By Nick A. Zaino III Globe correspondent, Updated March 21, 2024, 12:52 p.m.
Tony V hates the word “legend.” Especially when it’s applied to him. He thinks of it as an empty sobriquet frequently attached to someone whose career is over or stagnating. After more than 40 years in stand-up, Tony V is far from done. He’s still writing new material at a stage when some comics coast. He works constantly, headlining his own shows while occasionally taking an opening slot, as he did for Bill Burr at Fenway Park in 2022. And where others might be jaded, he still loves what he does.
Unfortunately for Tony, he’s likely to be called a legend a lot in the coming week. He is getting the Lifetime Achievement Award in stand-up from the Boston Comedy Festival on March 30, and he’ll be present for a celebration of his career at City Winery Tuesday. It’s part of a festival schedule that includes a weeklong stand-up competition, headliners in Lenny Clarke, DL Hughley, and Kevin Nealon, and an all-star show featuring Learnmore Jonasi, Drew Dunn, Erin Maguire, and Kate Sisk. The festival will also be honoring Adam Ferrara as Comedian of the Year, and Michael Gross (”Family Ties,” “Tremors”) will receive a Lifetime Achievement Award for acting.
“Behold the legend,” Tony says, sarcastically, laughing. “This is what we all look like. Yeah.”
He will gratefully accept his award, but he refuses to see it as a career capper. “There seems to be some sort of hope of finality in this: ‘We’ve given you an award, go away.’ I don’t see myself going anywhere. I really still like what I do. I can still write a good joke. I try to update my act and keep it as relevant to me as I can.”
The humble everyman persona isn’t an act for the stage. Tony typically eschews the green room wherever he’s playing for some peace and quiet, smoking a cigar by the nearest dumpster. He’d prefer a nicer room somewhere, but there aren’t many places to smoke indoors anymore. Anyway, he enjoys the aesthetic. “I like the juxtaposition of perceived success on some level, but still smoking by a dumpster,” he says.
