 He graduated from Emerson in 1978 and began performing stand-up comedy the following year at the Comedy Connection in Boston.Wright cites comic George Carlin and director Woody Allen as comedic influences.In 1982 executive producer of "The Tonight Show" Peter Lassally saw Wright performing on a bill with other local comics at the Ding Ho comedy club, at 11 Springfield Street, in Cambridge's Inman Square, a venue Wright described as "half Chinese restaurant and half comedy club.