Ian Talks Comedy

Tom Ruprecht joined me to talk about Woody Allen and David Letterman as his comedy influences; getting an internship during the writers' "golden era"; 1990 writer exodus; working at the Tony Awards; being segment coordinator for "human interest guests"; the Farrah Fawcett episode; moving on to researcher; finding a clip of a Jackson 5 special with Dave that he wouldn't let on; selling comedy pieces to other venues and that getting him on staff; his first joke - Monica Lewinsky and cigar; Nashville episode; Dave's heart attack: guest hosts and emotional return; how a sleeping kid during a Pres. Bush speech turned into "Great Moments in Presidential Speeches"; being on the road taping a remote with Biff on 9/11; John McCain bails on Dave in 2008; Dave uses Johnny Carson's faxed in jokes for his monologue in 2005; Sarah Palin gets "riled up" after joke; meeting Paul Westerburg and U2; pitching Ben Bradlee as a guest; the Courtney Love incident; Paul Shaffer tells a story about hanging out with James Brown and Siegfried and Roy; writing oral histories for George W. Bush and J.D. Salinger; Elaine Joyce; Michael Jackson, Elizabeth Taylor and Marlon Brando on a road trip after 9/11; Biff enjoys gas station Vienna sausages as 3 am in North Dakota; writing for How I Met Your Mother; how not knowing a TV execs birthday cost The Goodwin Games; Alpha House; becoming head writer of The Nightly Show with Larry Wilmore; leaving to join a Jon Stewart animated news parody that was too ahead for its time; staying on Letterman because Steve Martin was the guest and working with him on a piece; "The Whitely Show" segment of The Nightly Show and Jay Leno's bewilderment; writing The People's Mayor pilot for Tom Segura; being hired to bring "the late-night sensibility" to Good Morning America; writing a short story for a website; creating a series How to Steal an Election for AMC.

Link for Tom Ruprecht and Tom Segura's The People's Mayor https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BhrhbnbkI6A

Andrew Guerdat joins me to talk about growing up in Birmingham, Alabama;  loving cowboy shows; Andy Griffith; Ed Scharlach teaches comedy writing and introduces him to his partner Stuart Kreinberg; MASH script got them representation; wrote an episode of The Jeffersons that turns up in the background of Basic Instinct; writing an episode of the forgettable comedy Me and Maxx; moving to Mork & Mindy; ABC ruined a hit by adding too many characters; Robin shoots a scene, does improv, shoots a scene, does improv; all lines were written; particular favorite episode "Mindy, Mindy, Mindy"; moving to Archie Bunker's Place; silly vs grounded comedy;  pitching to Carroll O'Connor; Denise Miller; Celeste Holm; Anne Meara; writing the controversial episode "The Red Herring"; "Death of a Lodger" with Don Rickles; "Bunker Madness"; Whiz Kids and McGruder & Loud allowed him to work while sitcoms "were dead";  streaming allows his daughter to find a Sister, Sister she was in in minutes; It's A Living; Paul Kreppel; Marian Mercer; Richard Staahl; TV movie "Dance 'Til Dawn"; Head of the Class hard because cast was too large but smart in that it taught a fact every week; 5th season adding Billy Connolly; "Dead Men Don't Wear Pocket Protectors" - Arvid brings a gun to school; Brian Robbins; Rain Pryor; gets a job running Saved by the Bell: The College Years after never seeing original; tries to grow it up and and is told not to; tapings are out of control; idea for Herman's Head comes to Andrew and his partner in 1983; having it be picked up in 1991 and not allowed to really be involved; how finished product, while funny, was not what he and partner intended; the similarities between "Inside Out" and Herman's Head; Empty Nest; Richard Mulligan allows supporting cast to get the laughs; writing for The Parent 'Hood and Boy Meets World; transitioning to animation with The World of Tosh; Higglytown Heroes; Sherriff Callie's Wild Wild West; Paw Patrol

Scott Jacobson joined me to talk about growing up and being influenced by Letterman, SNL and English comedy; wanting to be in entertainment but not knowing how to get there from Fayetteville, North Carolina; his high school comedy zine; UNC Chapel Hill radio station; interning on the Howard Stern Show; his father's chance golf game gets him an internship at UCB; meets writing partner Rich Bloomquist; being a writers assistant at Strangers with Candy and meeting Stephen Colbert being hired onto the Daily Show; a typical day on the Daily Show; what happens when news events change; sneaking Thomas Pynchon onto the set; leaving The Daily Show after the Writer's Strike; keeping himself busy for a couple of years; being offered Bob's Burgers; "The Mama Pest Hotel" episode; being a real emotion animated series; quilt thief joke; "Ambergris"; Felix Fischoeder; writing for Kevin Kline; Regular Size Rudy; Teddy; how he came to love the characters and understand Tina; "Y Tu Ga Ga Tambien"; 

Larry Jacobson joins me and Luigi from the Married with Children podcast to discuss opening remarks; Gerard Mulligan, his daughter becoming a TV writer; how jokes can backfire; comedy influences; listening to classic comedy movie dialogue; W.C Fields; Grouch Marx; Woody Allen; Jack Benny; Richard Pryor; starting standup; having Paul Rodriguez tell you you're a better writer than comedian; selling jokes to George Wallace, Wil Shriner; Jay Leno; Jay brings a packet of Larry's to Dave; Larry is hired on a trial basis; first Dave joke kills; PA who writes down Larry's jokes adds his to the list; inventing the "Hookers in Time Square . . ." formula; appearing as Bobby Rahal; death of Tom Carvel; monologue originally called "opening remarks" and were 2 to 3 jokes; Larry overstays in the Late Night guest hotel; Larry re-meets his wife in 1983 and gets married in 1991; being a UCLA ball boy for the 1970-71 NBA championship team; going to the Letterman dressing room to meet Bob Hope, Richard Pryor, and Don Rickles; writing the "I didn't know toast had bones joke" for Rodney Dangerfield; Wil Shriner's 50th birthday party; working for Jimmie Walker and Rodney Dangerfield; moving around NYC; writing for the NBC Bookmobile sketches; "Dial the most Immature person in the Donner party"; being asked to play Bobby Rahal at a convention; the great writing staff; "Biff Henderson's Whatever Happened to?"; "Anton Figg guesses the expiration date"; Jimmy the Greek's Heart Attack Saga; Dave's pre-game pep talk for writer's going on air; Dave calls hacky jokes "Bob & Dolores"; writing two bits for Carson - Carson faxes in a joke (1990) and brings Dave a Publishers Clearing House check (1991); Larry writes a "blue" joke for Wil Shriner that gets them in hot water with Johnny Carson; Garry Shandling; Milford Plaza episode; the show in the office episode; how lucky he felt to be on Letterman at that time with that writing staff; writer's assistants go to have major careers; Larry writes Dave a joke when he hosts the Emmys; Dave pranks staff; playing softball in Central Park and Yankee Stadium; Dave was still accessible; Dave introduces Larry to Tommy Lasorda; Larry goes to Indy 500 with Dave's tickets but Dave can't make it; Dave's wedding gift; Martha Raye joke almost gets a lawsuit; Jack Rollins, Bill Wendell, and Peter Lassally; 1995 Oscars; great guests; working for Jay Leno for 17 years; Jay was at his wedding, both parents funerals, and daughters bat mitzvah; Jay is one of the nicest guys; Larry gets to tell a joke about Passion of the Christ on Leno; Jay Leno's "No Power" Episode; Larry brings New Books to Jay; writing for Gilbert Gottfried & Fred Willard; getting Zac Effron & Vanessa Hudgens to wish his daughter Happy Bat Mitzvah; Jay Leno intros daughters Bat Mitzvah tape; Crew shocks Larry on last day of Tonight Show; Dave's there when mother is sick; Larry realized stand up was not as good as writing; how fortunate his career was

Gerard Mulligan joined me to discuss growing up in Rhode Island; early TV influences such as Milton Berle and Groucho Marx; Steve Allen's Westinghouse Show and its help in creating the Letterman show; high school writing; learning sensitivity in comedy; being an English teacher; moving to San Francisco and being a notary public in City Hall; meeting a homeless man who had the plan for the country; telling off color jokes in Catholic school; trying stand up for the first time; becoming friends with Merrill Markoe who introduced him to David Letterman; Dave hiring him to write Tonight Show monologue jokes when he guest hosted; the morning show; his love for Family Circle; wasting Edwin Newman; the morning show was NBC taking a chance, unlike now; Chicago; his daughter's art; his son's a novelist; theme nights (Harmon Killebrew), Dave says no a lot; Lou Rawls week; Joe Toplyn invents the Velcro Suit; Will it Float; Stupid Pet Tricks; Dave repeats punch lines to dirty jokes as non-sequiturs; "Where's my Bad Credit People At; What If everybody was named Phil?"; Levon Helm doesn't show up; Joan Collins and Willie Nelson decline the show; his hometown paper Narragansett News lobbies to be on "Small Town News"; "working" with Chris Elliot and Adam Reznick; Steve Young laughs so hard he falls off a chair once a year; Dave tried a teleprompter, hired Tony Mendez instead; he, Dave, and Tony go to meet Al Gore; hanging out with old writers at barbeques; Larry Jacobson needing a Japanese rabbi; discussing "Born Again" Bob Dylan with Rich Hall; our favorite musician Elvis Costello; Gerry pre-interviews Elvis in London and he "blows the roof off the dump"; Dave fires Gerry bit; not repeating bits too much unlike SNL; Kristen Wiig's Gillie; Keenan Thompson; Pete Fatovich in the control room when Elvis Costello signs "Radio, Radio"; coming on as Batman; how a joke he wrote and Dave nixed was told on Leno because it was so obvious; accidentally telling one of David Brenner's jokes; love of George Carlin and Rodney Dangerfield; using his town of Nutley, New Jersey in remotes; writers coming up with the idea of doing something funny when their names were announced at the Emmys; James Gandolfini nixes turkey wrestling; The Eurythmics want to get "arrested" as a prank during an appearance; Andy Kaufman wants to commit suicide during a 1980 appearance on the morning show; people who died on stage; largest vase; Gerard impersonates leaders, stars, athletes in the "Ask Who segment"; became a notary on the morning show; Bob Sarlatte becomes a contributor to the morning show; being a big Red Sox fan; being reticent to meet idols Ted Williams and Van Morrison; anti-Semitic, racist and transphobic comments made by Morrissey, Roger Waters, and Ricky Gervais; Jews in comedy and other aspects of life.

Mitchell Laurance joined myself and James Stephens to discuss Alan Zweibel getting him a job as Lornes gofer; being an extra in "Dancing in the Dark"; "Hollywood Bingo"; being in a Jerry Lewis sketch with Robert Klein as Steven Klaven; playing Eric Idle's nurse, Chevy Chase's model' and Kirk Douglas' leg man; being in Bill Murray's first sketch "Execution Rehearsal"; "Hey You" with Gilda Radner; his jobs as associate director and associate producer; the genius of Davey Wilson; the arduous work a Saturday Night Live director must do; the comedic mind of Davey; the NAATPE strike that cancelled the Madeline Kahn episode; appearing in an Imperial Margarine commercial with his twin brother; moving to Los Angeles; living in Penny Marshall's guest house; being given a guest starring role (and a SAG card) on Laverne & Shirley for his birthday; difference between taped and live TV; feeling "out of his body" while taping the episode; being able to do another take; auditioning for Not Necessarily the News; producers have to decide between Mitchell and Danny Breen; Mitchell's brother auditions reluctantly; pilot shot; HBO decides to keep Mitch and Danny; guest starring on Brothers & Night Court; matching screen time with John Larroquette; we play the $25,000 Pyramid; memories of Betty White; working on Matlock with Andy Griffith and In the Heat of the Night with Carroll O'Connor; being in "The Hand That Rocks the Cradle" and parodying it with Jim Carrey on In Living Color; his brother fills in for him on Santa Barbara; golf; and SNL's legacy.

Blaine joined me to talk about his first time doing stand up; favorite comedians; his new wave band; Elvis Costello; Fridays; Darrow Igus; Ted Wass; not being allowed to watch certain shows; Andrew Dice Clay; bonding with your dad over comedy; Red Skelton; Patton Oswalt; Small Doses pilot; Mad TV; Artie Lange; Spishak; writing the Claymation sketches; Bea Arthur; Mark Hamill; Donny Most; Martin Short Show; Jimminy Glick; Kevin McDonald, Beat the Geeks; game show hosts; That's Incredible; Lucha Va Voom; Los Angeles Derby Dolls; Mind of Mencia; Nerd Poker; Uno; working on Louie; Gilbert Gottfried; Bobcat Goldthwaite; Emo Phillips; Top 70's/80's sitcoms; Chico & the Man horrible upon rewatch; cheap look of 70's TV; obscure 70's sitcoms; Moe Howard on Mike Douglas Show; Jamie Farr; Mad TV sketch "Vague"; Martin Short makes his writers watch The Chevy Chase Show; Rollergirls; Rhonda Bates; Whodunnit?; Salvage I; Makin' It;Robert Hays; Will Ferrell; Apple Pie; BJ and the Bear; CB Trucking & Monkey Craze of the 70's; Waverly Wonders; Buck Rogers; New Adventures of Flash Gordon; Quark; House Calls; Ray Buktenica; Rhoda; Saturday Night Live; Norm MacDonald

Just Shoot Me!

Bill Oakley joined me to talk The Steamed Hams Society and Food Discovery Club; foreign 7-11’s; favorite burger; McRib; Shamrock Shake; best fast food chicken; best fast food pizza; Roy Rogers; Fuddruckers; Jollibee; early TV favorites; Green Acres; SNL and Letterman; met Josh Weinstein at 14; St. Albans School; Harvard Lampoon; Sunday Best; Simpsons - Marge Gets a Job; Treehouse - making nicknames the hardest part; Lisa v. Malibu Stacey; Bart v. Australia; Coriolis effect; Michael Fay; 22 Short Films - Steamed Hams; Superintendent Chalmers; Frank Grimes; tourettes joke; Bart Sells His Soul; King Size Homer; Bart on the Road; The Day the Violence Died; Brian McConnachie; Hurricane Neddy; Itchy Scratchy & Poochie; Lou Gehrig of the Simpsons; My Sister, My Sitter; Homer’s Enemy; Mad About You; censor hates Homer’s Phobia; Homer Simpson v. The City of New York, the Simpsons predictions; Spinoff Showcase

Link for The Steamed Hams Society and Food Discovery Club https://www.patreon.com/steamedhamssociety