NEW YORK -- In a hallway at 30 Rockefeller Plaza back in March, Jimmy Fallon introduced Brooks Allison to Jerry Seinfeld.
Fallon, of course, is the host of "The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon" on NBC.
Seinfeld, a legendary comedian, was going to be one of Fallon's guests on the show that night.
Allison, a Salem High School and Roanoke College graduate, is not a famous comedian like the two of them. But he is also in the comedy field -- he is one of Fallon's "Tonight Show" writers.
Allison had written the sketch that Fallon and Seinfeld were going to perform on the late-night television show, so introductions were in order.
"I'm just like, all right, no matter what happens in my career, in my life, I will always be able to say, 'Jimmy Fallon introduced me to Jerry Seinfeld.' That's pretty cool," Allison, 35, said in an interview this summer in 30 Rockefeller Plaza, the building where "The Tonight Show" is taped.
Allison's time with Fallon and Seinfeld was not over.
The three men and "Tonight Show" head writer A.D. Miles headed into a dressing room to discuss the sketch, "Random Question," that Allison had written. Fallon and Seinfeld were to play office workers asking each other random questions.
Fallon had previously made tweaks to the sketch, before Seinfeld had arrived at 30 Rock. Now it was Seinfeld's turn to suggest jokes to add or remove.
"One of the coolest experiences of my life," Allison said.
But it was an anxiety-filled day for Allison. After Seinfeld and Fallon rehearsed the sketch, more tweaks were made. They rehearsed it again, followed by more changes.
"The Tonight Show" usually tapes at 5 p.m, but this time the taping was delayed 40 minutes because of all the work on the sketch.
"I felt like, 'This is what it is to be a network comedy writer in 30 Rock," Allison said. "That day was something else."
Allison was in the studio to see his sketch performed during the show. The sketch, which lasted almost four minutes, went well. After the sketch was done, Allison looked in Seinfeld's direction.
"Our eyes meet and I was like, 'Hey, Jerry, great job!' and he was like, 'Thanks, it worked!'" Allison said. "That was big."
Former soccer player
Allison's parents divorced when he was in elementary school. His father is former Roanoke College athletic director and men's soccer coach Scott Allison. His mother, Robin Demarest, is a nurse.
"My dad was always funny. My mom was always funny," Brooks Allison said.
Allison was 10 or 11 years old when he realized he was pretty funny as well.
"I always loved comedy," he said. "I always loved being funny for my friends, for my parents."
Allison played soccer for Salem High School and for his father at Roanoke College.
He also played in bands in high school and college.
After graduating from Roanoke College with a business degree, he got a job at a hospital-file storage facility in Salem.
Two years later, in 2013, he moved to New York City with a friend so he could try his hand at comedy or music.
What did his parents think about that idea?
"They didn't really bat an eye when I pursued an artistic career," he said. "But my mom is excited that (with) my job now, I have an office and a desk. She always envisioned that for me."
Allison moved with his friend into a basement apartment in Brooklyn and got a job at an Italian restaurant.
He began taking improv comedy classes at Upright Citizens Brigade, the comedy troupe that actress Amy Poehler helped found. He eventually became good enough to perform in UCB shows, albeit in an unpaid capacity. But the UCB's theater closed during the coronavirus pandemic.
He began making comedy videos and putting them online. He also became the bass player for a rock band, "Sloth Rust."
In the fall of 2021, a few "Tonight Show" writers that he knew invited him to appear on the show's "Battle of the Instant Songwriters" segment. He was given a song title and an hour to write a song. He then performed the song on the show. A talent manager was impressed enough to sign him.
In 2022, he got his first paying job in comedy, making online videos for the Comedy Central cable channel's digital department. He did that while continuing to tour with "Sloth Rust."
Eventually, he began worrying about his future. Would he have one in comedy? In music?
But in February 2023, he got a call from Chris Miller, the show runner of "The Tonight Show." The show was looking to hire a few new writers, and a friend of Allison had suggested him.
Allison could stop fretting about whether or not he would make it in show business.
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Working with McConaughey
Allison, who usually writes by himself, is one of eight sketch writers on "The Tonight Show." The show also has several other writers who focus on the monologue jokes. And there are some bits that all the writers contribute to, such as Fallon's "Thank You Notes."
If Allison has written a sketch for the show, he will watch that part of the taping from the side of the stage or he will stand near the audience. He learns what got a laugh and what did not.
"There's an art to it," he said.
One of the first sketches Allison ever got on the show last year was a game in which Fallon and guest Kelly Clarkson had to guess songs by listening to clips of them being played backwards. Allison wrote and produced the sketch, handling everything from picking the songs to suggesting the set.
"Writing sketches is hard," he said.
Allison's first year with "The Tonight Show" was interrupted when he and his fellow members of the Writers Guild of America went on strike from May to September 2023.
Allison used some of his free time that summer to produce a Eurodance song parody, "Planet of the Bass," for his friend, comedian Kyle Gordon. The song became a hit.
When the strike ended, Fallon took the "Tonight Show" writers to dinner. Fallon sat next to Allison and brought up the song to him.
So Allison wound up writing a "Sunday Night Football" Eurodance parody song video for Fallon and guest Charli D'Amelio to do on the show last fall.
In January, Allison was assigned to write one of the show's recurring "Tight Pants" sketches. He wrote the sketch for Fallon and guest Matthew McConaughey. Fallon and McConaughey played feuding characters who sang, danced and were proud of their tight, white pants.
Allison met McConaughey at 30 Rock to brief him on the sketch and to see what changes McConaughey wanted to make. It was the first time Allison talked to a major celebrity guest.
"Matthew McConaughey shook my hand and said, 'Let's jam,'" Allison said. "He shuts the door behind him and it's just me and Matthew McConaughey in his dressing room for 10 minutes. That was wild."
The sketch did not go off without a hitch.
McConaughey had a blister on his hand. While smacking his leg with his hand during the song, the blister opened and spots of blood began appearing on the pants.
After the sketch was done, Allison looked on as Fallon and show executives decided to redo the sketch because of the blood.
"It was like, 'This is the big leagues of show biz,'" Allison said. "That was a very nerve-wracking day."
Allison is actually one of two people from the Roanoke area who work in 30 Rockefeller Plaza as writers for late-night NBC shows. Northside High School graduate Kent Sublette is one of the co-head writers of "Saturday Night Live."
Acting on the show
Allison is not only a writer for the show. On about 10 occasions, he has also performed in bits on the show.
"It's been cool," he said. "It's a thing I didn't quite expect."
On a show in May, he appeared as himself during the monologue in a one-minute, videotaped bit about "quiet vacationing."
In June, he played an audience member who praised the air nozzles on airplanes during the show's "Shout-outs" segment.
Whenever he acts on the show, Allison texts his parents to give them a head's up. His father will stay up late to watch him on the show when it airs at 11:35 p.m., while his mother and sister will watch online the next day.
'Nothing beats the rush'
Allison does not only pitch sketch ideas. He also suggests songs or bits that can be used during the monologue.
Sometimes, for example, Fallon and Tariq Trotter of house band "The Roots" will do a rap during the monologue about how a guest's name is spelled. Allison has written some of those raps.
Allison contributed a monologue bit in March after a politician erroneously tweeted that a bus transporting the Gonzaga men's basketball team was carrying "illegal invaders." Allison wrote a number of fake tweets on the topic for the monologue.
Allison likes coming up with ideas for sketches and songs. He feels writing for "The Tonight Show" is more of his niche than writing for a sitcom would be.
But it's not easy getting an idea into the show.
"One day you'll feel like, 'OK, this got in, this got in, I appeared in this sketch,' and then the next day you'll get nothing in or something you felt good about got cut, and then it can be disheartening," he said.
A typical work day goes from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. But ideas for the show are actually due at 9 a.m. each day, so Allison will either get up at 7 a.m. to come up with some or will write them the night before.
Allison and the other writers pitch their monologue ideas in the morning to the head writer, who then brings the ones he likes to Fallon and show executives. Allison and the other writers also submit their sketch ideas to the head writer.
For Allison, it is a thrill each day to see if something of his will be chosen.
"Nothing beats the rush of seeing something (on the show that) you wrote or you're a part of in some way," he said. "It's amazing."
Mark Berman (
540) 981-3125
BROOKS ALLISON
Writer for "The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon"
Age: 35
High school: Salem
College: Roanoke College
Current job: has written for "The Tonight Show" since February 2023
Family ties: his father is former Roanoke College athletic director and men's soccer coach Scott Allison
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