Ian Talks Comedy

Rob Kutner joined me to discuss Lost in Space; Letterman; writing; the Far Side; writing for the Princeton Tiger; applying to write for MAD; writing spec scripts; getting hired as an intern on Dennis Miller Live; the shows format; writing the rants; how 9/11 changed Dennis and comedy; going to The Daily Show; doing "Is America Ready for a Black President?" with Larry Wilmore; Buck Henry;...

Allan Katz joined me to discuss Kukla, Fran & Ollie; joining the National Guard; becoming a copywriter; Screaming Yellow Zonkers; George Schlatter calls him; staying in a hotel and writing writing on legal pads; teaming with Larry Siegel on monologues; Laugh In skits almost like an ad; Bill Richmond; meeting Orson Welles; Lily Tomlin; writing freelance All in the Family and Sanford & Son e...

Helaine Witt joined me me to discuss watching Bonanza in color; Ed Sullivan Show; her mom not liking Jack Benny; going to Elmont High School; John Mulaney; seeing the Beatles on Ed Sullivan and earlier on Jack Paar; Ringo not playing live at Shea; Elton John; teaching in 1970's NY; bad neighborhoods; being laid off by NYC; going to a stand up club in SF and taking classes; selling jokes to Joa...

Rose Abdoo joined me to discuss us being birthday buddies; The Flintstones; staying up to watch The Tonight Show; going to Michigan State; moving to Chicago to join Second City; ETC with Stephen Colbert & Amy Sedaris; seeing seeing Mike Meyers & Geena Davis; Chris Farley "Whale Boy" sketch; Tim Meadows; Happy Happy Good Show with Conan O'Brien, Bob Odenkirk & Robert Smige...

Barry Nichols joined me to discuss his love of the Smothers Brothers; how his brother Nils got an internship at SNL in 1978; being the drummer from Jeannie Cunningham; getting hired to work on Nothing Lasts Forever; being hired by Dick Ebersol; Nick Nolte backs out; an average an average week for him' being in charge of cast tickets; a four hour dress rehearsal; Eddie Murphy, Drew Barrymore; h...

Legendary comedian Steve Bleustein joined me and discussed his autobiography Memoir of a Nobody; watching Howdy Doody & Peter Pan; going to Emerson College w/ Henry Winkler; Dave Madden & Albert Hammond taking him to try out stand up at the Comedy Store; Sammy Shore saying he has the sound; his work at The Groundlings with Tracy & Laraine Newman and Jack Soo; Tom Dreeson; being on The...

Included: 10 minutes of my conversation with Harry Shearer, the sketches: "Where's Johnny", "Tom Snyder", "Who's on First",, "Senator Kennedy's Next Speech", "The Night the Nights Stayed on in Pittsburgh"

Marc Sheffler joined joined me to discuss watching 50's children's TV; his father getting The Three Stooges for his tenth birthday; seeing Jerry Lewis in a movie and his dad telling him "Why not you?"; his dad getting him him a limo to the premiere of "The Last House on the Left"; going to college with David Duke; his dad sending sending him to the Catskills; working for comedian London Lee; havin...

Ellie Barancik came on and discussed her last name; her father being the last surviving Monuments Men; growing up with Bozo the Clown & getting to go to the studio with Bonnie Hunt; Clutch Cargo; watching Carol Burnett and surprising her with a tribute thirty years later; finding SNL and crushing on Dan Aykroyd; meeting him on the set of Dr. Detroit; discovering Letterman; dating Steve Koren w...

Tom Dreesen joined me to discuss his half white / half black comedy team and the racism they encountered; how he and Tim Reid started as an anti-drug program; first saw TV at 17 (Honeymooners); being a pin boy, caddie, insurance salesman but wanting to be a comedian; The Tonight Show; getting bumped four times; his first appearance; working with Sammy Davis, Jr.; game shows; the exhilaration of wo...

1. Fridays - Michael Richards as "Frank Zappa" (1/8/82) 2. New Show - Scabs Meeting (4/23/84) 3. Fridays - 2nd Amendment Debate (4/10/81) 4. Fridays - The Ronnie Horror Picture Show (12/12/80) 5. New Show - Roy's Food Repair (1/13/84) Plus Andy Kaufman and Kathie Sullivan (9/18/81)

Mike Chisholm joins me to discuss how his curiosity leads to conversations; Steve O'Donnell; our first time watching Letterman; meeting Letterman guests on twitch; Rick Sheckman; intern stories; becoming friends with Rupert Jee and speaking at his retirement; Steve Young; Paul Shaffer; swooning over Barbara Gaines;; Steve Weiner; learning how to podcast; Calvert DeForest; Matt Roberts does a t...

Chris Kelly joined me to discuss his dad and his love of lesson plans; living in Canada and having having one US TV station; Little Rascals; other comedy hubs beside Canada; his influence; improv; his dad writing for SNL; Harry Shearer; every TV show having its own process; Letterman's reaction to being passed by Politically Incorrect in the ratings; having structure even in lunch orders; writ...

Andy Cowan joined me to discuss his Seinfeld episode, "The Opposite"; his book and chapter on rejected Seinfeld plots; Danny Thomas; his idol, Jack Benny; Leave it to Beaver & The Honeymooners; going to Boston University; loving Letterman & VCR's; Nancy Sinatra and Seinfeld finale; jazz; how he tricked Lorne Michaels into a meeting; how he would "fix" SNL; Rick Mora...

Diana and I discuss The Bellinis; Lenny (Luca Brasi) Montana; Hollywood High; auditioning for Marni Nixon Feast, Ozzie's Girls; guest starring in a memorable Happy Days, Chico and the Man, Medical Story, The First Nudie Musical, Starsky & Hutch; Paul Michael Glaser; The Love Boat pilot; Soap; audition; cast becomes family; Hollywood Squares, Dinah!; Perry Como’s Early American Christmas; B...

Samantha Harper Macy joined me to discuss watching Perry Mason as a teen with her family; going to Ole Miss with James Meredith; being seen as a racist in Chicago because she is from the south; auditioning with Woody Allen; being shown around the city by strangers; modeling; taking acting classes from Lee Strasberg; hippies; sees Oh! Calcutta and for it; her sketch; meeting her husband, Bill Macy;...

Jerry Minor joined me to discuss his first memory of seeing Johnny Cash TV; the Detroit Lions; playing Michael Jackson's glove; being a Jehovah's Witness; proselytizing; leaving the Church and starting comedy; going to a show to try stand up; going to his first comedy show; working in Second City Detroit, Chicago, and Toronto and the similarities and differences; Mr. Show; being hired on S...

Kres Mersky and I discussed her name; starting acting at a local park at 14 and getting the bug; going to Beverly Hills High with Rob Reiner, Richard Dreyfus, and Julie Kavner; TV debut on Virginian; doing three episodes of Ironside; working with Carl Reiner in The Comic & Oh God!; working with Rob Reiner on the TV show which birthed Spinal Tap; doing a B motorcycle movie; skating in Holy Roll...

Rick Mitchell joined me to discuss Carol recognizing him from TMZ; writing a performing speeches in his past ; it really not being that hard to write a good speech; giving a good speech requires you know your audience; this book can help save you from listening to bad speeches; differences in different religious weddings; worst speeches are graduation and bar mitzvah; not being Jewish and everyone...

Trace Baeulieu joined me to discuss his last name; riffing on teachers and film strips; his quick stint at Univ. at Minnesota; stand up; having a day job; being an opener; meeting Frank and Joel; joining for the second episode; all original episodes done in one day; not as many jokes in early days; Frank's an old soul, makes history and baseball references; Ground Zero; jokes for the group; audien...

Stu Kreisman joined me to talk about stalking the original cast of SNL; writing for National Lampoon and Alan King ; SCTV; his two tours with Night Court (1984 - 1986, 1990 - 1992); Cheers; Newhart; Homeboys in Outer Space; Harry Anderson's and 1985 SNL monologue

Andy Goldberg & Wendy Cutler of the improv group Off the Wall joined me to discuss the founder, Dee Marcus; how they met her; the original members, Chris Thompson, Judy Pioli, and Joie Madigow; having four women and two men; Marc Sotkin and Robin Williams join; improv games; characters; Paul Willson, David Ruprecht, Phil Lamar, and John Ritter join and leave; Maryedith Burrell; Completely Off...

Dan Vitale joined me and discussed social media presence; attention he got from Marc Maron's podcast; Lorne Michaels seeing him; his audition for  The New Show ; his fluctuating weight from 1986 - 1991;  Cobra Kai ; streaming services give more content; Dave Chappelle, Chris Rock, Bill Burr & Louis CK; being Lorne Michaels protege; being funnier now than when he was "hot" in the...

Andy Hoglund joined me to discuss finding out about SNL through Wayne's World and Comedy Central reruns; my getting tapes mailed from Canada by Bronwyn Douwsma; going to Boston University; studying film; doing a term paper about how the original cast of SNL embodies the baby boomers; working for Sen. Ted Kennedy; writing an article about SNL movies and it going viral; his copy of the Shales / Mill...

Chris Regan joined me to discuss growing up in Central NY; 70's TV; enjoying black & white comedy movies; loving Monty Python; SNL; UK comedy; auditioning for David Frost; comedy aging poorly; Michael Davis; going to Ithaca College; being in a sketch troupe with Andy Daly and the Stangel Brothers; being a NYC comedian and mostly topical; going to a comedy club for the first time at 14; coming...