At age 25, after being fired from his job as an account executive at an Atlanta ad agency, Grant Turner decided to convert his comedy hobby into a career.
Forty-three years later, Grant says being fired still hurts. But as Ricky Mokel, his alter ego, he now has a Dry Bar Comedy Special that got over 13 million views last year on social media and a 90-minute comedy show that sells out! This G-rated solo effort is titled, My Mind Has a Mind. (Check TCO concert listings!)
Grant Turner (not yet identifying as Ricky Mokel) grew up in Decatur, Georgia. He remained there alone in a house with his parents until he was 17. He then relocated to Athens, Georgia and graduated from the university there. Two weeks later corporate America gobbled him up, then spit him out like he was a bug. That’s when he began doing comedy full time.
After getting married, winning the 1984 Great Southeastern Laff-Off at Atlanta’s Punchline comedy club and becoming a headliner, the family moved to Los Angeles where Grant made fun of himself and others at the Improv and on TV shows like, Evening at the Improv and A&E’s Comedy on the Road. Then their son was born.
The Turners instantly moved to Cullowhee, NC and prepared for their second child, a daughter. For all of the 1990’s, from his home in the Great Smokey Mountains, Grant drove all over the East headlining comedy clubs and becoming Ricky Mokel.
In 1996 the seasoned funny-man signed a TV development deal with Walt Disney Studios. When his sit-com idea, “I Think About Stuff” failed to be produced, he landed a steady gig at the Alabama Theatre in N Myrtle Beach, SC—for the next 20 years! This included his own sold-out one-man comedy show specials there every six months.
– Grant Turner — an autobiography
Ricky Mokel has been performing at The Carolina Opry since 2024. Don’t miss his show, My Mind Has a Mind, Saturday, August 17th!
