Month: February 2024

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Full Transcript

Caloroga Shark Media. I’m Johnny Mack. This is a bonus episode remembering Richard Lewis. The normal Daily Comedy News is in the feed. A normal episode came out earlier today.

Born Richard Philip Lewis June twenty ninth, nineteen forty seven. Born in Brooklyn, Raised in Englewood, New Jersey. Richard Lewis graduated from Ohio State University before joining the comedy scene in New York and LA in the seventies. There he worked with stars like Andy Kaufman, Richard Belzer, and Elaine Boosler, swiftly becoming a favorite on late night TV, including Johnny Carson’s Tonight Show. Self deprecating Razor sharp, honest about his struggles with addiction and neuroses, Richard Lewis possessed a unique comedic style that resonated with audiences, similar to his good friend Larry David.

Richard made his acting debut in nineteen seventy nine on NBC’s Diary of a Young Comic. He’s got a lot of time on the era of David Letterman that I and the era of Howard Stern that I loved. I’ll be curious to see if Howard does anything with Richard late period, Howard has kind of distanced himself from a lot of the guests of the past, Gubert Gunfried, for example, But we’ll see. By the mid nineteen eighties, Richard Lewis was being cited as part of a group of self reflective comics that included Richard Pryor, George Corolan, and Lily Tomlin Journey. Gunderson is the executive director of the National Comedy Center.

In a statement, Journey said his work exemplified and anticipated the deeply personal, raw, introspective, and yes, neurotic tone that has come to color so much contemporary comedy. HBO appearances in nineteen eighty eight, nineteen ninety and nineteen ninety seven, a sitcom alongside Jamie Lee Curtis called Anything but Love, one called Hiller and Dealer with Kevin Neil and I Don’t Remember That, and also at Don Rickles one I’ll talk about in the second half of the pod. Richard Lewis estimated he had about twenty thousand pages of jokes on his computer early in his career. He scribbled them on legal pads. When he appeared at Carnegie Hall in nineteen nine, he appeared on stage with six feet of yellow sheets taped together on the floor for reference.

Wait, did Jerry Seinfeld rip that off? Jerry kind of did that, and oh, we’ll dive into that a different day. Film roles include roles in leaving Las Vegas in nineteen ninety five, Robin Hood, men in tights, drunks, and of course, the notable run on Curb Your Enthusiasm. Dean eric Post reported that Richard was feeling quite well amid a battle with Parkinson’s disease just a few weeks ago. He said, I’m getting through it fine.

I have some occasional walking difficulties with Parkinson’s the last couple of years. It’s not majorure. I’m getting through it fine so far. But I didn’t want to go spend five or six hours mingling with so many people just asking for trouble. That’s why he wasn’t at the Curb Your Enthusiasm launch party.

I just wrapped a couple weeks ago, season twelve of Curb, and it was an amazing season. I’m so grateful to be part of that show. But you know, the last three and a half years, I’ve had sort of a rocky time Larry David Has said Richard had that rare combination of being the funniest person and also the sweetest. But today he made me sob and for that I’ll never forgive him. Cheryl Hines said, when I was young, I had the biggest crush shun Richard Lewis.

He was the funniest person on stage on the most handsome comedian. Then when I was cast on CURB, I got to work with him and it was a dream come true. Susie Esmond called Richard an original, brilliant voice that cannot be replaced. Ben Stiller said I never met a kinder, more empathetic comedy genius. He was so funny and deep as a kid.

I remember seeing him at the improv and how nice he was to me and my sister. Over the years, he would always reach out with support and love or a kind word, something out of blue. It always felt special to hear from him. Jamie Lee Curtis, who co starred in the ABC sidcome Anything But Love with Richard, said, I remember exactly where I was when I saw a billboard of him about a stand up special on Sunset Boulevard when we were casting the ABC pilot anything but love and asked the casting people to bring him in to audition to play my best friend maybe boyfriend Marty Gold. I thought he was handsome.

He made me laugh, which is the one thing a strong capable woman can’t really do for herself. Jeff Ross said, first time I saw Richard Lewis perform was at Carnegie Hall in December of nineteen eighty nine. It was just an aspiring comic in the crowd, and Richard’s performance showed me that you don’t have to play guitar songs to be a rock star. Doug Benson said his encouragement was the push I needed to keep going in a field that can be not encouraging at all. Bill Burr said, rip to a true original, an absolutely fearless comedian who did and said what he wanted.

Patton Oswalt and Paula Poundstone just shared photos. Steve Martin tweeted, remember Richard Lewis. Thanks. Eric Idol said so sad in the learned of the death of Richard Lewis. He was such a lovely, funny guy.

I wasn’t ready for this. Mel Brooks said, I’m so sorry to hear that we lost Richard Lewis. I will miss him very much. He was so funny, and I was so lucky to have him play Prince John and Robin Hood men in tights, but I was even luckier to have him in my life. Adam Carolla called Richard Lewis one of the greatest, most talented men I’ve ever met.

Dane Cook called him a champion. Michael McKean called him a very good man. John Stewart said sleep well, Richard, and commented how some people say that Stewart resembles Richard Lewis, and he said, I’ll try to keep good care of our face. Jimmy Kimmel had guessed Bob Odenkirk. Bob called Richard Lewis a great, great stand up who was in touch with everybody.

Both odin Kirk and Kimmel said they had been texting with Lewis in recent days. Bob said, will always happen to thank for that very personal type of comedy that he helped blaze the trail of Jimmy Fallon shared a clip where he spoke about Richard. Hey, guys, had we had some sad news today. We just found out that Richard Lewis passed away. And he was a good friend of the show, a great guest.

I think he was one of the greatest comedians to ever do it. If you get a chance, go go on YouTube and watch some of this stuff. He was unbelievable. I used to impersonate him all the time. He was a good friend, would send me things.

But his HBO specials, his whole character and walking and I’m doomed. Do you ever see the HBO special I’m doomed. Yeah, he’d be a hypochondriac. He’d be just so upset that about everything this specially did was great. That he went to the hospital because he had thought he had a heart attack or something he didn’t you know, And he’s like, this is a terrible doctor.

He’s complaining and the nurse goes up, Sorry, mister Lewis, someone’s here to visit you. Your biggest fan and I don’t really say it’s your biggest fan. And a contortionist walks in. It’s funny. It’s so funny.

Yeah, and you might know him also in Kurby Enthusiasm. He was fantastic. I just think he’s one of the greatest to ever do it. Our thoughts are with his family and friends. We’re gonna miss you, Richard Lewis.

In The New York Times, Melana Riiazik had interviewed Richard on January twenty second. She recounted Richard as saying, I’ve got to give Jeff Gorland a lot of credit for hanging in. I mean, it’s a TV show, but how can he have any self esteem left after what he’s taken. It’s just a barrage. Every time a scene is over, it looks like he’s limping back from the Civil War.

He’s just all bloodied. There should have been a corner man, you know, like in Rocky Burgess Meredith. For any actor taking in Susy Esmond’s insults, there should always be a chair with a trainer putting smelling salts under actors’ noses. Richard and Larry David met as kids at summer camp. They’ve been friends most of their lives.

In that Times article recalls, I always had a pad with me from day one, and so did Larry, and would write premises down wherever we were without sounding too pompous about it. I always dug comedians who were the same on stage as they were off stage. There wasn’t too much fake stuff going on. They didn’t create a character, they were just who they were. He called Larry David the storyteller of my generation.

He’s not going to stop writing things down. I’ve always been blessed to be on the show and so grateful. One thing that bothered him is he didn get more time with Susie Esmond. Given the chance, he says, I would have gone out of my way to screw up the scene just to make her angry at me. He did have a plan, writes The Times.

If Susie gets a show, say it was just called Susie, I would beg Larry David for at least a guest spot on it. Please let me do something to make cure or feel horrified. I don’t want any money. Don’t pay me. I might have to just fly to New York and sneak into Susie’s house and antagonize her.

In fact, don’t tell her, but I plan to play a horrifying joke on her so I can bear the front of her wrath. The truth is, I’m gonna get her to yell at me if it’s the last thing I do on this planet. For the weekend. I wanted to see if there were enough articles about Richard from back in the day, and surprisingly there aren’t that many. I don’t know if he didn’t do many interviews or if they didn’t make it through the archives.

I found a few things around nineteen ninety three’s Daddy Dearest, which was not reviewed well. But in the spirit of comedy, let’s dive in here from the La Times in nineteen ninety three and Daddy Dearest, Richard Lewis portrays a divorced psychologist whose life becomes complicated when his overbearing and combative father, played by Don Rickles, suddenly moves in. All Right, that sounds like it would be a good premise, right, I mean, isn’t that just the plot of Fraser. Richard Lewis plays a divorce psychologist and his father moves in, Right, that’s Fraser. Oh what a different time.

This was the La Times Rights. Rickles, who’s touring the country with Frank Sinatra, sat with Lewis and chatted about the show. Richard Lewis says, Don’s long been one of my icons in comedy. Years ago. I had a notion that I wanted to work with him.

It’s been a long trip in journey to get to the show. I can’t imagine being happy or working with anybody else. Rickles said, yeah, I’d pretty much go along with that. Richard was really the one who made this thing come together. I had not thought about a TV series at this point in my career.

Was involved with Vegas gambling towns, theater and so forth the time, said Don, does it enter in your mind that Richard, while not exactly your boss, is more or less in charge. Rickles said, yeah, it reminds me of that all the time. According to him, I was out on the highway face down, being rolled by four guys. This man comes along. It reminds me every day that he’s the boss, and he found me, and I gotta kiss his you know what, to keep him amused.

Richard said, But if I don’t meet Frank Sinatra before the twelfth episode, there’s gonna be a problem because I’m the co executive producer and I have the right to fire Don. Rickles, the only way you’re gonna meet Frank is to throw yourself in front of his card. If I know Frank, he’ll keep going la times. Richard, you seem frustrated by recent questions about Don’s jokes on the show. That Don Rickles’ character insults people in ethnic groups.

Wow, we were canceling people way back then. Richard Lewis said, there are a tremendous amount of comedians whose subject matter stereotypes in a mean spirited way. There’s an unbelievable difference in what Don Rickles does as a comic, unlike many other comics who say you’re different, I don’t like you, I shouldn’t be with you, I shouldn’t be in your neighborhood. It’s the exact opposite. The deal is Don’s character.

And let me stress that this is a character. It’s politically incorrect. It’s almost as if we’re talking about Shing Gillis, but you realize he’s a teddy bear. One of the reasons I’m working with one of my idols is because his character’s so right on the money to educate, as well as perhaps being one of the funniest people in the whole universe. Again from nineteen ninety three, Don Rickles, You’ve done this type of comedy for so long.

Does it frustrate you that just years ago this kind of humor was okay. The climate wasn’t quite as sensitive. Now audiences are looking for significance where they’re looking for political correctness. Rickles said, well, I don’t find it frustrating at all. I’m still able to headline every major place you could think of and work with Frank Sinatra.

Richard Lewis, does Frank like me? Rickles? I mentioned you once and napped is it your name? And fell asleep right in front of me. Anyway, I can’t say too much about being politically correct because they still show up to see me.

Funny’s funny. It’s a very fine line. I’ve never crossed that line, and I’ve always been received with the utmost warmth. Richard Lewis, When can I mean Frank? I’ll be in the limo with you and Frank when you go to long beat Trickles, You’ll be running alongside the limbo.

I’ll roll down the window just see can hear part of the voice seeing the summer wind?

And then roll it up again with your hand in the window.

LA. Have you two watched the other Fox shows like nine oh two one oh? Richard Lewis, I watched all the shows. I’m a Fox kind of guy, except I wanted them change the logo because I was bent on my behind by a Fox. When I was a cub scout, that was fun.

The Desert News from nineteen ninety three said that same sitcom, Daddy Dearest is downlight dreadful. Fox’s new sitcom is so bad, so utterly unredeemable, that it’s difficult to know where to begin with a description of it. The premise is okay. Richard Lewis stars as Steven, a psychiatrist and divorced father of a young son who’s obnoxious overbearing father Don Rickles moves in with him again. Free sure, but as Daddy is executed, it deserves execution.

We’re talking downright dreadful. Wow, that’s like an Adam Sandler level review. This is offensivest show as Network TV has to offer most of the alleged humor, and let me emphasize the word alleged falls in a one of two categories of offensiveness, sexuality or bigotry. When Al gets a look at the Swedish stewardess that Steven that’s Richard Lewis’s character has brought home to take to bed, he bellows, Wow, look at the of those things. There are jokes about condoms.

There were offensive sexual jokes between Alan as soon to be ex wife Helen. Helen shrieks you never satisfied me in Ben Al Al yells I satisfied you plenty, to an incomprehensible burst of laughter from the studio audience. Helen is good sex too much for me to ask for before I drop dead? Al, why don’t you drop dead? And we’ll find out that’s not a bad line at all.

The Record interviewed Richard Lewis in nineteen eighty eight. He recalled a conversation with John Travolta, who went to the same school. Travolta was saying that they had named a Jim after him. Lewis said, I figured maybe I’d have a couple of bridge chairs named after me in the faculty lounge. What I should have as a bench in the nurse’s office.

I don’t want to sound like a big shot. After sixteen years of complaining in forty five shows on Letterman, I should at least be able to have people sit on me amy or tease in. The New York Times wrote, go ahead and call Richard Lewis the comedian from hell. He’d be paying him a compliment. His most incredible legacy could be one simple phrase spoken so often that its argent might never be questioned.

It’s the blank from Hell, the insert hated thing here from hell. Courting to Richard Lewis and the Yale Book of Quotations, it came from Richard. Richard said, I’m credited with popularizing the phrase because I felt victimized by everything. I totally popularized the phrase in the late seventies. If you go on YouTube, you could see it on Letterman.

David would cut me off and go you meet. It was the bar mitzer from Hell, that’s right. And I stopped saying it. I was self conscious I was getting applause for it. I guess subconsciously I thought I was a victim of everything.

Bartlett’s Familiar Quotations did not give Richard credit for the phrase, which became a storyline during season three of KERB. The episode from two thousand and two weaves in Richard’s attempts to get it in Bartlet’s. He said, it was a real solid for Larry to do that for me. That really immortalized it in some respects. And I will leave you with a clip from the February eighteenth episode of Curb Your Enthusiasm, where Richard talks about leaving Larry in his will back in the morning with a normal episode.

Rest in Peace, the Great Richard Lewis, I’m leaving you in my will. I’m tweaking it, and you’re in it. No, no, no, dunt dun’t do that. It’s done. You’re in.

I don’t want to be and I I have money, I don’t need it. Give it to someone who needs it when I die. I want you to know how much I care about you. I’m not going to keep it. I’m going to give it to charity, my best friend.

You’re getting it. No, I’m making as shut in that statement about the will right now, I shooking at historical references. If nominated, I will not run. If bequeath, I will not accept. Well I’m bequeathing.

Well, I’m not accepting. You’ll have to accept. Don’t give it to me. Don’t hurt my feelings. I’m not going to keep up petty of it.

You’re hurting me. Thank you, but I don’t want I’m giving it to you anyway. Pal

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Full Transcript

Caloroga Shark Media. Hello, I’m Jennie Mack with your Daily Comedy News. Donnelle Rawlings out doing press, but everybody keeps asking him about Dave Chappelle. Rawlings told The Washington Post two years ago, we shot a special in North Carolina where I got a standing ovation. A month before deciding if it was going to air, Dave pulled it.

He said, I could put you in front of an audience and you’ll destroy the room, but that doesn’t make it a great special. Well, said Dave Chappelle. Donnelle said, I had to listen to this little constructive criticism, not getting my feelings and understand what he was saying. Donelle talked about the creativity he and Chappelle bring out in each other, telling the Post, staying true to the artistry of what we do, not just giving into trends. We push each other.

It’s a very very healthy competition. Dave sees me to a set, I might get a standing. Oh, I know that’s gonna make him want to give it his all. Same thing with me an earthquake. We went out on tour together last year and we alternated who would close the show.

We push each other to be great. It’s no days off when we work with each other. Then I’ll move from LA to Yellow Springs, Ohio, where Dave Chappelle is also based. He says, I realized Hollywood is overrated. You can create a good lifestyle for yourself not being there.

So I went from the streets to the creeks and from the hoods to the woods. Love it some more advice from Dave Chappelle via Donnelle Rawlings. Dave said, if you want to see a comic, come and check him out after he’s filmed a special. Because now it’s a new process. I can’t use the jokes I use in the special.

I’ve got to go deeper. This is a time when comics really test their armor. Great stuff. The Daily Beast also spoke to Donnell and also discussed Dave Chappelle, and he says, I don’t have to come to Dave’s defense, but I do defend him. We’re best friends.

It’s not just that we work together. We’ve been to funerals together, We’ve been to cookouts together. So if you talk sideways, I can’t listen to it. Take that stuff to somebody else, but not to me, because he’s like a brother. If you say something to my family member and then I’m going to check you.

If people say Dave got in trouble, you might have three people that didn’t like it and ninety seven people that loved it, but the focus is on those three people as opposed to the ninety seven. And I think people like Dave, people like myself, people like Chris Rock. We’re taking back who we appreciate and we’re showing them love. And at three percent, can go kick Rocks. I love it.

He actually said, kick Rocks. I’m not cleaning that up. Does Rawlings understand why people are upset about Chappelle’s jokes targeting the trans community. Donelle says, you want my honest opinion. No.

Dave’s point on everything is like, I understand you, I hear you, but that doesn’t mean I have to agree with everything that you’re saying. People want to find something to be mad at. There are some people who aren’t happy unless they’re mad. And the real reason why I take offense to that is because you’re trying to destroy my friend’s character, and I know how hard he tries to be fair. I watched Donnell’s news special on Netflix.

I found it to be just yelling, like just yelling. I didn’t last long. I was like, this is not enjoyable. So then I switched over to Jenny Slat’s special Let’s Just add on Amazon Prime. I lasted a little longer there, but just wasn’t feeling it, and as I shared in the Facebook group Daily comed News Podcast group, I have to find a special before I turn into the Johnny Mack just hates everything.

Here we are. It’s March, and I only have two specials on the Best of twenty twenty four list, which right now is number one Dusty Slay, number two Taylor Thomlinson, and I think Taylor Thomlinson’s is gonna fall to like number twenty by the end of the year. Not on the list Pete Davidson, Jackie Novak, Kevin James, Rory Scoveldno Rowlings, Jenny Slat. It’s early though. I remember last year this time it was like Nate Bergatzy and not much else, So we’ll see how the summer goes.

After I didn’t enjoy Donnell and then I didn’t enjoy Jenny Slat, I switched over to the Daily Show with John Stewart and Johnnie mack Hay’s Everything Think. MSNBC nailed it here. John Stewart’s third appearance in the anchor chair open with the host basking in a standing ovation, yep.

And then he made the topic Israel Palestine, and he got kind of serious, and …

MSNBC rights, the popular genre of which Stewart is a master, blend’s comedy and political analysis, all the while smuggling in whatever moral convictions the comic might possess. Poll attainment. I like that looks like real news. I’m saying. I like that a lot today.

I wonder what that’s about. Do I say that all the time. It’s graphics are so eye popping, the chiron’s so abundant. It’s shiny sets so CNN like one expects Wolf Blitzer to pop in projecting a winter in the Michigan Primary. Poly Attainment radiates a weird sort of winking authority and even moral gravitzas audiences and even comedians themselves risk forgetting that their newsreader is neither a credential journalist nor a scholar, but a person who’s core competency is genital gags Stewart tried to maintain a semblance of ideological balance as a newsperson would, but in the conflict this raw, complex and emotionally charged, he likely satisfied very few.

Some things just aren’t funny. So then I switched over to John Oliver, and as I prepped the show today, I’m really confused. I definitely had John Oliver on, I definitely was enjoying it, but I don’t remember thinking about it. I can’t tell you a single joke. I don’t remember what the main topic was.

And here’s what’s scarier to me. I don’t remember turning it off. Did I finish the episode? I remember sitting on the same couch. This was not the sleepy chair.

I didn’t pass out. I was awake. I was watching this. I had Oliver on, and at some point I switched over to watching YouTube videos. But I don’t remember turning Oliver off, or did I complete it?

Did I bail halfway? I don’t know, and this troubles me. I have a memory. GAP told you the other day about four comedians who was gig at a Seattle comedy club was canceled. One of those comedians, Jim Florentine.

He told Como News, we got this email saying listen, we did some research and you basically can’t come to the club. There was a whole thing about we’re a progressive area and we check with our community, and your values and my values don’t align with the other comics. This is such a big deal. Even Rob Schneider has waited. Rob tweeted, Dear Seattle.

If you’re worried about hearing ideas separate than your own, if a person standing on a stage saying words that may challenge your opinions frightens you. If you only want approved ideas that keep you in your safe political bubble, you can thank your local comedy club. Look as I said yesterday, I’ve got no problem with a club saying hey, we’ve got a particularular vibe here. For example, if I opened a rock club and you came in and you said, well, you know, we’re like a country rock band, and I said, well, that’s not really what we do here. I don’t think I have to book you now why they were booked and unbooked.

That’s a separate conversation. But if this comedy club wants to go you know, hey, we’re doing this kind of thing like, say you’re in Brooklyn and you’re running an alt comedy scene and Jim Norton, who’s a good guy that I’ve worked with, we’re friendly. If Jim Norton wanted to play your all comedy club and just do jokes about hookers in Las Vegas for an hour, it doesn’t fit. It doesn’t mean Jim’s not good, it just doesn’t fit your alt comedy scene in Brooklyn. It’s okay.

Rab Schneider is incredibly fascinating. John Jamison said, I always keep thing positive here on Twitter, but Capitol Hill Comedy Club in Seattle can who’s right off? Steve Mudflat McGrew said, I hope the club goes belly up. The empty building burns down from drug addicts using it to shoot up with the free needles the city gives, and then the shell of the business is bulldozed down. Then the briocks washed and used to build a new church for better humans than the ones who own the club.

Florentine said, I’m not even really that mad at it, it’s just weirder they booked us. Kurt Metzker, one of the unbooked comedians. I’m trying not to use word canceled, because you know that means something else these days. Before Dave Smith, Lewis, J Gomas, Jim Florentine, and Kurt Metzger. Kurt said they’re gonna go out of business.

They don’t have real comics coming in. I looked at the lineup. Let’s take a look at the lineup, all right? Tonight. It’s an open mic.

Katie Boyle is your headliner. Friday and Saturday. We’ve got a roast battle on Sunday. Monday night, Queer’s to the front Tuesday. Washington’s Funniest Mammal.

I’m clicking on that. What’s that? Hm? I clicked on it. It’s not listed, but I do see Dave Marriages just playing there.

He’s solid, all right. Washington’s Funniest Mammal. Washington’s Funniest Mammal has their own website. Cozy Comedy founders Travis and Marcus have been producing local comedy shows. The goal of Cozy Comedy is simple, bring local comedians to places that haven’t ever seen them.

First round, fifty total comedians, five shows, ten comedians per show. Each comedian gets seven minutes. Top three from each show move on to the semis show winners received two hundred dollars semi final rounds fifteen comics. You get the idea of final round four comics. That’s why this thing is three nights.

That’s not terrible. Again, the weirdness is why book them and then unbooked them.

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Meanwhile, in New Westminster, British Columbia, a show featuring comedy trou…

Here at Daily Comedy News, we do not promote serial killing, so I will not mention the name of the serial killer. As far as serial killers go, was not a serial killer whose name I was familiar with. I don’t think I’m an expert on serial killers, but it wasn’t like that famous guy from the nineteen seventies in New York City. Again, I’m not saying the names of serial killers. In a now deleted Facebook post, the House of Comedy BC wrote it had decided to cancel the event, saying it missed the market aims to do better.

The post had read, While we value and support the freedom of expression in comedy, we recognize that the chosen material for this show has caused discomfort in our community. When asked by CBC News for more details, the VP of Operations said they had no comment. Hmm, now I’ve popped over to the Danger Cat’s website. They use a font I think is similar to the font def Leopard uses. They also use a font similar to Grand Theft Auto.

They’re about us, says for those that understand living into the fullest comes with a good time and a cold one in hand. I’m gonna click on this merch tab they have here. Let me see what comes up. We could get a flag in that def leopard ish font. There is some sort of T shirt here.

I believe it is an image of Justin Trudeau doing brown face from an event in two thousand and one. There’s another T shirt in the style of Guns N’ Roses album covers, another one in the style of the Rolling Stones, but I don’t see anything with a serial killer in it anyway. This is the first time I heard of these guys. So that today’s Daily Comedy News. This brought to you by Monsters, Sharks and Dinosaurs.

No, it’s not three separate sponsors. It’s a new podcast, Monsters, Sharks and Dinosaurs dives into the fascinating worlds of the planet’s most awe inspiring and fearsome beings. Look, I wrote most of these. I don’t need the copy. I’ll tell you so.

Episode one is Godzilla, So that’s a monster, Jaws, next week, Shark, Jurassic Park, Dinosaur. You get it. So we have Godzilla, then Jaws, Jurassic Park, King Kong, the meg and the Kraken. Those are the first six episodes. And this came out wonderful.

This started with me saying to my business partner Mark, let’s just do a crazy idea. How about this? And he laughed and we’re like, all right, let’s see what this would be. And we started writing and we found this wonderful lane of talking about how the monster would kill you, how the monster might exist if we applied science to it, and then what are real life analogues of such a monster, and what is the film history of the monster. This thing came out way better than when I first said, Ah, let’s do something with like dinosaurs and sharks and stuff.

I’d say, help me launch this thing. Let’s be real here. If I got a bunch of downloads today, it’ll move up the charts. So do me a favor, especially if you use Apple podcasts. Download Monsters, Sharks and Dinosaurs.

Monsters Sharks and Dinosaurs. Follow it, download it, play it. You can play it and walk your dog. You know, I don’t even care if you actually listen. Just help this thing move up the charts today.

Monsters, Sharks and Dinosaurs wherever you get your shows, but it would mostly help if used Apple podcasts. Thank you, Johnny Mack. You never mentioned Shane Gillis. I know R Slate wrote about Shane and they said, contrary to popular opinion or what you might assume from that one ignoble podcast clip, Shane Gillis has never been a mega comic. He’s unburdened by the pickled grievance that defines an Adam Corolla or Ricky Gervase.

And I’ve never heard him utter the word woke on stage in spite of the ants I woke the scriptor that all manner of outlets and commentators frequently append to his name. He’s Red State friend, if not Red State exclusive, the kind of thing that socialists Brooklynites can savor alongside their Fox News watching dads. The punchlines weren’t delivered with any real invective were from a specific moral vantage, but they did underscore Gillis’s broader credo The world is funnier when he doesn’t need to think about what he wants to say. Gillis has played the game perfectly. He’s managed to parachute back into mainstream consciousness while still intentionally or not holding onto some sly anti woke bonafides that appears to be scaffolding for a long career.

Marlon Wayns will have a new special on Amazon Prime Video, this one called Marlon Wayns Good Grief. He will film this at the Apollo Theater in New York. Great theater. Thanks John, We had no idea. I got to see Springsteen there.

It was amazing, armed with his trademark wit and irresponsible energy. No, it’s not irresponsible. I’m leaving it in irrepressible energy. He has responsible energy, which is irrepressible. Waynes dies into the depths of personal loss, grappling with the profound grief of losing both parents, from poignant reflect actions on the lessons imparted by his father, to the unexpected challenges of caring for aging parents, including the uncharted territory of changing diapers.

No date yet on that, other than it’ll be out in the summer. I didn’t get back to yesterday. I wanted to talk more about that Bill Hicks piece that was in The Guardian. Brian Logan had asked, does anyone perform stand up like Bill Hicks nowadays? I’ve watched and listen to a handful of his sets over the last week or so, and the way he styles himself takes the readjusting to It’s not just the rock star posturing the idea of himself as fearless rebel against the powers that be.

It’s the lack of irony the authority assumes to preach to all of us efforts who want to tell you what to think. Very few stand ups do that now, and the ones that do, Dave Chappelle leaps to mine, are considered deeply suspect. Couldn’t we do with a bit more faith in the possibility of telling the truth with exposing lies? As Hicks described his mission, You might agree with that principle, but the sexism and homophobia lands with a hell of a clunk. In the twenty twenties, Hicks once told an interviewer to me, the comic is a fleame like Shiva the Destroyer, toppling idols no matter what they are.

Frasier is getting another season. That’s it. I could read a quote Fraser’s getting another season. And did you see this thing about the Willy Wonka event I shared in the Facebook group Daily Comedy News podcast group, OLLI reporter cracks me up with a description, it looks like a meth lab. I’m not sure this is really comedy, but it makes me laugh.

And why not? What was built as an immersive experience seemingly inspired by Willy Wonka movies turned into the fire fest of unofficial movie tie ins. You gotta see the pictures of this thing. It’s like an empty warehouse and somebody stuck a candy cane in the corner. It’s not exactly what’s in your mind when I say Willy Wonka, The other reporter says.

The UK event was titled Willie’s Chocolate Experience and charged customers forty four dollars each. The attraction was not affiliated with the movie Wonka, though the events marketing came as close as possible to suggesting it was based on it. The ad copy invited fans to journey to a universe where confectionery dreams are brought to life, including mind expanding projections, optical marvels and exhibits that transport you into the realm of creativity and wondrous creations and enchanting surprises at every turn. The event organizers apparently used AI to generate promotional images that suggested a very high quality attraction. I saw those images and yeah, looked pretty cool.

As reported by the Guardian, customers showed up to a sparsely decorated warehouse with a scattering of plastic props, a small bouncy castle and some backdrops bending against the walls. Scotland police were even called to the scene. The event shut down. Parents and their children were in tears. That’s not funny, John, but it’s kind of funny.

Wonderful copywriting here, and I’ll make this the end. I won’t say another word after this next sentence, because this is just perfect. All the event lacked was a man in a top hat telling customers you get nothing, you lose good taste, sir,

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Caloroga Shark Media. Wow. I was just heading out the door, checked the email one last time, and I see Comedian and Curb Your Enthusiasm star Richard Lewis has passed away at age seventy six. Richard’s rep. Jeff Abraham I know Jeff, confirmed the news in a statement to people on Wednesday afternoon.

The statement reads, Comedian actor Richard Lewis passed away peacefully at his home in la last night after suffering a heart attack. His wife thanks everyone for all the love, friendship, and support, and ask for privacy at this time. Lewis best known for his self deprecating humor, his long running roles on Curb Your Enthusiasm, his guest spots on Letterman, and The Howard Sterns Show. He also co starred with Jamie Lee Curtis in a sitcom that I really liked way back when it was called Anything but Love, that run from nineteen eighty nine to nineteen ninety two. In two thousand, he had a memoir titled The Other Great Depression.

He told The Washington Post in twenty twenty, I’m not a very happy man. I’m thrilled to be alive. I’m grateful for he was in my life. I’ve got great friends, a great wife, a dog, and I have a great career. But there’s a part of me that’s always going to be never totally happy, and I think that has a lot to do with my childhood.

I did not prep this episode at all. Like I said, I was running out the door. Let me see what comedians are seeing on Twitter. Albert Brooks, Sorry, p Richard Lewis a brilliantly funny man who will be missed by all the world needed him now more than ever. Michael McKeon, Farewell Richard Lewis.

Brocol Harum has lost another fan, and the rest of us have lost a very good man. Sam Morrell, not Richard Lewis such a funny guy for so long watching a curb as this news broke. I remember reading his pickup line with the ladies in the book I’m dying up here. I’ll buy you a two to sandwich anywhere in the city. Rest in peace, Keith Olberman.

I’ve never had a brother. From the day he came up and said hi in nineteen eighty nine, Richard Lewis and I called each other brother. I used to kid him if people knew how good and kind of person he was, it would ruin his career. Bet Midler, on a sad note, the great Richard Lewis has died. Richard Lewis has passed away at age seventy six.

All right, Like I said, I was running out the door, so I put this together quickly. The Thursday episode is already recorded. You will not hear me address this in the normal Thursday episode, but I’ll probably do a bonus episode with a proper Richard Lewis tribute sometime tomorrow afternoon. Richard was fantastic. Rest in peace.

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Full Transcript

Caloroga Shark Media. Hello, I’m Jennie Mack who we have here Daily Comedy News. Sheen gill is getting a deal with Netflix. Talking about that in a second. But Jimmy Fallon had a good joke about Trump winning the South Carolina primary, which was Trump actually had two versions of his speech, one a victory speech in casey one and a victory speech in casey lost.

Hey, Seth Meyers celebrated his tenth year anniversary. Guess who stopped by and made an edit here for pacing. But let’s listen here with my very good friend Amy Poehler. We were talking about the first show back in twenty fourteen. Your fellow guest.

He was kind enough to follow you that night, Vice President Joe Biden. Yeah, that was he was a class act. Yeah, we did try to get him for our ten year anniversary show. Obviously got a bigger job now, so he was unavailable. Oh you couldn’t get him.

I couldn’t get him now, Oh I could get him. Hey President, welcome back, mister President. It’s good to be back. Why haven’t you invited me earlier? Well, of note, Seth did wear a suit I mentioned yesterday he hadn’t been wearing a suit, but I guess when you know Potus is coming by, you suit up all right.

Shane Gillis has a new deal with Netflix. They’ve acquired the independently produced sitcom Tires from Shane. He stars and serves as executive producer. Six episodes self financed. It a premiere on May twenty third.

As part of the deal, Netflix will also produce a new stand up special with Shane that’ll be his second. In Tires, Steven Gerbin plays Will, the nervous and unqualified air to and auto repair Shane. Will attempts to turn his father’s business around despite constant torture from his cousin and now employee Shane. Shane is played by That’s right, Shane Gillis. Who do think I was gonna say?

I shared in the Daily Comedy News podcast group a sketch that did not make SNL. It is wonderful. I would share with you here, but it wouldn’t make sense. It’s a take off on the insurance and as with the EMU. You know, hey, ad amcle I’m thinking here, I can’t even remember what it’s advertising, you know, the one with the EMU and It’s basically a riff on Training Day where Shane and the EMU go to investigate a case and things go sideways like they do in Training Day.

Barstool Sports wrote, what the f how did this not make the cut? Finally, something different and hysterical from SNL and they left it on the coning room floor. Makes me wonder what else they’re keeping from us. We had to sit through what felt like forty five minutes of Bo and Yang on Weekend Update for god knows what reason, but Limu the EMU doing coke, is put on Twitter. Barstool rights.

I don’t doubt that there are hilarious writers over at SNL, but I also don’t doubt that the show has lost itself so badly that the theater kids in charge of the decisions and Lord Michaels seems to be in his old man who doesn’t know up from down era just have no clue what people want to see. I mean, bleep. They opened the gill Us episode with a Trump based cold open that only got zero laughs. It was almost if the writers were saying, oh, yeah, you want killis hosting, Well, we’re gonna do a crappy Trump sketch. At the top out of spite that the opening was pretty bad.

I didn’t make it all the way through before he had fast forward. I will talk more about what people really want in the second half of today’s podcast if you’d like to see the sketches in the Facebook group Daily Comedy News Podcast Group. So I started wondering is Shane even controversial? Or we in a cycle of headlines saying he’s controversial? Like, who’s actually upset that Shane even exists?

At this point, I have some thoughts about that. I’ve started a new substack. I’ll talk about the second half where I wrote about this. I’m not sure there’s actually a controversy right now. There was five years ago, but I’m not sure there’s one this week.

As for who’s even offended, I did find one guy, which we’ll get to in a second. I find myself in the weird position of agreeing with somebody on Fox News. Guy Benson wrote, if this guy, Shane wrot Or said something that was bad and then maybe went overboard firing whatever, is there no path back to redemption? You can never do anything again, Like I’m glad s and Alec Nor then mentality and brought him back, maybe belated league because he did a good job. Yeah, Johnny Mack thinks that episode was pretty funny.

Fox News contributor Lisa Booth said, aren’t comedians supposed to push the boundaries and be controversial? Co host Charlie Hurt said, it’s not just the humor, it’s also the truthfulness. The whole point of court jesters is they tell the truth and it’s in a funny way, and they get away with it and they don’t get beheaded by the king. Co host Katie Pavlich said, Americans people all over itching for more comedy. They want to laugh at things, especially in times that feel very heavy.

People really want to laugh about these things. And the over sensitivity and calling jokes about certain people hate movements. I think people are really getting tired of that. There’s a reason you’ve seen comedians refusing to go to college campuses, for example, because it’s not worth it to them. They’re going to go to an audience, and there are many of them that exist where people want to laugh and not take things too seriously, and comedy is a great way to joke and to really establish what’s happening in the country.

Almost a historical record in a way that can be funny, and so people want more jokes. They don’t want to be scolded. The Fox News article cites Variety from twenty nineteen quoting Shane. All Right, that’s a like triple quote there. Back then, Shane said, feels ridiculous for comedians to be making serious public statements, but here we are.

I’m a comedian. It was funny enough to get SNL. That can’t be taken away. Of course, I want an opportunity to prove myself at SNL, but I understand it would be too much of a distraction. I respect the decision they made.

I’m honestly grateful for the opportunity. I was always a mad TV guy anyway. Pavlich said, Shane won that one, and I’m sure he’ll be back somewhere else, even if SNL doesn’t have him back In The Atlantic, Jeremy Gordon writes under the headline what Shane Gillis proved on SNL, and I think this is a pretty fair balance to take. Jeremy Gordon writes, the comedian Shane Gillis is fond of joking about all the things he knows. He looks like a high school football coach, a possible parking a lot rapist, a police brutality skeptic, someone who asked to go see the rest of the bodycam footage before we jump to any conclusions he’ll pose as a recognizable genre of buffoon or creep before subverting those expectations.

In his Netflix special Beautiful Dogs, he pretended to be a ra ro jingoist before lamenting America’s epidemic of gun violence. He also joked about becoming an early on set Republican before noting that emergent concerns boiled down to why are black guys in every commercial? And mermaids are white? In many of his routines, he embodies the anxieties felt by a certain stratum of straight white men about their waning cultural influence, and then he makes these anxieties the butt of the joke Gordon Wrights. In fact, Gillis would likely have never achieved his current level of success had he not been fired by SNL.

The podcast where he made those remarks is now the top Patreon account in the world. Today was announced that Netflix has ordered a scripted show and another special for him. Considering the social penalties voice that on most public figures caught using offensive slurs. This good fortune may seem surprising, but the Gillis incident transpired at the nexus of Sarah phenomena, ongoing debates about free speech and comedy, spearheaded by celebrity performers such as Ricky Gervais and Dave Chappelle, and the identity based sensitivities associated with wokeness, and finally, the expansion of an independent media ecosystem centered on podcasts, where people can run their mouth without much oversight and connect directly with paying fans scrolling down. Gordon rights back in twenty nineteen, when Gillis’s offensive remarks first came to light, he said, up, I’m happy to apologize to anyone who’s actually offended by anything I’ve said.

Well, I was offended, and it wasn’t just some virtuous pose. It was because he’d repeatedly said something offensive in service of jokes that weren’t even good time out for me. If they were good jokes, is it okay? Then is there a line there? Gordon write.

Some reviews claim that Gillis had bombed his monologue, but I’m not sure about that. I took his nervouses as an honest admission that the night was unconventional and weird, but he was going to get through it. Stand up comics are always reading the room, and on Saturday, Giviss appeared to be full of humility about the opportunity to prove himself on this particular platform. He said, thank you guys so much. That means a lot to me to be here.

I really appreciate it, and Gordon said he sounded sincere. Good stuff there. Jimmy Fallon is coming to Prime Time for one night. It’ll be his tenth anniversary of hosting The Tonight Show. This will air Tuesday, May fourteenth.

Fallon told his audience, We’re so grateful we get to do this job. I want to thank everyone on our staff and crew, and of course all of you for tuning in every single night for the past ten years. To celebrate, really, thank you so much. To celebrate, NBC is going enter a two hour Prime Time Best of Tonight Show special on May fourteenth, the best moments of the Tonight Show from the past ten years, featuring some of our favorite sketches, guests, and musical performances, from tight Pants with Will Ferrell to Me Almost Dating Nicole Kidman and musical bits like classroom instruments with Metallica and Adel, we had so many fun moments. In a statement, Jimmy said, to be able to sit in the same chair as the iconic Hoast before me, It’s been my absolute honor to be part of the Tonight Show for the past ten years.

I still pinch myself every day, and I’m so appreciative of the opportunity to stand alongside the giants of her business who have made their mark on this great TV institution. I still think they should have given Conan Moore rope, but I get why they didn’t. Jordan Klepper is excited about the return of Jon Stewart. He was on The Daily Show Ears Edition podcast and said, what an exciting, awesome shock for us to sort of have this person who was really important for so many people’s lives here at the Daily Show. I think this last year and a half taught us many things, and one of them is through the infrastructure of the Daily Show, we have such a very clear voice.

John came in sort of like, here’s what I’m feeling about this. This is such an important year. It’s an existential threat, is what everybody’s talking about, and we all know the threat Donald Trump poses, and we also know it looks like it’s going to be Joe Biden. What do Democrats feel about this? What are the insecurities people ever around this idea?

And how do we talk authentically about the fears people have? Really, what the show needed was John coming in and all of us getting into that room being like, all right, here we are. This is the team. We got John Stewart back, and we’re running as fast as we can till this election. Klepper said, as somebody who came in during John’s time, stuff mattered.

John was a comedian and approached it comedy first, but the guy was serious as a heart attack, as smart as you can get. People tune into John. I tuned into John because I trusted him. I trusted that he wasn’t bound by party politics, he wasn’t bound by BS, and I think people were drawn to that. Johnny Max take is I think the Daily Show is going to have an awesome run here into November.

The ratings have been pretty good. Haven’t seen this week’s ratings yet. I’m wondering if there’s maybe more to be mined. Here is eleven pm on Comedy Central on cable TV, and I know it airzon streaming the next day. I think maybe it’s the same day.

I don’t know. Is that the best use? Should this thing air earlier in the evening? Should it air on CBS proper? Like I keep saying, I feel like John could have a really big summer here and for the Daily Show.

I wonder what’s going to happen on the other side. You better use this opportunity to figure out who’s next. Trevor Noah used to host the Daily Show. Nice Segue John and The Crypto Times, your home for Daily Comedy News, said that Trevor was at the Web Summit Qatar twenty twenty four conference. Trevor lamented that he didn’t buy bitcoin when it cost almost nothing.

He said, not buying bitcoin was easily the biggest mistake I’ve ever made. If you’re into podcasting, there’s a wonderful newsletter called pod News and they have this item. The host of The Fighter and the Kid, Brendan Schob, has lost a legal claim against YouTuber you unique y ewneek. Now, I didn’t get the joke until I actually read it out loud. You probably didn’t get the joke till I spelled it you unique anyway, Shob claimed that a reaction video used Shob’s copyrighted material, and Shob’s lawyers managed to get YouTube to shut down the channel for two year period while the case was ongoing.

The judge rule that the use of shops material was fair use. I lightly mentioned in the first half of the podcast, I’ve started a substack newsletter. I just I always have thoughts about the media, and I’m like, all right, let me actually write them down. It has the really well thought out title John McDermott’s Media Thoughts Substack. If you want to follow it, I’m not trying to make money off that thing, so just take.

You have to offer a paid option, click on the free option. I’m not going to put anything behind the paywall anytime in the near future. It is mcdeepod dot substack dot com. The link is in the show notes. If you need something to watch today, on the eight hundred pound Gorillaz YouTube channel at seven pm Central eight Eastern, it’s David Cross Worst Daddy in the World.

That’s pretty cool. I would watch that, except it’s eighties trivia Night. The trivia guys over at the Brewery in Morristown. It’s eighties trivia night. I cannot wait for this.

I better win tonight. This is it, this is in my wheelhouse. If I don’t promise, I don’t know movies, and I gotta hope my friend Van comes. He knows movies. I better.

I better at least win a T shirt. I mean, it’s eighties trivia night. I can’t wait. So I won’t be watching David Crossworst Daddy in the World on the eight hundred Pound Gorilla YouTube channel tonight, but maybe tomorrow if you’re up late. Taylor Thompson has Fortune Feamster May Martin and tig Nataro as her guest.

That’s pretty good if you need something to listen to. Al Madrigal and Jay Larson have their new podcast, The Dust Up, out today. Netflix has announced Steve Travino will have a new special it’s called A Simple Man, that’ll be out March twelfth. A Simple Man see Steve Travino tell us what it’s like living with a Type A Virgo wife, squabbling over containers and pizza parties. He also shares nostalgic tales of his dad’s broken down truck one an unlikely love story two.

In comedy rule of three and how to face the challenges of raising spoiled kids. Today, every pres lease does the one two three as a husband, father, and son. Steve is just doing the best he can as a simple man. So many of the comments one time, like two years ago, got so mad when I point out the comedy rule of three. So I didn’t do it for like two years, but it’s back.

I’m doing it. Congratulations, Eliza Slessinger, you and husband Noah have welcomed a second baby. Ethan arrived weighing seven pounds thirteen ounces. Eliza told People Magazine. I picked Ethan partly because it means strong in Hebrew, and because Ethan’s are usually pretty good looking.

And that is your comedy news for today. I had more, but I felt like I got out on a funny note there, So always leave them wanning more. Do you want more? Well, if you want more, I’ll be back tomorrow. If you don’t already follow the podcast, hit that follow button there.

It’s like a plus if you’re on the Apple podcast app, push that. I’m here seven days a week. See you tomorrow.

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Full Transcript

Caloroga Shark Media. Hello, I’m Johnny Mack with your Daily Comedy News. A lot of Shane Gillis reactions, but first let me tell you about a Seattle comedy club that canceled four stand up comedians. They are Dave Smith, Lewis, J Gomez, Jim Florentine, and Kurt Metzger. They were canceled after angry community activists complained.

According to the comedians involved, these shows were at the Capitol Hill Comedy Bar, and the version that we’re being told is that left wing community actives and progressive comics were offended. The comedians say they received an email from the club co owner, who’s also a stand up comics, saying the gigs had to be canceled. The decision came after discussions with our team, investors’, local comedians, and neighborhood advocacy groups. An email posted by Jim Florentine and Kurt Metzger says Capitol Hill is known for its progressive values, and we received significant feedback expressing concerns about the alignment of these upcoming shows with the neighborhood’s eth This feedback includes concerns from local advocacy groups that are deeply embedded for our community and work towards upholding its values. The goal is to avoid any potential negative impact on both our club and the artists involved, as well as to maintain the harmony without our community.

Gomez on his podcast said, are they idiots for booking us?

And then on booking us?

Yes, it’s a dumb move. Is my former agent an idiot for booking me at a superwoke progressive venue like that? The entire lineup was like blue haired freaks. That’s what happens when comics don’t have anything going on, they look for drama. So the owner found drama within the comedy space there, and she was like, all right, I think they’re great, but I don’t need to make it a thing.

According to a report from Kiing five, the Capitol Hill Comedy Bar makes comics adhere to the Code of Conduct, which outlines expectations for respectful behavior and language, helping to create a welcoming space for both comics and guests. Podcaster Joshua Smith said, who needs comedy when Seattle is already a joke? Okay? Comedian Toby Turner tweeted the community bought tickets the people sabotaging. It aren’t really the community.

What’s going on over there? Fox News’ is tyrus said friendly advice book and another venue close to the town. Sell it out and kill it in three months. When they tell you it’s all good to come back, send them the same email. Juno Mann is a local comic and show producer who works with the club and hosts Funny Queer Asians.

She said, I have loved working with this club and a more resolute and doing so given their decision to prioritize the safety and inclusiveness of the local community. So I see an article from last May from a King of five Comedy born now open in Seattle’s Capitol Hill neighborhood. According to that article, Capitol Hill Comedy Bar is dedicated to supporting the art and craft of stand up comedy with integrity and professionalism. The staff believes that creating a safe, accessible, and respectful environment is of utmost importance. The goal is to provide a harassment free environment regardless of gender, sexual orientation, disability, physical appearance, body type of race.

All comics performing on stage must either adhere to the Code of Conduct, which outlines expectations for respectful behavior and language, helping to create a self and welcoming space for comics and guests. So you know, I can both sides this one. If the club wants to have a certain vibe and style and expectation, sure go ahead. But why book these guys? These guys are known, they do a festival called skank Fest.

I mean, did nobody do homework? How did they get booked? A lot of Shane Gillis’s reaction as expected. I on Sunday Night watched the entire episode as opposed to just watching the individual clips. I thought it was an above average episode for the last two years of Saturday Night Live.

It didn’t hit the heights of say the Nate Berghatsy episode, but they’ve been far worse. The Io Atabury episode was also pretty good. She was great. So I’ll continue to say what I’ve been saying. I find Shane funny, I find him charismatic.

I also think some of the points that I talked about during one of last week’s podcasts about some of the guests he’s had on the podcast, so those are worrisome. Vox writes. When Shane Gillis tells you who he is, believe him in that article, they write. Shane Gillis is a thirty six year old guy from Pennsylvania who was chasing a fledgling stand up career when he began making inroad in twenty sixteen through the medium of comedy podcasting. This included a stint hosting a show called a Fair One for Compound Media, a podcast network created by Anthony Kumia, a notoriously offensive shock jock known for his own racist comments.

Yeah that’s Anthony of Opian Anthony. Some of his comments are so controversial. When I teach my college class on the fall, I spend two and a half weeks just talking about Opian Anthony. And these are now twenty year old incidents. Aunt plays on the side of the street that I don’t want to play on.

I was actually asked to run the Opian Anthony channel and I declined, and it probably didn’t help my career at the old place, but I just didn’t want to deal with any of that. I don’t know if I’ve ever spoken to Anthony. I know Opia a little bit and fed ob to be a good guy, Fox writes. Compound Media also hosted Gavin Mcinness, the white nationalist who rallied other members of the network together to form the Proud Boys, the extremist group that played a major role in both the twenty seventeen Charlottesville Unite the Right rally and the January sixth insurrection. Doesn’t want to deal with any of that.

Compound Media was the platform on which Gillis dropped the racist slurs that ultimately got him dropped from SNL, but it wasn’t the only medium in which he aired his views and his independent comedy work. In other projects, he was not shy about voicing repugnant views, as one Philadelphia comedy club noted in twenty nineteen and a sense deleted tweet, we like many were very quickly disgusted by Shane Gillis’s over racism, sexism, homophobian transphobia, expressed both on off stage. Upon working with him years ago, Gillis’s fans, including more liberal comedians like Gerrod Carmichael, seemed to believe that, rather in being actually racist, Gillis is consciously cultivating his offensiveness purely for the purposes of his comedy work. Vox writes this view as as old as comedy itself, but in the current cultural era, it’s evolved into what nprs Eric Deakins is called bigotry denial syndrome. The thinking goes that a comedic project has a certain level of importance and purpose, the level of which should completely negate any suspicion that the comedian truly believes what they’re performing, let alone that they deserve consequences for the offensive material.

In Gillis’s case, it seems more accurate to say that he’s not performing ironic racism at all. He’s coasting on other people’s good faith belief that he must be acting totally ingest. In a twenty sixteen interview with Gillis, he claimed to be running experiments on his audience. He said, it’s funny what people will laugh at compared to what they’re so eager to prove that they’re not laughing at. The conclusion we’re left with is with all that panic, as it so often does whenever someone is supposedly canceled, has subsided, likely to have dissipated.

In the wake of Gillis’s continued success, Vulture put forth two reasons for hosting the gig, and the timing, one that perhaps Michaels is trying to remain a political during an election year and wants to do that by opening up a platform for comics who appeal to the right. And two that Lorne Michaels lives for the drama Pointer had a good note and they had me wondering what Dave Chappelle might have done, how Dave Chappelle might have addressed his own controversy point right, So I saw Gillis’s monologue as an opportunity badly missed and what might be his only churn. Ever, his host, Gillis would have smartly addressed his past controversy as well of his style of comedy. By the way, if you haven’t heard the monologue, I played clips from it on Monday’s podcast. Shane could have explained his point of view.

He could have given his critics something to consider instead of letting them assume as comedy goes to the lowest common denominator. If Gillis is talented enough to actually have once been hired as an sl cast member, and funny enough to still end up being a host after being fired, shouldn’t he be clever enough to come up with a monologue that weaves together as comedy and commentary about his comedy that is an excellent point by pointer. Gillis took the safe way out and delivered a moment, then a real no impact, A hollow reporter writes. Fortunately for Shane Gillis, the SNL writers know how to deploy a Gillis type, and he amiably played average white joes and most of his sketches, including a contestant on the floor desperately trying to convince others that he actually can identify famous black people. And as Forrest Gump’s former bully who peaked in high school, I thought both sketches were good.

Gillis played an Ohio Catholic dad who drags his family to church quifacationing in Jamaica. He catches the spirit. The whole sketch ends with a literal crossing of the aisle as the white source family and jams alongside the Jamaican congregation. I also thought that was a funny sketch. Vulture wrote, Shane Gillis got away with it, though we sometimes comes off as if barstool sports were a person not bad.

What Gillis does best in his comedy is translate red state values and interest for a slightly broader audience. In his SNL monologue, though he does the opposite, explaining at one point in the least defensive way that you can muster what a dude himself thinks gay men are like. It’s just filled without data cliches that have no business in an era of this show that tends to assume viewer familiarity with the modern landscape of sexuality and gender, and, considering that his firing was partly due to homophobic content, performing this bit in the setting seems particularly unwise. It did not go over well, especially with the house band so many articles about the young and guitarist. She’s probably getting a lot more attention on than she wants.

The Guardian says, what’s ironic about all this is how Gillis’s actual comedy doesn’t gell with either a narrative. Certainly, his persona is that of a meat headed conservative bro, but his material for his edge, Lordy as it can be, more often than not ridicules that demographic and with four sharper accuracy than ostensibly left leaning comedy, including an especially snl. Anyone who’s seen his recent Netflix special Beautiful Dogs and as being Honest with Themselves recognizes his talent, even as his web series Gillian Keeve suggests he’s a mediocre sketch commedian in at best. For as much he did online discourse as Gillis hosting BEGAT over the past couple weeks, it’s hard to imagine anyone feeling strongly about this episode one way or another. Gillis didn’t exactly make a case himself as any great missed opportunity, let alone the iconoclast as most ardent fans were expecting.

In fact, writes The Guardian, his reluctance to address this firing made him look soft, especially when you compare it to the nineteen ninety nine episode that Norm MacDonald hosted one year after his determination. But then, Gillis is no Norm. The Guardian marked the thirtieth anniversary of the death of Bill Hicks. This by Brian Logan, who wrote five years ago, I spoke about Bill hicks legacy with comics who weren’t even born when he applied his trade, and was startled to discover and how low regard they held his work. Of course, I knew some of his material was out of step with the times, but the extent to which the entire manner, the whole Bill Hicks way of being as an outlaw, comic, of teller of truth or power, and a man splainer now for many things A thing hideous to behold that caught me by surprise.

I have always found within the industry Bill Hicks to be revered. Brian Logan Rights, I push back against it a bit. I still would now, but revisiting Hicks material thirty years since he died, I see more clearly what they meant if you’re not familiar with Bill Hicks. Basically, Dennis Leary lifted Bill hicks entire persona, so that might be a way to shorthand it. But do yourself a favor and look up Bill Hicks on YouTube.

This reminds me of back at Serious before the merger, Comedy Intern number five loaded some albums by Bill Hicks, except there’s another artist named Bill Hicks who did like smooth jazz guitar albums. So I’m listening to my channel one day and there’s like Bill Hicks guitar on and I’m like, did you not listen to the clip? Stupid intern intern did not get a job at the end of the semester. Logan Rights, I suppose that my taste and standards like anyone else’s can’t help but be shaped by the changing world around me. And with each passing half decade, I get a bit more distance from the teen comedy fan that held Hicks to be just about as good as comedy gets more of that tomorrow, getting a little long here.

Donnell Rawlings has a new special out today. It is called Donnel Rollings A New Day. Actually it’s called Chappelle’s Home Team, Donnell Rollings a New Day. You’ll find this on Netflix. Dressed in a blue suit, red sox and lotion ankles, Donelle’s here to discuss toxic relationships, traveling in New Zealand, aging cope, parenting, and much more.

Kind of weird, right that Donell had all those controversies last week and was shouting to Corey Holcomb and just a week later he’s got a new special on Netflix. Weird. A correction on yesterday’s podcast, I teld you tig Nataro’s special is out. No, yesterday was February twenty sixth. Tig Nataro’s special is out on March twenty sixth.

Sorry if I ruined your Monday night. Amy Schumer has revealed she has been diagnosed with Cushing’s syndrome, a relatively rare hormonal disorder that can change a person’s facial appearance and cause weight gain. She spoke with the newsletter News Not Noise. Amy said there are a few types of cushing, some that can be fatal require brain surgery or removal of adrenal glands. While I was doing press on camera for my Hulu show, I was also in MRI machines four hours at a time, having my veins shut down from the amount of blood drawn, and thinking I might not be around to see my son grow up.

So finding out how this kind of cushing that will just work itself out and I’m healthy was the greatest news imaginable. It’s been a crazy couple weeks for me and my family. Aside from fears about my health, I also had to be on camera having the Internet chime in. But thank God for that, because that’s how I realized something was wrong, just like when I had realized I’d named my son something that didn’t sound so good. The Internet is undefeated, as they say.

The only thing I’d like to add is that this is a good example of the fact that we never know what’s going on with someone. Everyone is struggling with something. Maybe we can all be a little kinder to each other and ourselves. Late Night with Seth Myers turned ten years old over the weekend. Seth said it’s took about six months for the show to find itself.

He think a big change is when he stopped doing an opening monologue and just sat at the desk. He jokes, once people stop seeing my legs, we turned a corner. Another change, he said, it seems so silly to wear a suit with no audience during the pandemic, so I was in casual. Then when the audience came back, I just felt more in my own skin. Dressing more like myself allows me to be more like myself.

I don’t know if it’s permanent, but it’s a nice feeling. The other day I put on a suit for something else and I was like, ugh, I don’t ever want to feel that way. Will he still be doing this job in ten years? Sas says, I don’t know. I’ve tried my career to never think that forehead.

I’d like to do it for a few more years. I can’t imagine anything being more enjoyable than that. I’m coming up on twenty five years at thirty rock, and I’m pretty sure I’ll get a watch or maybe a nice pin tell you this. If I don’t make it at twenty five, there should be an investigation because that means they just don’t want to spend watch money. Conflicting reports.

Donald Glover suggested that the community film script was done, but Dan Harmon, who would know because he’s writing it, tells Variety it’s almost done. Dan says, what can I tell you about it? Set on the campus of Greendale Community College. I’m super excited about it and we’re almost done. And that is your comedy news for today.

If you enjoy the program, let’s tell more people about it. Share it on social media, or tell your friend at the bar at trivia and I’d be like, Hey, I was listening to this podcast and this guy’s not that annoying. You should check it out. Something like that. Much appreciated.

See tomorrow

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Full Transcript

Caloroga Shark Media. Hey, I am Johnny Mack with your Daily Comedy News. Funny joke from Kermit Appiois on Twitter, who wrote, be careful when you order your Trump sneakers. It says they weigh two pounds, but they actually weigh twenty eight pounds.

Also, they have no soul.

Hey, I know not everybody listens to the weekend episodes. Saturdays in particular was very strong. If you missed that one, I highly recommend you downloads Saturday. Shane Gillis hosted Saturday Night Live, mixed reviews. I thought it was pretty good.

I seem to be unpopular of that opinion. Before I get to the monologue, since I talked about Trump sneakers, let’s start with a sketch about Trump sneakers. The setup here is that Shane is portraying a regular guy who’s bad at basketball and stuff, and then he gets some Trump sneakers good at basketball. No, they give me the power to say I’m good at basketball, and they double down on that until people actually start to believe it. No gets whatever he wants, mister Mitchell.

Everybody’s saying, I should have your office because my cubicle is a disaster right now? What can I have a minute to gather my things? Bye bye? He gets whoever he wants. Wow, that was the most fantastic love making you’ve ever had.

How really it only lasted two hours? That was a two hour love session. You had a big O in They’re a very big O. But I did no want to go again. I’d love to, but you’re too tired, all right, So you get the joke there.

Later in the sketch, James Austin Johnson shows up as I guess actual Trump, and we get my predicted to dueling Trumps. You know, in many ways, the real magic has been inside of you all along. Wrong it comes from the shoes, and you’re coming off as very stupid and frankly quite rude walking in here like this. My work here is done in terms of basketball movie pastiche, and with regard to shoes, I think we’ve done wonderful. White Man, Kim Trump.

Oh, ask for the monologue. I’m going to make some trims here to tighten up crowd and pacing and stuff. But let’s listen to Shane Gillis, Ladies and gentlemen, Shame Giles, thank you, thank you very much, it’s yeah, I’m here. Most of you probably have no idea who I am. I was, actually I was fired from this show a while ago.

But if you know, don’t look that up. Please. If you don’t know who I am, please don’t google that. It’s fine, don’t even worry about it. I don’t know this is I probably shouldn’t be up here.

Honestly, I should be home. I should be I should be a high school football coach. That’s what I should be, Like, God molded me perfectly to be a high school football coach slash ninth grade sex education teacher. Now, if you watch his body language, he’s just shucking jokes. It’s the same thing I said about a special He’s just like, hey, I’m a big goofy guy, and these are just jokes.

And I think people are taking this way too seriously. About two and a half minutes into the monologue, we get our first controversy. He said a word ended upset people. My mom asked me, She’s like, when did we stop being best friends? And she’s right, we used to be best friend.

Do you remember that when you were a little boy and you like, you loved your mom and you thought she was a cool. You remember when you were gay? Do you remember when you were just a gay little boy? Every little boy is just their mom’s gay best friend. There’s literally a zero difference.

I was gay for my mom. She would pick me up from school. I’d hop in the van. I’d be like, girl, tell me about your day. I thought she was cool.

I would listen to her music. I’d be like, bam bam, badam, bam bam bam, let’s go girls. I would dance for her. She’d be like, look at my little dance. He heard about the for minute ten second mark, he goes into if you’ve seen his specials, some familiar downs at syndrome material.

He gets criticized over this material a lot. And maybe I’m just a jerk face. This does not sound hateful to me. I don’t know if you guys, if you can tell by looking at me, but I do have family members with down syndrome. It almost got me.

Hu I dodged it, but it nicked me. It nits me. It’s funny it Look, I don’t have any material that can be on TV. All right, I’ll try my best.

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Also, this place is extremely well lit.

I can see everyone not enjoying it. This is uh yeah, just the most nervous I’ve ever bet. Don’t clap now, shut up. No, I talked about I brought up down Center. You got you can always tell who’s never been around down center when you bring it up, Like if I to help people, if I’m like, yeah, I have family members with down syndrome, people that have never been around it are always like, oh, Like it’s like it’s the end of the world, Like, oh, are they okay?

Are they doing it? It’s like they’re doing better than everybody I know. They’re the only ones having a good time pretty consistently. They’re not worried about the election. They’re having a good time.

Later in that routine, he does use the R word as the tag and a long story, but again in context, it just doesn’t sound hateful. Colleider wrote, the Shane Gillis episode of Saturday Night Live was rough to watch. Picking out the best sketches of the night was a lot harder than you’d think, and it was because none of them were particularly great. Well, that’s been true for two plus years, guys. I’m not sure we should blame Shane for that.

Perhaps the writers, at every turn, every sketch It’s something that was just insulting to people for no reason. From a sketch about a sex doll mocking people with amblyopia to a frankly distasteful Forrest Gump sketch, the episode left audience is wondering, who is this for? People who like to laugh at sketch comedy shows, That’s who it’s for. An episode the felt I was never going to end. Gillis’s grand debut on the stage of Studio eight h was beyond painful to watch.

What’s the worst possible to way to remake Like Mike in twenty twenty four by using that same premise but applying it to Donald Trump’s nearly four hundred dollar sneakers that are bright red, blue, and gold. The idea is that Gillis is playing a man. There’s really bad a basketball I’m talking to anyone. When he wears just Trump shoes, he can suddenly convince everyone lady’s good at this stuff. Yeah, pretty funny.

Did he miss the shot? No, he didn’t. He thought he did, but he didn’t. He totally made it up. Yeah, it was a funny.

Sketcher just played it. The Daily Beast wroach She and Gillis bombs on SNL with dawn syndrome and gay jokes. So does this monologue have the same victory lap vibes of Norm McDonald’s nineteen ninety nine monologue after he was fired. Not quite, because it doesn’t seem like there was any real beef between Gillis and the people running the show. Perhaps, if the criticism hadn’t kept growing as it did, Lauren Michaels would have kept Gillis on regardless of whatever racist or homophobic thing had said in the past.

This is the same guy who let Donald Trump post in twenty fifteen, after all, despite the casts of discomfort. But my favorite take of the night is from Franktouris dot org. Have you noticed the young lady guitarist in the band? You have to watch her reactions. It’s fascinating, and Frank Taurus writes, the Saturday Night Love Band is in a very tough spot.

During each new episode of the show. They have to play on the superstar hosts and keep a poker face during their entire monologue. The spotlight landed on guitarist Maddie Rice. While Rice makes several faces during the monologue, the one that social media ran with was the one where she appeared annoyed Gillis’s remarks, which she upset was she trying to hold a poker face? Only she knows the answer to that.

The rest of the band was more relaxed if you smiled and softly chuckled saxophonist Lenny Pickett, who’s usually the thermometer during these show openings. So it’s mostly neutral with an occasional smile and polight applause for Gillis’s dad. Oh and forever It’s worth everybody. At the end of the show, in the credits, Bowen Yang hugged Shane Gillis. I’m sure we’ll talk more about this tomorrow.

The Daily Beast caught up with Rory Skolvell again. If you missed Saturday’s pot podcast. I played a clip from Rory’s special Are people edding laughter or do comedy specials? Not saying Rory did, but is that a thing that happens in the industry. Listen to Saturday’s episode from The Daily Beast, Rory says, I don’t appreciate a band that just kind of always puts out the same album, even if they’re putting out an album.

Then I don’t end up liking I always appreciate that at least they try to do something slightly different than what they’ve done before. In terms of comedy, he says he has no interest in seeing any hour from someone who hasn’t learned anything, or hasn’t grown or revolved or changed in any way. Chappelle, Sorry, I keep coughing during the recordings, and you know, apologize for that. Who knows, at the end of the day, you probably end up losing some people. He’s been getting a little more political, and he says, who knows, at the end of the day, you probably end up losing some people because they just can’t stand jokes about politics, despite the fact that they’d spend their free time in a rally.

But I think at some point you kind of get pushed to the point where you want to speak out and say what you really think, and if you could turn it into something that entertains people or gets them a laugh, or who knows, maybe open their eyes a little bit to other people’s situations. He jokes about his Carlin phaze and says, but then I walked away from that being like, you know, the Corlin thing is kind of interesting, not you want to go. I’m gonna try to be Carlin. I don’t want to do that, but he does want to see what his version of the political rant with a message would look like. Tak Nataro has a new special out today.

It is called Hello Again on Amazon Prime Video. I teach a college class on Monday nights, so you’re gonna have to give me a couple of days to get around to watching that. One. Tig finds humor in situations ranging from the every day to the bizarre, crafting comedy out of hallucinatory text messages, a botch of meeting with a Hollywood heavyweight, and comedy Rule of three, a late nine encounter with a mustache fireman who has her questioning everything. Amy Schumer and Will Forte have signed on for a new Netflix comedy movie, kind of Pregnant.

Now just there. I see Netflix movie and I’m like, uh ceandlier, here we go again. Well wait for the twist. John. The synopsis is jealous of her best friend’s pregnancy, Laney wears a fake baby bump and accidentally meets the man of her dreams.

Guess who produces this? That’s right, Amy Schumer and say with me Adam Sandler, Oh Good, and Amy Schumer. Adam Sandler produced Thing on Netflix. Looking forward to That Little Dicky Dave Bird was on the Hot Ones podcast and he said, I’m not gonna name names, but there are several instances where episodes have been written about a particular celebrity. Oftentimes it ends up being a rapper and they don’t show up on the day, and then I immediately have to totally reimagine and rewrite the scene on the spot, call someone else and hope someone else is in town.

I’ve had to bring twenty thousand dollars in a backpack for whoever shows up that day.

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And then I left the backpack at catering at lunch and then I was like shootin…

I’m like, oh my god, twenty thousand dollars and I spread it to go get my backpack. It was still there, and then an artist came and actually didn’t even charge anything. Anyway. It’s always very stressful. It’s much easier as time gets on.

In season one, I’m like, trust me. Season three, I’m like, Brad Pitt, I know you’ve seen it gets easier as time goes on the show. Unfortunately, he’s on a hiatus so Bird can focus on his music. Hopefully that show comes back.

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Also a comedian who’s any music is Phil Wang, who you were picturing naked in…

I know you were, and you’re doing it right now too, Phil Wang, naked in the shower. You’re thinking about it. He does chortle. That’s really me singing in Wonka. Here’s a little behind the scenes bragging.

I was told by someone on Wanka that, you know, sometimes in movies they have to correct a singer if they’re not a professional singer in post production, and they didn’t have to correct me at all. I hit all the notes, all five notes I was given. I hit them spot on Dusty Slay, speaking to al as in Alabama dot Com, al dot Com said, I was trying to be a Southern comic. Look at me, I’m real Southern, right. I was wearing overalls and no shoes to perform and it wasn’t going very well.

So I quit doing stand up comedy.

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And then in two thousand and eight my friend invited me to do a show and he w…

So we write this bit about the letters of the alphabet. I go out and do this bit and it’s on YouTube and on my album Making That Fudge, But I do it in front of an audience people, in front of a bunch of comedians that never heard of me, and I crushed every show. Wasn’t like that. I wasn’t crushing every but that hooked me. I was like, I can’t wait to get back up there and do it again.

Jim Norton spoke to I ninety five Rock about audiences. Rock was interested. Our audience is different now. Now I’ve worked with Jim Norton quite a lot. He is on stage persona and his real life personality are different.

When you’re hanging out with Jim Norton in real life, he’s very thoughtful and not talking about hookers in Vegas all day. So when I read this quote, picture a very insightful Jim Norton probably saying this, soft spoken Jim said. It’s been happening a lot longer than just two years. It’s not just comedy so that everybody’s attacking everybody. Everyone’s using everyone else to pretend to be angry so they can get a little attention for themselves.

There’s been a decent amount of pushback on it. But I think the difference now is that everybody in the audience is performing as well. It’s like you have a guy in stage and the people in the audience are performing pretending they’re upset, or going on social media pretending they’re upset. It died down a little bit, but that’s the reason for it. Everybody’s their own corporation now, so people are trying to get some credibility by acting like I’m upset publicly, will people come and give me some attention.

Everybody’s got a voice, which is fine. Everybody wants to let everyone else know how hurt they are. It’s not just comedy, it’s kind of everywhere being affected by it. If you enjoy what I do here, you can go to buy me a coffee. Dot com slash Daily Comedy News.

I will take your money. And it’s Monday, so and I teach on Monday nights. Usually what I do is I drive past the own chain, I go to that smoothie place and I’ll get a buffalo rap and a beach bum. I think it’s called beach bum. I don’t know.

It’s like I told people it was raspberry, but I looked it up. Apparently it’s strawberry with some dark chocolate in it. Very good. So I get a buffalo rap in one of those. I eat that before class, so that’s like lunch dinner on Mondays.

Buy me a coffee. Dot com slash Daily Comedy News. I’ve mentioned this before. Israel Hamas is a very touchy subject and a lot there to not laugh about. But I also feel that comedy should discuss important issues and I don’t want to ignore the topic, but when the topic comes up, I tend to put it in the second half.

If you listen every day, you kind of feel there’s the first half of the podcast before the commercial break is usually headlines and hits, and then I go a little deeper in the second half. This from The Guardian and they interviewed bossom Yusef, who I just find fascinating, like a really really interesting guy, and they’re right. Usef opens a show with a disclaimer to the audience members who know him as the Egyptian John Stewart. Usef says, I know some of you used to be performing in Arabic, but the show will be in English, the language of the Infidels in the show frequently refers to Joe Biden as genocide Joe. By the way, for those of you keeping score at home, that the guide Pylon Trump all the time, please note I’m doing this story right now frequently refers to Joe Biden as genocide Joe, but he never directly mentions the Israel Gaza war, which birthed the nickname.

He tells The Guardian that’s a deliberate choice. Usef says, I don’t want to be capitalizing on this right now as it’s happening. It’s not the story I want to tell. I wanted to tell my story. He says he was surprised to be put on a pedestal after his appearance with Piers Morgan.

When people say thank you for speaking up, thank you for being our voice. That’s a trigger sentence for me. I’m a human being and I have limitations. I can’t be someone who’s the face of that much of a cause. I do what I can, but sometimes it’ll be beyond my ability.

If you’ve never seen the thirty minute clip of Bassom with Piers Morgan, it is amazing. Here is the opening buckle up. The Guardian called it a roller coaster ride, and I agree. But here listen. I want his words to speak for themselves, because the how how are they’re doing?

But you know, we’re used to that. I mean, it’s just like it’s it’s it’s very repetitive. We’re used to that. We used to them being bombed every time and moving from one place to the other. You know, it’s just like those Plastinians.

They’re very dramatic, ah Israel killing us, but they never die. I mean they always come back. You know. They’re very difficult to kill, very difficult people to kill. I know because I’m married to one.

I tried many times, couldn’t kill her. I mean there’s a dark humor there, and I under time why because oh it’s not dark human I really I try to get to her every time, but she uses our kids as human shields. I can never take her out. Right. So he’s doing this wonderful mix of very pointed political observation with jokes in the middle.

You could see peers like the joke is funny, but you know, do you want to laughter in the subject? And I just think this is comedy at its best because he’s using humor to make wonderful, wonderful points. He said, he turned down Peers Morgan invitation twice before giving in the third time, he said, it’s the contradictory expectation of his dual audience. If I was too much, I could lose my career here in the US. It was not enough, I lose my career in the Arab world.

I was going in knowing it was a lose lose situation. So why do it? I don’t know. Until now, I don’t have a clear answer. And I’ll follow that up with this comedian Matt Rife inducted into the Mahegan Sons Walk of Fame.

Wow, what an honor. Congratulations to Matt Rife, twenty eight years old and already in the Mohegan Sons Walk of Fame. Who else is in the Hall of Fame? John Well, Taylor Swift, Earth Wind and Fire, and Rascal Flats. He’s the forty first inductee into the Mahegan Sons Arena Walk of Fame.

Now I’m curious. Now I’m looking it up and I can’t find the fullest. Some other names Chris Rock, Toby Keith, New Kids on the Block, bon Jovi, and Matt Rife. I’m bad. That’s your comedy news for today.

See you tomorrow,

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Full Transcript

Caloroga Shark Media. When is the NFL back? What am I supposed to do all day? Hi? I’m Johnny Mack with your Daily Comedy News.

I will talk about Chin Gillis on tomorrow’s episode. Ricky Gervas tweeted worst ad Ever and shared this, which I found funny. Hi. I’m Ricky Gervaias, and this is Dutch Bond Vodka. It’s a beautifully crafted premium spirit.

It tastes great and it’s friendly to the environment. It’s known as the posh one in the brown bottle. But if you can’t afford it, just get smart enough get that for fifteen quid. In some places it does the trick.

Meanwhile, Jim gaff again via the NWI Times, Jim did an add of character post…

Jim tweeted, I grew up ten minutes from Valpariso, in the home of Orville Popcorn. I was thrilled when a friend sent me this limited edition popcorn bourbon by Journeyman Distillery. No, it doesn’t taste like popcorn. Or movie theater butter. It’s made with popcorn.

It’s awesome and reminds me of northwestern Indiana. The bourbon is only available in Valpo, but Journeyman Distillery has a bunch of stuff you should check out. I don’t know if that was paid or just enthusiasm. Who knows. Jimmy Kimmel dropping some hints that he might be near the end of his talk show Ronney, he caught up with The La Times.

Jimmy will host the Academy Awards on March tenth. It’ll be his fourth time. The first time he hosted was remember when they messed up the Best Picture Award. Kim Will said, I didn’t think I’d ever hosted again. I did two of them and they went well, and something crazy happened at one of them, with a story I’ll have for the rest of my life.

I how much work goes in of them, so I thought, yeah, I don’t necessarily want to do this ever again. What changed his mind, according to The La Times, was Top Gun Maverick. Kim Will said, I knew there was a movie that people had seen and just makes the job easier than this year. I’m sitting at a movie theater watching Barby and thinking, well, maybe I’ll do it this year, because at least I have a point of reference with everyone. Kimmel has experienced enough to know that the more popular the nominated films are, the more the audience gets the references to a movie’s plot and his monologue, Kimmel said, I made a joke about Moonlight that made it clear to me that the vast majority of the room had not seen the movie even though it won Best Picture.

Only three people have hosted more times. Can’t you name them? They are Bob Hope nineteen times, Billy Crystal nine, and Johnny Carson five. During the summer, when he was on the Strike Force five podcast, he mentioned he was considering ending Jimmy Kimme Alive, but it was the strike that made him realize how much he still enjoyed it. He said, it’s hard to yearn for it when you’re doing it.

Wednesday night, I was very tired, and I had these scripts to go through. I had to revise and rewrite all these pitch ideas for the oscars, and I was literally nodding off into my computer. In those moments, I think I can’t wait till my contract is over. But then I take the summer off, or I go and strike, and you start going, yeah, I missed the fun stuff. However, I think this is my final contract.

I hate to even say it because everyone’s laughing at me now. Each time I think that, then it turns out to not be the case. I still have a little more than two years left on my contract. That seems pretty good. That seems like enough.

I would imagine ABC would give that slot back to the affiliates. Right, are you going to start another fresh late night show? I think those days have passed. We’ll see. The Montecito News asked Brian Reagan.

As many people who asked Brian Reagan about Working Clean, Brian said, when it first started, I wasn’t completely clean, had some stuff in my act that would shock people today, but it was a small percentage. I enjoy the challenge of seeing how hard and get people laughing without hitting those four letter words or buzz topics. But it’s not a mission statement. I’m not riding around on a white horse with a banner that says, follow me to the land of clean. Dirty is fantastic as long as it’s truthful and real and organic.

But that’s not me. Does he swear in real life? He says, hang around one of my golf foursomes and you’ll hear some pretty rough language, probably after my very first t shot. Was he always funny? The answer is definitely no.

In fact, I can be amazingly unfunny if you hang around me long enough. I’m not mister cut up. It’s mostly nose to the grindstone. I hope this doesn’t sound lazy, but it doesn’t work well for me to sit down and try to come up with material. It’s not how my brain works.

I just do what I’d normally be doing, and every once in a while I’ll see her experience something in a different way, and I want it might have some legs out stage. That’s the writing process. Rolling Stone spoke to Ramy Yousef. He says his early stand up back was basic stuff. I talked about dating a lot.

I remember doing one set at a bar. I was like, I’ve been fasting for raman On. I do it because I actually believe in it, and then there was silence, and then I thought, oh, that’s interesting. It was a type of silence where I was like, did I just say something edgy?

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And then I thought, Oh, yeah, this is what I’ve been trying to get at.

I was like, oh wait, everyone’s engaged. It’s not like they’re rejecting it. They’re actually really curious as to what I’m going to say next. In that moment, I didn’t have that part. But then I said, oh, that’s my job.

How do I step into that because that’s actually what I’m chasing. My first filter was if this doesn’t get a laugh, you still have dignity. He started working a bit about how the hardest part of being a Muslim is that you go to the mosque on Fridays before the weekend, whereas Christians don’t have to go to church until Sundays. His joke, I’ll be at the mosque being like, I don’t know what I’m doing tonight. It’s such a worse position.

After pre apologize, it feels so much nicer to do it and then say sorry. As the routine began to connect with the audience, he felt emboldened, saying, because this is fully me, but it’s also in the reference of the culture I’m surrounded by.

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And then I started writing it in those pockets interesting anecdote here from…

He did a set on Stephen Colbert in twenty seventeen and a couple of stage performances before that, he’d closed his act by saying, I’m not trying to be preaching, and really not. All I’m trying to say is just submit to Islam because it’s the truth and it’s the only way you’ll be saved. Seriously, both times it got huge laughs, but Yusef says the Late Show producers was so nervous about the joke that they told him if you fight us on this, we’re not gonna let you do the set. He pushed for a compromise. He would close with submit to Islam, and if they still felt uncomfortable, they could edit it out of the aired version.

Instead, it killed, and the final version of the segment ended with a cut to Colbert beaming with delight as he sent the show to commercial. Wow, that’s a great story. Hey, if you need something to do today, say there’s no football at one pm Central time, you could do the math there. Tom Cashman’s Pests premieres on the eight hundred Pound grill Is YouTube channel at one Central. Congratulations to Macpacker Henry Winkler if you’re new to the podcast.

The macpack is my fantasy the celebrities I would hang out with if I were also famous. So it’s it’s Michael Chickliss, Henry Winkler, Andy Samberg, Jeff Goldbloom, Tom Cavanaugh. I forget there’s like a holist, but I would hang out with these people. I got to meet Winkler once, and I know he’s heard this so many times, but I was just like, oh my god, seven year old me would just totally be losing it. Now, what a nice guy.

Mack Packer. Henry Winkler will receive US’s prestigious Oakie Award for Exceptional Achievements in Film and TV Comedy. The award presentation takes place Tuesday, March fifth, at seven. It’ll include an in depth conversation with Henry Winkler, moderated by Bill Hayter. The La Times profiled Jeff Dunham, who combined puppets with Johnny Carson’s approach to comedy, and it paid off big.

In nineteen seventy, Jeff Dunham was given a dummy a gift from his parents. Twenty years later, he made his first appearance along with Peanut, on The Tonight Show. The Ali Time says, you took ventriloquism to the highest level humanly possible and made it cool, not that it was uncool. You get it. Jeff says, oh, I get it.

This is how I know for sure that we’re living in a simulation. Some dad out there and the kids going, hey, Dan, watch this, and the dad goes a really famous ventriloquist. Now that would never happen. Not sure if you know this, but in the vaudeville days, the ventriloquist was the act they shoved on stage when the curtain came down to keep the audience entertained. Why they reset the stage for the real act.

The time said, you used to be one of the few comics selling out arenas, and now there’s an amazing comedy boom. Do you feel like you should get a finder’s fee? Then I’m said, it’s pretty great. What’s going on. The one thing that’s said about being a headliner is you hardly get to interact with other big headliners to share stories and talk about how long a second what it took to get to the top.

It’s also interesting to me is what comes along with social media and being able to put yourself out there instantly if I had a choice to come up now or when I did, I’d choose then just seems crazy difficult now with all the social rules and what you can and can’t make fun of. If you’re an established name, you have a bit of license, but even then you really have to navigate those waters and know your audience. I really feel like the world is full of good people and it takes a handful of idiots and the jerk faces to mess it up for everyone else. From Truro to old Phil Wang has plans to release an album of swing music. He says crooning, rather than comedy, is his true passion, tells s Trotle, this year, I’m trying to do different things.

Maybe I’ll record Phil sings the Blues or something. I’d love to do that. Sometimes I still think I need to stop this stand up experiment and get back to my real life, because this hobby’s gone is long enough. Still doesn’t feel like a decision I made. People always say, how did you fall in the stand up?

And I think that’s quite an accurate description of how you do it. You fall into it, But the real passion is the swinging and the crooning. I find it too painful to do now, because comedy takes every last bit of your earnestness from you. It makes you cynical about everything, and music is very earnest. It’s very hard to sing cynically.

When I sing alone in the shower or something, I love it and I’m gonna leave you there. I want you to picture Phil Wang naked, yeah, in the shower singing. Don’t act like you’re not thinking about it. That’s your comedy news for today. It’s he to wor

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Full Transcript

Caloroga Shark Media Happy Shane Gillis Day. I’m Johnny Mack with your Daily Comedy News. Shane hosting SNL tonight. The New York Times wrote a big article about Shane. They resurfaced a twenty twenty one interview with Shane from The Joe Rogan Experience, on which Shane said he had told SNL about the tone of his podcast.

Lord Michael Sposeley asked, Shane, do you have anything you want us to check out? Gillis replied he had a podcast, as The New York Times quotes, I say like gay and retard a lot. According to Gillis, they were like, ah, that’s fine, don’t worry about it. The Times reminds us that that year Bowen Yang joined the cast. In twenty twenty, Yang told The Times, the reason I didn’t comment on it was because there was a sense of opposition being created between the two of us, right, But a lot of it was invented because it wasn’t like he was making any comments about me specifically.

So why is Shane back? Well? The Times went with this when hosting SNL in nineteen ninety nine, about a year and a half after being let go, Norm McDonald said, I wanted to keep my job, and they felt the exact opposite. How did I go from not being funny enough to even be allowed in the building to being so funny that I’m now hosting the show? How did I get so damn funny?

It’s inexplicable to me. Then it occurred to me, I hadn’t gotten funnier, The show had gotten really bad. Time Magazine writes SNL’s Sheen Gillis flip flop comes as no surprise. This is a very good article I shared in the Facebook group Daily Comedy News podcast group. Time rates on SNL the buck stops with creator Lauren Michaels, So it seems fair to presume that the choices reflect some combination of his taste and what he and his team believe viewers want to see.

And you hear him tell it. He never stopped being a fan of Shane Gillis’s work. As he explained in twenty twenty two, NBC was in something of a panic. It was like they’re gonna boycott the sponsors. Reflecting on all this in twenty twenty two Inner with Andrew Yang, the rich guy that ran for president, Remember him?

Shane told Andrew, I understand both sides of the argument. He should be fired or he was just joking. I’m not a victim. There’s a video of me using a slur. There’s gonna be some backlash.

Time says that might not seem like much. Certainly isn’t an apology. Yet it’s remarkably rare to hear such a clear eyed articulation of his own predicament. Usually, comedians double down, refashioning themselves as free speech warriors. Chappelle Sorry, I had a cough there, rallying against cancel culture and ultimately embracing an audience friendlier to their brand of bigotry.

Some, most prominently Louis C.K. Have issued apologies and disappeared for a while, only to resurface with material geared towards reactionary fans. Gillis can be refreshing and that he doesn’t pretend I have all the answers or be an exemplary human being. And his jokes he casts himself as ugly bad at sex, subjectively inferior to his girlfriend’s Navy seal. X wive in Austin opens with the comedian roasting his own hair.

Then he advises an overwhelmingly white male audience. If you’re white, don’t get it to me Midican haircut, you just stand up looking more racist. He then doesn’t a brief impression of the Dominican barber, Sime writes, it’s a bit of a punchline overload. Who’s actually the butt of the joke? Gillis Dominicans, racist white people with their stupid haircuts.

A thorough review of the context surrounding the racist language that knocked them off a pedestal might lose some nuance. The new material might even be enough to make you wonder whether SNL hadn’t been overly hasty and cutting them loose. Would a comic this perceptive really step off the stage and spew hatred for its own sake? Time rights? Unfortunately?

Yes. If an interest in history is a gateway to republicanism, then Gillis’s stand up that’s a call back to a joke that’s not a dig from time. Then Gillis’s stand up might be a gateway to his partially paywalled empire of slurs, conspiracy theories, and all manner of other bigotry. Seth Simons has made a study of all the things Gillis says, outside of his Aisle crossing stand up in The Daily Beast, I talk about this early a week. He offers a damning indictment of Gillis’s choice to platform holocaust deniers, one of whom happens to be his podcast co host’s brother Simons brought a run down of the comic recent utterances for The La Times.

Features inwards, anti Semitic K words and a crude impression of some with down syndrome, the misgendering of trans women, praise for Proud Boys founder Gavin McGinness, and as well as that old standby charactertures of Asian people. I’m looking forward to this episode tonight. I will talk about it on Monday, because you know SNL ends at one am and Johnny Mack goes to bed.

Speaking of SNL, I think this is really cool.

Colin Jost and Michael Chay are celebrating Saint Patrick’s Eve. See this year it’s a leap yeer. Saint Patrick’s Day was supposed to fall on a Saturday, which is awesome. When I used to be the mayor of Saint Patrick’s Day, there was one year I lost my voice on Saint Patrick’s Day. I went out anyway, but because of the stupid Leap Year, Saint Patrick’s Day is a Sunday, which sucks.

So Jost and Chay and Jamison Irish Whiskey are promoting Saint Patrick’s Eve. Chay tells People Magazine, we don’t really like doing brand deals, that’s not a thing. But for a really good cause like Leapier, I mean we had to. Jay says it’ll possibly be the greatest holiday that will ever exist. Even though we just found out about it, feels like we’ve been celebrating it forever.

Joe just said, I think this is going to be at least the second biggest countdown of the year that happens at Times Square Top two for sure. Jay says, obviously, Saint Patrick’s Day’s a big deal in New York. I just always love that everybody’s in kind of the same spirit together. It’s very rare that a city this big find something we could all agree on. Just kind of cool to see everybody on the same page and having a good time.

Joe sasked, did you ever march in the parade? Jay says, march of the parade? What am I a cop? No? I never marched the parade, but I’ve seen it maybe forty times.

Chris DeStefano said he had a callback audition for a reporter role in James Gunn’s Superman reboot. I don’t think he got it. He was up for Steve Lombard, who apparently is the Daily Planet’s sports reporter. That must have happened after I became an adult and stop reading Superman comics. Lombard often as a comedic undertone.

It is something of a workplace foil for Superman’s nerdy Clark Kent secret identity. They often have a strained relationship but wind up being good friends. Who knows rory scovel specials out on HBO Max. I’m not adding it to my end of the year list. A couple notes here, and this isn’t at Rory, this is at everybody.

The intros on these comedy specials they’re too long, man Like, Get to It. Rory’s thing was like two minutes. Kevin James did the same thing. Get to It to the twenty first century. We’ve all got ad D.

We’re all playing on our phone while the TV’s on, and you’re just gonna like walk out to music for two minutes and the crowd here just get to it. Tell a joke. So I got through all that, and I gotta admit the long intro already put me in a funk. You’re already digging yourself out of a hole because I’m already annoyed at the direction of the special. But I’m gonna play a clip here, Okay, I want you to pay attention.

I’ve been noticing this a lot on specials. Are the comedians adding laughter to specials? You tell me, listen to this, I’m gonna play a clip. The initial joke is solid, definitely deserves the laugh. But then listen to the tags.

Listen to the way the audience reacts to the tags. To me, feels like a sitcom. I feel like the laughter’s way out of whack with the relative hilarity of these tags. You tell me, I also want to be fair here After the word holy, he said the S word. I try and keep this podcast clean, so I’ve made an edit here.

Other than that, it’s as it aired on the HBO Max special. Take a listen, you guys. Have you ever met someone who’s like I’ve read the whole Bible? Is your first thought? Oh my god, we should hang out the whole Bible.

What are you doing tonight? Holy the whole Bible. You ever seen somebody with a highlighted Bible? Why did that start? I just thought Jesus made such a good point here, and I want to I just I was reading it and I was like, wait, this is me.

But Jesus said it back then. Ah, So what do you think? Huh? Yeah, I don’t know. I’m noticing a lot of that.

Anyway. That does not make the end of the year list. The list continues to be only number one, Dusty Sleigh, number two, Taylor Thomlinson not on the list, Beat Davidson, Jackie Novak, Kevin James, and now I have to add I already forgot his name, Rory Scovel. I would hate to think people are adding laughter to their specials. But Mitch Heedburgh had a joke twenty years ago about sweetening, so might be a thing that happens again.

Use your years, you tell me got a lot here for a Saturday. Huh. The Washington Post it caught up at that. Robert F. Kennedy fundraiser Jeremy Piven compared white men to bitcoin, saying we were the toast of the town, and now everyone’s trying to dump us.

Rob Schneider prowled the stage in a fedora, says the Post. He complained in California public schools, one day, you drop off a girl. In the afternoon, you pick up a boy. Schnyder said, I’m old enough to remember when the Democratic Party was the Democratic Party. Remember when they were against war, censorship, don’t trust your government.

It was really a joke, was it, Post says. People appear to have come for the politics as much as the comedy. They laugh, but just as often cheered things like the Constitution and my Glendell and booed things like Jimmy Kimmel and Gavin Newsom. The crowd was diverse in age and style of dress, but mostly white and skewing male. In an informal survey of twenty odd attendees, quoting here, only one, a sharp dressed black man named Emmanuel, said Biden was the second choice.

The rest leaned toward Trump unquote. The evening’s entertainment was heavy on podcast comics loosely connected to what some have called the manosphere. I have not heard that term before. The manosphere among the audience, which paid one hundred and fifty dollars for theater seats and up to fifteen hundred for after party access. Podcasts were cited as an important source of information.

THEO Vaughn’s name came up a lot, as did Adam Carolla. Both have given RFK Junior a lot of airtime. The La Times ads so what got the crowd going? Jokes about lockdown, masking, Biden’s age, the pathetic Democrats, and more masking. Not sure if they’re quoting someone here or paraphrasing, but they wrote, isn’t it funny how you had a mask when walking to a restaurant but not at the table?

How about on a plane visiting your elderly mom? Should do that? As angry Jerry Seinfeld and a funny I had a mask? And why at a restaurer? Have another tell?

How about out of play and were visited you earlier? The mom quite the show. Varidy caught up with Michael Keaton about these sequels of Beetlejuice. The movie is titled Beetle Juice and I’m not saying it a third time, not falling for that, but it’s that word twice is the title, Kean says, It’s the most fun I’ve had on a set in a long time. The one thing that Tim Burton and I decided on early, early, early on, from the beginning, if we ever did it again.

I was totally not interested in doing something where there was too much technology. They had to feel handmade. It’s the most exciting thing when you get to do that again. After years of standing in front of a giant screen pretending somebody’s across the way from you, this is just enormous fun. What made it fun was watching somebody in the corner actually holding something up for you to watch everybody in the shrunken headroom and say, there are people under there operating these things, trying to get it right.

We thought, we have to get this right. Otherwise don’t do it. Let’s just get on with our lives and do other things. So I was hesitant and cautious, and he was probably equally as hesitant and cautious after all these years. Once we got there, he said, all right, let’s go for it.

Let’s see if we can do it. B were, I’m not falling for it is the most fun you can have working. It’s so fun, it’s so great. You know what this is. We’re doing it exactly like we did the first movie.

There’s a woman, a spoiler in the Great Waiting Room for the Afterlife, literally with a fishing line. I want people to know this because I love it, tugging on the tail of a cat to make it move. Movie sequel, not Falling for It in theater is September sixth. Hopefully that gets people reinterested in the musical. I saw the musical.

It was fantastic. Paul Versey is taping his next special at the Din Theater in Chicago tonight and on YouTube you many. American comedian I’m ed Al Khardri is releasing his first special. Ahmed brings his striking goofy charm to tales that span the spectrum of life subsurdities, from taking mushrooms at a Lizo concert and playing taboo with his brothers to the comedic nuances of dual cultural identities that one’s called special not special. You’ll find it on YouTube and that is your comedy news for today.

Hopefully. Shane Gillis creates all kinds of controversies. I like the controversies. See tomorrow

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Full Transcript

Caloroga, Shark Media Bloom, Johnny Mack with your Daily Comedy News. Shane Gillis will host Saturday Night Live tomorrow. There’s still really no press about him, which is surprising, but NBC finally put out a teaser for the episode. In it, we see Shane Gillis working out his monologue on a stage with almost no one in the audience. Let’s listen.

What sorry, man? Now you’re fine? Are we interrupting? I was gonna I was gonna work on my monologue. Actually it’s nice.

Can you guys check it out? Yeah? Sure, okay, all right, so I’m gonna come out. I’ll go Saturday.

And then I went to an Amish wedding once I was the only one there who could d…

Yeah, okay, all right, new plan of the Apes is coming out. It’s gonna be bananas. Headlights are getting brighter. Politics. Now I do a little crowd work, like, are you guys dating?

Are you seeing each other? Yeah? It must be nice. I’ve been alone for a while. How come dogs are the only ones that get cool names?

Not us? Too relatable? Yeah? Who likes impressions in the crowd would be like?

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And then I’m like, you guys, ever see a horse and it’s like and then that’s t…

That’s about it. I’m about done with that monologue. Great, I think it’s right there, love it, thank you, and then it’s like Righty’s annual Power of Comedy event will return to south By Southwest March eighth. You’r honorees Samantha Bee, John Leguizamo, Nick Kroll, Lily Singh, Andrew Reynolds, Hannah Einbender, Pamela Adlina Jubuki, Young White, Robbie Prau, and Cazzie David. That is an interesting group, interesting carrying a lot of water there for Johnny Mack.

Sam Bee will receive the Comedy Innovator Award, presented by Brooks Shields of course, obviously representing Sam’s accomplishments as a comedian, writer, author, and trailblazing late night TV host and producer. Robbie pra you know him as the VP of Stand Up in Comedy Formats at NETFLX. I worked with him back when he was at Just for Laughs. Good guy. He’s done a great job with Netflix and Variety tells us.

In that role, he’s been instrumental in helping to nurture a new generation of comedians, as well as shepherding successful stand up events from a list comedians including Chris Rock, Davechapel, Etceteratca, Kroll and Rynolds will receive the Comedy Duo Award in recognition of their work on I Don’t Understand You, which premieres it south By Southwest. It must be really good. It’s not even out and it won the award. Okay co star Morgan Spector will present them with the award. What are We Doing here?

Guys? John Leguizama will be honored with the Comedy Actor Award for his project Travino Likes It, which will also premiere at south By. What is going On? Don’t you actually have to have? Like?

Best Podcast of the Year, Tomorrow’s Deely Comedy News, the one I Haven’t even recorded yet, Best Podcast of the Year, What Are We Doing? And Variety’s backing this up with. Leguizamo’s storied career in comedy also includes all Right, I’ll give you a second, watch your rattle off. John Leguizamo’s famous comedy films, Give you another second? Here, you got them, You got the whole list right, Yeah, of course, Tu Wang Fu.

Thanks for everything. Julie Newmar and the Ice Age franchise. What are we even doing? Nick Fune will present Leguzama with that award. Hannah Einbender will receive the Comedy Actress Award or She’s really good on Hacks.

That’s fine. That’ll be presented by Gene Smart, also from Hacks, which will premiere it’s third season at South By. I think we’re giving awards and just promoting our things, don’t you. Pamela Adlon gets the Comedy Director Award for Babes, which also premieres at South Pye Point, taking John we got it the first six times. Adlin’s notable credits include serving as the writer, director, executive producer, and star of the award winning FX comedy series Better Things.

Hold On. I just got a text this is real from my daughter. She’s at the National Donuts chain and she texted, me, how do I see past orders? The lady is arguing with me that I didn’t order a donut. I have to pull up my app.

I don’t even have my phone with me now, she wrote, nevermind leave it in. I’m writing back, okay, recording. I’ll go down on the National Donuts chain and tell them we spend twenty five thirty dollars a day there between me, my daughter and when I get my mom’s stuff, So don’t accuse us of trying to steal a donut. Where were we? Pamela Adlin will be honored with the Comedy Director Award for her work on Babes.

Her notable credits include serving as the writer, director, executive producer, and star of the award winning FX comedy series Better Things. Remember Better Things? Of course you do, just case out. I’ll google it so we can all remember together what Better Things is was Better Things the story of Sam Fox, a single mother and working actor with no filter, trying to raise her three daughters. This ran from twenty sixteen to twenty twenty two without me noticing it while hosting a daily podcast.

Willie Sing will receive the inaugural Comedy Crossover Award. I’m gonna not even read the paragraph. I’m gonna guess She’s going to receive the Comedy Crossover Award for Something premiering at south By Let’s see for her evolution as a storyteller from YouTube creator, a TV host, and now to actor culminating in her comedy film Doing It, premiering at south By Southwest. To come on with this, I’m not reading any more of that. That is just nonsense.

Last weekend, Joe Coy set a new record after his two shows at the La Forum. Joe Coy is now the only comedian to hold the title for most headlining shows by a comedian with six shows at the Kia, all of which were completely sold out, which is shocking because he recently made horrible, horrible fun of Taylor Swift. Here, let’s listen the big difference between the Golden Globes and the NFL. On the Golden Gloves, we have fewer camber shots of Taylor Swift Boy. That is harsh.

I don’t know how anyone would go see this person after he was so mean to Taylor. Joe Koi went on Instagram to share the massive accomplishment with his newly awarded plaque. He captured it first comedian to sell out the Forum six times. I’m living the dream. I Love you, La.

Adam Sandler is filming his special at the Nocturn Theater in Glendale. He’s doing several shows from the twenty seven through the first so we’re gonna edit those together and hope we can get a funny performance out of it. Good luck. Yeah, Caddie John is back. I did the nice episode.

I drank your coffees. I’m back to my real opinions. Adam Sandlor not funny. Let me look this up. He’s not really doing four shows to get a special.

They usually do two, which I understand because you need pickups and whatnot or something that’s go great. But four is a lot. Let me say wow. Two shows on Tuesday, two on Wednesday, two on Thursday, and one on Friday. I mean, part of that might just be you can sell a ton of tickets and he’s already there.

But also between the five shows out can get a good performance. This next item is just shocking, and I’m sorry to upset everybody, But according to a Variety, I know this is going to shock a lot of you, so you might just want to take a seat for second. As you know, Adam Sandler has a movie coming out called Spaceman. Apparently it’s not good. Sorry, I know, I just ruined your weekend, I know, right, Like Adam Sandler and a cgi alien?

How can that not be great? Variety writes Adam Sandler, we can all agree, is a serious actor. Time’s a great one is comic DNA will often threat its way to performance, has but not always an uncut gems. He had a frantic agro desperation worthy of a scor Sesi crime film. That’s right in Hustle, the crowd pleasing Netflix sports drama, and, as I recently said, the second best Adam Sadlor film.

He played a pro basketball scout with a minshe mouthonis that carry the audience right along. So when you sit down and watch Space Man, in which Sandler plays a morosely bearded and I’m tired looking Czechoslovakian astronaut who’s six months into a solo mission to the far side of the Solar System, you give Adam Sandler the benefit of the doubt. Of course you do. If any actor has the resources to hold down the center of a movie like this one, rides variety, it’s probably Adam Sandler. Of course, who else would you possibly cast in such a dramatic role, But variety says, Spaceman It’s my duty to report is a glum and meandering science fiction fairy tale of a movie.

It premiered at the Berlin Film Festival, and you could see why it was programmed there. It’s got an austereur dystopian vibe that allows it to pass for an art film. Sailor certainly does what he can with the role, but the director doesn’t know how to carry the audience along. See it’s the director’s fault. Spaceman gets lost in space and mostly just sits there limply because everything that happens is too soft.

Right to the spoiler whoh spoiler article. I won’t ruin it for you. I know you want to watch this. You know you go to a theater this weekend, or just wait, it’ll be on Netflix next Friday. Sorry to ruin your weekend like that.

Let me cheer you up and tell you. Nicki Minaj wants to add Kat Williams to her Pink Friday to World tour. She tells us she’s looking to bring the funniest managed show business on the road with her this spring. Nicky says, I know that he’s the busiest managed show business. I know that he’s rich.

I know that he’s the funniest man of show business. Can y’all hit up Kat Williams and ask him what would be his price to be part of the Pink Friday to Gag City tour. Williams has yet to respond to Minaj’s inquiry, which reminds me neither Joe Rogan or Conan have gotten back to me about my challenge to fight either of them, or perhaps even both of them at the same time. At UFC three hundred, they are wuss’s Kevin Hart has not murdered anyone. That was trending.

Apparently someone else, also named Kevin Hart has been arrested in charge with murder, and this is not funny. But the person who is murdered is named Jackie Robinson, so I’m sure there’s going to be all sorts of weird google going on. But the famous comedian Kevin Hart has not murdered anyone. A bunch of things out today. Bernie Max posthumous album Tapes from m King is out on Kevin Hart’s record Lay Adam Burke has a new comedy album called Weaponized Empathy, Chris Martin has a new album called Above Ground Comedian, and Jenny Slate’s Seasoned Professionals on Amazon Prime today.

The mainstream media has just done a lot of fawning over Jenny Slayton several articles, and I’ve wanted to share them with you, But as much as I quote from articles, there’s very little interesting in these articles. I don’t know what is going on. I just read them and I’m like, hey, that happen. Here’s one from the Hollywood Reporter who asks Jenny slat seems like there’s an expectation for stand ups to deliver specials at a fairly regular pace these days. Do you feel pressured?

Jenny tells the Hollywood Reporter, Thank god, I don’t. The pressure that I feel arrived from me around fourth grade, and continues on, I’m forty one, and that’s just will they like me. It’s not really up to me, is it. I try my best and hope the audience understands that I want to be with them. This shows what I have to offer.

It’s my weird dowry. One of the best things about filming a special is this feeling that comes after It’s like, who I want to take that exam for a while. It would be a sad day for me to say I’ll never do stand up again. Doesn’t feel realistic. But I’m increasingly interested in other ways that I could be funny, on stage that don’t involve the tight rope of stand up.

It’s really weird to be afraid of the audience because it’s not about the audience. It’s about my wobbly grass on my own sense of power, whether I can drive this vehicle that is me onto that stage. Chris Martin’s album Not That One, points out the press release, Above Garround Comedian is out today on Blonde Medicine. In Above Ground Comedian Chris Martin, Not That One tells tales of how his parents informed Chris’s foray into parenthood, his shortcomings of veganism, surviving marriage, cultural assimilation as a Brits living in LA and of course, his dog’s butt love It. Adam Burke’s album Weaponize Empathy on a Special Thing at Records.

He has takes on health issues, the real meanings of Generation X, and an Irish Hello originally from Ireland by way of Australian England. Long Story, tells the press release. Adam’s been performing comedy in Chicago and there at the US for seventeen years. From Gossip Corner, Tim Dillon has listed his house for five million dollars, apparently, according to the rob Report, previously owned by Silicon Valley actor Thomas Middleditch. Tim paid four to six for it.

Now he want’s a little under five million for it. Originally built in the early seventies, these Spanish style premises have been renovated throughout the years. It includes three bedrooms, two baths. There’s a guest cottage with a steam showered to equipp bath and an attached to car garage tucked away in a cliff top barcel of lands spanning just over a third of an acre high above Mulholland Drive. The main house is introduced via decator of arches spanning the entire front of the terra cotta roof and stucco structure.

The Robberport tells us. Probably best known for the Tim Dillon Show, which has massed one million weekly listeners, the thirty nine year old New York native also maintains a nine hundred thousand dollars house in Austin and a two point six million dollar house in Southampton. Tim Dillon’s pod is doing okay. Al Magriical and Jay Larson have a new podcast. This one is called The dust Up.

In the dust Up, Almgriical and Jay Larson will take a deep dive into historic fights, feuds, and melee’s and break them down each week. Some of the fights Adidas versus Puma, Biggie versus Tupac, R two D two versus C three po Yeah, okay, more magical, and Larsen joke that they have temper and anger issues. I don’t know, gimmick podcast, I don’t know, sure, why not? That’s your comedy news for today. Follow the show for free on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, wherever you get your shows.

If you enjoy what I do here, you can go to buy me a coffee. Dot com slash Daily Comedy News. I’ll send my daughter and she’ll have issues and text me in the middle of the recording, and you’ll get to enjoy your five dollars by listening to me babbel. See you tomorrow,

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Full Transcript

Caloroga Shark Media. Hello, Jennie Mack with your Daily Comedy News. Donnell Rawlings is defending his beef with Corey holcom Dona was on TMZ Live, where he explain that the beef was because he wanted to shield himself from Corey’s allegations that anybody in comedy who’s done three movies or more has had to do a favor for somebody in the business. Donelle points out that Corey himself has done four movies, perhaps doing a favor, perhaps not, I don’t know. Donale points out that Corey’s literally guilty of his own joke.

He’s also mad that Corey took shots at Dave Chappelle. You know, I was listening to yesterday’s podcast in the cars. I was on my way to the National Donuts Chain. I do that most mornings to QC the show see if I blew any edits or made a horrible mistake of some kind. And I was listening to Corey say that out of five Dave Chappelle specials, two of them are funny.

That’s kind of act. Donelle says he doesn’t understand the need for comics to create controversy by taking shots at others, something that’s been happening quite a lot lately in epic fashion. Well, here’s why in show business, you fight up, you never fight down. Kat Williams through Kerosene on everything, and now everyone’s talking about him. That’s what’s going on here.

When’s the last time you heard me mention Corey Holcomb on this podcast before this week? Never two years ago? I don’t know. I can’t remember it. So, yeah, that’s what’s going on here.

Everybody’s throwing heat, which reminds me that coward Joe Rogan still has not accepted my challenge to him. I guess he’s some sort of wooss. I will fight you in the ring, Joe, you tell me where UFC three hundred I’m in? What are you afraid of? Joe Rogan?

See, that’s what everybody else is doing. Maybe I shouldn’t take on Rogan. Could I fight Conan O’Brien. I mean, he’s a lot taller than me, so he’s got reach. But I feel like I could take Conan O’Brien.

Conan, what are you afraid of? Your woos? Let’s go UFC three hundred. Me and Conan O’Brien in the Octagon, bring it? Are you scared?

Awkward segue time? Ossia. Last week out, Lucas made a George Floyd related joke attempt. Apparently there’s a video out there of David Lucas claiming I’ve spoken with members of George Floyd’s family as well as close friend Stephen Jackson. Lucas apologized for the pain they may have felt, but did not apologize for the joke.

Lucas was on the Willie d Live Show and said, I’m an advocate for free speech right. The Great Patrise O’Neil said that a funny joke and a bad joke come from the same place. So that was my attempt at comedy. It was to get shock value. I’m a troll.

You heckle me, now I heckle you. I don’t apologize for doing the joke. Who are we as the gatekeepers to say when a joke goes too far? Well, you’re the comedians. You guys get to say what a joke goes too far.

I joke about beating on white women, I joke about killing white women. I joke about gay people. This sounds like a great set, David. I joke about the transsexual community. So the moment I apologize for George Floyd joke, and now I gota apologize for every other joke.

Move on, John, So, who in this situation is the gatekeeper to tell me you went too far or you didn’t go far enough? Is it because I’m not famous? If Dave Chappelle had told that joke? What would have happened? If Dave Chappelle told that joke?

There would have been five million articles about it, followed by five million opinion pieces and me putting Dave Chappelle’s name in the episode title of several episodes of this podcast. That’s what would have happened. There’s still wait, let me check one more time, because I did the show prep a few hours ago. I believe there’s still no Shane Gillis press. And this is not because I’m an idiot and don’t know when the episode is airing.

Its airing this week. If I throw Shane Gillis into Google here on Wednesday afternoon, we see the article I talked about yesterday. Why did Shane Gillis keep promoting the Holocaust deniers? Up rocks has one called SNL host Shane Gillis had Holocaust deniers on his podcast, and the third one is Shane Gillis coming to Rockford in June. Is SNL trying to sneak this episode in I don’t know what’s going on here?

Are you happy Shane Gillis is hosting? Did no one else want to host it? I mean somebody would have hosted it. No, why’d you pick Shane? If you’re not going to promote it?

They are promoted The upcoming hosts. Sydney Sweeney will host on March second, Casey Musgraves as your musical guest, then Josh Brolin and Ariana Grande on March ninth. Maybe tomorrow we’ll see some Shane Gillis press. Very interesting. Adam Sandler out there promoting Spaceman.

The movie was making its debut at the Berlin Film Festival last night. I wonder if anybody was excited about it. Doing some of the weightless scenes, Sandler says, the wires were tough because my body’s not the most flexible body. The wires hurt me. They dug into me.

The stunt man who would wire me up every day would say that hurts, and they didn’t believe me. But we did it as a team. The director would say you don’t look like you’re floating. What are you doing? And I’d say, well, what should we do?

And then they’d wire you hot up and he’d be like, more like this. Spaceman in select theaters, February twenty third, Netflix, March First. You could probably wait the eight days. No, yes, oh no, it’s February. It’s not even eight days.

Seven days. I counted on my fingers. Sandler was asked if you’d do more dramatic roles. He said, yes, I love doing the Spaceman. It was an amazing process.

Now you know me, I’m muh much prefer dramatic Adam Sandler. His two best films are, of course, Uncut Gems and Hustle. Much prefer that to Adam Sandler’s attempt at comedy. I actually think he’s pretty good as a dramatic actor. So more of that now, this one with a CGI alien.

As much as I like science fiction, I don’t know, but I’m gonna watch a set of Curiosity so I have something to talk about the podcast as well. Day the Week’s More first, Oh a Friday, Great Mike Gaps has a new special out on Netflix. Jason Zinneman, who does great work in The New York Times said Mike Gaps may be the only stand up comic alive who’s upset that Kat Williams didn’t insult him. A non spoiler of Vibe review, as I call it, Zinneman writes, on stage, Mike Gaps convincingly plays the rascal who was trimmed his way out of trouble. Sometimes his chrism is a crutch his writing concoast, especially early in this hour, when he seems to be his most generic, doing pandering or familiar jokes about prison rape, fat girls, and code switching.

His most surprising moments are not punchlines, but when he says something that could, in different hands come off as serious, like when he mentions he’s been pretending to dislike white people for forty years. There’s also a moodier side of him that you get peaks of in his stand up, but that probably deserves fuller expression. Like Dave Chappelle, Mike Epps makes a habit of scampering across the stage after a punchline and hitting the microphone, but there’s something sweetly innocent about his version, often accompanied by a wide smile. Zenmann points out he’s a fantastic mimic. Epps has long been compared to Richard Pryor, who imbued his finest work with a startling human vulnerability the swagger.

There was only a setup to the joke, something many of his successors missed. That’s great by Jason, but not Epps. You can hear the influence most overtly in a joke about how cocaine affects your sex life when he gives a voice to a body part speaking of Richard Pryor Micah. Epps beat out several other comics, including Marlon Wayans, for the title role in a Richard Pryor biopick that was gonna happen around twenty sixteen. Never did, but Epps did play Richard Pryor in HBO’s Winning Time.

Here’s that clip. There are many people speaking here. The one that sounds like Richard Pryor is Mike Epps. And if you don’t think anyone sounds like Richard Pryor, then the impressions not that good apparently, but I think it is here. You go, Hey, black man, black man, black man, man, man man, oh man.

You’ve been living like a sink these days. But if you want to celebrate after the game parties at my place in the heels. Come on up, man, we got it all man, we got white bitch. Calder Zinneman floats a theory that why the movie didn’t happen. He says after that winning time clip, Richard Pryor’s widow tweeted out her disapproval.

Hmm. Jimmy Kimmel seems annoy that he was sued by George Santos. He asked, did anybody else get sued by George Santos this weekend? I’m currently embroiled in what might be the most preposterous lossit of all time. Kimmel said, we did a nice thing.

We supported him by ordering his cameo videos. Ricky Gervais shared some extremely sad news. The very funny and very lovely you and McIntosh are known too many as Big Keith from the Office has passed away. An absolute original rip McIntosh was fifty years old, roughly sort of kind than not really the Kevin analog on the original British Office. I’ve got a bunch of clips here that I just didn’t get to it.

It was so much controversy yesterday. Yesterday was a fun nampisode. Not that today’s bad but yesterday. I love the fights. Here’s Michael Blaxon on Vlad TV talking about Taylor Swift.

Watch out, Michael, She’s not gonna like this. Taylor Swift was giving him that energy. I mean, it’s always great to have your woman there. You know, it hypes you up. Bet.

I mean it had been great before Taylor. Let’s be honest, Taylor didn’t know nothing about football. No till she started digging this guy. She knew because you watch her earlier in the season, she’ll be cheering at the wrong time. She’s like, yeah, Teller is halftime.

See now you have no clue what’s going on? Do you? Yeah, she just did just cheer her man. She’s I’m so happy for her because you could tell for the first time she’s in love. Weird Al was on with Craig Ferguson.

Al started talking about and he sounds really way too guilty here about some language he used in songs early in his career. Al. We know you come in peace, we know you don’t mean anything, and I really think you’re overthinking this. But here’s Weird Al with Craig Ferguson. I’ve been releasing records, you know, since the late seventies, so some of the you know, I obviously tried not to be offensive or do anything that I thought that would come back to haunt me later.

But there’s there’s some languages, some words that I used in the eighties and nineties which you know are now considered slurs or offensive. So you know, in fact, there’s one song that I did on this last tour which had had an offensive word in it, and I sang the word, and then the whole band stops and I have to explain, like I wrote this on the nineties, I didn’t mean any offense by it. Language is a fluid thing. But you know, you can you give me I don’t I’m not going to ask you to say the word, but can you let me give me a clue to what the word is or what it pertains to. I’ll say it because I say it is hermaphrodite.

Is that a slur? Well it is apparently, you know I thought it was a medical Well that’s exactly that’s exactly how I explained it. And you know in my apology that you know, when I wrote it in the nineties, I thought, okay, this is a technical medical term. And this is you know, the person in my hypothetical story happens to be one, right, And apparently that word is considered a slurw nowadays, which obviously, no, I’ll be honest, it’s not a word I use often, no id No, I know. Yeah, And you know, I can see the why you would use it, because it’s clearly writes with stuff.

And you know, because language changes, I mean, even the word lame, uh, you know, which is in common usage. And you know, I haven’t stopped saying that, but I mean the point has been made like, oh, that’s an ablest term, Like okay, I can see that, but still it’s it’s such a common and and there’s there’s another word that I used and I won’t say this word, but it’s a word that both Beyonce and Lizo got in trouble for. It rhymes with plastic, do you know what I mean? And begins with an sp oh gosh, yeah, right, okay, so uh and you know, in North America that’s just considered like a goofy, you know, yes, kind of good person. But in other parts of the world it’s considered a horrible slur.

Well, you know, what’s interesting is that the words the word you’re talking about, When I was a kid growing up, it was used to in medical terms to describe or like you. If someone was going to a school for people that suffered from disabilities or had disabilities, they would be called that yeah, and they would be on the sign in the school. Yeah. And it’s not that I have any objection to language change, and it does change, but I think for I feel like there is a great deal of legitimacy in the changing of the language. But I also feel there’s a lot of people out there on the balls of their feet, just waiting to be offended when there’s no genuine harm meant by yeah.

Dusty Slay was on Neil Brennan’s Blocks podcast, told this story about an earlier part of his career. He was a pesticide salesman. I like this a lot, started doing comedy as a and then I won a competition in Charleston. I made a thousand bucks.

And then the next year, in between that one and the next competition, I quit …

And then by the next year I won the competition like by way more votes, and it’s like so I was like, oh, I maybe I got something here, so I start trying to figure out how to make money doing comedy. But I don’t know if it was so much ambition as it was I hate the other job that I have, and if I can make money doing this, I mean I always said, I don’t need to be famous. If I can make a living doing this, then that’s better than what I was doing. Yep. I was really trying to do it for a minute, you know, but I was also drinking a lot.

So what you had to do you’d have to drive to the Low store and then go inside and you had to call in on the Low’s phone to you know, to a system. That way they knew you checked into that store. You couldn’t do it from yourself on That was like the way to get yourself fired instantly if you call it in from your cell phone. Okay, but I would be so I have that part wrong. But you did have call in, but I would be hungover.

So I would go show up, call in on the Low’s phone, and then go back out to my car and sit and smoke cigarettes and listen to the radio for an hour and then go back in and Dusty here talking to Neil Brennan on blocks about acting nervous on stage. This was pretty interesting because I’d picked up on that myself when I watched the special I’ve done the Tonight Show. I just did my fourth appearance on The Tonight Show, and it’s like the first time, I think they thought they had made a mistake booking me because I was so nervous. But this last time I did it, I wasn’t nervous at all. I was like, all right, I’ve done this, let’s do it.

I’m happy to be here now. On the other hand, I did the Seller to prepare for the for the Tonight Show, and I still I’m still nervous there because it just seems like the coolest place. The first time I did the Comedy Store, and the only time I did the Comedy Store, I was in the main room and I tripped down that little step going out. I was the first one, no host, no warm up. I got five minutes and I trip coming off that step.

Wonderful, but I still was able to recover and had a great set. Yeah, it was awesome, great, But it’s like, I don’t know, I found a way to use the nerves. It’s like, if I am nervous the only thing that anyone can notice is that my voice. If you know me really well, you can tell in my voice I’m a little nervous. Yeah.

But other than that, all the moves are still the same. I may touch my glasses a bit more. John Stewart good for business Man Monday Night. This week got one point three million viewers. That’s up from nine hundred and thirty thousand and week one.

That’s gonna make him, I think, the most watched late night television show. I told you, guys, put this on CBS proper. You didn’t listen to me. Put it on CBS Proper. Don’t wait.

Start doing it now and back up the Brinks truck and see if you can get John to do more. What’s gonna happen to the Daily Show when John’s gone after November? Like this is gonna be fun all summer, and then election is gonna happen and John’s gonna react to it, and then it’s gonna be January of twenty twenty five and they’re gonna go, hey, look, everybody, here’s Jordan Klepper. This might actually kill the Daily Show like they were lucky. Trevor was able to follow John, who’s gonna be able to follow John the second time if the numbers are up this much.

Episode one, aside from the nine hundred thirty right away, it hit three million viewers with the live plus three day numbers including simulcass On other Paramount networks. The one point three million is the most watched daily show since twenty fifteen. You know who was the host then, John Stewart Monday Night Show beat every episode of Trevor Noah’s Run and I like Trevor Noah, but back up the truck. Here you go, John, Daisy Leidik is your host this week. The four day Slow Comedy Festival kicks off tonight and it’s fourteenth year in sam Luis OBISPO founder and director Eric Schantz tells Ksby that he started it fourteen years ago after seeing a similar format done in Edinburgh or year one.

We had stages on milk rates with tabletops that we used folding tables on to actually have a well built stage, actual sound system, spotlights. It’s an amazing transformation. Twenty two shows across ten venues. Information at Slocomedyfestival dot Comslow Comedy Festival dot com. I skim the names.

I don’t think there’s anyone that, unless you’re really into this, that you would recognize. So I won’t do the lineups every night, but it sounds like a cool festival. From the Department of don’t make this, Please don’t Paramount Pictures working on a spinoff to Ferris Bueller’s Day Off. The spinoff takes place kind of during Ferris Bueller’s Day Off. It centers on the two valets who borrow the Ferrari belonging to Cameron.

Remember that scene. Yeah, this is called Sam and Victor’s Day Off. Hollywood is of ideas. Man, if you’ve got HBO Max Max Max Max, HBO Max Max, HBO Max, Rory Scovell’s got a new special today. I’ve mentioned this before.

It’s like, how did Rory Scovell, who’s fine, How did Rory Scovell pull an HBO Max special. Well, Conan O’Brien is producing it under his team Coco Banner. That’s how. Doesn’t mean the guy’s not funny, doesn’t mean the guy’s not cool, just means Conan O’Brien’s producing it. So that’s part of Conan’s deal.

That’s how he gets it. In the New Hour, Rory Scovell offers observations on disparate subjects such as religion, sex, mushrooms, vaccines, parenting an eight year old, and much more. Seventy minutes set, which is probably fifteen minutes too long, says the guy who hasn’t seen yet Rory Scovell. Religion, sex, and a few things in between on your Max today, and that is your comedy news for today. If you enjoy the program, tell a friend about it.

They might like it too. You can share it on social media, or you could like the Facebook group and we can go viral that way. Always trying to grow the show here. Appreciate your help with that. So new members in the Facebook group, welcome to the group.

Everyone’s encouraged to join us. If you do, try and join before you post the first time, you get a quick time out. We had some porn bots over the summer, so I had to put in a rule. But I usually approve things pretty quickly. I can usually tell if you’re a porn bot or not.

How do I know? Extensive research? Now, this is Joe Seed to worl