Dodgers game bit in his Netflix special grew from a real outing with his late stepfather, Sgt Fred Harrison. By recreating Harrison’s mannerisms and oxygen mask, Koy brings their shared experience to the stage and honours a man whose story might otherwise be told only through the joke.

Harrison was a devoted Dodgers fan, a decorated Army veteran who served two tours in Vietnam, and was battling cancer. When the game went into extra innings, Koy joked about his exhausted stepfather dying at the ballpark; he says the moment was largely verbatim, with small jokes added. Koy prefers developing material conversationally on stage, and recalled spending 30 minutes reminiscing about Harrison in his hometown in West Virginia.