At the age of 15 Andy had his first 'professional' job. Using a show business technique called nepotism, Andy's sister hired him to perform eight hours of strolling entertainment at a church craft fair. The good news was Andy was now a professional entertainer. The bad news was that the gig paid only $15.00 and Andy had only 15 minutes of material.

To fill in time and keep the audience from falling asleep Andy began to interact with the crowd, telling jokes and making people of all ages laugh. This interactive comedy remains to this day as a staple in Andy's act. Later that summer Andy won first prize at the McHenry County Fair talent contest, beating out a field which included Frank Sinatra, Sigfreid & Roy, and Foghat (Okay, I'm embellishing a little bit! The competition was very good but none of those people were actually there...except for Foghat. They needed the gig!).

Andy prepares for the McHenry County Fair, "Gotta beat Foghat, Gotta beat Foghat!"

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