With ‘dry’ and ‘blunt’ humor, Rutgers student dreams of comedic stardom

By Camilo Montoya-Galvez 

NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J. – While he currently crafts witty punch lines in his dormitory for his own consumption, Bill Hockman hopes to one day see his name on the credits of NBC’s Saturday Night Live.

The 20-year-old junior at Rutgers University is studying sports journalism, but sees his future in the filmmaking industry or writing comedy skits. Hockman is certain his humor can be put to good use – all he needs, he said, is somewhere to practice it. 

“It’s dry and blunt,” he said, referring to his comedic style with a prideful smile.

Because watching sitcoms like Seinfeld and The King of Queens was a family ritual in his household when he was growing up, Hockman said he naturally became exceedingly invested in comedy.

The native of Netcong, N.J., said he latches on to a particular comedian from time to time and religiously listens to their skits. Right now, he said he plays the podcasts of Canadian stand-up comedian Norm Macdonald on his phone before going to sleep on some nights.

“He’s old, but he cracks me up,” Hockman said as he continued to list his comedy heroes.   

Before he focused on a career in filmmaking and comedy, the 20-year-old said he was not entirely sure what profession he wanted to pursue after graduation. He thought that by studying sports journalism, he could channel his fervent passion for watching and playing sports, but he also knew that he did not want to be a typical sideline reporter.

Instead, he envisioned himself as a sports columnist and commentator of sorts, debating the day’s most compelling sports news in fiery discussions on a television show. 

“When I got into it, I had this misconception of it where you just watch these shows with columnists or the opinion dudes – and I was like ‘oh, it would be cool to do this,’” he said.

After he realized that sports journalism was not exactly what he had anticipated, Hockman rerouted his career goals. The internship he secured this spring semester has offered him a new professional course.

The Rutgers student is interning at Gulp, a Manhattan-based film company, where he pitches ideas for new television series, reality shows and commercials. He noted that this is the first time he has been exposed to the crafts of filmmaking and series development through hands-on work.

Continuing to develop, produce and write these types of television programming would be a dream scenario for Hockman, but his passion for comedy will always be an option as well.

For the time being, Hockman will continue to write as much comedy as he can for himself until he garners a wider audience. He said there is always going to be a need for comedy, and comedians like himself, because “it is important to laugh.”

“Life is kind of ridiculous sometimes,” he said. “If you are not able to have a sense of humor or if you take yourself too seriously, you are going to be sad person too often.”