Steve Mazan grew up in the suburbs of Chicago before touring the world aboard a U.S. Navy Submarine. With many military honors under his belt he left the USS Scranton to attend Northern Illinois University, where he graduated with less honors.
The famous San Francisco comedy scene beckoned Steve westward and he jumped in with both feet. Within two years Steve was touring the country (and the world) full-time making audiences laugh. His clean and clever material made him a favorite of clubs and comics alike.
A comedian friend told Steve, "If you wanna make cars move to Detroit, and if you wanna do comedy move to New York or L.A. (This was in the early 2000's when Detroit was still making a lot of cars)." Because of an aversion to snow, from a youth spent shoveling driveways, Steve chose sunny Los Angeles. Soon after arriving Steve was performing at the world famous Improv, Laugh Factory, Comedy Store and on late night TV shows like Comics Unleashed and Craig Ferguson.
In 2005, Steve received devastating news that he had stage 4 cancer in his intestines and liver. Immediate surgery removed the cancer in his intestines but oncologists told him there was no treatment or cure for the dozen rare tumors that covered his liver. Their worst case scenario was that Steve had five years to live.
Not a "worst-case scenario" guy, Steve decided instead of feeling sorry for himself he'd pick up the pieces and spend whatever time he had left chasing his ultimate dream of performing his stand-up on David Letterman's show—the ultimate showcase for any comedian.
Two filmmaker friend's heard about Steve's quest and followed him on his journey for a documentary called "Dying to do Letterman." The film and the story have inspired many others to stop waiting for someday and start chasing their dreams. As Steve says "It's not how much time you have, it's what you do with it." The 2012 award-winning documentary even caught the attention of the publisher's of the "Chicken Soup for the Soul" series, who asked Steve to write a book version of his journey.
Steve is still alive, and well past his worst-case date. He likes to think that he's been too busy chasing all of his dreams for cancer to catch up with him yet. With his extra-time Steve even won an Emmy while he was writing on The Ellen Degeneres Show. When he's not on the road performing at comedy clubs or corporate events, giving talks to cancer and business groups, he spends time at the beach with his wife Denise and two dogs.