Crofts was a stand-up comic from his early adulthood but gave it up one night at gig in Kings Cross when he realised the crowd was laughing, but he wasn’t. In 1974, he decided to set-up the first bookshop in the world specialising in humour, comedy and laughter – titled The Humour, Comedy and Laughter Centre. He has since become respected worldwide as a humour, comedy and laughter authority, having trained aspiring comedians such as Russell Gilbert, Elliot Goblet, Rachel Berger, Tim Smith, Dave Grant, and Tracy Bartram along with Australia’s leading business professionals, journalists, speakers, lawyers, psychologists, media personalities etc. Six years later, the centre became Pete Crofts’ Humourversity, focusing on researching, collecting and running programs on humour, comedy and laughter studies. For roughly 40 years, Crofts has been studying and teaching a lesson – one which he may have learnt before he was kicked out of three different schools as a child – of the importance of humour.
“In 1980 I started up a political party called Comedyism. Our philosophy was based on Marx, not Karl but Groucho.
“I use to wear half a beard and a half a moustache. The concept being that people claimed the world was civilised, I claimed it wasn’t. I was on The Don Lane Show one night, and Don said, ‘Why the half a moustache?’ and I said, ‘This is not half a moustache; this is my interpretation of what a real moustache is’…If you take seriously seriously, you’re insane. And of course that’s the biggest sin of the 21st century”.
After my tour of the main section of the Humourversity, Crofts asks me if I’d like to see the archives out back. To get there we have to walk along a little outdoor corridor that Crofts calls ‘Laughter Lane’, in which you must be laughing for the entire duration of the walk. The crammed archives – which Crofts aims to eventually turn into a comedy history museum – are filled with comedy memorabilia: rare vinyl comedy records, posters, guides etc. Crofts then shows me one of his ongoing projects – an oversized poster documenting the history of comedy in Australia. I comment on how busy he seems.
“Not busy, aware,” he responds. At any moment, Crofts will drop bizarre, often enlightening philosophical statements.
Crofts, along with his business partner Andrew Watkins, hope to expand the Humourversity beginning with setting up studios across Melbourne. They’re offering to train comedians who will then be paid to teach their programs and workshops.
“I’ve been putting together this stuff for 50 years,” Crofts comments as he flips through the dense course handbook.
The programs on offer from the Humourversity, which Crofts estimates has approximately 70 students, include Stand-up Comedy Principles, Public Speaking With Humour, Leadership Through Humourship and Creative And Outrageous
“I met Pete probably 18 months ago,” Andrew opens. “I realised Pete had put a lot of time and effort into the system and what a great thing for the world, to a put a smile on the map of the world.”
BY NICK TARAS
