Stand up comedy is never easy but with perhaps more than a little carny still left in him, Kenny, AKA ‘The World’s Funniest Lawyer performed at high profile venues all over  Los Angeles and  Las Vegas.

The irony is that, after the years of trying to escape his carny roots, Kenny’s  carny smarts gave him an edge both on and off stage.

The Carny Kid is a feature film based on the life of LA defense attorney, stand-up comedian and philanthropist Kenneth (Kenny) Kahn.

“The Carny Kid” began its life as an autobiography written and published by the late Kenny Kahn in 2005. The book tells the amazing story of a boy (Kenny) growing up in the 1950’s, spending his summers working with his family on carnivals across the USA and the off-season living in the projects of East LA.

After Kenny’s  sudden and untimely death in 2009, the project took on a different, much broader face. Combining conversations with Kenny, many inspiring insights from Kenny’s sister Cookie, and extensive background research, the film organically expanded outside the parameters of the book.

The resulting screenplay reveals an even more enthralling story of a man who spent his life coming to terms with an unresolved past .

Barry Kahn and Kenny Kahn (1955)

Barry Kahn and Faye Kahn (1958)

[1956]  With heroin a constant spectre over his parents , Kenny spent his formative years learning “a hundred ways to steal a dollar,” and keeping his brother and sister out of harm’s way.

Despite every reason to follow in the family trade, Kenny defied  the odds and after years of hard work he graduated from Berkeley Boalt  Hall School of Law - despite having to steal his first set of law books.

For many the story would end here - a triumph over adversity - but  the story of Kenny Kahn was only just beginning.

[1987]   Kenny was stabbed in the chest by his client Jon Beaks, not surprisingly he begins to take a fresh look at the things around him. It’s funny how an ice-pick in the chest can remind you of the many  things you’d still like to achieve.

Compelled to write an autobiography, Kenny began to face the darker days of his childhood and the often conflicting aspects that came out of it.

Kenny’s autobiography ‘The Carny Kid’ played a vital role in helping to reconcile how a dysfunctional family  could be so full of love and yet so divided

Kenny and Cookie (1987)

[1989]  Even in his privileged position as a lawyer, Kenny never  stopped helping the underdog, setting up a fund to pay transients in Santa Monica to clean up trash.

Later he created a student writing competition called  

‘Word Power,’ to help and encourage children to  use learning as a key to create a better life for themselves and get out of the slums.

All of this I know about a man I never actually met in person.

A week before our first face to face meeting in June 2009, Kenny died on a deserted part of the Inca Trail in Macchu Picchu, Peru.

He was doing as he always did - finding his own path.

Mark A. Todd