Troy Hammond Stars in “Welcome to Flatch”

Troy Hammond is a comedian, actor, and guest speaker from Columbus, Ohio. During his career, which has included performing in 35 states, he hasn’t been pulled down by the challenges that come with traveling and working as a person who is blind.

With assistance twice over the years from the Bureau of Services for the Visually Impaired at Opportunities for Ohioans with Disabilities (OOD), Troy has steadily grown his career, although it hasn’t been easy. 

“You can adapt. You can make the best of your situation, and you can do your best,” Troy explained.

Troy currently plays the character of “Blind Billy” in Welcome to Flatch, a docu-comedy on Fox and Hulu that kicked off in March 2022. The show features a documentary crew that sets out to explore the lives of residents in a small (fictitious) town in Ohio named Flatch.

Transcripts and MP3 files are available at ood.ohio.gov/podcast.

Visit Troy's website at TroyHammond.com.

Do you have a disability? Do you want a job? OOD can help! Visit OODWorks.com or call 800-282-4536 to get started. 

Find OOD on social media: @OhioOOD. 

Have a disability? Want to work? Visit OODWorks.com!

Transcript

Kim Jump: In this episode of OOD Works Podcast, I am so excited to introduce you to Troy Hammond.  He is a celebrity right here from Ohio. He is the only countrywide touring blind comedian in America. He’s performed in thirty-two states, featured in Reader’s Digest, and he’s worked with some of comedy’s best including Dave Chappelle, Drew Carey, and most recently Troy plays the character of “Blind Billy” in Welcome to Flatch. That’s a docu-comedy. It’s brand new. It’s on Fox and Hulu, and it kicked off of March of 2022. It’s described like this, when documentary crew sets out to explore the lives of residents in a small American town in Ohio, their dreams, their concerns, they stumble upon the Midwestern town of Flatch, which is made up of eccentric personalities. It’s a place you want to visit and maybe even stay, if there was a decent motel, which there is not. 

So, Troy, I’m loving Welcome to Flatch. And, I’m loving this opportunity to talk to you today.

Troy Hammond: Well, thanks for having me on.

Kim Jump: Yeah, I mean, this is so exciting that you’re in this new show, which is hilarious. I mean, everybody from Ohio needs to watch it because it’s so relatable. 

Troy Hammond: Yeah, Flatch, Ohio is a fictitious town in Ohio next to the fictitious town of Boston. The show is based on the BBC series, This Country. And, that was going to be the original name, and then they changed it to Welcome to Flatch just to be able to, I think, draw in more of the American sensibilities.  It’s produced by the people who produced The Office, and Sex in the City. I don’ know, I’m very optimistic about it myself. Even if I weren’t part of the cast, I definitely would check it out. It’s a lot of fun. It’s just weird people in situations. You know, a lot of those nice people who live down the street that yell and don’t know exactly where you live.

Kim Jump:  Yeah. Right. And I know for me the characters, Big Mandy, there’s Shrub, there’s Kelly, Father Joe, they remind of people I actually know. (laughs)

Troy Hammond: Yeah, that’s what producers were going for. And, I know in the British version of This Country, there’s an episode of the British Big Mandy, is complaining because a blind man cut her fingers when she punched him in the face and his glasses broke.  

Kim Jump: Oh geeze. (laughs)

Troy Hammond: That’s the situation. And, I think that from that one little scene they thought what if Big Mandy actually had a blind nemesis. And, that’s how I believe my character came into play. Around Thanksgiving last year, I got a call out of the blue. A lady I had never spoken to before said that she was calling on behalf of Paul Feig and Jenny Bicks. Paul Feig, of course being from Freaks and Geeks, Ghostbusters – the 2016 version, and Bridesmaids. And, Jenny was one of the writers and produced Sex in the City, and gave us the movie The Greatest Showman. So, luckily DVS lets us know who the heck these people are in the credits. When I heard the names, I knew who they were talking about. And, my first thought was, how did they know who I am?

Kim Jump: Yeah. How did they? Was it through your comedy?

Troy Hammond: And, well, I know they were looking for someone with a background in comedy and I believe I might be the only surviving touring blind comic in the U.S. at this time. There were people like Alex Valdez years ago and a few others. But, it’s a rough life on the road. Finding a ride to the bus station. Taking the bus to whatever city. Finding your way to the hotel. Doing whatever you need to do once you get there, etc. And, working for the folks at Welcome to Flatch, they have a guy pick me up at my door and put me on my plane. They have another guy pick me up, take me off that plane, see if I need to go to the store, and then they take me to my hotel.

Kim Jump: Wow.

Troy Hammond: For a sixty-year-old newcomer, it’s awesome. I have to say.

Kim Jump: (laughs). You’re like pinching yourself. (laughs). I’m going to have to ask questions about it because, you know, as a comedian, navigating cities and hotels, especially before the technology was up to speed, to, you know, make it easier on individuals who are blind. That really is a big change.  

Troy Hammond: Oh, yeah. Well, I went to college pre-ADA. So, I already learned that there were going to be obstacles out there and you always hear people say, you need to overcome that disability, you need to overcome that disability. And nobody ever overcomes, I mean the only way to overcome total blindness, is being able to see. But you can adapt. You can make the most of your situation, and you can do your best. And that’s all I’ve ever really done out there. And, it’s kind of worked out. I’m too busy to care about what the problems are going to be. I look at what the outcome could be if I just keep moving forward. 

Kim Jump: Yeah, I love that attitude. Well, obviously you’ve been adapting. I mean, to be on the road for so long as a comedian and doing that, I think you’ve proven your ability to adapt. (laughs).

Troy Hammond: Yep, I’m like Gumby. I’ve been through the situation.

Kim Jump: (laughs). Well, tell me more about Flatch and what it was like when you’re actually working on set with the folks who are putting it together.

Troy Hammond: Oh it was great. I mean, I was a little star-struck the first couple of days because there’s Jenny Bicks, the lady from Sex in the City and of course the first thing I say to her is, hey, if you keep me in for scene two, there’s a foot rub in it for you. And then I realize what I said, and I don’t know if that helped, but we will find out if there’s a season two. And, Seann William Scott is great because Seann, one of his first acting gigs was on a TV series in the nineties, Unhappily Ever After. It was a show about a divorced couple and a talking stuffed bunny.  And, my friend Stephanie Hodge was the lead on that show. It was his first gig. So, we’ve known a few of the same people over the years. So, the first time we meant, I shook his hand. I told him that Stephanie Hodge sends a kiss and he said, well, I’d rather you didn’t give it to me buddy. And then he stopped and said, Stephanie Hodge? You mean with Mr. Fluffly?

Kim Jump: (laughs).

Troy Hammond: And we both started laughing. The rest of the day we were cutting up on set and I don’t know.  When you see the scene with me and Father Joe, we had a great day doing those. 

Kim Jump: Can’t wait.

Troy Hammond: The show is great. Aya Cash is the first person I met, which was quite exciting because I just caught The Boys on Amazon Prime.

Kim Jump:  Mhmm.  

Troy Hammond: And then they said, well you’re going to, when you see episode six, you’ll know what I had to do. All I can think, is oh my gosh, I have to do a scene with Stormfront (laughs). When you’re used to just being a nightclub comic, this celebrity from here and that celebrity from there, you’re not used to series TV. There’s a lot of structure. But everybody is on the same team, they’re on the same page. We’re all working for the same thing. If I needed a hand somewhere, someone would offer an elbow. I mean I felt a little hillbilly when I showed up and was excited about my trailer. 

Kim Jump: (laughs).

Troy Hammond: Well halfway through the day, I asked somebody to help me to the men’s restroom and the guy said sure no problem. He showed me where the door was, and I did what I needed to do. And, I came back and when I got back to my trailer to change back into my everyday clothes, I realized that the mirror I had been leaning against next to my fridge, was the door to my bathroom. 

Kim Jump:  Oh no. (laughs). Well, it would have been nice to have that pointed out maybe by someone.

Troy Hammond: I’ve run around with carnival and circus folks and never felt so green. (laughs).

Kim Jump: (laughs). I love that there’s a comrade there.  It sounds like a fun place to work and a team environment really. 

Troy Hammond:  Oh, yeah. Well, when we get our scripts and we do the table read, a lot of people are having trouble not laughing. It’s just a great cast. Cast is amazing. Sam Straley, Chelsea Holmes, William Turtowsky, Krystal Smith is Big Mandy. They’re all perfect for their parts. They were all well chosen. Basically, they took a blind guy in a Hawaiian shirt off the street and turned him into a blind guy in a Hawaiian shirt owned by the studio.

Kim Jump: (laughs). Well, and I want to talk about your character for a minute. So, you first appear in episode six. And I’m not there yet. And, at the time of this recording, it isn’t available to me. But, I want to hear a little bit about, without giving away too much, tells us a little bit about that character of Blind Billy and do you feel like you relate to this character?

Troy Hammond:  I’ve known guys like him, but I don’t find myself like him.  Billy is always looking for an angle. Always looking for some kind of advantage. He doesn’t use his blindness, but he mocks people with it occasionally. You know, like the heightened senses myth.  It’s obvious that he doesn’t believe it’s not true, but its fun to throw at somebody when you’re trying to shame them.  

Kim Jump: (laughs). Okay.

Troy Hammond: And, the standard character on most shows, when they have a visually impaired character, they always try to make them an inspiration. And they always try to make them, you know, either too good, a little too passive, a little too peaceful, or in some cases, we’ve seen some characters who are a little too bitter. They blame the world for problems that have nothing really to do with the blindness. But, because that’s the first thing that society sees, that’s what they think. We’ve been fed these since well.. I did some research, and the first time a person felt a person’s face, that I can find on record is a Lillian Gish movie about the French Revolution from 1921. In the moving, Lillian Gish played a blind girl, and she touches her sister’s face and recognizes her because for some reason the voice didn’t do it? I don’t know. But, there’s so many stereotypes that have been created over the years that just getting to play a character like this, it kind of helps me to bash a couple of them down. 

Kim Jump: Yeah, so you really feel like Blind Billy is different from those kind of stereotypical blind characters.

Troy Hammond: There’s no warm fuzzies with Blind Billy. Well, I won’t give away too much, but he’s probably worked for almost every business in the town. 

Kim Jump: (laughs). Okay.

Troy Hammond: Up until they got sick of his business. He’s an opportunist. Big Mandy is the town bully and Billy is the one person who is not afraid of her. Everybody kind of backs down when Mandy says or does something, but Billy is the first person to say wait, that’s not right.

Kim Jump: Mhmm

Troy Hammond: Or make fun of her. But I think that people will enjoy it. It’s different.

Kim Jump: Yeah. Well, I can’t wait to see the two characters together. Because, yeah, Big Mandy is hilarious. 

Troy Hammond: Oh yeah. They originally had more stuff for us to do. But due to editing, so they can make room for commercials, not everything made it. But, yeah, Season or Episode One… if you can’t hear in the background, my phone is telling me that somebody is calling me during the interview and telemarketers just don’t care.

Kim Jump: (laughs). No worries.

Troy Hammond: But, uh, but, yeah, Billy is a, he doesn’t take it off of Mandy. Mandy’s not used to that. Mandy does not like that, and that’s why I think in season two, we will see more conflict between the two of them.

 Kim Jump: That’s going to be fun! I will certainly keep my fingers crossed for season 2 and 3, 4 - I love it! I think it’s great! So, Troy, tell me about, ya know, I know in addition to the comedy circuit, you’ve also done work as a motivational speaker, you’ve done some animated voicing, and you’ve been a radio DJ. Tell us about a little about those efforts.

Troy Hammond: Well, the V-Jaying was in college at Ohio University, and I was not very good. 

Kim Jump: (laughing) Okay. (laughing)

Troy Hammond: See, that’s one of the things people are always afraid of – I’m always willing to try something new because you don’t learn what you are not capable of until you try it, and you also don’t learn what your limitations might really be.

Kim Jump: Mmm-hmm.

Troy Hammond: I would rather sail and learn something than not have tried, and I did an oldies show for a year in college, and then after that, when was that? 1996 or 7, I did a voice for a thing called Kid’s Time TV, and it was like non-violent children’s programming. And it was two-hour shows like New Zoo Review and The Elephant Show, and I was a clock, and I talked like this and, ehh, I can’t do it now.

Kim Jump: (laughing)

Troy Hammond: Twenty years of hard living have caught up to me.

Kim Jump: (laughing)

Troy Hammond: The other 40 years, I was just coasting.

Kim Jump: (laughing) Oh, man.

Try Hammond: But, I did that for a couple of years, and then, they – I don’t think their ratings were very good.

Kim Jump: (laughing)

Troy Hammond:  But then I traveled throughout, and as of this year, I have done comedy in 35 states. 

Kim Jump: 35 states? I stand corrected. Wow.

Troy Hammond:  And then came COVID. So, that was an interesting year.

Kim Jump: Yeah, tell us about that. How did- were you able to take some of your performing online? Or what was it like for you?

Troy Hammond:  I need the audience in the room with me. The remote shows (I know people who did them), but personally, I think part of the fun of a live show is being there where you know the performer is in the same room as you.

 Kim Jump: Yeah. 

Troy Hammond: And a, my gosh, I’m not cracking wise a lot today, am I? It’s mostly philosophical, I think.

Kim Jump: (laughing)That’s okay! (laughing)

Troy Hammond: But a, yeah, that’s the thing that I knew. That and the money.

 Kim Jump: (laughing)

Troy Hammond: But, the traveling around meeting people and ya know getting to share ideas and having people react in different ways because, in different parts of the country, different people react to different types of jokes. 

 Kim Jump: Mmm-hmm.

Troy Hammond: Halfway through the show, I realize, oh my gosh, these people hate me. So, I started doing a friend’s act which was quite blue, and by the end of the evening, people were buying me drinks and patting me on the back and giving me hugs, and buying my t-shirt, which you can find at TroyHammond.com.

Kim Jump: Mmm-hmm.

Troy Hammond: I’m kind of proud of those; they helped make a few house payments back in the day.

Kim Jump:  Yeah, I would definitely encourage people; they can find where you’re at on social media and find out what you’re up to, so definitely check out TroyHammond.com. And we’ll put that in the show notes. I know that back in 2010, you had connected with our agency, we were under a different name back then, but our Bureau of Services for the Visually Impaired and you had a counselor; she’s actually not with us anymore but stays in touch from Florida -Lise Seavers. Yeah, so tell me about how you got connected with the agency and about the services that you received. 

Troy Hammond: Well, back in the early ’80s, when I went to OU, I went to BSVI in search of assistance, and the most they could do for me at the time was to help me try to find copies of my books either on tape or in braille and give me so many per college quarter of paid readers which helped out a lot. But, as of 2010, with my work, people weren’t taking phone call anymore. Nobody was writing letters, and everything I had done up to that point was thru the mail and thru telephone conversations, and now that it was all online, I was floundering trying to keep enough work to stay afloat and I contacted Lise, and we had a meeting, and I explained, this is how much I made in this year, and this is how much I made in this year this is how much I made this year. And a group of us sat and talked about it, and Lise arranged for someone to help me build a website, and they got me involved in computer classes at Functional Training Services, and it was a six-week course, and I was done a little early because when you’re in your mid-40’s, and you take a class, you understand the significance as opposed to when you’re a kid.

Kim Jump: Mmm-hmm.

Troy Hammond:  So, I just tore through it. I was just pulling all-nighters, just sitting with my laptop and learning routes to do things,  and trying new things,  and how to edit this,  and how to do that,  and within about, well… They gave me the training in 2011. Within about eight months, my work was picking back up, and in June of 2012, a year after I had gotten out of my computer courses, my partner of 22 years passed away from apnea.

Kim Jump: Oh, I’m sorry. 

Troy Hammond: So, that changed the course a little bit, and I went through a lot of things through probate mostly, things people would never expect - to try to maintain my home, and I am happy to say I am sitting in the living room of the home I’ve owned for 25 years.

Kim Jump: Wonderful.

Troy Hammond: I bought it at a county auction in 2017. 

Kim Jump: Wow. Good for you. So, when you did the training, was Lise also able to help provide some technology for you to be able to use ( or that sort of thing.)

Troy Hammond: Yes. They provided a sweet laptop.

 Kim Jump: Wonderful.

Troy Hammond: I’ve had it, and it passed away after being treated like a workhorse for quite a while, and thanks to Flatch, I have a new one that somebody told me has an even better picture than the original. So, not that that does anything for me, but they seem to be really keen on it.

 Kim Jump: (laughing) That’s wonderful, and I’m really glad it sounds like for you, things were kind of coming to a head with how times had been changing and where the technology could help you continue to thrive, and you know in your business, really. So, I’m so glad that you found her. So, you knew about the agency in the ’80s and then reconnected again when you really needed it at that point. 

Troy Hammond: Ah, yes. I hadn’t spoken to anyone, I was pre-ADA, so it was all new to me, the whole concept of, “No, we’re going to help you!” Excuse me?! Because when I started in the first grade, it was 1968, and in the ’60s, nearly ¾ of the disabled were not in the public school system. 

Kim Jump: Mmm-hmm.

Troy Hammond: And, I mean, it’s always hard to explain to people if there’s 20-30 years difference between you how much things do change. 

Kim Jump: Yeah.

 Troy Hammond: Over a very short period of time, and I mean the opportunities today are so much better than in like the 70s or 80s. 

Kim Jump: Yeah.

Troy Hammond: And in the ’90s, I was busy just trying to build a career. I hadn’t even thought of anything like computer courses or anything like that, and I was lucky enough that when I got my mobility instruction, I had a very good teacher, and when you see on Flatch, I was one of those guys willing to run with a cane. 

Kim Jump: Wow. Nice. (laughing). That will be fun to watch.

Troy Hammond: If I’m on the clock, I’ll take risks. 

Kim Jump: (laughing) You’re willing to go for it. That is so cool. 

 (Inaudible) (laughing)

 Troy Hammond: It takes a lot to tear me away.

Kim Jump: I guess so. You definitely seem like you’re willing to just go for it, which I think is so cool. Well, Troy, besides hoping for continued seasons of Flatch, what else is next for you?

Troy Hammond: Well, I’ve got; I’m scheduling some comedy shows after the network airs the episodes.  Which my episodes will be on the 21st and 28th of April, and then in early May, I have a couple of things in Columbus, Ohio. I’m doing a benefit for the homeless, but I don’t have any information on it because my computer’s in the other room. 

Kim Jump: That’s alright. We’ll track that down and add things to the show notes (Inaudible.) Yeah.

Troy Hammond: Just go to TroyHammond.com. You might find out something. So – a lot of good information there and a lot of fun pictures and audio, etc.

Kim Jump: Definitely check that out. This has been amazing. I’m glad Lise’s continued to be a fan of yours, and she reached out to let us know because I hadn’t heard until I got an email forward from her from her friend Lesley that is with our agency. And I thought, boy, this would be so awesome to get to talk to you, Troy. So, I very much appreciate your willingness and saying yes for all of our listeners to be able to hear from you, and go visit your website, and support you with a T-shirt purchase, or go to one of your shows.

Troy Hammond: Talking about the t-shirts before we go, before we head out here because we are talking about a t-shirt design on the radio, basically.

 Kim Jump: Yeah, describe them for us.

 Troy Hammond: The t-shirts are 100% cotton, black t-shirts with white puff paint on the front that says in braille and print, “if you can read this, it’s sexual harassment.” And on the back of the shirt it has a cartoon of a guide dog laughing next to an open manhole, and the caption says, “Troy Hammond is a reality trip.”

 Kim Jump: (laughing) I love it.

 Troy Hammond: It was a really weak double entendre at the time, and it went with the cartoon.

 Kim Jump: I will be ordering mine. I’ll be careful where I wear it, make sure that the company…

 Troy Hammond: Oh, we’ll comp you. Don’t’ worry.

Kim Jump: (laughing) Oh, this is great. Well, anything else that you would either like me to ask or that you would want to share?

Troy Hammond: Oh no, I’ve shared too much. (laughing)

 Kim Jump: (laughing) Oh, you are fun to talk to; I definitely want to come to one of your shows.

Troy Hammond: Whenever you come to a show, you are with the band. 

Kim Jump: Cool.

Troy Hammond: I look forward to meeting you in the real world.

 Kim Jump: Yeah, likewise. Thank you so much, Troy. I really appreciate the time today.

 Troy Hammond: Well, thank you.