Unstoppable Farce; The Mitch Maloney Story

Mitch caps off the most lucrative stand up tour of all time with a performance at the Acropolis, but things get a little nutty when an AntiHA terrorist cell calling itself the Punchline Liberation Front shows up. Endnotes: Jim Carrey and Dana Vachon, Memoirs and Misinformation, (New York, Some Kind of Garden/Random House Large Print) p.53. Capsule Review: A pretty shocking behind the curtain peak...

Mitch visits the venerated interlocutor at the legendary cat ranch one last time and uncovers a horrific secret. Endnotes: Milton Berle (with Haskel Frankel), An Autobiography (New York, Delacorte Press, 1974) p.35. Capsule Review: Starts with a salacious story about an affair with an ingenue engaged to a studio boss. Allusions to the enormity of his phallus by page 12. Lots of score-settling for...

Mitch holes up in a private gym for two weeks with his newly acquired sidekick slash personal trainer Andy Richter to transform himself into a muscle-bound caped detective. Endnotes: Louie Anderson, Hi Mom: Stories for My Mother, But You Can Read Them Too (Touchstone Books, New York, 2018) p. ; Capsule Summary: Continuing the Hi Dad formula, a series of letters to the deceased matriarch of the And...

Live recording of Mitch performing at Zingers, in Sheboygan Wisconsin, on the anniversary of his father's death.

Mitch makes the rounds of all the popular late night chat shows. Endnotes: “Marlon Bundo” with Jill Twiss, A Day in the Life of Marlon Bundo (Chronicle Books, San Francisco, 2018) An audacious statement on societal inclusivity,  employing a metaphorical layering akin to the works of postmodern deconstructionists, a critique of the infantilization of the literary world. Slack Score: 11; Snark Score...

Under interrogation by the League of Acolytes for Televisual Emcees and Raconteurs, Mitch finally comes clean about what went down on the SS Mayhem at the afterparty to end all afterparties. Endnotes: Mike Myers, Canada (Canada, Doubleday Canada, 2016) p207. Capsule Review: Barely a memoir, more a celebration of Canadianness, Myers must be among the most patriotic citizens of the largely unenthusi...

Mitch begins his comeback tour by playing the MAXXED ULTRA Testosta-boosted Dude-fuel 2026 Gathering of the Q-uggalos, an off-the-grid militant hillbilly shock comedy festival at Stone Mountain  Park, Georgia, but his set gets interrupted by a mysterious bag-headed interloper and the festival itself erupts in chaos and destruction when mysterious unknown invaders descend over the festival grounds....

Mitch finds himself in a toxic underground cavern in the captivity of a contingent of cryptozoological curiosities. Will he be able to escape his imprisonment? Will he be reunited with his affable Swedish chauffeur Leif? Will we ever get back to the lurid showbusiness tell-all we were promised?  Endnotes: Russell Brand, My Bookie Wook; A Memoir of Sex, Drugs, and Stand-Up (New York, HarperCollins,...

Mitch takes a BM (Big Meeting) with a streaming concern called Drivvel+ to discuss a new so-called reality series. Endnotes: Maria Bamford, Sure, I'll Join Your Cult: A Memoir of Mental Illness and the Quest to Belong Anywhere (New York, Galery Books, 2023) p.7 Capsule Review: A quirky yet charming look on mental illness. By cults, Bamford is mostly referring to family and 12-step programs, b...

Mitch takes a much needed sabbatical in Sumatra, far from the prying eyes of the paparazzi and the long arm of Interpol, to live among and learn from the beasts of the jungle in his everlasting search for comedic inspiration. Endnotes: Dick Ebersol, From Saturday Night to Sunday Night (New York, Simon & Schuster, 2022) p.98. I only read through the 8H relevant sections, so can’t comment on the...

Mitch infiltrates the ultimate 8H post-show bash, still searching for his missing mullet, and witnesses almost unimaginable displays of debauchery and tribal violence whilst being pursued by an enraged Nora Dunn. Endnotes: Molly Shannon, Hello Molly!; A Memoir (New York, HarperCollins, 2022) p.207 Capsule Review: Heartbreaking, touching, occasionally funny, moving and inspirational recounting of a...

Mitch comes to in a subterranean torture dungeon and tries to make sense of the last chapter, but can he escape and get to the afterparty in time to be reunited with his trusty hairpiece Dennis? Endnotes: Amy Poehler, Yes, Please (New York, HarperCollins, 2014) p.23 Capsule Review: Despite sharp and breezy writing, not a lot of laughs, lengthy complaining about the difficulty of writing the book (...

Mitch reveals the spooky backstage shenanigans at 30 Rockefeller Center and how he helped solve the mystery of the Headless Thompson. Endnotes: Tina Fey, Bossypants (New York, Hachette, 2012) p. 145. Capsule Review: Well written, somewhat uneven mix of heartwarming anecdotes, comedic happenstances and career musings. Slack Score: 9.72; Snark Score: 8; Overall FCA ranking: 54  Bob Odenkirk, Comedy...

Mitch takes questions from the Seattle media right before his legendary performance on the roof of the Space Needle. Endnotes: Ali Wong, Dear Girls; Intimate Tales, Untold Secrets & Advice for Living Your Best Life (New York, Random House, 2019), p.* Capsule Review: framed as letters of advice to Wong’s daughters, but otherwise disconnected and rambling, with predictable pop-cultural analogizi...

Mitch reflects on his early comedic influences while high on white skunk juice at the bottom of a disposable waste facility in the Alabama woods and explains how, with the help of his chauffeur, he escaped from a pack of cannibalistic mutants in his up-armored tourbus. Endnotes: Patton Oswald, Zombie, Spaceship, Wasteland:(New York, Simon and Schuster, 2011) p.102. Capsule Summary: Some chapters a...

Mitch describes some behind-the-scenes challenges he ran into while touring the American south with Hannah Gadsby. Endnotes: Todd Barry, Thank You for Coming to Hattiesburg: One Comedian's Tour of Not-Quite-the-Biggest Cities in the World (New York, Gallery Books, 2017) p.70. Capsule Review: the title pretty much covers it. Specific anecdotes about life on the road in 55 cities, mostly smalle...

Mitch goes to Edinburgh, and then London with his new one-man show, an attempt to reckon with the political fallout surrounding his alter ego, Wade Dinklington, and helps crack the case of the most infamous crime spree in history along the way. Endnotes: Stewart Lee, How I Escaped My Certain Fate; The Life and Deaths of a Stand-Ip Comedian, (London, Bloomsbury House, 2011) p.223, Capsule Review: I...

For the very first time, Mitch discusses what went down on the set of his HBO sitcom that was cancelled halfway through the first day of shooting. Endnotes: Chris Elliott, Bob Elliott, Daddy’s Boy; A Son’s Shocking Account of  Life with a Famous Father, (New York, Delacorte Press, 1989)  Capsule Review:  Chris describes his privileged upbringing in New York and the pressures of living under the sh...

After Mitch is attacked while hosting an alt-comedy open-mic night at his newly acquired sanctuary in Lipstick City, the Velveteria, he  begins practicing the new martial art of Comido Defendu under the tutelage of Sensei Judah Friedlander. Endnotes: Whitney Cummings, I’m Fine… and Other Lies, (New York, Penguin Randomhouse, 2017), p. 55. Capsule Review:  More self-help journey than showbiz bio, v...

Mitch moves to LA and goes on a publicity tour under the direction of his new agent, Gabby Gersh. Endnotes: Sandra Bernhard, Confessions of a Pretty Lady , (New York, Harper and Row, 1988), p. 118. Capsule Review:  Lyrical, spare  and confessional. Prioritizes the mundane, personal moments and epiphanies over show business gossip. Slack Score: 12; Snark Score: 9 Overall FCA ranking #4 Ellen DeGene...

Mitch describes how he scaled the cliffs of Fame Mountain,  got into a bathroom brawl with Neil Hamburger and partied with Tig Notaro and  Brian Posehn. Endnotes: 1) Tig Notaro, I’m Just a Person , (New York, HarperCollins, 2016), p.46. Capsule Review: frank, confessional style but with quirky/unique worldview, unique life experience, lots about unconventional mom, distant dad; suggests that the c...

Maloney discusses how his fledgling comedy career was in limbo during a global health crisis and the surprising way a convoy of truckers inspired him to embrace his destiny. Endnotes: 1) Joan Rivers with Richard Merryman, Enter Talking , (New York, Delacorte Press, 1986), p.241. Capsule Review:  Interesting, occasionally inspirational story of her early career struggling to convince her upper-clas...

Mitch describes his childhood and early comedic influences. Endnotes: Steve Martin, Born Standing Up: A Comic’s Life , (New York, Simon & Schuster, 2007), pp 27-29. Capsule Review: Exquisitely structured narrative, beautifully written. Slack score: 7.3. Snark score: 9.5. Overall FCA ranking: #2  Sanford and Son, Season One, episode 8, “The Great Sanford Siege,” originally aired Mar 3, 1972. Te...

Endnotes:  This foreword, by Louis C.K. was not written for this book, Unstoppable Farce. It was originally intended for inclusion in Nothing Left to Lose, my first autobiography written in 2028, but was dropped by the publisher for unspecified reasons and was replaced by a less-than-enthusiastic but quirky and charming essay by Sarah Silverman that included actual paid advertisements for Mastercl...