Ian Talks Comedy

Christian Bladt joined me to discuss growing up in small town New York; early Saturday morning cartoons, including Hickory Hideout; growing up with SNL in the late 80's; Nick at Nite 30-minute episodes and later 60 minute Comedy Central episodes, still watching; the 85-86 cast; Mary Gross; going to Marist College, interning at Conan O'Brien; meeting Amy Poehler & Robert Smigel; easy to get tickets for Conan; went to an SNL dress rehearsal in 1997; became a page week Norm was replaced by Colin; had friends in both camps; Colin Quinn Explains the NY Times; some wanted Craig Kilborn to take over; Spade in America; Snow of the Century episode; Steve Martin / Blues Brothers 4/22/78; taping the show; Goodman & Aykroyd; working with Tim Meadows; befriending Colin Quinn and Norm MacDonald; Norm calling him Jewish Bladt; being a page at SNL25; escorting Billy Crystal and Dennis Miller up to 8H; SNL will be fifty and The Tonight Show 70; The Kids in the Hall; 50's comedy: Ceasar, Benny & Groucho; Todd Hundley; Baha Men; Jim Downey; Jon Lovitz; season 14 is the best season, IMO; mom bought a VCR to watch Star Trek; Jackie Rodgers Jr.; Negro Leage Baseball; blackface; Bill Cosby; working for VP Al Gore; Monica Lewinsky; Ricky Martin and the Backstreet Boys; what Dennis Miller is like off the air; making fun of both sides; Who Are These Broadcasters?; inappropriate jokes; the WATP metaverse; Hackride; Karl Hamburger; Eric Zane; Stuttering John

"Raised Eyebrows" author Steve Stoliar joined me to discuss silent film comedians; Universal horror monsters; The Three Stooges; how The Marx Brothers were the best; becoming his secretary and archivist; meeting Groucho's friends; going to UCLA to study history and hanged to television; saw decline and fall of Groucho in person as well as rage-ridden Erin Fleming; saving all his witticisms; his book comes out and is now going to be a motion picture; 1972 - he tries at UCLA to get Animal Crackers rereleased; does a press conference and meets Groucho for the first time; Universal rereleases it; a year later, Steve asks for a summer job; becomes secretary and archivist; worked seven days a week; Groucho was a personal history capsule; Groucho worked a benefit concert for the 1906 earthquake and performed the night Pres. Harding died; Groucho's Long Island home on the market; friendship with Alice Cooper; first two films made in Kaufman Astoria Studios; then family moved to Hollywood; their lost silent film "Humor isk" will never be found, but there are censored scenes that might; The Day the Clown Cried; going with Groucho to the set of Bob Hope's Joys; not going to Welcome Back, Kotter; he conservatorship trial; not taking part in the estate trial; gets a job typing scripts for Universal; hired by Dick Cavett based on his humorous correspondence; becomes a freelance TV writer; now his book is becoming a movie; CBS takes a sitcom starring Frank Zappa's children written by Steve and tries to make it "Normal Life"; TV & movies are better and worse than they've ever been; "blue humor"; "objectionable" humor; his other works "Imperfect Storm" abut Howard Storm and "Salami's and Swastikas" based on his fathers letters home.

Michael Mann discusses the other Michael Mann; starting on radio before listening to it; recreating Charlotte's Web on the radio show Let's Pretend; his mom getting him into modeling at 5; a newspaper write up from 1952; performing on Broadway with Bette Davis in Two's Company; performing a portion of the show on Ed Sullivan; working with Lon Chaney, Jr. on a infamous 1952 adaptation of Frankenstein; playing Perry Como's son on his show; appearing in a play One Borrowed Time with Jean Lockhart; costarring on the 1955-1956 sitcom Joe & Mabel with Nita Talbot & Norman Fell; working with Ernie Kovacs & Milton Berle; pausing acting in 1960 to go into the Navy; coming back; guest starring on Delvecchio with future client Judd Hirsch; playing softball vs. Happy Days; Penny Marshall; working with Jackie Gleason twenty-five years later in Smokey & the Bandit; MASH; Taxi; Jim Burrows;

Gary H. Miller and I discuss Sergeant Bilko and showing Phil Silvers to Will Smith; not hearing TV due to elevated trains; new screenplay about growing up 1961; being a Brooklyn bred Yankees fan; being a teacher to get out of Vietnam; turmoil today vs. the 1960's; instant TV feedback; getting complete opposite reactions from one episode of Bosom Buddies; going to LA; writing a spec MASH; writing Fred Silverman and getting an assignment on Laverne & Shirley; writes an episode about alcoholism; goes to Bosom Buddies; talent of Tom Hanks and Peter Scolari; going to 9 to 5 next; working with Al Jean & Mike Reiss on Homeboys in Outer Space; writing for Gimme A Break; "The Groupie" introduces Andy Gibb to Kari Michaelsen; blackface episode not his idea; wrote mainly Katie episodes; Dolph Sweet; goes to 1st and Ten and wants to inject reality; does a steroid episode with John Matuzak; writing O.J. Simpson into the show; writing a pilot with OJ; why there has never been a successful show about baseball; trying to write a sitcom about golf; A Different World was a more serious show; writing episodes about restricted golf clubs and racial violence; The Fresh Prince of Bel Air; writing Hilary's fiancées bungee jump death; acknowledging the new actress playing the mother; breaking the fourth wall; "M is for the Many Things" a parody of "The Graduate" with Pam Grier; Homeboys in Outer Space; getting racist notes from Disney; HIOS being the hardest show he worked on; going to Boy Meets World; writing the episodes where Cory has a drinking problem and Sean's father dies; Maitland Ward; Reba; Impossible co-authored by Bob Tischler; auditioning for TMZ sports; football; hockey; 1969 Jets; 1969 Knicks; best vantage point for watching sports at MSG; his screenplay; making it through The Summer of Sam and The Blackout

George joins me to talk about his favorite radio programs; growing up with music; moving to Las Vegas; Sammy Davis, Jr; his wife, Jolene Brand; Ernie Kovacs; his biggest talent is to make things funny; inventing the Vegas lounge act; working on The Dinah Shore Show; Fat Jack Leonard; new comedians and brighter colors; can talk about many different topics like sex and politics; laughter is a panacea; taping Al Hirt on a high rise next to a dead man; origins of Laugh-In; predicting Reagan's presidency; getting Nixon elected; booking Ronald Reagan and the Marquis Chimps in Vegas; Barbara Feldon didn't get the dirty jokes; Lily Tomlin gives the finger; Judy Carne shows her nipple; comedy should be fun; Martin Short; Bill Maher; breaking TV's color barrier; Sammy Davis Jr. vs. Micey Rooney; getting fired from The Judy Garland Show; British comics; discovering Byron Allen, Pamela Rodgers, Robin Williams, Lenny Schultze, and Tiny Tim; Frank Sinatra meets Wayland Flowers and Madam; Turn On; hiring Albert Brooks; creating Soul and working with Redd Foxx; Gregory Hines & Sammy Davis Jr.'s challenge dance; creating Speak Up America for Marjoe Gortner and Jayne Kennedy; George Carlin getting his inseam measured by his wife before a show; working with Geoge Burns, Jack Benny, and Goldie Hawn

Michael J. Weithorn joined me to discuss growing up in Rego Park; the blackout of 1965; his favorite series Dick Van Dyke, Get Smart, and Laugh-In; watching the original SNL in college; going to Swarthmore and having no idea how to get into show business; moving to California right after graduation and teaching for three years; impressing Arnold Margolin who helped him get an agent; writing a freelance script for Benson even though he didn't now Benson's job; his first job on Making the Grade; George Wyner; Gary David Goldberg gave him a job keep him at Family Ties and not take others offers; writing a Cheers episode; thinking Cheers pilot was better than Family Ties pilot; writing Alex-centric episodes using stories from his life; casting Justine Bateman; inventing Skippy in "Death of a Grocer"; writing "The Fugitive" and casting Tom Hanks in the role; "4 Rooms Ocean Vu"; Michael Gross comedic chops; "Stage Fright" becomes a meme & teachers people the acronym SCUBA; "Speed Trap" - Alex on speed; Robert Costanzo; writing "The Real Thing" which introduces Ellen; using Billy Vera and the Beaters "At this Moment"; writing an episode for Peter Scolari; leaving Family Ties and creating Pursuit of Happiness; writing a classic Wonder Years; creating True Colors; cast changes and illnesses; likes to write episodes with surreal dream sequences; his King of Queens version is hated and loved; working on the Sinbad Show; wrote the proposed Krusty the Klown spinoff with Matt Groening but was nixed by James L. Brooks; told to run Sinbad if he wanted South Central to go; FOX cancels most "black" shows; wishes South Central and Ned & Stacey were streaming; writing Ned & Stacey on spec; cast Thomas Haden Church and network wanted Debra Messing; King of Queens was not a spinoff of Raymond; being a big fan of Kein James standup and seeing him starring in a "New Honeymooners"; wrote Carrie in Lean Remini's voice before she was even hired; King of Queens was paired with and crossed over with Raymond; Jack Carter originally hired as Arthur, but they got Jerry Stiller to change his mind; how Patton Oswalt & Nicole Sullivan were cast; his indie film "A Little Help" starring Jenna Fischer; working on Weird Loners, The Goldbergs and Schooled; George Segal and "Where's Poppa"; working on a romcom with 60 year-old actors; Family Ties Vacation and "A, My Name is Alex"

Rachel Saya Jacobson joined me to discuss her tweets, early influences including Laurel & Hardy, Charlie Chaplin, and vaudeville; always performing and creating; Kurt Vonnegut; going to The Tonight Show offices and seeing that's what she wants to do; the immediacy of late night; having a Jewish comedy writer dad and a Japanese mom; her father's always doing bits; going to Emerson; writing for the Hyena, its satirical newspaper; writers room vs. the isolation of writing alone; her duties as an associate producer; advice from the head writer; her first sketch, a parody of Last Week Tonight; not getting an internship at Samantha Bee; her dream dinner with Eleanor Roosevelt and O.J. Simpsons; not speaking Japanese; working overseas; Benny Hill Show and Yakkety Sax; podcasts; younger generation knowing Buster Keaton; working in copywriting during the strike; the days of a writer making a living on one show are over; picketing; Bill Maher; writing for the Independent Spirit Awards and having a joe go viral; her favorite shows now - Succession, Severance and Beef; working on animated series like Big Mouth; meeting hero Mike Drucker on the picket line and Joe Mande doing stand up; working with Josh Gondelman and Opus Moreschi; buying "too much tuna" for Nick Kroll; Chelsea Perretti; Adam Sandler; Alice Ju; Jews in Hollywood; Zach Effron; Adam Sandler's bat Mitzvah movie and "80 for Brady"; her dad is semi-retired but still writing; replacing a late night show with a game show; not thinking she would accept

Chip Keyes joined me to discuss Chip being a nickname for William, his mother being a working woman during the war; watching Howdy Doody & The Mickey Mouse Club and wanting to be in to show business; watching Disney and westerns; getting his comedy from his mother's sharp tongue; the influence of The Dick Van Dyke Show; his love of Maverick and James Garner; writing his first sketch in eighth grade; Laugh In becomes a hit and he sees Second City as a way to make sketch performing a career; forming the Portable Circus; becoming a local hit on campus; doing a gig in Hartford; getting George Sherman to be a director; taking the troupe to New York and around the country; a sketch using the word "shit" gets press and a talking to from a Jesus freak; auditioning and not getting SNL; becoming a page; his original plan was to become a teacher; leaving the page program to move to L.A.; SCTV; getting a play produced; his partner, Jeffrey Lippa wants to be an actor; he makes a critical decision; wins on Match Game to give him time to figure out what he wants; goes back to NYC and host a kids show; makes good money doing commercials; Taxi inspires him and his brother Doug to write a spec script; a great note made his spec script better; writes 2 episodes of Sanford; Mort Lachman becomes a mentor; gets hired on Gimme a Break; writes "The Chief's Gay Evening"; does a pilot with George Kennedy; gets job on Valerie; moved to Perfect Strangers; going back to Valerie and being told to come up with stories that could work for Valerie or a replacement; Valerie Harper was tense and a control freak; hard to write for characters who were so nice; Jack Carter; O.J. Simpson; PORKO; Dennis Burkely; getting a GLAAD Award; Valerie condom episode; episode had a warning and was exiled to late night in his hometown; NBC asks for Fire Prevention week and MLK episodes; not liking the AIDS episode after he left; Willard Scott; Edie McClurg doing an episode after almost dying from giardia; Christine Ebersole; Judy Kahan; turning Mrs. Poole from mean to magical; not bringing back Judy Kahan for season 3; the Paris episodes and working on the Eiffel Tower; Jason Bateman and his father direct episodes; Arlene Golonka & Gerald Gordon; Shaky Ground; not being sure of Matt Frewer as title character; George Kennedy was offer only but still read, Frewer would not read; wishing he could have recast with Phil Hartman or George Wendt; "Matt takes"; Matt improvs with a black dildo in front of a young Jennifer Love Hewitt; working with Chris Demetral, Betty White and Marie Osmond; Reagan jokes; Nixon, Reagan, and Trump; writing two episodes of Two of a Kind for the Olsen Twins; the brothers go their separate ways for a while; write Star Patrol; cast Charles Rocket; line producer shoots out of sequence, network doesn't understand; pilot is rejected

Stacii the Drag Artist joined me to discuss her journey; starting to sing in school; incorporating drag; constant performing; taking voice lessons; producing her own show; writing a one person show; her show at Sparkle; singing in French, pre-school; stage fright; being judged by Willam and Alaska from Rupaul's Drag Race; her first show My Quarter Life Crisis; makeup and drag time requirements; first time seeing drag; didn't know women could do drag; Broadway shows; wanting to do songs from Waitress; eighties music; Total Eclipse of the Heart; favorite singers; Lady Gaga; Sam Smith; interacting with the audience; dealing with ADHD and binge eating disorder; showing the bright side of life; bringing visuals, costumes, and props to her show; how to get tickets; being Jewish; adding a song from Fiddler on the Roof; Barbra Streisand; all Jewish drag show; being observant; my daughter being a fan; having a great family; wanting to tour Australia; being on a reality show; auditioning for American Idol; Taylor Swift; traveling; trouble sleeping; being on Cameo; her accompanist DJ Master Mase; her upcoming tour; Edinburgh Fringe Festival; getting back in the swing after vacation at the Cup open mic

Ed Berenhaus joined me to discuss his influences: Jack Benny, Sonny Fox, Chuck McCann, Soupy Sales, Jay Ward; seeing the Beatles at Shea Stadium and being able to hear them; going to Stony Brook University to be a director but segueing to TV and radio; the many rock acts he saw; growing up in Kew Gardens and having Art Garfunkel's school dictionary; becoming an NBC page when befriended by Cousin Brucie; giving the NBC tour; working with Sonny Fox on NBC children's programming; working on Saturday Night Live; Aykroyd & Belushi shower with the pages; meeting Bill Murray; doing an extra rehearsal the day before the October 11, 1975 premiere; being with Chevy at the 1976 DNC at MSG; the NBC logos; the original idea for SNL (Albert Brooks, Jim Henson); seeing Billy Crystal get cut from the first episode; the Candice Bergen episode being the first one to look like SNL today; watching the theme song be written; checking out the musical guests; working on the Tomorrow show and giving pointers to Dan Aykroyd on his Tom Snyder impression; putting the younger better looking audience members up front; seating celebrities; taking Mick Jagger and Ron Wood to the bathroom during the Eric Idle show; making promos for the news; watching the SNL promos being taped; the problems of writing talk show promos; taking Sean Connery to the bathroom when the door won't open; leaving NBC to go to Satellite Network News; SNN being bought out by Ted Turner; moving to Harpo to make promos for The Oprah Winfrey Show; making fun promos for Nick at Nite; memorable promos for The Donna Reed Show and I Dream of Jeannie used in the movie "As Good as it Gets"; worked for Broadway Video on Sunday Night; meeting Miles Davis; the legacy of SNL; trying to give away tickets to a spontaneous Paul Simon / George Harrison performance; SNL being both original and running ideas into the ground; working for The Jeremy Kyle Show and The Joan Rivers Show; the generosity of working with Joan Rivers; meeting George Burns