Standing solo

While standing on the sidelines of a Pittsburgh Steelers game in the “Iron City,” “Terrible Towel” waving uber fan Sal Vulcano was greeted by running back James Connor. “He said he was a huge fan of our show,” Vulcano said while calling from his Staten Island home. “It’s so wild since I love the NFL so much and then I hear one of the players tell me how big of a fan he is of the show.”

“The Impractical Jokers” is the program Vulcano is referring to since a number of celebrities enjoy the show. John Mayer, Post Malone and Paul Rudd love the program, which is a hidden camera reality show with amusing improvisation.

“Will Ferrell made a cameo in (2020’s ”Impractical Jokers: The Movie”) and that was just awesome,“ Vulcano said. ”We’ve received a lot of attention, which is amazing.“

However, when Vulcano performs Saturday at the Paramount Theatre, it won’t be about “The Impractical Jokers” or his pals in The Tenderloins, Brian Quinn and James Murray, who are also members of the Jokers.

Vulcano, 46, will deliver stand-up. “I’ll be onstage solo,” Vulcano said. “I’ll be doing my thing and it doesn’t include the world of The Impractical Jokers.” I compartmentalize my careers. There’s room for everything.“

The unpredictable humorist will riff about relationships, family and what shaped him growing up in what is regarded as the fifth borough of New York. Vulcano, who is the most private of the Jokers, offers glimpses inside of his private life. “I generally keep my personal life under wraps,” Vulcano said. “However, my stand-up gives fans an intimate look into my life.”

Vulcano is playing a few dates in the heartland before he performs in Chicago next month for a show that will be recorded for a special, which will air in 2024. “So the people in Cedar Rapids will be getting a preview of what I’m working on,” Vulcano said. “They’ll experience it and the rest of the world will see it next year and then I’ll retire this material.”

Realizing that Vulcano has hit midlife will be one of the topics. “Now that Tom Brady has retired I’m older than every professional athlete,” Vulcano said. “That blows me away. There was a time for all of us in which we looked up to professional athletes when we were kids. Then all of a sudden we’re as old as they are, and now I can’t believe that I’m older than everyone in pro sports, even NFL kickers!”

But unlike pro athletes, there is no expiration date for Vulcano as a performer. “The good thing is that this isn’t a physical job or not like the physical job say football players do,” Vulcano said. “I love that I can do this well into old age.”

Comedy is all that Vulcano has known. Vulcano and his Tenderloin pals, which includes Joe Gatto, who left the group in 2019, have been friends since high school. After graduating college a quarter century ago, the pals focused on improv and sketch comedy. Their material was posted on YouTube and the Tenderloins landed “The Impractical Jokers” show on TruTV in 2011. “Jokers” quickly became TruTV’s most popular show.

“It’s amazing how many people enjoy ‘The Impractical Jokers,’” Vulcano said. “It’s the greatest thing to happen to us. The cool thing is that it has opened up other doors for us, like stand-up. We all know how incredibly fortunate we are to be able to do what we love.”

Vulcano was a big fan of comedy since he was a kid. “I grew up on Eddie Murphy and Bill Cosby,” Vulcano said. “I loved them both even though they’re polar opposites. I became a fan of Jerry Seinfeld and Larry David but the funny thing now is that many of my favorite comedians are friends since we’re peers.”

After graduating with a degree in finance from St. John’s University in 1998, Vulcano appeared to be on the way to a pragmatic career. “But it didn’t work out that way,” Vulcano said. “I love comedy and I just wanted to give it a shot and look what happened. I never could have predicted life would work out this way. I can’t express how much I appreciate how things went. I couldn’t be happier with my life.”