Brian Copeland returning to stage Saturday – weeks after open heart surgery

It’s been about four weeks since Brian Copeland says he almost “died twice” and needed emergency open heart surgery, but “come hell or high water” the Bay Area comedian, playwright and broadcaster plans to be back on stage this Saturday to emcee a comedy show that is very important to him.

This is the free Comedy in the Plaza fundraiser in Copeland’s home town of San Leandro, which he and the local Davis Street family resource center host annually to help provide low-income children in Alameda County with new shoes and school backpacks.

“Come hell or high water, I’ll be at Comedy in the Plaza,” Copeland said on Facebook on July 7, about 2 1/2 weeks after his surgery. Even four days post-surgery, while recovering in the hospital’s cardiac care unit, Copeland, who is in his early 60s, vowed he would be on stage to “emcee that show even if I have to do it from a wheelchair.”

On Monday, Copeland appeared to confirm his appearance at the show at the San Leandro Tech Campus, with a Facebook post and caption reading, “This Saturday!” He also promised it would be, “The free event of the summer!”

The lineup for the family-friendly show, from 5 to 7 p.m., features Copeland, along with nationally renowned comedians, writers and actors Greg Proops, Laurie Kilmartin, Tom Rhodes, Chris Riggins and Monique Marvez. To attend, people should pack their blankets or low-back chairs and gather their friends and families at the plaza to “enjoy an incredible lineup of comedians in a vibrant outdoor setting,” says a blog post about the event on the Davis Street center’s website.

“Come for the comedy, stay for the community, and leave knowing you helped a child start the school year with confidence,” the post also says. Since its origins in the early 1970s, the nonprofit has helped low-income families in San Leandro and the Eden area, including immigrant families, meet their basic day-to-day needs.

Last month, Copeland revealed to his many Bay Area fans that he had suffered sudden, multiple, “life-threatening” medical conditions that required emergency open-heart surgery.

“I literally almost died twice in the first 24 hours” Copeland said in a June 21 Facebook post, four days after his surgery. He said doctors had to “split me open and cut my sternum in two” to reach his heart. At the time, he was in “excruciating pain,” as if napalm is “coursing through my veins,” and he said getting out of bed is “pure agony.”

And yet, the crime novelist and former host for KTVU and KGO-810 radio said he was told that his recovery has been “nothing short of remarkable,” with doctors explaining he made it out of the intensive care unit and onto the cardio floor in about half the time as other patients in his situation.

On June 29, Copeland’s family shared that he was back home from the hospital, feeling very weak and tired and still in pain, with “a long road to recovery ahead.” But they also said his spirits were “high,” with Copeland reiterating that point on July 7, saying he was told he “was ahead of the average recovery for open heart surgery patients in week three. That’s encouraging.”

Copeland added that he was working with a physical therapist and had been able to get out of a chair more easily. However, he said, he was still in pain.

“My thanks for all of the love, support and kind messages you’ve sent me,” Copeland said. “They keep me going during the toughest times.”

A $50,000 GoFundMe campaign is still raising money to help Copeland and his family pay medical expenses not covered by insurance and deal with day-to-day living costs while he’s not able to work during his recovery. As of Tuesday morning, the campaign had raised close to $36,000.

“Brian Copeland has always been someone who shows up for others,” the GoFundMe campaign said. “If you know him, or even if you’ve just come across his work or are aware of his community presence in the Bay Area, you know he cares deeply about people and has spent much of his life giving back and making a difference.”

In addition to Copeland’s work as a comedian, author and broadcaster, he also rose to national prominence with his first one-person show, “Not a Genuine Black Man,” which premiered at the Marsh in San Francisco in 2004 and explored his childhood in San Leandro, when he was a member of one of the only Black families living in the nearly all-white suburb of San Leandro.

Copeland has since written and performed other acclaimed solo shows and theatrical productions, notably “The Waiting Period,” a powerful piece about his struggles with suicidal depression.