The legendary Paul F Tompkins (BoJack Horseman, Mr Show) joins Mark and Ryan to talk about growing up in Philadelphia, riding trolly cars, performing stand-up when he was really bad at it, and his first job a store called “Hats in The Belfry”. In our town he creates a hat store called “You Dirty Hat” that also happens to be haunted. 

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• (00:00) Introduction to Paul F. Tompkins and episode concept
• (01:16) Paul's childhood in Mount Airy, Philadelphia, and early open mic nights
• (04:28) The comedy boom of the 80s and the necessity of self-delusion
• (06:23) Famous comedy rooms and funky venue names like Go Bananas
• (08:30) Mount Airy neighborhood and trolley lines
• (09:34) Trolley accidents and the charm of vintage transit
• (13:18) Themed hotels like Madonna Inn and their unique designs
• (15:00) Neighborhood celebrities and local characters
• (17:22) Neighborhood legends: the glass-eyed husky guy
• (20:54) Starting in college, dropping out, and early career stories
• (24:54) Work history: hats shops, video stores, comic book stores
• (29:00) Creating haunted locations and cursed shops for the town
• (39:58) Innovative town features: the bag-hat and haunted business ideas
• (44:25) The art of pranks and pranking veterans
• (49:42) Ghost stories: haunted hat stores and spectral apparitions
• (55:00) Spectral activity and ghostly lore in the town
• (61:41) Meta conversation: fake ghost stories and the town’s lore
• (63:10) Touring plans and upcoming shows with Paul
• (64:29) Podcasts and projects: Neighborhood Listen and Stay F Homkins
• (65:33) Credits and community shout-outs

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