I'm a Rescue

On Episode 26 and our final episode of 2019, comedian Andy Hendrickson along with his wife Linda join Tom and Steph on our first couple's podcast!  Linda tells her story of how she went from Algeria to Paris to Connecticut and finally arriving in Los Angeles in 2014.  Interestingly enough Andy also made a whirlwind journey to LA, starting his stand up career in Atlanta moving to Virginia then New York and finally arriving in LA in 2014...just like Linda. You see where I'm going with this...it's like "Harry Met Sally," but different and French.  Linda tells the story of meeting Andy for the first time. Andy talks behind the scene stuff on Letterman and dealing with anxiety and lyme disease. Tom and Andy also talk about their first meeting performing on a plywood stage over a stairwell in Rockford, IL. Linda also has a great podcast available on Anchor called "Excuse My Frenchy" and a line of skin care products she'll soon be launching.  Check out Andy's website at: www.andyhendrickson.com Our first couple interview and we had a blast! 

You may know Ari Stidham from his role on CBS's Scorpion, but it all started when he was a kid growing up in the Westlake area (just outside of LA.)  After struggling in school early on, he went the independent study route, finishing school at 16.  He worked with the improv group, ComedySportz and through that landed his first role on ABC Family's "Huge."  This is a great listen as Ari goes through his audition for the role on CBS's  Scorpion to the sudden fame that went with it and the disappointment after it's cancellation.   He also talks his current projects and he has a cool poster of Danny Devito in his house.

You may know Mark Valley from the soap opera Days of Our Lives, Boston Legal and Human Target, but he's also a U.S. Army Veteran.  He talks about his career in the army. His first acting gig opposite Sir Anthony Hopkins and teaching him to throw a football (true story.) He also talks about his latest project Zburg. A web-series shot entirely in his hometown of Ogdensburg, NY with a cast made up of local actors.  We also get into his role in Zero Dark Thirty and that sinking feeling when you know you're going to be cut out of a movie.  There's no BS with Mark and he's a completely open book on this podcast. 

Steph sits down with Nicole Blaine to talk about how she has helped connect comedians with industry thru the various programs she runs at Westside Comedy Theater in Santa Monica.  She also talks shooting her own independent film with her husband and her own comedy career.  

On this episode Tom and Steph talk about how Steph has built up her business (www.funnygirlevents.com). We discuss how to approach venues, what makes a successful venue and how to get paid.  This is more of an inside look at the stand up comedy business and we cover questions our fellow comedians had and cover the things we wish we would've known when we started doing this. 

Chris Flail tells his tale of traveling from Pennsylvania to Oklahoma to California and how he eventually discovered his love of comedy.  One of Chris's first gigs was working with Tom at a casino in Delano, CA and Chris's story of that is a definite must listen. They also discuss how Chris has built one of the most successful rooms in Central California and how he's helping comedians there build their stage time. 

Growing up the son or daughter of a celebrity isn't easy especially when that celebrity is comedy royalty. Such is the case with Camilla Cleese and her dad, John Cleese, of Monty Python fame.  Camilla opens up on this one talking about sitting in on her Dad's writing sessions during "A Fish Called Wanda", being a talented equestrian, her struggle with substance abuse, and how she's blazing her own trail in comedy.