The Texas/Louisiana collaborative short film "Death by King Cake" won the Ruth Buzzi Comedy Award Saturday at the Billy the Kid Film Festival in Hico, Texas. The award included a framed, autographed picture of Buzzi pictured with Dean Martin and Frank Sinatra. On the back she had taped a residual check from NBC from the same program the picture was from. The award was presented by Buzzi's husband, Kent Perkins, as Buzzi is still recovering from a stroke.

Death by King Cake has been accepted to 30 festivals since early July and won as many awards in various categories.

We had the good fortune of connecting with David Luck and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi David, is your business focused on helping the community? If so, how?

In today’s world, we need to have a good scene of humor, and this is why I created Best of Luck Homegrown Comedies, my website where you can get my books, short films, and merchandise that will take the individual on a journey of laughter.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?

I grew up as an Air Force Brat, during the late 60’s and 70’s. I was fascinated by the TV show. “Rowan & Matin’s Laugh-In”. As a young child, I was amazed at how these talented people could make you laugh during the world’s rough times, such as the Vietnam War. I remember in the 1st grade, the teacher asked what everyone in the class wanted to be when they grew up, and most of the students wanted to be policemen, teachers, doctors, and astronauts – and my answer was, “I want to be a cast member of Laugh-In. At that very moment, my goal in life was to bring laughter into the universe.

My true calling in life is to spread humor to the world through my books and films. The two main lessons I’ve learned during my 58 years on this earth are:

1. Don’t give up your day; love what you do.
2. Embrace rejection and remember that no one can take away your creativity.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.

I live in Lafayette, Louisiana, “Cajun Country” – so I’d take my best friend to all the local restaurants, festivals, and museums. I would also show my friend all the locations in Louisiana where my films were shot and the places written in my books.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?

My family and friends deserve much credit for my books and films. Because of these beautiful and funny people, I can create.

Writers that give their readers both humor and pleasure with their writings have a special place in my heart. In this complicated and often heartless world that we live in, a person who brings a fresh and happy perspective to life with all of its frailties deserves our attention and our loyalty to readership. Since obtaining two of David Luck's books recently ("Southern Fried Life" and "Too Fat To Dance"), I have thoroughly enjoyed, actually relished, reading the former book and will begin to read the latter book tonight. Don't we all deserve to smile and laugh? Here is David's story:

David is the son of the late Janie Carstens Luck, daughter of Carl Carstens. Her family owns the historic Schnack's Fine Jewelry, established in 1865. But David self-describes more as an "Air Force Brat." the son of an Air Force major who was stationed all over the world, lastly at England Air Force Base, here in Alexandria, retiring in 1975. David, born in Roswell, New Mexico, remembers well living in at least eight different places around the world. His most memorable stay may have been in the Azores when he was in Kindergarten. Living in different places had a positive effect on me." says David. "I learned to be very creative from seeing the different cultures that surrounded me. I lived in my own world of imagination."

In the late 60s, David discovered "Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In" television show, then widely enjoyed for its creativity of production. David loved seeing comedians pop out of the wall and having a great sense of humor. This, unknowingly, inspired him to eventually enter the field of humor and entertainment.

After graduating from Holy Savior Menard in 1983, he took a "tour of colleges but eventually received his degree in sociology from Northwestern State in Natchitoches. David had lots of aspirations in high school, including opening up a restaurant, but ended up working in a series of psychiatric hospitals, now currently at Long Leaf. But other jobs, such as working at KALB for 15 years as an ad writer, news producer, and entertainment reporter, brought him back to wanting to work and develop humor, possibly his true natural calling in life. "Working in television and the health field made me more compassionate; I began to use writing as my personal escape from the rigors of work and life," David shared.

He pondered what he wanted out of life: "People have always thought that I was a funny guy. I would write a play or a mock newscast and people loved what they heard." So, writing books became a natural outlet for his incredible talent. "I soon realized that I am really good at developing my own unique way of getting my message across to people through humor."

"Too Fat to Dance," a southern comedy, was David's first novel, published in 2009. "I love this story and I feel it's one of my best-but this comedy became an instant gratification for me," tells David. In 2014, David wrote his second comedy, "Southern Fried Life", but then he took on filmmaking in which Luck, along with his good friend, Kent Arceneaux, developed the comedy short films, "Brunch before Baptism" in 2018 and "A Stand for Damaged Fame" in 2020. Both films have won numerous awards and David couldn't be prouder of them!

Luck is currently working on a cookbook and his third comedy short film, "Death by King Cake", in which many scenes will take place at The Hotel Bentley and River Oaks Square Arts Center.

David has found his true calling of life - humor offered through books and film. He is very proud of his website which contains all of his current creative accomplishments: Bestofluckcomedies.com. Get "lucky!" Buy one of his books, see one of his comedies and enjoy life!

This comedy short is about love, drug addiction, same-sex marriage, grief, abandonment, dysfunction, and of course, acceptance. As the tagline states: "A comedy about a toxic family situation with a splash of Holy water and a twist of lime."

The story is about two screwed-up families getting together for brunch to celebrate a young boy's baptism. The young man's family includes a father and stepfather in recovery, over-the-top liberal grandparents, an ignorant and homophobic step-uncle, a flamboyant step-grandmother, along with his extended family of socially impaired individuals. What was to become a beautiful backyard celebration turned into a painful poolside party.

David Luck, the creator of Brunch before Baptism, believes that laughter is the key to surviving everyday life in this chaotic world that we all live in. The short film took place in Luck's hometown of Alexandria, Louisiana. It was David's goal to bring in southern humor (or just humor in general) to defuse the tension between the hurting relatives.

Brunch before baptism has been a beautiful journey for David. This past year, his short film was nominated and received award several awards from film festivals nationwide such as Best Dark Comedy, Best Screenplay, Best Actor, Best Supporting Actress & Actor, Best Faith-Based, and Best Comedy.

David will be forever thankful to Kent Arceneaux, Director, and all his incredible cast and crew. Nine months before shooting, David's mother, Janie Luck, passed away, and his film family is responsible for his much-needed escape from loss and pain by coming together and giving birth to this meaningful comedy.

David Luck is an actor, producer, and director, known for Brunch before Baptism (2018) and Last Will and Testicle (2016).

Tell us about your background and when you decided to become a filmmaker, producer, actor, and screenwriter.
When I was 4 years old and saw the variety television show “Rowan & Martin’s Laugh-In. I knew immediately that I wanted to make people laugh through storytelling.

Films that inspired you to become a filmmaker?
Escapism.

Who is your biggest influence?
Lily Tomlin.

What were some of the challenges you had to face in making your films?
The weather and rejection.

Do you have a favorite genre to work in? Why is it your favorite?
Comedy – One cannot live in this crazy world without a sense of humor.

What’s your all-time favorite movie and why?
It’s a tie between Nashville and The Player. Both movies are directed by Robert Altman. He was an incredible filmmaker who allowed the actors free range of the characters.

If you could work with anyone in the world, who would that person be?
Lily Tomlin.

Tell us something most people don't know about you.
My cousin is Andrew Luck, the quarterback for the Indianapolis Colts of the NFL.

The one person who has truly believed in you throughout your career.
I’m extremely fortunate to have family and many friends who are behind 100 percent.

What was the most important lesson you had to learn as a filmmaker?Accept criticism without changing my vision.

Is it harder to get started or to keep going? What was the particular thing that you had to conquer to do either?
Own my own creativity.

What keeps you motivated?
Laughter and support.

How has your style evolved?
It gets to the point a lot faster and my scripts have become tighter.

On set, the most important thing is:
To listen and be respectful.

The project(s) you’re most proud of:
Brunch before Baptism (my movie) and Southern Fried Life (my 2nd novel).

The most challenging project you worked on and why?
This would have to be my first novel. I should have hired a professional editor, but instead, I went for instant gratification, and now, I cringe when I read it and see the errors I made. But you live and learn.

What are your short-term and long-term career goals?
Short term - would be to enjoy the ride at all the film festivals. The long term would be to continue to make films that make people laugh.

Your next projects?
Working on two comedies!

David Luck is a central Louisiana native who has made writing a major component of his life. He has written short films, screenplays, and news stories for television.

David's rare experiences promote his comedic talent. From bartending and behavioral therapy to interviewing over two hundred celebrities (from Willie Nelson to Roseanne) as an entertainment reporter, David uses humor to explicate life.

David is a unique and kind individual who is sure to bring laugh lines to anyone he meets. His blue eyes glimmer with goals, dreams, hopes, and accomplishments all-encompassing desire to help people and bring laughter and joy to their lives. He shares his love for comedy with the characters in his book "Too Fat To Dance." They are unforgettable and hold inspire readers not only to reach for their goals but to achieve them.

David's family tree touches on many parts of our beautiful state. His grandfather was one of the many Carstens that live in New Iberia. Jane Ellen Carstens (David's grandfather's cousin) was the librarian at the University of Southwestern Louisiana (USL; now the University of Louisiana at Lafayette) for many years.

His sister Abbie Luck also graduated from USL and David shares his fond memories of weekends when they would go to Lafayette every other weekend to shop at Maison Blanche in the Acadiana Mall.

David attended Northwestern State University in Natchitoches and completed courses in Sociology. He subsequently headed to Lafayette to enroll in the

International Bartending Institute and graduated from the two-week course with honors. Bringing forth his comedic playfulness David says, "Boy, were my parents proud.” He has quite a fondness for Lafayette and says it has always held a special place in his heart because it is rich in character and people from south Louisiana are so much more friendly and real than any other place in this unique world we live in.

Tell me a little bit about your childhood.
DL: I'm an Air Force brat. My mother, Janie Carstens met my dad, Glen Luck when he was stationed at England Air Force Base in Alexandria, Louisiana. I was born in Roswell. New Mexico. We traveled all over the world when I was a child. My father decided to retire in my mother's hometown of Alexandria in 1975. So, I've spent most of my life in central Louisiana.

What did you do prior to publishing your book?
DL: I've written two screenplays, a short film, many television ads, and hundreds of news stories. 

After I spent 5 years working in a psychiatric hospital during the day and bartending during the night, I decided to go into television. I worked as a copywriter/producer in creative services at KALB TV (an NBC Affiliate) in Alexandria for five years. Then I decided to work in news as a producer/entertainment reporter. For six years, I produced the 6 p.m. and 10 p.m. news and I had the pleasure of interviewing over 200 celebrities (from Lily Tomlin to Tim McGraw).

About the book's dedication:
DL: I dedicated my book to my sister Abbie Luck, Lt. Col, USAF who just got back from serving our country in Iraq.

What's the book about?
DL: "Too Fat To Dance" is a hilarious story about one young lady's struggle to follow her ultimate life goal. With encouragement from her eccentric family, Taffy Johnson is proof that dreams really can come true when offbeat Southern hospitality, Spinach Madeleine, and Bloody Marys are all involved.

What inspired you to write Too Fat to Dance?
DL: Faith and humor were definitely my inspirations to write this "feel good" book.

How did you start writing?
DL: As a small child growing up on air bases, we didn't have much television, and the three hours of television that was on overseas were all re-runs of shows such as Love American Style and All In The Family. So, when I wasn't watching the three hours of re-runs, I would write my own funny stories.

I remember when I was in the third grade and the teacher asked everyone what they wanted to be when they grow up. Of course, all of my classmates wanted to be policemen, nurses, doctors, etc. I remember there was a strange reaction from the teacher and my peers when I said I wanted to be a joke writer and performer on Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In. My dream and goal have always been to make people laugh. Humor to me is the most important element of life.

What was your favorite part of the book?
DL: I love the way this delightfully dysfunctional family backs up the main (overweight) character's dream of becoming a dancer.

A friend of mine says it best: “‘Too Fat To Dance' is "Steel Magnolias' meets The Royal Tenenbaums'."

Is there anything you’d change?
DL: There is nothing that I would change. I fell in love with every one of these characters (from the one-legged Mary Kay salesperson to the shy President of the Brenda Lee Fan Club). Each person has a hilarious part in this heartwarming story.

What are some of your favorite books?
DL: There are too many to list. The most recent book I've read that I thought was terrific was "When You Lie About Your Age, the Terrorists Win" by Carol Leifer, who is a remarkable writer/comedienne.

What's next for you?
DL: After my "Too Fat To Dance" book tour, I plan on writing another book about our wonderful crazy ways of living here in Louisiana. There's no other place like us!