BALTIMORE — For comedian Desi Alexander, the journey from Baltimore classrooms to national comedy stages has never been a straight line. In many ways, it has always led back home.
Alexander recently returned to the city where it all began, surrounded by students, teachers, and staff cheering him on — from flyers taped in hallways to warm welcomes in school offices. It was a full-circle moment for the Baltimore native, whose life has been shaped by both education and comedy.
Comedy, he says, was part of his story from the very beginning. Alexander was named after a Desi Arnaz joke referenced in Eddie Murphy’s Delirious.
"It's the origin of my name. I guess comedy was where I was supposed to be at," Alexander said.
Younger Desi was a bit of a class clown, sometimes landing himself in trouble, but always making people laugh, including his teachers.
From making classmates laugh, to keeping his class in check. Desi has spent years teaching in Baltimore City Schools, starting at Holabird Academy.
"I had my own class, my own subject, and they gave me the freedom to do that," he said. "And I fell in love with it."
But another passion was calling. One night while on a date at the former Burke’s Restaurant on Light Street, Alexander kept hearing laughter coming from upstairs. When he learned it was a comedy show, curiosity took over. He signed up and returned the following week.
"I told my first joke and just saw a sea of people laughing," he said. "I was standing there like, I’m going to do this for the rest of my life."
At the time, Alexander was juggling it all, teaching, booking comedy shows, and studying early childhood education and psychology at Coppin State University.
Eventually, he made the difficult decision to step away from teaching full time to pursue comedy.
"You can’t save everybody with all that you have," he recalled his family telling him. "This tour, this is your opportunity. This is your moment."
Alexander hustled, traveling across the country for shows, often performing for little or no pay.
"I’m not getting money for this," he said, "but I know I gotta get better at it, and I know it’s going to come."
And it did.
Alexander went on to share a stage with Kevin Hart and helped write jokes for fellow Baltimore comedian and Breakfast Club Host Jess Hilarious, a collaboration rooted in shared hometown pride.
"I felt like me and her had to become stronger together, being from Baltimore. Once I saw her blowing up, I saw a lot of the snakes, a lot of the people trying to get stuff off of her, and I just was always there," he said.
Despite the success, something kept pulling him back to the classroom.
Today, Alexander works at Hampden Elementary and Middle School.
"A lot of my material comes from it," he said. "I really missed being in the classroom."
Now, Alexander is holding onto both passions. He’s preparing to record his first live comedy special, Stress Signals: The Bad Parenting Tour.
The first stop of the tour is Baltimore.
"My city understands me a lot more," he said. "No city is like Baltimore. Baltimore is its own planet."
In addition to the students he teaches, Alexander is a father to four daughters.
"They see the ups and the downs of what it comes with," he said. "They see that it can be accomplished if you really work hard."
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