For Allen Klein, seeing actual people on a stage was a life changing moment. Two productions and this 7 year old knew what he was meant to do. When he asked his elementary school teacher if she would accept a diorama in place of a book report, she said yes and Allen was on the road. Seven. A set designer!
The Yale Drama Department accepted him. Life was good. Then the Yale Drama Department asked him to leave. And, as awful a moment as this was, Allen, always knew that that nothing can ruin his day. He tromped right along the same road (sans Yale degree) to do set design for Merv Griffin, Jackie Gleason and Captain Kangaroo.
How he went from a life of successful set design to being the world’s only Jollytologist (yes, self-titled) with the goal of teaching people to laugh even at the most catastrophic personal times is an incomparable lesson in personal growth. Allen laughs easily and gives permission through his lectures, workshops and 30 plus books to everyone to do the same.
Allen teaches us to laugh when we feel like crying. The answer to the question “How can you laugh at a time like this?” is simple. You can. Listen to Allen talk about his life, the miracle of laughter and how he came to make this the focal point of his healing career.
His love letter? You would think maybe one to Yale to thank them for setting him free. Although he has not written this one he does have a history of writing love letters to friends.
It is hard to tell whether Allen chases silver linings or the silver linings chase him. But if you watch him talk about it all you can see that the silver lining and Allen Klein are an unbeatable team.