Today, we sit down with comedy legend Bruce Vilanch for a wide-ranging career retrospective, tracing his path from early days as a writer for the Chicago Tribune and Hollywood Squares to becoming one of the most in-demand joke writers in show business. Vilanch reflects on decades of crafting sharp one-liners for the Oscars, Emmys, and Tonys, his work with icons like Bette Midler and Whoopi Goldberg, and his own turn in the spotlight as both a performer and pop culture fixture. With his trademark wit and candor, he offers behind-the-scenes stories, reflections on how comedy has evolved, and insights into what it takes to keep audiences laughing across generations.  

You can follow Bruce on his site, wegotbruce.com.

Support the show

___________________

Check out video versions of this and other episodes on YouTube: youtube.com/dollarbinbandits!

If you like this podcast, please rate, review, and subscribe on Apple Podcasts or wherever you found this episode. And if you really like this podcast, become a member of the Dollar Bin Boosters on Patreon: patreon.com/DollarBinBoosters.

You can follow us @dollarbinbandits on Facebook, Instagram, and Bluesky, or @DBBandits on X. You can email us at [email protected].

___________________

Dollar Bin Bandits is the official podcast of TwoMorrows Publishing. Check out their fine publications at twomorrows.com.

___________________

Thank you to Sam Fonseca for our theme music, Sean McMillan for our graphics, and Pat McGrath for our logo.