Actor, quirky raconteur and stand-up comic David Cross, who crossed the 60-year mark this spring, joked on his comedy special earlier this year, “The Worst Daddy in the World,” about being an older dad surrounded by insufferable younger hipster fathers in the Brooklyn borough of New York City.
But the “Arrested Development” alum, who grew up in Roswell, is truly enjoying his time raising his 7-year-old daughter, Marlow, with his actor wife, Amber Tamblyn.
“I’m physically fit,” Cross said in a phone interview with The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “I’m able to do everything I need to do with her. I’m not like, ‘Slow down! Daddy’s knees!’ Every age represents its own achievements and delights. I’m loving that she’s very slowly starting to get into sports. She’s getting into baseball cards. It’s heartwarming for me.”
Cross, who is on a 50-city stand-up comedy tour, spoke to the AJC from an airport in Madison, Wisconsin, on his way to Minneapolis. Both shows, he noted, are sold out.
But his show at the Tabernacle in Atlanta on Wednesday, has plenty of seats available on livenation.com. “I’ve had trouble selling tickets in Atlanta and I have no idea why,” he said, despite his ties to the city and his love for the Atlanta Braves.
The new show — “for no concerted reason,” he said — won’t be as heavy on religion and politics as past ones. Nonetheless, expect an eclectic mix of storytelling, dry observational humor and social commentary.
“He’s no different on stage than he is off stage,” said his sister, Wendy Cross, who still lives in Atlanta. “He is unapologetic in his opinions.”
She said her brother works hard to be a present dad for Marlow in response to the fact his father abandoned them when they were children. “He is hyperaware what not to do,” Wendy said.
Cross said Marlow is now at an age where she understands that he makes a living cracking jokes, so she herself has begun following in his footsteps. “She is starting to appreciate being funny, which is kind of nice,” he said. “She wrote a bunch of jokes in the car while we were driving upstate. We were at a restaurant and she walked over to strangers and told jokes. It was cool.”
Credit: Diane Bondareff
Credit: Diane Bondareff
Cross said he was not nearly as extroverted as his daughter is when he was her age. “We moved around a lot,” he said. “I was always the new kid. I didn’t like growing up in Roswell (in the late 1970s and early 1980s). I was picked on a lot. There was a lot of dumb antisemitism and racism I had to deal with.”
“I was picked on a lot. There was a lot of dumb antisemitism and racism I had to deal with."
When Cross comes to town now, he stays with his sister, who lives in a quiet cul-de-sac. When Cross told Marlow he was going on tour in Europe next year and wanted to take her to see London for the first time during spring break, Marlow demurred and said she’d rather stay with her Aunt Wendy.
“In Brooklyn, Marlow can’t just go outside and play,” Wendy said. “Here, she can knock on some doors and find kids to play with. She has the time of her life.”
While Cross has complained about aspects of Atlanta over the years in interviews with the AJC, he said he has come to terms with its strengths and weaknesses.
“There’s no kind of centrality to it,” he said. “There’s a reason I moved away. There’s a reason I live in New York. The fact you have to drive everywhere is annoying. I do love the Beltline. I love getting on a bike and riding around. That’s what I do in my neighborhoods in New York. People are nice in Atlanta. There’s good food. I don’t hate it.”
And while he is an avowed Democrat supporting Kamala Harris, he doesn’t get as emotional about election politics as his wife. “I just had an extremely long talk with her about it,” he said. “I’m not going to cry if Trump is elected again. I’ll be disappointed, but I won’t be surprised. Then it’s really about rolling up your sleeves and getting to work. When Biden won, she was in the streets dancing. I didn’t. That’s not me.”
Credit: WENDY CROSS
Credit: WENDY CROSS
His sister said Cross hates surprises, but she gave him a surprise 60th birthday party anyway in Brooklyn in April with 150 of his family and friends. His drama teacher from Northside School of Performing Arts, the now defunct Atlanta school, flew in. Also among the attendees were many of the cast of Cross’ HBO sketch comedy show, “Mr. Show” — such as Bob Odenkirk and Brian Posehn — along with buddies such as Fred Armisen and Janeane Garafolo. H. Jon Benjamin (”Archer”) hired an opera singer to croon “Take Me Out to the Ballgame.”
“It took about 7 seconds for him to go from completely pissed to, ‘Oh my God! This is the story of my life!’” she said.
IF YOU GO
David Cross
8 p.m. Wednesday, $69 and up, The Tabernacle, 152 Luckie St NW, Atlanta, www.livenation.com
About the Author
