Joe Sears is a native of Bartlesville, Okla., and a graduate of Northeastern State University in Oklahoma.
Jaston Williams grew up in Crosbyton, Texas, and attended San Jacinto Junior College in Houston.
The two met in 1973 at the First Repertory Company of San Antonio, at auditions for a production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream.
Director Ed Howard bankrolled the first production of Greater Tuna with his life savings: $10,000.
Three months after opening Greater Tuna off-Broadway at Circle in the Square, Sears and Williams were booked on Late Night With David Letterman (Jan. 5, 1983).
In 1985 and 1986, Greater Tuna was the most performed play in the U.S.
Joe and Jaston played a command performance for George and Barbara Bush at the White House in 1989, then again for Barbara Bush and a party of congressional wives in 1990.
Following a December 1994 run of A Tuna Christmas on Broadway, Joe Sears received a 1995 Tony Award nomination for best actor in a play.
Sears and Williams have performed Greater Tuna at least 2,750 times and A Tuna Christmas more than 1,300 times.
In 2000, Sears and Williams wrote the libretto to a new opera, Ocheata’s Wedding, commissioned by the OK Mozart International Music Festival.
This article appears in April 12 • 2002.