Comedian Saves Man's Life With Beer

Beer can be a communal elixir that builds friendships, even with strangers you’ve never met before. One comedian harnessed the bonding power of beer to save a man’s life.

On Wednesday, beer salesmen Kwame Anderson and Jason Gabel were on their route delivering beer when they spotted a man on the I94 overpass in St. Paul, Michigan. Gabel yelled out to the man to see if he was okay, but the man responded that he was suicidal. They called 911, then Anderson got out of the truck and talked to the depressed gentleman.

Kwame, who is also a comedian, engaged the suicidal man and tried to get him off the ledge. “I thought about Denzel Washington when he’s acting as a cop in movies. I said, ‘well, I gotta keep this guy entertained somehow because if I wait for police, this thing may be over,’” Anderson said, referencing Denzel’s movie Inside Man.

Police showed up to the tense situation, but it may have made the man more uneasy.

“I could feel tension in the air; he was intimidated by white cops,” Gabel said. Then he told the cops that Kwame is an “extremely intelligent guy.” Gabel added, “I think we can talk this guy off the ledge.”

Kwame talked to the 29-year-old man for an hour. His comedic skills got the man to talk to him and then he sealed the deal with his day job by selling him on beer. Anderson went to the truck and grabbed a 12-pack of Coors. This was Anderson’s best beer pitch of his life.

The man stepped away from the ledge and first responders intercepted him before he could have that beer. The man was then taken for evaluation at St. Region’s Hospital.

The man could still crack open a cold one with Kwame because he was invited to see him perform on stage. “I told him if he needs a laugh, invite him out to one of my comedy shows,” Anderson said. “If he comes, I’ll make sure he has a beer and has a good night.”

“I felt relieved. I didn’t plan on saving anybody, but I knew when I saw him standing here I wasn’t going to leave until he came off,” he said. Police praised Anderson and Gabel for probably saving the man’s life.

“Today I was Blessed with the opportunity to SAVE a mans precious #LIFE,” Kwame said in a Facebook post. “He was trying to commit #Suicide by jumping of the 94W EarlStreetBridge. I talked to him for 1 Hour then finally convinced him to have a #BEER with me and vent, then he came down… Give somebody a hug, you never know who’s goin #ThruIT.”

This is definitely deserving of a “not all heroes wear capes” compliment.