Jim Wilkerson was born in 1935, the middle of the Great Depression. His dad died at age 34, so Jim went to work early. His first job was as a pinsetter at a bowling alley when he was ten. And that was just the first of many boyhood experiences that helped shape his zest for life and knowledge.

He played high school football and in Junior college was voted most valuable player by his teammates. That got him a scholarship to USC, where he majored in broadcast journalism. That started the career where he became an award-winning TV journalist, play-by-play announcer, columnist, and CNN news anchor.

That interesting career in television news and sports brought him in contact with a long list of people we know: Bob Hope, Red Skelton, and Lucille Ball. He played golf with Evel Knievel and talked with Wilt Chamberlain, Kareem Jabbar, and many more.

That included Ali, who was in Phoenix in 1963 and helped Jim celebrate the birth of his daughter by taking a puff on a cigar. They were both scolded by his manager.

That lifetime of experiences prompted Jim to start writing humor, and now, a few months from 90, Jim thinks he is the nation’s oldest working stand-up comic.