Ian Talks Comedy

By Ian FermaglichArts Performing Arts

Ian Talks Comedy episodes

November 09, 2024 Don McEnery (comedian / writer, Seinfeld "The Tape")
Don McEnery joined me to discuss knowing how to ask where the library is in Spanish; It's a Wonderful Life; attempting to be a singer-songwriter; a panic attack makes him decide to pursue standup; starting Long Island; observational humor; touring with Howie Mandel; worst gigs; comedy condos; working clean; working with Glenn "Mr. Bullhorn" Super and Sinbad; Dry Bar Comedy; getting on Evening on the Improv; how Seinfeld stories come from real life; meeting his partner Bob Shaw; going to the Emmys; working for George Carlin; co-writing Hercules and A Bug's Life; writing the pilot The Eligible Dentist for Gene Wilder; Punchline; moving to North Carolina; retiring; Denny Johnston; performing for 10,000 people and never getting nervous
41 min
November 02, 2024 Eddie Feldmann (comedian / writer Dennis Miller, Norm MacDonald)
Eddie Feldmann joined me to discuss growing up in Saugerties, NY; comedy albums and cartoons being his entree into comedy; a 3rd grade Catholic school essay gone awry; working in his families deli; getting a criminal justice degree from SUNY Oswego; trying an open mic in Virginia; moving to Virginia Beach to pursue comedy; Bob Saget & Joe Bolster get him to come to NYC; not getting passed at Comic Strip b/c booker was attacked while he was performing; political humor; meeting Dennis Miller in 1984 when Dennis was practicing for Letterman debut; opening for Dennis on the road; tossing out a Clarence joke that Dennis used on Letterman and killed; Dennis asking him to submit jokes to his new Tribune talk show; Norm quits to go to Roseanne, Eddie moves to LA to join Dennis's staff; a typical day at the Dennis Miller Show; playing the "science guy" on Dennis Miller Show;
the other writers; Larry Jacobson gets him and Peter Gaulke a freelance Married with Children; Fred Wolf hires him on Chevy Chase Show for 14 weeks, lasts 6; he joins Dennis Miller live as head writer for 10 years; my favorite rant; crafting the rant; how it was a once weekly show written as a daily show; Dennis telling writers not to watch other talk shows; freelancing his Law & Order; being a fan of Jerry Orbach; his episodes including Harm & Faccia y Faccia; being EP of The Showbiz Show with David Spade; working on Norm MacDonald is trending; how he would give Norm monologue jokes every day and Norm checking the ones he liked and they were all prison rape jokes; what he's working on now; attempting to reboot Comic Relief; and how Dennis Miller made his references.
1 hr 6 min
October 26, 2024 Jon Beckerman (Late Night / Show with David Letterman; Dinner with the Parents)
Jon Beckerman joins me to discuss watching the UK "Friday Night Dinner" and adapting it for the US; Three's Company; writing farce; Michael Watkins; casting Carol Kane; Dayenu scene; playing full contact Jeopardy; Julia Louis Dreyfus gives helpful note on the DL; growing up near Mr. Rogers; writing for the Harvard Lampoon; getting on as an artist; writing on a pilot called Dirty Laundry; writing Harvard Education in a Book; Michael Ian Black; being Paul Sims guest for the Late Night 10th Anniversary special and writing there in less than six months; getting his packet to Steve O'Donnell; being a fan of Chris Elliot; moving to Brooklyn and working in 30 Rock; skating with Bill Murray; Buttafuoco jokes; Clinton's pasty white thighs; being portrayed by Tony Randall in a sketch; becoming head writer with Donick Cary; winning an Emmy; creating Fun with Rupert; groomsmen parody it in a video for wedding; Madonna; eating fast food with Zsa Zsa in L.A.; Dave works Taco Bell; saving Rupert; Manny the Hippie; Mo, the Bad Ass Meat Slicing Man; making Dave the "Bar" a Boston University star; Dave hosts Oscars and his pilot for a sitcom called Adam & Eve
1 hr 7 min
October 19, 2024 Dawna Kaufmann (SNL / MADTV writer, true crime expert)
Dawna Kaufmann joined me to discuss writing jokes for JFK, Khruschev, and Phyllis Diller as a child; JFK assassination; working for Don Kirschner's Rock Concert; her stage roles in the late 60's / early 70's; working on game shows for Allen Ludden & Grant Tinker; writing for Weekend Update; being the impetus for Phil Hartman's Anal Retentive Chef; Herb Sargent; Chris Farley being scared to "fly" as Bennett Brauer; Matt Foley; jumping to the Chevy Chase show; being told by Chevy that women can't be comedy writers and subsequently fired; Dean Martin; her crime book Final Exam; how OJ switched her career to true crime; Mad TV; Artie Lange; appearing as a regular on Wall George's Hot Seat; writing for the WWF; Menendez Brothers; don't believe Netflix documentaries; RFK and JFK assassinations; Bib Netanyahu's speech; Carol Wayne; still watching late night monologues; Kirk Douglas; possible Trump abortions; Dick Van Dyke; Carol Burnett; Bill Cosby; her and Chris Rock telling Adam Sandler about it in 1993; Epstein's two sides; Dennis Hastert; Lindsay Graham; crime and comedy; Charlie Chaplin; Alec Baldwin; still watching SNL and loving Dana Carvey
1 hr 22 min
October 12, 2024 Dan O'Keefe (Seinfeld / Drew Carey Show)
Dan O'Keefe joined me to discuss growing up in Chappaqua: writing for the Harvard Lampoon; joining the National Lampoon; writing letters from the editors; favorite pieces; writing for MTV and Comedy Central; writing for Cracked Magazine; submitting packets for Letterman & Conan; getting hired by Jay Leno; Jay-walking; Sprang (Spam and Tang); late night ghetto; grew up without TV; read a lot of books; Norm MacDonald; Michaell O'Donoghue; working on Married with Children; faxing ideas to Seinfeld; them liking the toothbrush in toilet and adopting a highway ideas; combining food and sex; milk baths; "The Frogger" and someone's quest to beat George Costanza's high score; Marx Brothers; can remember who pitched what in writers room; Joyce DeWitt and Three's Company; Puerto Rican Day Parade episode; Drew Carey Show; Drew's surprise cruise; episode "Drew and the Gang Law"; wanting to hang out with Joey Ramone but work had to be done; Brian Scully; Jerry Belson; Sam Simon sitcom Shaping Up; episodes "Racial Tension Play", "Cain and Mabel", "Good Vibrations" - director Gerry Cohen put a vibrator in Drew Carey's bag; "Tw Days of the Condo" episode; trying to produce a sitcom with UK comedian Al Murray; Elvis Costello; The League; Chelsea Handler; Beavis & Butthead
1 hr 16 min
October 05, 2024 Mike Teverbaugh (Drew Carey Show / Last Man Standing)
Mike Teverbaugh joins me and discusses his names pronunciation; his new play, The Mostly True Story of a Common Scold; his other play, The Dugout; watching Captain Kangaroo as a child; Batman 66; going to UCLA to become a sportswriter; meeting his wife and future co-writer; writing spec scripts; joining an entertainment softball team; that leading to working on Who's the Boss; Billy; working on Getting By; going to Roc for season 3; being thankful they didn't write for the live show; Almost Perfect and the resort episode; being writing partners with your wife; getting Drew Carey and not having to worry about being cancelled every year; huge writer's rom; mistakes episode; working with Jerry Belson & Sam Simon; Drew Carey's surprise end of season cruise and Mike gambles against Sam; Life on a Stick and being proud of writing for "one of the 25 worst sitcoms of all time"; Twenty Good Years; working with Marsh McCall & John Lithgow; choosing Sullivan & Son over a Bill Burr animated project; he and his wife writing on Dreamwork Dragons; Dreamworks interference leads to them leading; Last Man Standing; retiring from TV and writing ten minute plays with his wife.
1 hr 2 min
September 28, 2024 T. Sean Shannon (comedian. SNL writer 1998 - 2006)
T. Sean Shannon joined me to discuss his YouTube series "Baseball Card Theatre"; his favorite cards; going to the Astrodome with his six brothers and sisters for a whole day in the '70's; O-Pee Chee; his idol, his brother Charlie; having a funny mom; doing standup at 18; starting in club that Kinison, Hicks, and Andy Huggins started at; being influenced by Jack Douglas and Charles Bukowski; getting his first writing job on Paul Provenza's Comics Only; writing with Fred Wolf and others; writing for Comic Strip Live and In Living Color; sharing an office with Colin Quinn and Nick Bakay; writing the Dirty Dozens; going to all the baseball stadiums; not getting a scalped ticket to a game in the Tokyo Dome; heckling Gary Carter before he died; writing for MTV's Loveline before Adam Carolla; writing on Jay Leno allows him to cast Fred Willard in sketches; becoming friends with him and his wife; going to Italy with the Willards and portraying ugly Americans; Magic Hour; submitting to SNL and getting hired by Adam McKay; originally thought less than for being a Leno writer; writing a phone commercial wins respect of McKay and staff; Colin Quinn is his rabbi; writing topical cold opens with McKay; Lorne's rule to SNL's writers: you'll never be truly happy; Bill Paxton, Lucy Lawless; Monday pitch meetings ruined his Sunday football; JB Smoove funniest pitcher; Gwynneth Paltrow talks faster on a sketch to make sure all jokes get in; Tobey Maguire episode; Trampus was his wife's yoga teacher; naming an Ellen DeGeneres character his wife's name; Wade Blasingame; John McCain sings Streisand; Mccain real cool backstage; Derek Jeter; my packet; Bill Murray; asking about Chevy fight; Norm MacDonald, George Carlin, Jerry Seinfeld, Britney Spears, Dana Carvey & Queen Latifah; in audience for Paul Reiser; his dad came to dress and could not believe what was cut; Hugh Jackman making sure Christmas Kangaroo isn't cut; Barenaked Ladies have performance of "One Week" cut; watching the show at 11 and working their twenty years later; Tom Davis, Jim Downey, and Drake Sather
1 hr 18 min
September 21, 2024 Rob Ulin (Dinosaurs / Roseanne / Norm Show / Ramy)
Rob Ulin joins me to discuss watching Gilligan's Island and Dick Van Dyke Show as a kid; wanting to be an actor; going to Harvard and being on Lampoon with Conan; writing a letter to Norman Lear who mentored him; writing the teleplay for a Married with Children; writing an episode of Hard Times on Planet Earth; how Ferris Bueller the TV series almost made him quit writing; Chloris Leachman; writing Dinosaurs made him enjoy writing; doing episodes poking fun at the elderly, religion; an episode in which homosexuality and vegetarianism are parallelled; "New Leaf" about drugs; and dancing as a metaphor for masturbation and wet dreams; joining the writing staff of Roseanne; writing emotional episodes that still had jokes; winning a Humanitas Prize; Ned Beatty; the famous writers T-shirt story; trying to edit the lesbian kiss episode; Shelly Winters; trying to get Shirley Jones & Florence Henderson for a TV mom's episode; getting fired; working with Dave Raether; going to Veronicas Closet and then Stressed Eric; working with Norm MacDonald on Norm; Norm was not able to be an exaggerated version of himself but could act; Jack Warden; Frank Sebastiano; working on Andy Richter Controls the Universe and George Lopez; tackling race on Roseanne; working on Malcolm in the Middle; writing a pilot, My Boys; writing Aliens in America the first post 9-11 sitcom featuring a Muslim cast member; working on The Middle, Anger Management with Charlie Sheen, The Carmichael Show & Young Sheldon; working on The Kids are Alright; Rami; writing his first play Judgement Day starring Jason Alexander; and future projects
46 min
September 14, 2024 Bruce Handy (Spy Magazine writer / editor, SNL writer 1993)
Bruce Handy joined me to discuss how to write picture books; children's literature; his book on the subject Wild Things; Goodnight Moon, Judy Blume, Willy Wonka; his first TV memories of the JFK assassination and Romper Room; reading Mad Magazine and starting his own at 10 years old; writing for the Stanford Chaparral; All the President's Men; National Lampoon; college humor mags; starting at Vogue; his Spy articles on Yuppie porn, Eric Breindel and the Playboy Mansion; Spy Magazine's 1990 tv special; most likeable Americans in 1990; Harry Shearer; The Day the Clown Cried; Jerry Seinfeld; Paul Simms; working on a Spy Prank show with Kevin Nealon; Nealon gets him an interview with Lorne Michaels to help write Update; not knowing he was hired until seeing his name in the credits; writing Mr. Subliminal for Kevin; writing jokes and a Looney Tunes desk piece for Rob Schneider; did not understand how SNL works and it leading to that piece not working; a cut bit where Kevin Nealon shows a clip of him doing Weekend Update in the 50's; Herb Sargent; Weekend Update bagel breakfasts; his affection for Norm MacDonald, Michael Che, and Colin Jost; meeting Luke Perry as a host; his wife being excited by seeing Mick Jagger perform; writing the promo for Alec Baldwin / Paul Mccartney episode; Paul's legendary Thursday rehearsal; being in the read through for Matt Foley and Unfrozen Cave Man Lawyer; how he loved to use his imagination on read through; COVID vs. WWII rationing
46 min
September 07, 2024 Mary Jenifer Mitchell (National Lampoons Lemmings / Foreplay)
Mary Jenifer Mitchell and I discussed her early Tv favorites Liberace and Oral Roberts; going to NY after high school graduation; spending the summer of '66 in NYC; going to college in Colorado and dropping out; moving to NYC to be an actress in 1967; becoming friends with Michael O'Donoghue; not trying out for SNL b/c she was visiting her injured sister; being part of the Tom Eyens Eye Repertory Company; being naked in The Dirtiest Show in Town; getting cast in Milos Formans' Taking Off; performing Ode to a Screw in the film; being in Oh, Calcutta; getting fired when she asked to be paid the same; being nude on stage; working with Carly Simon and Kathy (then Bobo) Bates; being in National Lampoons Foto Funnies; her friendships with Anne Beatts, Sean Kelly, and Brian McConnachie; Lemmings; Alice Playten; breaking her foot and getting fired; combative nature of production; playing Joan Baez; Christopher Guest being hard to work with but a great friend after; Chevy Chase and John Belushi; being an extra in SNL sketches Bee Capades and Hey You!; the film Foreplay; Pat Paulsen; Terry Southern; appearing in Manhattan Cable Access in 1977; the film Pelvis; the play Playing with Fire were she plays a mute prostitute; John Belushi's funeral; her love for Leon Russell; a documentary about her; finding out she's allergic to Quaaludes with John Belushi; and her surgeries.
1 hr 28 min