What can I say about Todd? He was quiet, humble, kept to himself … Oh wait … Todd Lynn? Take two: Todd was smart, brash, funny, and fearless. He was opinionated and you learned what his opinions were within five minutes of meeting him. He would even tell you about yourself to your face free of charge whether you asked or not. Not a very comfortable thing that, but at least you knew where you stood with him. In an industry built on backstabbing Todd was almost refreshing.
I met Todd back in the late 90s and by way of introduction the first thing he said to me was, “We have a joke in common. I saw you do yours on Def [Comedy] Jam. Yours is better.” If you knew Todd, you know this was high praise. And Todd didn’t praise a lot of things. On the contrary, I saw him take young comics to task many times. And by young I mean anyone doing stand-up less than a decade.
Todd was also vociferous in his condemnation of the entertainment industry and how it treats and marginalizes Black talent. He gave the industry no quarter. He never hesitated to call bullshit in a business that’s hip deep in it.
Although short, I almost always enjoyed my conversations with Todd. And they were short, by choice. Long convos with Todd often left me angry and enervated. Todd could make you mad at a sunny day. But if you listened closely, there was always some nugget of information, some truth about the craft, an insight about the art of stand-up that was helpful, at least to me. And I think that’s what I will miss most about that angry, funny man.
