Comedy Central invited me to cover a very special event where several of the celebs just happened to be friends of mine, but that doesn’t make it any easier. It’s still always tense and exciting wondering what will go down on the red carpet, knowing you have to keep it flowing and keep it funny and interesting!
Jeffrey Gurian of Comedy Matters TV with Steve Buscemi star of HBO's hit Boardwalk Empire and co-host of Reel Works 10th Anniversary celebration!
Reel Works is a youth-oriented filmmaking initiative that provides high school students with the mentoring, training, and support to finish high school and then go on to college, and find job training careers in NYC’s film and television industry.
The event was at the Prince George Ballroom on East 27th Street, and I was there with my assistant and DP Tristan Griffin. Reel Works is the only youth filmmaking program that matches each student one-on-one with a professional filmmaker mentor. I wish they had something like that when I went to school!
The event was MC’ed by the hilarious Hannibal Buress who was voted one of Variety’s 10 Top Comics To Watch in Montreal last year, 2010, at the Just For Laughs Festival, which is the biggest comedy festival in the world. Hannibal has also written for NBC’s 30 Rock and SNL!
Reggie Watts and Hannibal Buress at the Reel Works 10th Anniversary Celebration!
The co-hosts were Steve Buscemi, star of HBO’s hit show Boardwalk Empire and his filmmaker wife Jo Andres!
Steve Buscemi and his wife and co-host Jo Andres, for the event honoring the 10th anniversary of Reel Works, a youth filmmaking initiative!
The honoree was Fisher Stevens who won an Academy Award for his film “The Cove”,and is currently directing John Leguizamo in his latest hit Broadway show, Ghetto Clown, which Fisher told me is about to begin a world tour! Fisher was being presented with the award by John Leguizamo, who for whatever reason was not available to do any press that night, which is unusual for John because he always makes himself available, and is ALWAYS very gracious with his time!
Jeffrey Gurian of Comedy Matters TV with John Leguizamo at a press event for his film "The Babysitters."
Jeffrey Gurian of Comedy Matters TV with Academy Award winner Fisher Stevens, the honoree at the Reel Works 10th anniversary celebration!
Plus there was a very special musical/comedy performance by an incredibly talented guy and another friend of mine, Reggie Watts, who is the opening act for Conan O’Brien’s ” The Legally Prohibited From Being Funny on Television Tour” and winner of the Andy Kaufman Award. I had just seen Reggie in Montreal at THIS year’s Just For Laughs Festival where he performed in a show with Bo Burnham!
Jeffrey Gurian of Comedy Matters TV with Reggie Watts who was performing at the Reel Works 10th Anniversary celebration honoring Fisher Stevens! ( He makes my hair look normal! Actually he makes me look totally bald! )
These are just some stills from the event. Wait till you see the videos coming soon!
I’ve been a Friar for many years. So when my good friend Lisa Lampanelli informed me that she would be making her singing debut at the club I was, … needless to say, very excited. ( It may have been needless to say, but I said it anyway! )
Jeffrey Gurian of #ComedyMattersTV with Lisa Lampanelli at The Friars Club in NY!C
So I was able to get exclusive inside footage with Lisa where we discussed everything from her upcoming Broadway show, tentatively titled “Bring Back The Fat Chick”, to people feeling left out, how she got started as an insult comic, hecklers, cruelty, why I’m not the same as most other Black comics, and all kinds of interesting things.
Lisa Lampanelli on stage at The Friars Club looking rightfully proud of her great performance!
Get to see Lisa how she really is. The video is in two parts cause it’s really too good for just one!
Russell Simmons shot three new episodes of “Russell Simmons Presents NY Stand Up” featuring the hysterically funny JB Smoove as the host/MC, and DJ Cassidy on the ones and twos! ( Only the very hippest of you out there will know that expression! LOL ) It was shot at the Edison Ballroom, on West 47th Street in the heart of the theatre district of Manhattan, and seating and arrangements were expertly handled by Samantha Black of The Black List, as usual.
Jeffrey Gurian of Comedy Matters TV with the hilarious JB Smoove, host of Russell Simmons shows for Comedy Central!
It needs to be said that JB Smoove is so funny he just has to show up for people to start laughing uncontrollably. He doesn’t even have to say anything. What a gift! His physicality is as funny as what he says. I have met so many legends in comedy that it usually doesn’t even phase me any more, but I remember being so excited to meet him in Montreal last year.
Click on the link below for audio interview with JB Smoove –
I was even gladder to find out he’s been repped for the last 7 years by my old friend Rick Dorfman of Rain Management Group, who I saw at the taping. Not only did I see him but he was kind enough to take the photo you see above! ( Photo credit Rick Dorfman! LOL )
Jeffrey Gurian of Comedy Matters TV backstage at the Edison Ballroom with Tony Rock!
The first night I went I saw Dov Davidoff, Damn Fool, Tony Rock who I had come to support, Earthquake, Tiffany Haddish who I had met many years ago out in LA when she was just starting out at The Laugh Factory, and Wil Sylvince who was the MC in the Kevin Hart show I co-produced last year at Westbury Theatre.
Jeffrey Gurian with the lady in red, Tiffany Haddish backstage at the Edison Ballroom for Russell Simmons' show for Comedy Central!
The second night I got to see Kareem Green, Owen Smith who I had seen opening for my buddy Russell Peters in NYC, and a real favorite of mine Capone, the hardcore gangster of comedy!
Owen Smith klling it onstage at the Edison Ballroom for the taping of Russell Simmons' show "Russell Simmons Presents NY Stand-Up"!
Jeffrey Gurian of Comedy Matters TV with Capone at Anthony Anderson's Mixtape Show!
Plus it’s ALWAYS fun to see my man DJ Cassidy spinning the best tunes. It really makes a difference to the audience and gets them in the mood when the right music is played before and during the show. Comedy and hip-hop definitely works as Russell Peters figured out long ago!
Jeffrey Gurian of Comedy Matters TV with his old friend DJ Cassidy who is the only man in New York who can pull off that look, and do it so well!
He got his first turntable when he was 12 years old, and now he spins for Jay-Z and Beyonce, Russell Simmons, Diddy, and all the big hip-hop stars. Give it up for my man DJ Cassidy!!!
ABC’s hit show Modern Family created by Steve Levitan and Christopher Lloyd, won a total of 5 Emmy’s last night, and was named TV’s Outstanding Comedy Series for two years in a row, which was no surprise to anyone in the know!
Jeffrey Gurian of Comedy Matters TV interviewing Emmy Award winning Steve Levitan, writer/creator of Modern Family!
Modern Family also won Emmys for its writing, and directing and for Oustanding Supporting Players won by both Ty Burrell and Julie Bowen. These are a list of what awards the show won:
Outstanding Comedy Series
Outstanding director, comedy: Michael Alan Spiller
Outstanding supporting actor, comedy: Ty Burrell
Outstanding supporting actress, comedy: Julie Bowen
Outstanding writing for a comedy series: Steve Levitan, Jeffrey Richman
I caught up with Steve Levitan in Montreal recently at the 29th annual Just For Laughs Festival where he was voted “Best Comedy Writer Of the Year” for his work on Modern Family.
Unfortunately it was just before I found out that my friend Kent Emmons’ little 4 year-old daughter Aubrey Anderson-Emmons snagged the role of Lily in Modern Family! I’m her Uncle Jeffrey, and I’m so proud of her!
The cover of Entertainment Weekly announcing the addition of Aubrey Anderson-Emmons to the cast of Modern Family!
Entertainment Weekly article showing Aubrey Anderson-Emmons in the arms of her screen Dad, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, with Ed O'Neill and Sofia Vergara looking on!
Jeffrey Gurian of Comedy Matters TV holding little star Aubrey Anderson-Emmons, the new "Lily" on Modern Family!
Aubrey Anderson-Emmons having the best time with her proud Dad, Kent Emmons of All Comedy Radio fame!
Aubrey Anderson-Emmons on the set of Modern Family in the arms of another man,… Jesse Tyler Ferguson!
"Uncle Jeffrey" Gurian of Comedy Matters TV laughing with new star of Modern Family Aubrey Anderson-Emmons in a restaurant in LA! ( Her Dad knew we were out! )
It was the 29th annual Just For Laughs Festival in Montreal and as you might imagine, everyone in comedy was there. I literally shot 20 video interviews with people like Garry Shandling, Ken Jeong, Bo Burnham, Bill Burr, Paul Provenza, Kenny Hotz, Russell Peters, Steve Levitan who created Modern Family and won an award for Best Comedy Writer, Amy Schumer and Anthony Jeselnik and not only people LIKE those people, but the actual people themselves! ( LOL – Do I really need the LOL or would you have known??? )
Jeffrey Gurian of Comedy Matters TV with Ken Jeong from The Hangover movies, in Montreal at the Just For Laughs Festival. Ken had just won the award for Breakout Comedy Star of the Year, at the Comedy Confference!
I’ve been coming up to the festival probably for well over 20 years, and for many of those years there was absolutely nothing scheduled for during the day! In recent years they created something called The Comedy Conference which is FANTASTIC! It’s a chance to meet and interact with people doing things in comedy, on the internet making web series, short films, and attending conferences where people speak on their particular specialty. You get to listen to and meet the movers and shakers in the comedy world, including people from You Tube, Google, Barely Political,The Onion, and Rob Barnett’s “My Damn Channel.”
This year at a special luncheon, awards were given to Garry Shandling, Ken Jeong, Steve Levitan, and Louis CK among others. I interviewed several of them, which you can see right here.
I started meeting people the moment I got off the plane with my trusty DP Sean Mannion. We shared a shuttle to the Hyatt Regency Hotel, which is the home base of the festival, with Kurt Braunohler, (who I mistakenly wrote about previously as “Braunholer”, a great observation if I was Roasting him!), then walked into the hotel and ran right into Russell Peters, who finalized my plans to come and see him that night, then ran into Kenny Hotz on the way to my room, who is the only Canadian talent to have two shows on American TV at the same time, and as soon as I changed and got my camera ready I ran into Bo Burnham, and did my first interview of the weekend.
Jeffrey Gurian with Kurt Braunohler at the airport in Montreal on the way to the Hyatt Regency Hotel!
See Kenny Hotz’s video interview right here. Kenny is a great guy and has so many loyal fans. Whatever I post about him goes through the roof!
Jeffrey Gurian of Comedy Matters TV with a self-described "disheveled Bo Burnham" at the Just for Laughs Festival!
Everything Bo does goes viral. Bo is grateful that antibiotics have no effect on a virus, so there is virtually no cure for what he does! (LOL) He was performing on the Amp’ed show along with Reggie Watts and others who mix comedy and music, and we had a cool, fun interview. He introduced himself on camera as “the disheveled Bo Burnham” as is everyone in Montreal. There’s not much “stylin'” in the comedy world. People are just chillin’ and having a good time networking, and meeting their peers!
Jeffrey Gurian of Comedy Matters TV with a distinctly non-disheveled Reggie Watts!
At Russell’s show that night called “Best Night Ever” I went backstage with Russell for some exclusive footage, in which I actually got him dancing to some hip-hop beats, and he looked great in a custom gray striped suit and brand new white sneakers! That video is down towards the bottom of this column!
Jeffrey Gurian of Comedy Matters TV backstage with Russell Peters, in his custom suit, at his show in Montreal!
I also got to interview Russell backstage at Paul Provenza’s taping of The Green Room for Showtime. Paul taped two shows for the second season of his hit show, and he and Barbara Romen his co-producer, along with Christopher Barrett made sure I got to see whoever I needed to see.
Jeffrey Gurian interviewing the legendary Tony Clifton and his date Felicia backstage at Paul Provenza's Green Room taping for Showtime!
We were in “the green room of The Green Room” and I interviewed the legendary Tony Clifton, Andy Kaufman’s best friend, who was kind enough to introduce me to his date’s breasts, and watched intently as I interviewed them. They were kind of quiet on camera, but off camera they wouldn’t shut up!
Tony Clifton introducing Jeffrey Gurian to his date's boobs!
I also spoke to Bill Burr, who laughingly chastised me for mentioning Tony Clifton and Bob Zmuda in the same sentence, and then I interviewed Colin Quinn, who was ticked off that they weren’t told what they were going to talk about so no one could prepare but Paul!
Jeffrey Gurian of Comedy Matters TV on the receiving end of a bear-hug from an affectionate Bill Burr!
Watch all that in the Bill Burr video interview right here:
And then Colin Quinn’s interview right here:
I missed Eddie Izzard at The Green Room but caught up with him at the airport when we shared a flight back home to New York. He was doing a guest appearance on CBS’s The Good Wife!
Jeffrey Gurian and Eddie Izzard waiting to fly back to New York after the Just For Laughs Festival in Montreal!
I caught up with SNL’s John Mulaney, who is also Nick Kroll’s writing partner, and we had a fun interview after the Variety party. I also got to see John taping his really funny Comedy Central special, “John Mulaney Live”, a short time afterwards back in New York at NYU’s Skirball Center, where Comedy Central tapes many of their specials.
Jeffrey Gurian with SNL's John Mulaney after the Variety party at the Just for Laughs Festival in Montreal!
Check out John Mulaney’s Comedy Matters interview right here:
John swears he and Nick Kroll will not make another “Oh Hello” video without having me in it. That probably means he’s not going to be making any more “Oh Hello” videos! (LOL)
Also caught up with two rising young stars Amy Schumer and Anthony Jeselnik, bot of whom you will see this Monday on Comedy Central’s Roast of Charlie Sheen!
But I would have to say my most fun and rewarding interview was with Andy Nulman, the head of Just For Laughs and one of the founders of the festival 29 years ago. He had left for a while to run his telecommunications company which he recently sold for about 15 or 20 dollars, ( add about a hundred million to that! ), and is now back running the show.
Jeffrey Gurian with an absolutely HUGE Andy Nulman who had to crouch down to even be seen in the photo!
I got a hold of him backstage at Russell Peters show where I also ran into my old friends Alan Schwartz, and “Big Bill” who run security for the festival, and who range in size from about 6’6” to somewhere near 7’ tall. I have an amazing photo of me somewhere suspended between them hanging from their shoulders. It’s really funny, and I just found it so here it is!
(L-R) Jeffrey Gurian of Comedy Matters TV suspended between Alan Schwartz, and Bill Bill backstage at one of the galas of the Just For Laughs Festival in Montreal! ( They both know they can call me in case anyone bothers them!)
This is the really fun video of Russell Peters getting down backstage at his show in Montreal!
Anyway, Andy gave me this fantastic interview in which he says, “ If I wanna know what went on at my own festival, I read Jeffrey Gurian’s Comedy Matters, because he knows everyone, he covers everything, plus he really gives a s**t! That’s why when I say ‘This is Andy Nulman and you’re watching Comedy Matters’, it really means something!”
The video you see here is a compilation of everything that went on at JFL 2011! It’s all right here in the video so check it out!!!
In a departure from the kind of performance she’s known for and that brought her great fame, Lisa Lampanelli is changing her tune, … literally! In preparation for a one woman show on Broadway, that she is writing with famed comedy writer Alan Zweibel, ( the very same Alan Zweibel that gave me my start in the biz! ) Lisa has been practicing her singing.
Jeffrey Gurian with Lisa Lampanelli at The Friars Club just before her singing debut!
Jeffrey Gurian with Alan Zweibel at the Friars Roast of Jerry Lewis back in 2006!
The show should be ready in the Fall of 2012, and has the working title of “Bring Back The Fat Chick”, which is a reference to a great story as to how she got started doing insult comedy. She did a set at a show and the set went great. The next comic didn’t do so well and some guy in the audience yelled out, “Bring back the fat chick”, probably thinking in his mindless stupidity that he was offering up a compliment!
All Lisa heard was “fat chick” and it got her so annoyed she went home and wrote ” 15 pages of jokes insults and retorts to hecklers!” After that she became an insult comic. She says she’s grateful to that guy to this day, but hopes he’s dead anyway! (LOL) Lisa Lampanelli can say ANYTHING and get away with it. Very few people have that gift! It’s cause she has a beautiful heart and comes from a good place and people can tell the difference!
At a Friars event in her honor that I attended, along with her parents, she referred to her Mom as the “C” word, and her Dad as “an old deaf bastard!” To their credit, both of her parents were hysterical laughing.
Lisa Lampanelli flanked by her parents at an event at The Friars Club in her honor!
So for her singing debut, she did two songs at the legendary Friars Club on what they call “Diva Night.” In an evening produced by Randie Levine-Miller, Lisa joined the ranks of Broadway songstresses, and belted out two funny numbers that go along perfectly with who she is.
Producer Randie Levine-Miller getting ready to introduce Lisa Lampanelli as part of Diva Night at The Friars Club!
They were parodies written by her friend and opening act Mike Morse, who probably has no idea that he’s supposed to be gay! (LOL) Boy will he be shocked! In her early days, Lisa only used gay comics as her opening acts, so unless she changed her ways entirely, he will have to become gay! He also appeared in a little funny sketch she did as a Jimmy Olsen-style old time reporter, who introduced himself as “Brown from the Sun.” I absolutely love silly jokes like that! And he shares a desk with a guy named Al Bumin!
Lisa Lampanelli rehearsing for Jeffrey Gurian in the grand lobby of the famed Friars Club of NYC!
The first song parody was about her addiction to food, because Lisa is very honest about everything, but especially about her struggle with food and her weight. It was written to the tune of ” I’m Just A Girl Who Can’t Say No” from Oklahoma.
Lisa Lampanelli singing her little heart out at The Friars Club in NYC!
The second one was a parody called ” I Don’t Wanna Insult No More”, to the tune “Show Off” from The Drowsey Chaperone! They were both perfect vehicles for her, and she did great! I didn’t know what to expect, but I had the confidence in Lisa to know that if she was going to do something she was going to give it her all, and do it well.
I was honored that she asked me to come and tape her performance, and do an in depth video interview, which you will all be seeing very shortly! Contrary to what some unenlightened people might think, Lisa is about inclusion. The theme of her show will be her lifelong struggles with weight control,and I have to say she looks fantastic. I’ve known her for years, and she’s lost a ton of weight and developed a glamorous appearance. Fame, money and self-esteem will do that for you!
Jeffrey Gurian of Comedy Matters TV and his good pal Lisa Lampanelli AFTER her singing debut, and their video interview at The Friars Club!
Lisa’s husband Jimmy Cannizzaro is a great guy, who I see very often helping control the crowds at Gotham Comedy Club. Trust me, no one would mess with this guy. He’s basically a building with clothing! He looks like he could take a bite out of a desk! But he’s one of those guys they describe as “a gentle giant”! You can tell he has a heart of gold. He was telling me about their wedding which took place at The Friars Club last October of 2010.
Lisa Lampanelli and her husband Jimmy Cannizzaro, otherwise affectionately known as Jimmy Big Balls by his loving wife Lisa!
They deserve a lot of Happiness, and I’m proud to say they’re friends of mine, and supporters of Comedy Matters! Video coming soon!!!
Ryan McCormick and his partner Mark Goldman of Goldman/McCormick PR are geniuses at creating exciting events. Six years ago while Ryan was working for the legendary comedy club The Comic Strip, he came up with the idea of doing a NY’s Funniest Reporter Show to raise money for charity, and he pulled it off. In recent years he does it with his partner Mark Goldman, and it gets bigger and better every year.
Jeffrey Gurian with Courtney Friel from Fox News Channel, who he mentored for the contest, and who made the top three!
It’s since become an annual event raising money for one worthwhile cause after another. Some years it was for Wounded Warriors. Another year it was to raise money for our soldiers overseas to be able to call home. This year it was to benefit The Humane Society of NY.
(L-R) Lauren Sivan, Courtney Friel, Wendy Diamond holding Lucky Diamond, and Adam Shapiro at The Comic Strip!
I’ve had the privilege of working both as a judge as I did last year along with Judith Regan and Dennis Hof, and as a mentor as I did with NBC’s Cat Greenleaf of Talk Stoop fame, Taryn Winter Brill who was a Features Reporter on GMA at the time, and Courtney Friel from Fox News Channel, and all three of them came in in the top 3.
This year’s show featured Jane Velez-Mitchell from Headline News, writer Abby Ellin, Greg Mocker from WPIX 11, Wendy Diamond from Animal Fair Magazine, Julia Melim from Hollywood TV, Adam Shapiro from Fox Business News, Courtney Friel the entertainment reporter for Fox News Channel and this year’s winner Marlaina Schiavo from HLN’s Nancy Grace show.
And last year’s winner Lauren Sivan came and did a guest spot while the judges were busy tallying the votes!
Jeffrey Gurian with Jane Velez-Mitchell from Headline News Network outside of The Comic Strip after the show!
Julia Melim from Hollywood TV on stage doing her comedy thing at The Comic Strip!
Jeffrey Gurian giving Wendy Diamond some support before her set at The Comic Strip!
Jeffrey Gurian with Valerie Roman of Goldman/McCormick, who helped so much in making sure the evening went smoothly!
Greg Mocker from WPIX 11 on stage killing it at The Comic Strip! He gave me props for my hair!
Nick Cannon brought another great New Faces show to Gotham Comedy Club. Nick is the morning guy and host on 92.3 Now radio on “Rollin’ With Nick Cannon, Monday thru Friday from 6 A.M. till 10 A.M.,and the dude is funny in his own right. I’ve seen him do stand-up and he’s good. The coolest line for me was when he was talking about getting married and he said the day of his wedding all he could think about was, ” Wow, tonight I’m gonna have sex with Mariah Carey.” You HAVE to be cool to deliver a line like that!
Jeffrey Gurian of Comedy Matters TV with Nick Cannon at Gotham Comedy Club after his New Faces show!
And he obviously did have sex with her, cause they recently had twins, Moroccan and Monroe! Nick claims he had to give them unusual names cause that’s what celebrities do!
Jeffrey Gurian with Mariah Carey at an Operation Smile charity event way before she had the twins! You can top that line any way you want!
Nick produces his comedy shows with his Program Director Rob Wagman, who he refers to as his boss. Rob is funny too, as I can attest to by having seen him perform on another of Nick’s shows.
Pete Davidson onstage at Gotham, for Nick Cannon's New Faces Show!
On this particular show he opened up with Pete Davidson who I think is only 17 years old and is the first comic signed to Nick’s entertainment company. Aside from being funny, what I recently learned about Pete was that his Dad was one of the heroic firefighters we lost during 9/11. I’m sure his Dad would be very proud of him seeing him on stage.
Also on the show was the very funny Andrew Schwartztol, who I’ve performed with several times, and who co-produces comedy shows with Madison Malloy.
Madison Malloy, Jeffrey Gurian, and Andrew Schwartztol at Gotham Comedy Club!
Then there was Mick Diflo, a more mature comic which gave ME hope for getting on Nick’s New Faces show.
Mick Diflo onstage at Gotham for Nick Cannon's New Faces show!
And then Nick had two of my favorites. First up was Ted Alexandro who kills wherever he performs. I’m fascinated by Ted’s delivery and recently asked him about it backstage at The Comic Strip after he came off and I was waiting to go on. Ted takes laid back to levels never seen before. Sometimes, he could almost lay down and take a nap between lines. And it works for him.
That is fascinating to me because I’m one of those comics who thinks you have to be saying something every moment you’re on stage. Joke, joke, joke. Laugh, laugh,laugh! Sometimes the magic is in the pauses! But I had a feeling that only comes through time. Ted confirmed that for me, and told me he evolved into that style only after many years of performing, which made me feel a lot better.
Ted Alexandro in an animated moment onstage at Gotham during Nick Cannon's show!
I saw him perform to a rowdy, boisterous crowd in a club not really set up for comedy and he spoke in such a soft voice, without trying to yell over the crowd, and they actually quieted down to hear him. He was like “The Lunatic Whisperer.” He could even quiet down lunatics, just by whispering his material, which is basically what he did. I had never seen anyone else do that before and it was magical.
And closing the show was the hysterical Jessica Kirson, who incorporated a new element into her act, talking to herself while on stage, having that conversation in her mind that we all have when deciding on a course of action. The only difference is that she verbalizes it. She may be doing that for a while but to me is was new, and I liked it.
Jessica Kirson closing the New Faces show for Nick Cannon at Gotham Comedy Club!
But then again I like everything she does. Jess is a sweetie and I’m happy to say we go way back!
I’m looking forward to Nick’s next show, which I think he’s doing monthly, and I’d like to do an interview with him like I recently did with Jimmy Fallon backstage at Gotham. Maybe if he reads this, I’ll have a better chance! (LOL) And when we took the photo together he told me he liked my pocket handkerchief, which was very cool, cause Nick definitely has style!
Jeffrey Gurian of Comedy Matters TV with Kevin Hart at a press promo event for their show at Westbury Theatre!
The Humor Mill broke the story of Eddie Murphy hosting the Academy Awards at least a day before it appeared in the NY Post. My partner Richie Tienken who owns the legendary comedy club The Comic Strip managed Eddie for 11 years, from his days on SNL right through Beverly Hills Cop 2. Then in 1986 they both discovered Chris Rock who was working at the club setting up tables in exchange for stage time.
The Humor Mill helped promote the show I co-produced at Westbury starring Kevin Hart along with Tony Rock and Wil Sylvince!
The Humor Mill recently announced the news that Kevin Hart was launching a new mobile app called “Little Jumpman”, which is a first in the comedy world, and is available at the Apple App Store, and through i-Tunes. Kevin is very tech savvy. He’s got millions of followers on You Tube, Facebook and Twitter, and spends lots of time on Twitter posting things personally, or at least he did when I was with him last year.
Richie Tienken, Wil Sylvince, Jeffrey Gurian, and Kevin Hart at the show Jeffrey co-produced last year at the Westbury Theatre on Long Island!
He’s a really funny and really nice guy who deserves all of his success. I had the honor of co-producing a comedy concert with my partner at the time, Jean Alerte, starring Kevin last year at Westbury Theatre, in New York, right after he had sold out his performances at the South Beach Comedy Festival. He also sold out Westbury, with 2800 seats, in a show featuring Tony Rock and Wil Sylvince where part of the monies went to benefit Haiti. Check out the TV commercial for the event:
Jeffrey Gurian with Kevin Hart after Kevin's sold-out performance at the South Beach Comedy Festival!
Every place I went with Kevin, to the radio stations, and even in the street, people swarmed him with affection. The public genuinely loves the guy. He’s funny and self-deprecating, and he definitely keeps it real!
(L-R) Jeffrey Gurian, Tony Rock, Kevin Hart, Egypt, and DJ FaDelf up at WBLS radio, promo'ing Kevin's show at Westbury!
Comedy Central Insider did a promo for the Kevin Hart show at Westbury co-produced by Jeffrey Gurian in a benefit for Haiti!
This was a promo that Kevin shot specifically giving a shout out to me and my partner, thanks to WhatsPoppin.net. Check it out here:
Check out “Laugh At My Pain” at a theatre near you, and check out Humor Mill Magazine for everything going on in the “urban” comedy world! It makes me wonder, … what is the Caucasian comedy world known as, … “Suburban”??? LOLOLOL
Jeffrey Gurian of Comedy Matters TV with Susie Essman at The Comic Strip!
I have the exact details of that story in the interview I did with Susie for the book I’m writing on the history of the legendary comedy club “The Comic Strip”, a club where she performed in her early days, but I’d have to look it up and I’m too lazy! I’m proud to say that Susie and I are friends for many years! We often joke that she and I have more photos together than she and her husband!
Jeffrey Gurian, Susie Essman, and Richie Tienken owner and founder of The Comic Strip after Susie's interview for the book on the 35 year history of The Strip!
I’m very happy for her that she and Jimmy Harder, a commercial real estate broker got married back in 2008. They got married at The Friars Club, and multiple Emmy-award winning writer/producer Tom Fontana who is one of the most talented and prolific TV writer/producers in the business, and who also happens to be a minister, officiated at the ceremony. Among other things, he wrote and produced such groundbreaking TV series as “Oz”, “St. Elsewhere”, and “Homicide: Life On The Street.” Tom is also an old friend, and was the Vice Pres. of the Writers Guild East where at least one of the photos below was taken!
Dean Winters, Jeffrey Gurian, and Tom Fontana at a party in NYC!
Jeffrey Gurian with Tom Fontana at the Writer's Guild Awards!
Susie’s TV husband Jeff Greene is played by the hysterically funny Jeff Garlin!
Jeffrey Gurian backstage at Carolines with Jeff Garlin from HBO's hot series, "Curb Your Enthusiasm."
I actually knew Susie’s Dad Leonard, who was a wonderful physician. He was an internist, ( which you would think all doctors were, since most of our organs are internal, right? LOL ), and he was partners with a doctor I went to. Once when my doctor was away, Susie’s Dad treated me, but in those days, I didn’t realize he was Susie’s Dad. He taught me something I never forgot. I had a pain in the back of my head, down into my neck, that wouldn’t go away, and he took his thumb and pressed really hard on something in the back of my head that made me see stars, but the pain went away. I have used that technique ever since!
Jeffrey Gurian with Susie Essman in Montreal at the Just for Laughs Festival posing with his book that she is in called "Filthy, Funny, and Totally Offensive."
Once when Susie was appearing at Carolines Comedy Club, she came down with some sort of eye infection and was afraid she’d have to cancel her gig. I wrote her a prescription for antibiotics, and according to her I saved the day, cause her eye cleared up right away and she was able to perform. How I was able to write her a prescription is a whole other story, but to keep it simple, I was and still am a doctor, and am licensed to write prescriptions!
Jeffrey Gurian and Susie Essman at an event at The Friars Club in NYC!
Susie will be headlining Carolines Comedy Club this coming week, and she doesn’t know it yet, but I’m planning on coming down to say “Hi!”. Please don’t tell her! I want it to be a surprise!
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