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Comedy Comin' at 'cha!!.

Johns a Chicago holiday tradition. Born and raised in the Chicago area, John has been coming home to play Zanies every Thanksgiving for the last forty years. Johns one of those comics everybody from Chicago knows. Dozens of acts have been influenced by him and hit the stage themselves. From "Star Search" to his own sitcom "The Good Life" John has covered some ground. I've worked with him on and of ships dozens of times over the years. Both Chicago Bears and White Sox fans... John and I have become good friends over the years. In fact I was standing in his living room the last time the Bears were in the Superbowl. I'll never forget Devon Hester running the opening kick back. One of the happiest moments of my life... followed by the Rex Grossman led Bears muddling through to an ugly loss to Peyton Manning and the Colts. 

Yet, we're still friends.

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Back to Vegas, sort of... 

Comedian Luca Ferro. From Chicago, Bridgeport... Hey, I'm from there!! Similar upbringing. We both had parents that used chores as punishment.. brought back some memories. We actually met at Zanies in Chicago a while ago. We worked together at Brad Garretts in Las Vegas. Funny dude. Got to hang pretty much the whole week. He lives in NY now. Great talk about stand-up. Working the crowd, reading the room, expectations, and the mental pre-show prep. I talk a lot about younger comics. How their motivation and commitment isn't what it used to be when I was younger. Luca is NOT that guy. He works at it. Love to see a younger comic really make the effort to be a good comic. Not just mail it in and depend on clicks. Gives me hope about the future of stand-up. God I'm old. i sound like Yoda.

"Good comic, he is..."

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Bil Dwyer is not only the host of Battlebots, he's and stand-up comic, a good friend, and a fellow Chicagoan. I've worked with him a few times over the years. I reached out to him when I was playing Vegas last week. I asked him to do the show and he said yes, for a small price. I'm kidding. He did the show for free!! HA! So, I saved $4. Funny cat. Had a great talk. Battlebots records live in Vegas. It's a great time, alot of fun and you can bring the kids. Or drop them off. Bill will babysit for free. I'm kidding again. He charges $175 an hour. 

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I love hypnotists. They can be so intense. Nadeen was great. Watched all her shows, she's fantastic. Great shows, audiences loved her. I loved talking to her. She told a story about learning the hard way how to develop a show. We got in to the state of the world, where we qre headed, and how the young people will save us. 

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Working with Karen this week at Brad Garretts Comedy Club. We chat about her physicic comedy shows and her new theater tour. She does my reading too. YAY!!

More Karen
TT/IG -  @rontowski  

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Holland Vavra from Houston, TX. An amazing singer/soloist I worked with on the Celebrity Silhouette. She loves "Back to the Future", Diet Coke, and animals. She has 8 guinea pigs, a chicken... too many more to list. Spent a ten day crusie with her. A self-proclaimed music theater geek with a powerful andf beautiful voice. What a great conversation about life, work, and travel. She's funnier than she thinks she is. You'll see.

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From Omaha by way of LA and Vegas.... I think thats how it works. Great singer/Guest Entertainer I got to meet on the Celebrity Silhouette. Was a production cast member who developed his own show and became a guest entertainer. Great show. 

Jassen and I got in deep about a career on the ships. Chatted about the entertainment business as a whole. The long term things that we see as a result of AI and a number of other factors that affect live entertainers. The commitment and dedication it takes to live this life. All of that sex. I know, it was kind of all over the place. But, a great pod ep for TSS.

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Hey, it's my daughter. 

You might remember her from "Big Schmidt, Little Schmidt" podcast a few years ago. Lily has moved her sights and focus to Phoenix, AZ. Lily talks about her vision and goals as she continues to build her SM presence. Software, editing... etc. We also talk self care. 

She continues to show how funny she can be.  

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I worked with Vince over the last week or so.

Vince is my favorite kind of comic. When he works a room, he works the whole room. It's great to watch. You never know where the show is gonna go. he's a good friend. We spent the whole week together. Dinner, coffee, gym, drinks.... and a heck of a lot of shows. You never really know who youre going to work with on the ships. Every once in a while it works in your favor. It did this week.

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Total Schmidt Show this week with Allison Weber. 

My last Alaska of the year on the NCL Joy and I was lucky enough to work with my friend Allison Weber. She is awesome. I remeber working with her ion her very first ship. She was an opener back then. Not anymore. Allison's a solid headliner. Great shows with her all week. She does jokes, music, parodies, adult shows.... When I first worked with her she had lots of R rated stuff... not much PG. She needed to get alot more to stay on the cruise ship market, and she did. Allison has put together a great library of material. She was excellent all week. I watched all her shows. I usually don't do that. It was a blast.

Sidenote: She is the nicest/sweetest person inh the world. Walking around on the ship she stops and says Hi to everyone. It's unbelievable. Always a smile and a chat. Can say Hi in 38 languages. So positive. It's, and I mean this in the nicest, respectful way.... it's a lot. 

But I love her so.