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COMEDY MATTERS ROUND-UP WITH GARY VEE, COMEDY AT THE GRAMMYS, COMEDY IN A.C., TRIBUTE TO ERNIE ANASTOS, BROADWAY COMEDY AND MUCH MORE!!!

Posted by Jeffrey Gurian on April 6, 2026

GARY VEE LOVES COMEDY

Growing up there were only three people I ever wanted to meet, Woody Allen, Salvador Dali and The Beach Boys. I got to meet all of them in very meaningful ways. Woody sat with me and read all of my earliest comedy material and encouraged me to make films of my ideas which I eventually did. Each meeting is a story unto itself, but in recent years I added Gary Vaynerchuk, known as Gary Vee to that short list.

**SHARING A LAUGH WITH GARY VEE AT VAYNER MEDIA**

You probably already know who he is, as he has a massive following. Born in Belarus, he’s an entrepreneur owning Vayner Media, a huge digital marketing agency, a field in which he’s considered a pioneer. He’s a best selling author with 6 N.Y. TImes best sellers, he’s an early angel investor in little known tech companies like Twitter, Uber, Snapchat, Facebook, Venmo, Tumblr and Coinbase, and he’s just a very unique human being , with over 45 million social media followers, who I had the feeling I needed to know.

He’s also a comedy lover and admits to being influenced by Richard Pryor, Eddie Murphy and Chris Rock. He curses a lot when he speaks but it’s endearing and genuine. From the heart!

He and his Dad Sasha own The Wine Library, a wine store in New Jersey where I first tried to meet him two years ago. Gary, using his marketing skills, took that business from $3 million to $65 million. I wound up meeting his Dad that day, but the line to meet Gary was too long and I left determined to meet him another way.

On May 9, 2025 I got a notice that he was appearing at Dave and Adam’s card shop on Broadway with his line of trading cards for another company of his, Vee Friends. I was determined to attend. I watched him greeting strangers as if they were family of his. I was amazed at his open heart and generosity of spirit.

**WITH GARY VEE THE FIRST TIME WE MET ON FRIDAY MAY 9TH, 2025**

When it was my turn to meet him I don’t recall everything I said but the next thing I knew we were hugging and I felt the connection. A kindred spirit. I remember telling him I never met anyone like him. He took my phone and sent himself a message and told me he would call me after the weekend. He said it a couple of times. This was on a Friday. I left on a high.

Monday came and there was no call. I didn’t understand it. I was very surprised and disappointed. Nine months later, on Feb. 18th, 2026 there was another live appearance at Dave and Adam’s this time for his stickers. I decided I would go again, but I wasn’t sure what to say. I was prepared to re-introduce myself.

The place was mobbed and he was greeting people again so warmly on the red carpet and when he saw me he ran over and embraced me and said ” I’m so happy you’re here. I was thinking about you this morning hoping you would come!” I couldn’t believe it. He remembered everything we said 9 months before. He said he was very sorry he didn’t call me. This is a man who probably gets hundreds if not thousands of messages a day.

This time he called over one of his employees, a great guy named Train, and asked him to take my infomation so he could set up a private meeting with me at his office. That meeting happened this past week. I won’t divulge what came out of that meeting because it’s premature, but there’s a very good chance something very cool will be happening soon.

THE VIDEO WE SHOT BEFORE I LEFT GARY’S OFFICE

TRIBUTE TO ERNIE ANASTOS

Ernie Anastos was a legend in the world of news. I considered him a dear friend. Our friendship went back more than 25 years when we met at The Friars, and I first wrote him a speech to deliver at The White House of all places. It went very well and we became real friends.

He wasn’t a comedian but he was the King of Positivity, which was something we bonded over. The topics I talk about and write about are Happiness, mindset, overcoming obstacles and changing negative thinking to positive thinking. Ernie had a show on WABC radio called Positively Ernie which I was on a couple of times, and we really enjoyed each other. His loss was a loss to the world and to all who knew him. He was a very special and genuine guy, with such a youthful spirit, and got real joy from spreading a positive message. R.I.P Ernie!

COMEDIANS AT THE GRAMMYS

Lots of POC’s ( People of Comedy) showed up at the Grammys. First, it was ably hosted by Trevor Noah, who did a lot of fun crowd work with the stars. Other appearances were Kumail Nanjiani who presented an award, Billy Crystal who did a tribute to his dear friend Rob Reiner, Marcello Hernandez who came out with Karol G and did a fun thing in Spanish saying he couldn’t help it, and then a group of funny women with Melissa McCarthy, Rose Byrne, Kristen Wiig, Maya Rudolph and Ellie Kemper presented the award for Best Original Score and Best Sound, an award that everyone was waiting for with baited breath, whatever that is!!! ( Btw, Marcello’s imitation of Sebastian Maniscalco is so on point, it actually makes me laugh out loud, which is not easy to do! LOL)

**BILLY DOING HSISTRIBUTE TO ROB AND MICHELLE REINER**

FUN GOINGS ON AT BROADWAY COMEDY CLUB

I wound up at three different cool events at Broadway Comedy Club which looks amazing these days. Unfortunately they had to wait till owner Al Martin left the stage to do any remodeling but it looks fantastic.

Atsushi Ogata did a fun show called World Comedy with comics from other countries. If you guessed that he was repping Japan you would be right. I met him recently when he stopped me at a comedy show and told me he saw me performing in Japan. I couldn’t believe it. Someone to actually verify that I performed in Japan! (LOL) That was back in 2019 and it was an amazing experience. They don’t have comedy clubs there like we do, they have tap rooms that offer comedy.

Thash Mose who I had met during the last NYCF, and who has one of the most interesting names I ever saw, was repping Denmark and was blonde enough to be believable! Audrey Mora repped Mexico, and Ellen Feeney repped the USA! And from Norway was one of my personal faves Daniel Simonsen who I try and get on every show I produce.

Then Cristina Cote did her legendary Hersterical show with Corinne Fisher and Harrison Greenbaum, two of my favorite peeps in the whole, entire world who got together and made a get well video for me with about 50 other comics when I was in the hospital with Covid Double Pneumonia. Cristina does as many costume changes during her show as the hosts do at The Oscars. She’s amazing!!!

**WITH MY GIRLS CORINNE FISHER AND CRISTINA COTE**

And up and comer Mika Lorenzo is killing it with producing and performing. I’ve watched him progress from the beginning to being a polished performer. He needed a venue and I suggested Broadway for his type of show and it worked out great! Sold out crowd and included Todd Barry and Daniel Simonsen!!! Trust me, I think you’ll be seeing a lot of Mika in the coming weeks and months. Mika making moves!!! (Alliteration, … get it???)

**WITH MIKA LORENZO AT BROADWAY COMEDY CLUB**

JACKIE MASON DOC

Last month I reported on the Mel Brooks doc. This month Jackie Mason’s daughter is hard at work shooting a doc about her Dad, Jackie Mason, the man who never openly acknowledged that she was his daughter. I was part of Jackie’s entourage for many years and actually wrote a movie script for him, so I was glad to share some stories for the doc.

Sheba and Ian Wehrle who plays Jackie in their Jackie Mason Musical came to the Comedy Matters crib to shoot the interview. We shot for a few hours and it was great. At the end we were joined by comic/producer Laura Slutsky who had a few Jackie stories of her own. They were also interviewing some big name comics out in LA and as I recall Colin Quinn will also be in it. Can’t wait to see the finished product!

**WITH SHEBA MASON IN THE COMEDY MUSEUM- COMEDY PHOTOS GOING BACK DECADES**

ATLANTIC CITY COMEDY CLUB THANKS TO EMILIO SAVONE

I first met NYCC owner Emilio back around 2008 when I started working on the book ” Make ‘Em Laugh” about the history of The Comic Strip which opened on June 1, 1976 and launched the careers of some comics you may have heard of, … Eddie Murphy, Colin Quinn, Jerry Seinfeld and Chris Rock. Chris wrote the intro to the book besides being interviewed for a chapter.

At the time Emilio was selling tickets through his company Empire Tickets, and now all these years later he took that background, and created his own empire, currenly owning five comedy clubs, one of them being in Atlantic City at The Tropicana Hotel. It’s run by comic/producer Rus Gutin, or Papa Rus as he’s affectionately known, who at one time ran the Comedy Juice shows at Gotham Comedy Club. He’s a great guy and brings energy to the stage almost on the level of Sebastian Maniscalco! ( 2nd Sebastian reference!!!)

I hadn’t been to AC in many years, but I was so glad I went. Rus has an amazing team of people working with him to make sure that each show comes off perfectly. Jeff FN Murray (DM me to find out what the FN stands for!!! ), and Lenny Schafer both made sure that every single detail was taken care of.

Jeff not only manages the club but also runs the main restaurant Wild Honey ( a Beach Boy reference!) and he immediately took me under his wing and made sure I was taken care of. The show was great, the room was great and the audience was great and I can’t wait to go back. Besides Rus who hosted I was on with old friend Phill Hunt and Noah Miller.

They already invited me back in the Spring so I could go out on the boardwalk. This time it was too cold. I couldn’t gamble either cause I couldn’t figure out the machines, which also happened when I went to Aruba, and which you’ll read about below!

RAY ELLIN OWNS ARUBA

Around 14 years ago Ray Ellin had an interesting idea. He was vacationing in Aruba and thought it would be a good place for a comedy club. A year later he made it happen and it’s been thriving ever since. Every place you go in Aruba they know Aruba Ray. The club moved locations a couple of times but these days it’s held in a great space as part of the Eagle Aruba Resort, a truly beautiful resort in Eagle Beach.

I got to check one more thing off my bucket list when Ray invited me down to perform for the week. The week was perfect except for my experience at JFK during the time the TSA workers weren’t being paid. I could do a whole column on just that, but suffice it to say that despite thanking every TSA employee I could find, … and there weren’t many, … they patted me down like I was Osama Bin Laden! Even with TSA pre-check!!!

But my room was awesome, and I got to do shows all week with old friends Tom Cotter, his wife Kerri Louise, and Ross Bennett all of whom I’m friends with for many, many years. Tom and Kerri had two of their three sons with them and their son Harry was amazing and turned out to be such a big help with filming and taking photos. What a great guy!!!

Ray is always so busy but he took a few hours out of his busy day to drive around the island with me, showing me the sights and telling me the stories that led up to the club being the great success it is now. Plus 85 degrees every day, but very windy. which was bad for my hair! (LOL) The crowds were great. Packed room every night. Hope I get to go back.

**ALL OVER THE ISLAND YOU SEE SIGNS FOR ARUBA RAY**

CHARITY EVENT AT GOTHAM

Chris Mazzilli owner of Gotham should be very proud of how many charity events they do at the club, because he supports so many good causes, and they all run smoothly thanks to Events Manager Kris Alexander. Every detail is taken care of. So when Brett Hess of Rippling contacted me to do a charity event for Access- Supports for Living, a huge charity that for the last 50 years has been helping people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, as well as mental health and addiction issues, … which sounds like a charity for comedians, … I knew exactly where to go!

The event was a HUGE success and came off without a hitch. Great food and drinks, a beautifully set up room, and I have to say I chose a great line-up with Gina Brillon, Bonnie McFarlane, and Derek Gaines to close, cause it’s really hard to follow Derek Gaines! (LOL) I

I was the host, and the people from Rippling, Lockton and Disrupt HR, which at first when I heard the name Disrupt, I was afraid they were an arm of Antifa, (LOL) but they all turned out to be very nice people, and they all felt this would be the first of many comedy shows to raise money for good causes. Laughter carries a great message, and is a very effective way to bring attention to a problem!

**WITH THE ALWAYS HILARIOUS BONNIE MCFARLANE**

PRAYERS FOR RON BENNINGTON

I hated writing this heading but I couldn’t figure out what else to write. This past week Ron, the long-running host of The Bennington Show, with his daughter Gail, the biggest comedy show on Sirius XM radio, announced that he was diagnosed with colon cancer that spread to other areas.

In a perfect world, people like Ron who bring so much joy to others are not supposed to be seriously ill. The first thing I saw was an Instagram post that showed Ron smiling from a hospital bed with Gail by his side. A day or two later he announced his diagnosis.

When I was in the hospital with my heart attack, back in 2015, I had been with Ron and Deb from The Interrobang, and Chris Stanley the night before partying at Sammy’s Roumanian, where the specialty is bowls of cholesterol, and Ron posted about my illness and asked his listeners for prayers for me. He did the same thing when I was in the hospital with Covid Double Pneumonia back in 2020.

I don’t have his reach, but now it’s my turn to return the kindness. Ron is such a good man and I truly believe in the power of prayer, so please keep him in your thoughts because I believe he can beat this. He’s a tough guy with a good heart, and we need him.

**WITH RON WHEN FEZ MARIE WAS STILL WITH US**

FOLLOW JEFFREY ON INSTAGRAM AT @JEFFREYGURIAN AND ON TIKTOK AT @JEFFREYLGURIAN. CONSIDER JOINING HIS PATREON- LINK ON WEBSITE HTTPS://WWW.COMEDYMATTERSTV.COM OR ALSO ON SUBSTACK. SEE YOU IN THE CLUBS!!!

Tags: "America's Got Talent", "Corinne Fisher", "Jackie Mason", "Ron Bennington", AGT, Billy Crystal, Ernie Anastos, Gary Vaynerchuk, Gary Vee, Harrison Greenbaum, Jeffrey Gurian, Kumail Nanjiani, Marcello Hernandez, POdcast with Friends, Rob Reiner, The Gary Vee Audio Experience, The Grammys, Tom Cotter, Trevor Noah, Vayner Media, Vee Friends

Posted in: Celeb Photos, Celebrity Death, Celebrity Passing, Charity Events, Comedians In The News, Comedy, Comedy Clubs, Comedy Events, Comedy Festivals, Comedy Matters, Comedy Thoughts, Comedy Videos, Entertainment News, Jeffrey Gurian News, Podcasts, Red Carpet Events, Social Media, Stand-Up Comedy

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COMEDY MATTERS ROUND-UP WITH NIKKI GLASER AT THE GLOBES, MEL BROOKS DOC, KILL TONY ON NETFLIX, BORSCHT BELT FEST, JACKIE MASON SHOW, COMEDY PARTIES AT NY COMEDY CLUB AND GOTHAM COMEDY CLUB, AND OF COURSE LOTS MORE!!!

Posted by Jeffrey Gurian on January 26, 2026

**(L-R) FROM THE ARCHIVES – WITH NIKKI GLASER, RACHEL FEINSTEIN, SOME GUY, AMY SCHUMER, AND MARINA FRANKLIN – THE POWER WOMEN OF COMEDY**

NIKKI GLASER KILLS AT AT THE GLOBES … AGAIN!!!

It came as no surprise that Nikki Glaser absolutely crushed at the 83rd annual Golden Globes where she was the host for the 2nd year in a row. I have a feeling she will be the ongoing host from now on! She’s so funny, so well poised, so elegant in all of her 9 changes of outfits, and really commands the room which is not easy to do when you’re facing the biggest stars in the game. But Nikki did it! She made her entrance in a gorgeous red gown fit for a Princess! ( Click the link)

Her lines were so sharp. In particular when she came out said ” There are so many A-listers here, and by A-listers I mean people who are on “A list” that has been heavily redacted!

Then she announced the award for MOST editing goes to CBS News, America’s newest place to “C-BS News!” Such a clever line I wish I had written it myself!

And lastly when she saw Sean Penn who looked kind of wild, with his hair a total mess she said, ” I love you Sean. You’re such an original. Everyone in this town is so obsessed with looking younger, meanwhile Sean is like, ” What if I slowly morph into a sexy leather handbag! Even HE had to laugh!!!

Lots of comics appeared on the show and won awards like Amy Poehler, who won for Best Podcast, for ” Good Hang With Amy Poehler”, while Joe Rogan whose podcast is #1 on Spotify wasn’t even nominated.

**AMY POEHLER ON THE RED CARPET FOR ET NETWORK**

Kevin Hart was on the red carpet and Judd Apatow presented the award for Best Diirector and joked that he was on a “10-year quiet boycott” after his film Trainwreck lost the Best Comedy award in 2016.

Pamela Anderson and Miley Cyrus presented the award for Best Actress in a Musical or Comedy Motion Picture, and I really didn’trecognize Pam Anderson. She looked so different than when I first met her.

THE JACKIE MASON MUSICAL AT RODNEY’S

The Jackie Mason Musical”, is sometimes also known as Both Sides of a Famous Love Affair: The Jackie Mason Musical. It’s an off-Broadway production starring Sheba Mason, the real-life daughter of comedian Jackie Mason. but playing her mother GInger Reiter, who created the concept ,and wrote the dialogue, music and lyrics for the play. An incredible achievement! Jackie Mason is played by Ian Wehrle who is so much like Jackie Mason , he’s absolutely perfect for the role. I had seen it a couple of times but I went to see it again at Rodney’s because it’s so good!

Unfortunately the play is based on a true story, and you’ll see why I say that in a moment. It’s the story of how Jackie was involved with GInger Reiter in a ten year-long affair and had this wonderful daughter but never acknowledged her as his daughter throughout his entire life, despite the fact of a nasty paternity suit, and that she looks exactly like him. A fact she often jokes about!

Sheba’s a great girl and so funny. It’s definitely Jackie’s loss not to have acknowledged her. She and I once did a comedy show at a funeral, which is a crazy story for another time, and I’ve done her show at 3 Monkeys several times.

**WITH SHEBA MASON AT HER SHOW AT 3 MONKEYS**

Ginger wrote a masterful piece that truly portrays what Jackie was like and I can vouch for that because I was part of his “entourage” for many years. I knew Jackie well for more than 25 years. Jackie was one of the funniest men that ever lived but a very complicated and often stubborn, and very difficult man to get along with, and that’s putting it mildly. What kind of man doesn’t acknowledge his own daughter? Mister, you know what I’m talkin’ about???

I remember how excited my Mom was when I brought her to meet Jackie backstage after one of his 8 one-man shows on Broadway.

**JACKIE MASON WITH MY MOM, MARJORIE GURIAN BACK IN 2005**

I actually wrote a movie for Jackie which he bought, called “The Detective” in which he played a Jewish ( what else?) bumbling private eye named Harry Snavish, on the syle of Inspector Clouseau, who accidentally becomes a hero, by saving the world from a dreaded “pants virus” that would have destroyed every pair of pants in the country leaving us a nation of men in our underwear. Terororists knew they couldn’t beat us militarily so they wanted to humiliate us in the eyes of the world and Snavish manages to save the day.

**THROWING JEWISH GANG SIGNS WITH JACKIE MASON**

The musical has a really fun talented cast including producer Laura Slutsky and even Mark Yosef the owner of Rodney’s Comedy Club who was up on stage acting and singing his little heart out!

**THE WHOLE CAST WITH LAURA SLUTSKY IN THE PINK TOP**

COMEDY COMMUNITY COMES OUT FOR THE PARTIES

Comedy can often feel very lonely because it’s mostly a solo event. You write alone, rehearse alone and you’re usually on stage alone. So it’s a wonderful feeling when the comedy community actually gets together like they do for the holiday parties. Emilio Savone, owner and face of all five New York Comedy Clubs told me that I had the distinct honor of being the ONLY person he texted about the party to make sure I showed up, because as he always kindly says, ” It’s not a party unless you’re there”! (LOL)

It was at the 4th street location and I got there early to get the pizza while it was still fresh. It was already crowded with lots of my favorite people. It was so great to see my pals Joe DeRosa and Brian Quinn from The Impractical Jokers. I almost didn’t recognize Brian because the last time I saw him he didn’t have that huge beard. Joe and I are planning to do another video since the success of Mouth On My Money, and as sick as it sounds, I have been named the official dancer for Joe’s band Salsa Windfall! Besides trying to see him at parties, you can also see Joe featured in the new Kill Tony special on Netflix!

GOTHAM HOLIDAY PARTY

Chris Mazzilli always plans his annual holiday party AFTER New Years which makes it even more special. It’s another amazing event, so well attended with an open bar, and an assortment of hot and cold food, lots of sliders, and platters of sushi. One of the first people I saw was Brian Fischler who has a new seeing-eye dog named Wesley, and when I told him I’m producing a big charity event there on Tuesday 2/24/26 he told me he’s done 18 events at Gotham for his charity “Fight for Sight.”

The party not only drew comedians but also industry as Chris is connected to everyone on both sides of the camera, in particular Conan Smith from the Buchwald Agency, one of the good ones!!! (LOL)

And so glad I got to see Bonnie McFarlane who besides being Rich Vos’s wife is one of the funniest comics in the game and was also one of the writers on The Golden Globes. It was so exciting to see her name in the credits. A well deserved honor! And reuniting with Chris Roach was also cool. I made him sit down for the photo so you’d be able to see both of us, and we were photobombed by Harrison Greenbaum. I never saw Harrison and it was probably one of his amazing magic tricks that he suddenly appeared out of nowhere!

Also got to reunite with Robin Montague who writes for the daytime Emmy award winning Sherri show starring the great Sherri Shepherd, and Subhah Agarwal who many years ago started on my late night show at The Comic Strip and just moved back to NY from Cali. I saw Subhah again a few nights later when I was performing at the new comedy room Room 52 started by Adam Strauss. A really cool space on East 52nd Street.

**WITH ROBIN MONTAGUE WRITER FOR SHERRI**

KOSHER COMEDY ON AND AT BROADWAY

Thanks to Kenny Gluck Jewish comics have something to do on Chistmas Eve and I was so glad to get to do a set at the new and upgraded Broadway Comedy Club on the eve of December 24th. Since it’s founder the great Al Martin left the stage, they really updated the club and made it look much more modern. A really fun show with a great, … I would guess mostly Hebraic crowd!

BORSCHT BELT FESTIVAL CONTINUES TO GROW

Alejandro Morales is the comic/producer responsible for keeping the Borscht Belt Festival growing bigger and bigger as time goes on. This past July we celebrated it’s 2nd year with a whole bunch of shows and a special event honoring Robert Klein at the Borscht Belt Museum. So I was very glad when I got the call asking me to be the first headliner of the new year series. I did 45 minutes to a packed crowd at Shadowlands Stages.

I may be the only one around who actually worked with the Borscht Belt stars of yesteryear as well as the stars of today. Milton Berle, AKA Mr. Television was my sponsor in The Friars Club, and I got to write for him, Jerry Lewis, Jackie Mason, Pat Cooper, Joan Rivers, Dick Capri, Morty Gunty, Dick Shawn, Freddie Roman, and so many others who graced the stages of the Borscht Belt, whether it was at Grossingers, The Concord, The Nevele, The Fallsview or any of the other multitude of hotels and bungalow colonies that were up in The Catskills.

One of the weirdest and most fun experiences I ever had was this past weekend, being put into the Honors Haven Resort as literally the only guest on the premises. This huge resort which was once the Fallsview Hotel. now only books groups and somehow there were groups the previous weekend and the following weekend but not the weekend I was there.

Big thank you to Naomi Brill for arranging that for me. I brought my assistant Dave ” The Ironer” who started out ironing people’s clothes at parties and hot clubs in NY, even on the dance floor, if they looked wrinkled. So it was just the two of us in this entire huge, gorgeous resort! So in our downtime we made this little video:

MEL BROOKS THE 99 YEAR OLD MAN

Judd Apatow and Mike Bonfiglio both of whom I have the pleasure of calling friends have Exec. Produced and directed a fabulous 2 part HBO documentary on Mel Brooks called “Mel Brooks – The 99 Year Old Man” kind of a take-off on his 2000 Year Old Man that he did with his dear friend, the late Carl Reiner. It’s a masterful piece of work that must have taken years to create! The editor deserves an award of some kind as well!

And Judd must have been so excited sitting with Mel and doing the interviews,. I know how I felt sitting with legends I saw as a kid, like Milton Berle, Jerry Lewis, Sid Caesar, George Burns, Woody Allen and Jackie Mason. I’m glad he gave himself screentime as opposed to the docs where you just hear the interviewer speaking offfscreen.

**WITH THE GREAT MEL BROOKS WHEN HE WAS ONLY 90**

The film is filled with sound bytes and video from the comedy greats of yesteryear like Sid Caesar, Milton Berle, and Richard Pryor, several scenes with poor Rob Reiner, as well as the stars of today like Jerry Seinfeld, Nick Kroll. Sarah Silverman, Adam Sandler, Ben Stiller, Dave Chappelle, Ronny Chieng and my friend Nick Brooks one of Mel’s sons. It’s a must see if you like comedy and if you’re reading this column I have to assume you do. I stayed up till 3:30 A.M. watching both parts. I tried to leave to go to sleep but I just couldn’t do it!!! (LOL)

In watching the doc I came to realize how much I had been influenced by Mel and Carl in early films I did like interviewing a woman married to a well known busimessman who turned out to be an infant, and an interview with a woman who was robbed by two men disguised as jewelry, the dreaded Masters of Disguise!

MISS BRAZIL DROPS BY THE COMEDY MATTERS CRIB

So nice of comedy fan Gizele ( Miss Brazil) to take time off from her national tour to visit me at the Comedy Matters crib!

OWNING MANHATTAN- THE PARTY

In truth it’s not a comedy, Owning Manhattan is reality TV, the Netflix hit about Serhant Realty and the exciting world of real estate, but a lot of funny stuff goes on and Ryan Serhant is definitely a force. I had met him years ago when he was doing Million Dollar Listing and then he created Serhant Realty and it’s taking over the country! The man sells $60-$100 million of real estate a month. For anyone who doesnt know, … that’s a lot of money!!! Truthfully that’s more than some people make in a year!!!

**WITH REAL ESTATE SUPERSTAR RYAN SERHANT**

So I got invited to the party for the 2nd season downtown in the beautiful Serhant townhouse that serves as his office. I got to be interviewed in a couple of videos and got to meet my favorite Serhant team member on the show, Genesis Suero a true superstar in the making! Even in this climate of high interest rates,who wouldn’t take out a mortgage to buy something from Genesis???

MIKA LORENZO ON THE RISE

Up and coming comic Mika Lorenzo will be hosting at Gotham Comedy Club on Feb. 4th and just had the honor of introducing Jerry Seinfeld to the Gotham crowd on another night he was hosting. He’ll be doing what he describes as a mini-special on Feb. 28th at Fear City on the Lower east Side, and there’s a good chance that I will be on the show!!! This column has to end somewhere and I think this is a good time for that to happen!

THIS COLUMN WILL ALSO APPEAR ON SUBSTACK AND YOU CAN FOLLOW JEFFREY ON INSTAGRAM AT @JEFFREYGURIAN AND ON TIKTOK AT @JEFFREYLGURIAN AND THANKS TO MANY SUGGESTIONS, COMEDY MATTERS IS NOW ON PATREON AFTER ALL THESE YEARS TO HELP DEFRAY THE COSTS INVOLVED. CLICK ON THE LINK TO SEE THE DIFFERENT TIERS. https://www.patreon.com/c/comedymatterstv/shop?vanity=comedymatterstv

Tags: Alejandro Morales, Borsacht Belt Comedy Festival, Borscht Belt Museum, Brian Quinn, Chris Roach, comedy parties, Emilio Savone, Gotham Comedy Club, Harrison Greenbaum, Impractical Jokers, Jackie Mason, Jeffrey Gurian, Joe DeRosa, Judd Apatow, Mel Brooks, New York Comedy Club, Nikki Glaser, Robin Montague, Sheba Mason, Sherri Shepherd, Subhah Agarwal

Posted in: Celeb Photos, Celebrity Death, Celebrity Passing, Comedians In The News, Comedy, Comedy Central, Comedy Clubs, Comedy Events, Comedy Festivals, Comedy Matters, Comedy Thoughts, Comedy Videos, Entertainment News, Jeffrey Gurian News, New Films, New TV Show, Social Media, Stand-Up Comedy, Unusual News

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COMEDY MATTERS ROUND-UP WITH JEREMY PIVEN, CHRIS DISTEFANO, JEFF ROSS, JOE LIST, MARK NORMAND, CORINNE FISHER, NYCF, GROSSINGERS DOC PREMIERE AND SO MUCH MORE!!!

Posted by Jeffrey Gurian on November 24, 2025

JEREMY PIVEN – THE ONLY ACTOR WHO CAN REALLY DO STAND-UP

I’ve been a fan of Jeremy Piven since he created the iconic role of Ari Gold on Entourage. We met when he was performing stand-up at the old Stand Up NY club on West 78th Street. I went expecting to hate it because for some reason many actors and social media influencers think that just because they’re used to being on stage or seen in public, that will automatically translate to them being funny on stage! Couldn’t be further from the truth. Most of them are HORRIBLE!!!

I was invited as a guest of a friend to attend a show recently where a social media influencer was headlining, and I would never mention her name, but she was so bad that the owner of the venue called people the next day to apologize. Fortunately they had a real standup comic open for her which kind of saved the show.

In any case that night at Stand Up I was blown away by Jeremy’s performance, and stage presence. He was a natural and I was so pleasantly surprised I had to tell him when he got off stage, and we’ve been friends ever since. So when I heard he’d be performing at Sony Hall I knew I had to be there.

It was a packed house and I was seated next to my old friends Ice-T and his amazing wife Coco Austin. We were all pleasantly surprised to see each other. Sean Millea a comic I knew from Gary Vaynerchuck’s Vayner Media was one of Jeremy’s openers, and he did great. Although I asked him afterwards how he was able to do certain jokes he chose to do with his mother in the audience! (LOL) I could NEVER with my Mom!!!

**JEREMY PIVEN WITH ICE-T AND THE BEAUTIFUL COCO AUSTIN**

Anyway Jeremy did not disappoint. He’s really so funny and so likable on stage, and he does amazing impressions. His impression of Stallone was truly incredible. Many people lined up after the show to meet him and he’s exceptionally gracious to all of his fans.

We hung out backstage and shot a little video and talked about our respective Moms who we both loved and miss greatly. He’s basically the exact opposite of Ari Gold, which shows you what a good actor he is! But he’s a great stand-up too!!! ( And I’m glad to call him a friend!)

CHRIS DISTEFANO INVITES ME TO PERFORM AT THE CELLAR

November 11th was a very special day for me. Aside from the fact that it was 11/11 which is a very mystical and magical combination of numbers, it was the day I got to perform at the legendary Comedy Cellar at the invitation of Chris Distefano, whose career gets more huge with every passing day. I was with him when he made comedy history by selling out Radio City Music Hall on a Friday night and the very next night sold out MSG Theater! James Mattern, one of the best hosts, and Chris’s usual host was the host that evening and we had a blast! And right from there I ran to perform on Laura Slutsky’s amazing cancer benefit you’ll read about below!

SOHO INTERNATIONAL FILM FEST CELEBRATES SWEET 16

Hard to believe it’s been 16 years since Jorge Ballos created the Soho International Film Fest run by the incredible team of Sibyl and Carlos Santiago, and I make sure to attend every year and do red carpet interviews! Filmmakers and stars come from all over the world, and this year I even got to moderate one of the films, a comedy film called ” A Cell Phone Movie” created by a talented guy named Will Sterling who wrote, produced, directed and starred in the film shot entirely on a cell phone. And the nighttime parties, as well as the closing party were totally awesome!!! Film people definitely know how to party!!! Already looking forward to year 17!!!

**WITH MULTI-TALENTED WRITER/ACTOR/DIRECTOR WILL STERLING**

CORINNE FISHER IS GROWING UP

I first met Corinne Fisher when she was a little girl! At least it seems that way! LOL We worked together for a year when she was new in comedy. And it’s been so fun watching her become the big star, and classy lady she has become. So for her birthday at a really cool place called Pinky Swear she only invited 219 of her closest friends and I think that every single one of them showed up… and more!!!

THE BIRTHDAY GIRL GETS HER CAKE!!!

I know I did, and it was the best time! It was sandwiches from Joe DeRosa’s place Joey Roses, and a kick-ass band called the Up All Nighters which was truly amazing and got everybody going with their high energy and great musical choices!

**WITH CORINNE FISHER, … AND THAT GREEN LIGHT IS HER HEART LIGHT CAUSE SHE HAS SUCH A BEAUTIFUL HEART!!!**

TAMMY PESCATELLI AT THE TRIAD WITH AN AFTER PARTY AT GOTHAM

I’ve known Tammy Pescatelli for a very long time but I’ve known her husband comedian/actor Luca Palanca even longer! So I was really psyched when Luca called me to tell me that Tammy was coming to NY to tape a special, at The Triad Theater one of my favorite places, which will appear again later in this column. I wouldn’t swear to it but I think Tammy told me her special will be called ” Tammy The Bull.”

**(L-R) WITH LUCA PALANCA AND BRIAN HOLTZMAN**

The show was great, packed crowd, and the after-party was in the downstairs lounge at Gotham where I got to meet Brian Holtzman, a wild man who Luca said was the funniest guy he ever met, and who has his own show at Joe Rogan’s Mothership, a club I must get to! His show is called Holtzman and Friends and is on every Thursday night.

LAURA SLUTSKY’S CANCER FUNDRAISER AT THE TRIAD

Since I already mentioned The Triad, I may as well do the piece on producer Laura Slutsky’s show in honor of a man named Ryan Dwars, who beat pancreatic cancer. Laura met him and his wife by chance, took a liking to them, and told him if he could get to the point where he was in remission she’d produce a show in his honor. I guess that was an incentive to him, cause he beat the cancer and Laura produced the show, a 3 hour show with amazing talent and Ryan and his wife traveled up from down South to attend. I was honored to perform.

**(L-R) BOB GREENBERG, DAVE KONIG, SANDY EHLERS, AND YOU KNOW WHO!!!**

NEW YORK COMEDY FESTIVAL IN IT’S 21ST YEAR

The New York Comedy Festival can finally vote and drink legally now since it’s 21 years old! (LOL) I’m pretty sure I’ve been covering it every year, and even got to perform in two shows there the last weekend before it closed after 30 years, thanks to Jeffrey Ross who invited me to do a set on his last show.

Major congratulations to Caroline Hirsch and Andrew Fox as well as their hard-working team of Louis Faranda, Carolyn Gitomer and Greg Charles. I could easily do an entire column on just the shows I saw at the fest, and all the parties I attended but I’ll try and give you a taste of what it was like.

Maybe I’ll just summarize the talent I got to see and where I got to see them, which might make it a bit easier. I was excited to meet Ban Bankas who’s from Canada and came down to do an awesome show at The Gramercy Theater. Ben’s comedy is very much out there, brave, courageous and done in good spirit, where he laughs at himself sometimes, as if he can’t believe what he just said, but you can tell he’s a great guy who loves people. And as someone who had a Chinese girlfriend for many years, I can attest to the fact that his Chinese accent is on point!!! We exchanged info and I hope to see him again!

Joe List and Friends was also held at The Gramercy, … another sold out show, … and as I walked in to the green room I was greeted by Joe, his wife comedian Sarah Tollemache, Mark Normand, Sam Morril, comedy exec Maureen Taran, Liz Furiati who runs The Cellar, and who always calls me “Gurian”, Kerryn Feehan, and Matt Salacuse who was filming the backstage action. The show was amazing, the backdrop named Joe List as ” The Man of the Year” and back stage there was a delicious chocolate cake with that very inscription. Someone couldn’t wait to taste it before I got the pic, and it wasn’t ME!!!!

Right after this show Mark Normand and Matt Ruby did their own show “Shtick or Treat” where they came out dressed as Saudi princes and comics came out in different get-ups doing other comedian’s material. Jeff Ross came out with a wig as the late, great Richard Lewis! Joe and Sarah were on their way to SkankFest in Vegas!!!

Some stand-outs for me at the fest were Gastor Almonte, who has such a unique delivery coupled with clever material, Nacya Marreiro from LA, who came with her dog Oslo, and Richard Villa who were all part of a Latino show at New York Comedy Club. The backstage area was like a party with these fun people, and it was so good to re-connect with Richard who remembered me from when I was out in LA and showed up at the Refried Comedy Show. In the video we shot outside in the street he was mobbed by audience members who needed to tell him how much they loved the show and I left it in the video!

WITH RICHARD VILLA OUTSIDE OF NYCC INCLUDING RAVES FROM THE AUDIENCE

Then I got to see a club I hadn’t been to before , the new and very special Highline Comedy Club run by Tom Luciano, who I told that if the club stayed as successful as it is, they’d call him Lucky Luciano! Great show with Gary Vider, Andy Fiori my pal from Sirius XM days, Meghan Hanley who was a great host, and J.P.McDade. All very funny which is perfect for a comedy show! Really nice room with a huge green room restaurant on the floor above.

**(L-R) ANDY FIORI, GARY VIDER, MEGHAN HANLEY AND J.P. MCDADE**

Another new club I was glad to check out is owned by another guy with only two initials as his first name, my buddy P.J. Landers, who opened the new two story Comedy Village on West 44th Street. Beautiful club. P.J.showed me around and I even tried out the stage!

Speaking of new venues, major congrats to Cris and Paul Italia at The Stand who are making the Chelsea Music Hall into The Stand West. It’s a great space. I’ve been on that stage several times including Seth Herzog’s Sweet shows, and these Italia guys really know how to build a successful club. I got to see Daniel Bridge-Gadd there, hosting the Ed Bassmaster show. Daniel is an ex-football player who transitioned into comedy and is very funny.

**DANIEL BRIDGE-GADD ON STAGE AT THE STAND WEST**

**(L-R) WITH PAUL ITALIA AND LOUIS FARANDA THE HUMBLE LONG-TIME HEAD OF THE NYCF**

Daniel describes himself as a “white-talking Black Jewish guy” which basically covers all the bases, and which explained why he was able to get away with using the “N” word. He’s really light-skinned. As for me, I’m so politically correct I don’t even take the “N” train!!! (LOL)

The Stand East had one of the hottest NYCF parties and lots of fun peeps showed up.

**(L-R) COMEDY EXECS JODI LIEBERMAN, AND ZOE FRIEDMAN**

And the Hard Rock was the main base of operations where I got to see a bunch of new faces and one of the best shows was hosted by Ryan Long, who I hadn’t seen in a long time!

**WITH RYAN LONG AT THE HARD ROCK HOTEL SHOWROOM**

PERIEL AND FRIENDS AT WEST SIDE COMEDY

Comedian Periel Aschenbrand put together a great show at West Side Comedy Club, with Dan Naturman, who she does the Comedy Cellar podcast with, Olga Namer and the incredible Matt Friend. I say “incredible” because on one of his Instagram posts where he literally turns into Rami Malek my comment on his amazing ability to transform himself already has over 1850 likes and climbing every single day.

I have worked with several legendary impressionists in the past like Rich Little, Frank Gorshin, Fred Travalena, and the great political impressionist and my old friend Jim Morris, and Matt Friend is up there with the best of them. It’s uncanny to watch him morph into the person he’s imitating, especially when he does Mitch McConnell! After all my years in comedy, very few things make me laugh out loud. That does!!!

**WITH RICH LITTLE AT A FRIARS ROAST-80’S**

WORLD PREMIERE OF “WE MET AT GROSSINGERS”

A world premiere of any film is always exciting, but even moreso when you’re in the film!!! The tremendous success of the Netflix hit ” The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” spurred a renewed interest in that time period, the 1950’s when the Borscht Belt in upstate New York, had gorgeous hotels like Grossingers, The Concord, Kutcher’s, The Nevele and lots more. Grossingers stood out as it had it’s own airport, a ski slope where they brought in artificial snow so you could ski in the summer, an ice skating rink, indoor and huge outdoor pools, and all the biggest comedy talent of the time.

I was at Grossingers at two different points in my life. As a child.from 10-13, singing solo in the Samuel Sterner choir, that performed there on the High Holy Days, and as an adult writing for the major comedians who performed at the hotel like Milton Berle, who was my sponsor in The Friars Club, Jerry Lewis, Allen and Rossi, Dick Capri, Freddy Roman and tons more.

**ME AT 10 YEARS OLD AT GROSSINGERS WITH MY MOM AND DAD DRESSED TO SING FOR THE HIGH HOLIDAYS** **( FROM THE ORIGINAL PHOTO PACKET!!! REMEMBER THOSE ???)**

That’s why I was honored to be included in this wonderful film that focussed on the life of Jennie Grossinger. Jennie, who always came out to greet me as a child, was the only woman who owned and ran such a huge hotel and was known world-wide for her hospitality, hosting heads of state as well as famous athletes like Jackie Robinson. Jackie broke the color barrier not only in sports but in hotel stays at Grossingers.

Thanks to Harris Salomon of Atlantic Overseas Pictures, who came up with the idea, and Bobby Friedman from Bungalow Entertainment, and especially thanks to award-winning director Paula Eiselt the film is a masterpiece and a very important film for our time, showing the tremendous contribution of the Jewish people to our society, and how they worked hard to include the Black community in places where they were previously not allowed. This film is a “Must See.”

**PROMO PHOTO FOR WE MET AT GROSSINGERS**

**A PANEL WE DID FOR THE FILM AT THE BORSCHT BELT FESTIVAL IN ELLENVILLE, NY**–**HARRIS SALOMON IS IN THE REAR**

Then a few days after the premiere there was a huge party and comedy show at Mr. Purple, a very hip downtown space co-hosted by Patricia Heaton from Everybody Loves Raymond, and comic Judy Gold! And I got to sit with my old pal Robert Klein who was being honored with an award, and who told me he was not planning on performing, but wound up performing anyway due to popular demand!!!

COMEDY MATTERS GIRL OF THE MONTH

**HERE’S TO KATY FOR HER LOVE OF COMEDY AND SUPPORT OF THE COMEDY SCENE**

And with that I thank you all for indulging me with this very long column, but there was just so much to see and do since the last one. I had so much more, it could have been even longer!!!

Until next time, follow Jeffrey on Instagram at @jeffreygurian and on TikTok at @jeffreylgurian and we’ll see you out in the clubs!!! AND PLEASE FEEL FREE TO SHARE THIS WITH A FRIEND WHO LIKES COMEDY!!!

Tags: "Comedy Cellar", "Comedy Matters TV", "Corinne Fisher", "New York Comedy Club", "New York Comedy Festival", "NY Comedy Festival", Ari Gold, Ben Bankas, Chris Distefano, Entourage, Gotham Comedy Club, Gramercy Theater, Jacob Williams, Jeff Ross, Jeffrey Gurian, Jeffrey Ross, Jeremy Piven, Joe List, Mark Normand, Matt Friend, Nacya Marriero, NYCF, Richard Villa, Ryan Long, Sam Morril, Soho International Film Festival, T.J>Miller, The Stand NYC, Triad Theater, West Side Comedy Club, Wild 'n Out

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COMEDY MATTERS – SPECIAL EDITION WITH JEFFREY ROSS ON BROADWAY, CHRIS DISTEFANO AT THE THEATER AT MSG, AND NATE BARGATZE AT THE EMMY’S!

Posted by Jeffrey Gurian on September 15, 2025

JEFF ROSS BRINGS A BANANA TO BROADWAY

I’ve had the pleasure of knowing Jeffrey Ross for more than 20 years, and there’s nothing better than seeing a friend do well, except maybe seeing YOURSELF do well! (LOL) I was at the Roast they did of Jeff Ross back in the day, when my pal uber-manager Barry Katz, who managed Dave Chappelle, Bill Burr, Tracy Morgan, Nick Swardson, Wanda Sykes and so many more, owned the Boston Comedy Club down in the Village! Below are just some of the photos of me and Jeffrey taken over the years!

As a member of The Friars Club for so many years, ( humble brag – Milton Berle was my sponsor! LOL) and as the main writer for the legendary Roasts for 12 years under producer Bob Saks, I was thrilled to watch Jeff climb to the honored position of RoastMaster General. He kind of took over for Milton as being the Roast Master and could always be counted on to absolutely destroy the crowd with such sharp material.

**WITH COMIC STRIP OWNER RICHIE TIENKEN WHEN WE DID JEFF’S INTERVIEW FOR MY BOOK “MAKE ‘EM LAUGH**“

So it was very exciting for me to see Jeffrey attain the honor of having a one-man show on Broadway, which only a handful of other comedians have done, like Jackie Mason and Mike Birbiglia. Other comics like the great Dick Capri, the very first comedian I ever wrote for, were stars in an ensemble like Catskills on Broadway which was still a HUGE honor, but doing it all by yourself is truly a rarity.

“Take A Banana For The Ride” is not only funny but the very touching story of Jeffrey’s life, having lost both of his parents at a very early age, and basically being raised by his maternal grandfather Jack, who he affectionately called “Pop Jack” and who Jeffrey credits for giving him the incentive to be in comedy. As a young man his grandfather would give him a few bucks and told him to “take a banana for the ride” referring to the bus ride from New Jersey to Manhattan where Jeffrey would perform in clubs.

No one outside of comedy knows the struggles you have to face and the obstacles you have to overcome to become known in comedy. It’s truly amazing that anyone ever makes it at all! Besides the personal struggles, which were huge, Jeffrey fortunately overcame a battle with colon cancer, the story of which he makes part of the show, revealing that they had to take 9 inches off of his colon, leaving him with just a “semi-colon”, a great joke that only a true comedian could come up with.

The show is much more than a “performance”, because a performance can feel just that, … like a performance, … like it’s contrived. Jeff speaks from his heart, as if you were with him one on one. It’s very personal. There were moments that It moved me and many people to tears. It needs to have an extended run!!!

**WITH JEFF BACKSTAGE AT THE NEDERLANDER THEATER**

Backstage after the show I had the opportunity to congratulate Jeff personally and reminisce about some special times we shared. Like the time in Montreal at the JFL Festival, when he and I were having lunch together, and a man came over to the table and apologized for interrupting our lunch but told Jeffrey to stay another day, because his film Patriot Act had won the top award! I never forgot that and neither did Jeff!

Then there was the time he lost his phone in an Uber, which is a very traumatic thing, and we were outside of a comedy club in Manhattan, and I felt so bad for him that instead of going inside to watch the show, I stayed with him and we used my phone to track down his phone and actually got it back!

THANK YOU TO STAND-UP COLORING BOOK!

Every once in a while I get contacted by some talented artist who gifts me with something special. This time it was Christian of Stand-Up Coloring Books on Instagram that created this little cartoon thingy for me promoting the new video about me, shot and directed by @TheHomeless Pimp, which you can see below if you are so inclined!!!

NOEL LEON AT EASTVILLE COMEDY

Noel Leon, comic/actress/influencer did a show at Eastville Comedy Club out in Brooklyn and people know that basically the only way to get me out to Brooklyn is to put me on the show, so she did! (LOL) Last year we had done a little film together called “A Walk In The Park” which she described as “an homage to Woody Allen” who was my comedic inspiration. He actually read my earliest material, and encouraged me to go further with it. Also I find it hard to go to Brooklyn because I have no beard!

Noel’s show is more like a performance piece, which would be great in a theater, as she does characters, mixed in with the jokes. She had Kate Robards as the host, with Mickey Gooch, who was there with his family including his Mom, but didn’t let that stop him from doing his material, and the always funny Corinne Fisher from her hit podcast “Guys We F***ed” dropped by to do a guest spot. Always special to see Corinne! Little did I know that I’d have the pleasure of seeing her again the following week backstage at Chris Distefano’s show at The Theater at MSG, which you’ll be reading about next! Totally fun night out in Brooklyn, … even with no beard! !

**PROOF THAT I WAS THERE!!! ((NO BEARD!)**

CHRIS DISTEFANO KILLS IT AGAIN AT MSG THEATER

Everybody loves Chris Distefano. There’s just something about the guy. You gotta love him! And talking about how long I know someone. I know Chris Distefano through his transformation from an infant when he was my guest on Sirius XM’s Ron and Fez show back in 2014 to the rock star he looks like now!

**CHRIS D AS AN INFANT WITH ME ON SIRIUS XM**

So when his manager Emilio Savone, owner of 5 NY Comedy Clubs told me that he would be back at the Theater at MSG for the second time, I told him to save me two seats!

Of course Chris had his main guy James Mattern hosting the show. James opens for Chris all over the world. And I think it’s safe to say that nobody brings the energy like James Mattern, … and the guy doesn’t even need a mic! He could be whispering and you’re like ” James, tone it down!” LOL He gets the audience psyched and won’t even let Chris come out ’til they are at a fever pitch!

“Aruba Ray” Ellin flew in from Aruba … where he spends half the year performing at his own comedy club, … to be the first comic to entertain after James warmed up the crowd. Ray is reliably funny and takes self-deprecating humor to another level. Every audience loves self-deprecating humor cause it males them feel like they’re ok, but when Ray does a thing about his hair that makes him look like certain historical figures, the audience is screaming with laughter.

I’ll never forget the first night I met Ray, many, many years ago at The Comic Strip. I don’t even know if he remembers this. I started Comedy Matters 25 years ago and it was fairly new when this happened, but Ray saw me taking notes at his show, and didn’t know I was writing a column. He thought I was copying down his jokes, and when he found out the truth we both had a good laugh about it, and have been friends ever since.

He even hosted a diabetes fund-raiser for me at The Strip and starred in a little film I wrote for YouTube star Lauren Francesca, who played a character known as Besame Mucho, the best kisser in the world, and Ray had to kiss her in the film. I think he still owes me for that! (LOL)

( Well, … he did invite me down to Aruba this coming March, so that’s something!!! )

Then James announced a very special guest and Colin Quinn came out to thunderous applause. Colin and I go back probably even before I started writing Comedy Matters, to the days he was doing MTV’s Remote Control, and I was writing for MTV’s Friday Night Video Fights! We were both children, and MTV was in it’s infancy! LOL

Colin was my very first guest on Sirius XM with Ron Bennington and Fez Whatley back in 2014. I knew him before he had any facial hair. Then we did an episode of Crashing together at The Comedy Cellar back in 2018 and in December of 2023 I got to open for him at the Vermont Comedy Festival and we had a blast hanging out and running around Vermont for the weekend. Then we drove back to NY together. It’s ALWAYS great to see Colin!

**WITH COLIN QUINN BACKSTAGE AT THE THEATER AT MSG AFTER CHRIS D’S SHOW-9/11/25**

After the show we all got to hang out backstage which as I always say is the fun part for me. It’s the part that most people never get to see! But that’s why you read this column! (LOL) Here’s a sneak peek for you guys, starting with the ovation Chris got after the show!

**WITH MY MAN CHRIS D AT THE THEATER AT MSG**

THE PROGRESSION OF NATE BARGATZE

No one can ever tell me I don’t have a good eye for talent. When I brought Nate Bargatze on Sirius XM as my guest back in 2014, I knew he’d be big, but had no idea HOW big! Highest grossing comedy performer in Boxscore history in 2024, when his “The Be Funny Tour” brought in 82.2 million buckaroos! In 2023 his special “Hello World” on Amazon Prime became the platform’s most-streamed original comedy special in its first 28 days of viewership, and this Sunday he Exec. Produced and hosted The Emmy awards on CBS at the Peacock Theater in LA. I think that’s a pretty big thing! And he looks like a different person! Success does that for people. It allows you to become who you were meant to be!

And this is how he looks now hosting The Emmy’s!!!

**NATE BARGATZE HOSTING THE 2025 EMMY’S**

Sorry but that’s it for this issue! More coming soon, but I wanted to get the Jeffrey Ross story out asap to encourage the powers that be to extend the show!

Make sure to follow Jeffrey on IG at @jeffreygurian and on TikTok at @jeffreylgurian and of course on YouTube when you watch the videos in this column!!! Bye for now!!!

Tags: backstage interview, backstage passes, celebrity interview, Chris Distefano, Comedy, Comedy Matters TV, Frairs Roast, Friars Club, Jeff Ross, Jeffrey Gurian, Jeffrey Ross on Broadway, Nate Bargatze, Noel Leon, RoastMaster General, Ron Bennington, Sirius XM radio, Sold Out Show, Stand Up Comedy, Take a Banana For The Ride, The Emmy Awards, The Theater at Madison Square Garden, TV host, vip access, VIP interview

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Comedy Matters Round-Up With Highlights of NY Comedy Fest, Judd Apatow, JB Smoove, Jiaoying Summers, Gilbert Tribute and so much more!!!

Posted by Jeffrey Gurian on November 26, 2024

**WITH JUDD APATOW AT HIS SHOW “JUDD APATOW AND FRIENDS” AT THE BEACON THEATER**

I have to start this column with a shout-out to “The Queen of NY Comedy” Caroline Hirsch and Andrew Fox for this amazing 20th year of the New York Comedy Festival. Over 100 shows in 5 boroughs. They actually ran out of boroughs or there would have been more!!!

Next I have to thank their amazing hard-working team, namely Louis Faranda, head of booking, who’s been with Caroline the entire time, Greg Charles long-time head of publicity, and Carolyn Gitomer and Jonny Moran who work with Louis to make sure that everything runs smoothly. And it does!!!

CHRIS DISTEFANO – NEW YORK’S NEXT MAYOR?????

In the order of shows I attended, I started with Chris DiStefano’s “Hat Trick” which kicked off the festival’s first night. Chris did three shows in a row at each of New York Comedy Club’s venues. Six P.M. for the first show on East 4th Street, 7 P.M. for the 2nd show on 24th Street, and 9:30 at the new location on the West side where Stand Up NY used to be. I love their huge green room cause it’s big and they always have candy!

MY INTERVIEW WITH NEW YORK’S NEXT MAYOR

Owner Emilio Savone is amazing and now has five locations! We often reminisce how he started out as a ticket seller at The Comic Strip when I was writing the book on that legendary venue, that features a foreword by Chris Rock. I have some amazing news about Chris D. that I promised to keep secret until they’re ready for the world to know. So don’t even ask cause I won’t tell. But I do think he’ll make a great Mayor!!! ( Watch the video above!)

I’m good at keeping secrets. I kept a secret for Jerry Seinfeld for three months when he was doing his Netflix special at The Comic Strip. He asked me not to write about where he was doing it, and it would have made a great scoop but I don’t do things like that! I would never ruin a relationship for a scoop! Not even for Jason Scoop!!! (LOLOL)

LOTS OF GARBAGE AT CHELSEA MUSIC HALL!!!

There were so many shows to choose from it was really hard to make a choice but the next night I went to see Are You Garbage, an audience participation show at one of my favorite venues, Michael Ginsberg’s Chelsea Music Hall where Seth Herzog does his Sweet shows. It was H. Foley, and Kevin Ryan with guests Sam Morril, and Mike Cannon. There may have been more but I had to leave to catch Judd Apatow and Friends at the Beacon Theater.

**(L-R) Sam Morril, Kevin Ryan, and H.Foley in “Are You Garbage?”**

JUDD APATOW AND FRIENDS SELL OUT THE BEACON

It was absolutely no surprise that the show was sold out for the man I refer to as “The King of Hollywood”, but with my All Access Pass I was able to hang backstage until luckily one single seat happened to open up. What’s special about Judd is that with all of his success people who have never met him will be glad to know he’s still a humble guy! Success has not gone to his head!

He opened up with a really strong probably 20 minute set, brought out the always funny Ricky Velez, who has a Judd-produced special, then he introduced Loudon Wainwright Jr. who did about 5 songs, and then Mike Birbiglia who I caught up with backstage and who did pieces from his new show “The Good Life” which he’ll be performing this coming March! Can’t wait! Mike has done more one man shows than anyone I know since Jackie Mason!

Among other things Mike talked about his Dad’s stroke, which was made even more difficult because his Dad is a neurologist, so he knows everything they are doing for him, and maybe even more than they do. When I first met Ricky and Mike they didn’t have kids. Now Mike has a 9 year old daughter and Ricky has a six year old son! And speaking of kids, Judd’s daughter Iris was there and brought a ton of her friends! So special for a Dad. That’s the kind of stuff I like to talk about. There was a professional photographer backstage that got great photos of everyone. I on the other hand did the best I could! (LOL) Don’t judge me! (LOL)

Judd made it extra special for me by agreeing to participate in a really big project looming on the horizon that I’m involved with, along with D.L. Hughley, Jeffrey Ross, J.B. Smoove who also said “Yes”, Chris DiStefano, Colin Quinn, Mark Normand, Joe List and several more big names!

KATIE BOYLE ROCKS NYCC

Next on my journey was Katie Boyle’s special taped at New York Comedy Club on 24th Street. I love her accent and as you’ll see in the video below, … the audience did too!

NATALIE ORTEGA IS WICKEDLY FUNNY

Natalie Ortega’s Funny Girls was another stand-out performance for me again back at Chelsea Music Hall. It was an all women’s show but Natalie really stood out for me. She’s a natural and a real multi-talented comedy force. She has a role as Nessa Rose in Wicked on Broadway but she told me her great love is stand up comedy and she’s really good. She brings a level of excitement to the stage that’s palpable. I was so impressed I couldn’t wait to tell her. And I waited till right after her original song titled ” I Want To F**k Pete Davidson”! That’s really the name of the song. It’s not a cover. It’s original! I asked her if she knew him and she said “Not yet!” I can’t wait to tell Pete!

BEFORE WE GET STARTED

Ryan Reiss had a big honor during the festival. It was one of the main shows at The Hard Rock Hotel which was the base of operations for the festival. Six years of hard work led to a documentary film in which he starred called “Before We Get Started.” It was about the world of warm up comics. At one special point in the film Ryan gets to pitch his idea for a TV show to Howie Mandel, which was a long time dream of his. You actually get to see it happen on camera!

Every TV show has a warm up comic. It’s a very different form of comedy than just coming out and doing your act for 15 minutes. The star of the show depends on you to get the audience psyched and ready for their appearance. Ryan and producer Pete Demas showed the film to a packed, sold-out room at The Hard Rock, and it was fantastic! A must see for anyone who loves and appreciates how hard it is to do comedy. And long time warm-ups like Tom Kelly, Gary Cannon, and Joey Kola, currently with the Drew Barrymore Show, who’s doing it for 31 years were all in the audience.

COMEDY GIVES BACK LUNCHEON

Back in 2011, Zoe Friedman, Amber J. Lawson and Jodi Lieberman did a wonderful thing in creating Comedy Gives Back. It’s a non-profit that is basically the safety net for the comedy community by providing financial crisis relief, mental health and chemical dependency treatment. Many comics are struggling to make ends meet and the ladies held a luncheon at Gotham Comedy Club, which thanks to Chris Mazzilli always makes itself available for a good cause, to spread the word about their work.

**(L-R) ZOE FRIEDMAN, AMBER J. LAWSON, AND JODI LIEBERMAN**

I got there early and had a chance to shmooze with the ladies and partake of their complimentary pizza lunch, until we were joined by Alan Zweibel, the man who gave me my start in comedy while he was a main writer up at SNL in the earliest days of the show. To this day he says he can’t get the image of “creamcheese on the ankles of elderly women who wore their stockings rolled down like bagels” which was a little film I made starring my grandmother that I brought up to SNL. It’s a story that has been told in the little doc they made about me in 2020. Some of the past recipients of CGB’s generosiyy were there to sing their praises. I also got to re-connect with Joanna Briley who once gave me the honor of being the opening act for the 2nd night of the Martin Luther King Comedy Fest in Bed-Stuy Brooklyn, a true honor for me!

THE LOVE FOR GILBERT GOES ON

One of the other big events of the festival was the tribute to Gilbert Gottfried at the Hard Rock. It was called “Celebrating Gilbert” and the screen said “Still Screaming”. HIs wife Dara hosted the sold out event and there was no chance I would miss this since Gilbert and I were friends since probably the late 70’s or early 80’s. We had a long fun history and I really loved that guy! In the early days at Carolines, he literally made me laugh until I was in physical pain with his squid material and absurd references! He would proudly claim that no one had more squid material than he did, as he tore a napkin into strips like the tentacles of a squid!!!!

**CAROLINE HIRSCH ADDRESSING THE PANEL (L-R) FRANK SANTOPADRE, DARA GOTTFRIED, JUDY GOLD, SUSIE ESSMAN, AND RICHARD KIND**

**MY EARLIEST PHOTO WITH GILBERT CIRCA 80’S**

It was a spectacular event with people sharing stories of Gilbert and how unique he was, and also his reputation for being cheap. Truthfully the most exciting part for me was meeting his kids Lily and Max. I remember when they were born and now Max is 15 and Lily is 17. I knew Gilbert so long I was with him in the hospital when his appendix burst back in the early 90’s. I used to drive him home when he lived with his Mom. I once asked him if she “got him”, … if she knew he was “Gilbert”, … if she had any idea who he was, and he said “No!” To her he was just her son Gilbert!

After everyone on the panel shared their stories Frank Santopadre went out in the audience to speak to people like Chevy Chase, Robert Smigel, and other people who had known and worked with Gilbert. I was sitting in the very last row and I was dying to tell one of my many Gilbert stories. I didn’t know how I was going to get their attention though, and my heart was pounding.

I told myself if I didn’t do this I would never forgive myself and never get another chance, so I started nervously walking down the aisle towards the stage, and two women came up behind me encouraging me to share my story. I think they were from the festival. As I got close to the stage I got up the nerve to call out ” Frank, can I tell a story?” And Frank said “Jeff Gurian, ladies and gentlemen, and handed me the mic.” The story I told is below and Chevy Chase was sitting right in front of me as you can see in the video thanks to videographer Bob Sweeney, who filmed the whole event!

At the end of the event something very special happened. Bruce Hills who ran JFL Montreal for so many years came down with Nick Brazao who currently runs the programming at JFL to present Dara, Lily and Max with a huge sports jersey that says Gottfried 55! Not sure why it was so huge, but 55 is the year Gilbert was born!

**DARA, LILY, BRUCE HILLS, NICK BRAZAO, AND MAX GOTTFRIED AND THE JERSEY!!!**

And the proverbial icing on the cake was when it came out on Page Six in the NY Post! ( With my photo no less!!! LOL)

VINNY GUADAGNINO BRINGS IT AT THE STAND

I went to Vinny’s show truly not knowing what to expect. Many actors and people on TV think they can do stand-up comedy just because they’re used to being on camera. Most of the time it doesn’t work. Stand-up comedy is an art form all unto itself. It does not translate.

I was pleasantly surprised. Vinny is funny and I got a chance to tell him so after the show. He had no idea who I was so I don’t know if it meant anything to him, but I like to tell people when I think they’re doing something good. Creative people need to be re-affirmed! Also on the show was Jeffrey Asmus, and Jiaoying Summers who I also saw a couple of nights later at her own show at the Laurie Beechman Theater!

NEW FACES AT THE HARD ROCK

Most of the big industry shows were held at The Hard Rock. Lots of new and not so new fun talent. I walked in when my friend Soo Ra was on stage. Also Natalie Cuomo was a stand-out who’s soon to be married to Dan LaMorte, but the winner of the NY’s Funniest was Jamie Wolf who I picked as well. I just hope he doesn’t seriously injure his neck doing the airline crashing thing! ( Inside joke!)

J.B. IS DEFINITELY SMOOVE

Hadn’t seen JB Smoove in a while but he’s definitely one of my faves, so when I saw he was going to be at Town Hall I put it on my list of “Must-See” shows, and he definitely brought “the ruckus” as he’s prone to do! This was my final big show I covered at the festival!

I got there early with my assistant Jake Rothwell, and went right up to his dressing room. Backstage at Town Hall is huge and very difficult to navigate. To this day I always find it fascinating to see what goes on backstage. Maybe it’s because most people have no idea what it’s like. His dressing room was full of people and he was reviewing some notes when I came in. I had texted him to let him know I was coming because I don’t like to just show up with no notice.

He greeted me warmly and introduced me to his lovely wife, and then because he was busy prepping, I split to let him get ready, and told him I’d see him afterwards. He does such an entertaining show and the audience really loves him. I told him he brings joy to the stage, which is very special. Lots of people are funny but not everyone brings joy to the stage. We talked about his new game show on Amazon Prime called “Buy It Now” that just launched on Oct. 30th, where entrepreneurs get a chance to pitch their products, and the differences between that and Shark Tank.

We also reminisced about the loss of our mutual friend Richard Lewis, his cast-mate from Curb Your Enthusiasm, and JB’s great book ” The Book of Leon.” I was at the book launch with JB and Fifty Cent!

HAVING A BITE TO EAT **WITH JB SMOOVE** AT JFL MONTREAL 2010

It was so great to see the festival back again! Can’t wait for next year to do it again! That’s it for this column, but the next column is coming soon! If you liked it feel free to let me know at jeffrey@jeffreygurian.com

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone! I hope you all have lots to be thankful for!!! Follow me on Instagram at @jeffreygurian and I’ll see you in the clubs!!!

Tags: "Alan Zweibel", "J.B. Smoove", "JB Smoove", "Jersey Shore", "New York Comedy Club", "New York Comedy Festival", "Ricky Velez", "The Beacon Theater", "Town Hall", Chris Distefano, Gilbert Gottfried, Gotham Comedy Club, JFL, Jiaoying Summers, Judd Apatow, Just for Laughs Montreal, Jusy Gold, Ryan Reiss, Sam Morril, Susie Essman, The Stand Comedy Club, Vinny Guadagnino

Posted in: Book Reviews, Broadway Show, Celeb Photos, Charity Events, Comedians In The News, Comedy, Comedy Central, Comedy Clubs, Comedy Events, Comedy Festivals, Comedy Videos, Entertainment News, Jeffrey Gurian News, New TV Show, Nightlife Events, Page 6 Review, Red Carpet Events, Social Media, Stand-Up Comedy

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Comedy Matters TV On The Scene with National Lampoon, Chris Distefano at Gotham, The Irishman, and more!!!

Posted by Jeffrey Gurian on December 11, 2019

National Lampoon Back on the Scene!

National Lampoon which celebrates its 50^th anniversary in 2020, just launched a new comedy space and weekly stand-up series, “LIC Comedy,” in Long Island City thanks to Lampoon Pres. Evan Shapiro, and Exec. V.P. of Digital Media Gian Hunjan, along with Creative Associate Claudia Barran. They acquired the brand back in 2017 but just partnered with LIC Artists and The Plaxall Gallery to do a series of comedy shows, besides bringing back the beloved and iconic National Lampoon Radio hour.

Premiering December 19, the new, 11-episode podcast, in partnership with Forever Dog Podcast Network and available on iTunes, Spotify and other podcasting platforms will feature a collection of National Lampoon comedy sketches, characters, music and more, thanks to lead writers Cole Escola (Emmy-nominated “At Home with Amy Sedaris,” “Difficult People”) and Jo Firestone (Adult Swim, “The Tonight Show”).

I went out there for the inaugural show and the place is amazing. It’s a huge 12,000 square foot community center/art gallery, with many rooms, and fortunately I got there early enough that Gian found me wandering in the street, greeted me and guided me in, and then Evan gave me the tour including an outdoor space right on some kind of waterway that will be amazing for parties during the nice weather. That’s THEIR plan not mine! Those who know me know that I LOVE parties! (LOL)

The plan is to have a show every Friday night in perpetuity. The inaugural show was well attended by an interesting and upscale, handpicked group of people, in a very relaxed setting and each of the comics commented on the unusual setting, … performing in a spacious art gallery, with a slide of a huge frame on the wall behind them.

First up was Pat Burtscher, who was originally from Toronto, then lived in London and moved here to NY as of last May. He stuck out to me because he had such unusual and unique premises, which I love and respect. Things like, ” We’re the only animals that give ourselves jobs” which is a great premise and then he expanded upon it, which is how I learned to do comedy, from some of the greats. You get a strong premise and build a bunch of jokes around it. That’s the essence of writing comedy. Or at least it should be!

When I went up to him after the show to compliment him he reminded me that we had already met back in August when we were on the same show at the Fairfield Comedy Club, and I drove him and two other comics, Beecher and Jason Salmon back to New York. Pat was sitting in the back seat so I didn’t get to learn his face! (LOL) I love unique because it’s so hard to find!

Also on the show was Ali Kolbert who talks a lot about being 27 but looking much younger, which is true. Ali had been an NBC page and wound up making her late night debut on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon.

And the always funny Ricky Velez came on next. Ricky’s part of the Fat Baby crew with Giulio Gallarotti, Josh Wesson and Benny Demarco and I love the energy that those guys bring wherever they go. Ricky is also tight with Pete Davidson and performs on shows with him on the road.

Ricky talked a lot about his baby, being a Dad, his own Dad, and how his wife comes from money and wears pajamas, which to paraphrase him is a rich person’s game!

**RICKY VELEZ HOLDING IT DOWN, IN THE TIGHTEST SAGGIEST PANTS EVER- – – BUT SOMEHOW HE MAKES THEM LOOK GOOD!**

Dave Merheje followed and I had seen Dave this past summer on the Ronnie Chieng TV gala when he surprised me by performing in shorts and a T-shirt for television, while Ronnie was in a beautiful suit.

Dave’s background is Lebanese and it was funny hearing him tell the story of how his uncle once came to the door for Christmas proclaiming that he was Santa Claus, without a costume, just a beard, yelled out “Ha, Ha, Ha” instead of “Ho, Ho, Ho”, and the kids were scared that Santa Claus had an Arabic accent! Btw, he didn’t wear shorts this time, he wore bright red sweats pants!

Giulio Gallarotti came out and closed the show with a strong set, talking about how he doesn’t like to smoke weed and gave a strong reason why, and I was hoping he’d do a song as Lil Young Big his rapper alter-ego. Maybe next time.

But it was a very cool event, and when I asked Evan what he wanted people to know about it he said to tell you guys that the show will run every Friday at 10, part of the ticket sales go to support local artists, the tickets are 15 bucks and they have the least expensive drinks of any comedy club in the five boroughs!

Chris Distefano Uses Family As Inspiration for Jokes

I’ve known Chris Distefano since the beginning when we used to do open mic shows at Gotham Comedy Club and he was honing bits like “Tell me no”, and talking about his Mom dating a guy named Phineas with polio, and he was always hilarious. So it was great to see him headlining Gotham with sold out shows. The place was so packed they threatened to put strangers with me at my table! (LOL)

I was seated right next to Chris’ manager comedy heavyweight Rick Dorfman of Authentic Talent and Literary Agency, who jokingly asked me if I didn’t have anything better to do than go to a comedy show!

**BACKSTAGE WITH CHRIS DISTEFANO AT GOTHAM COMEDY CLUB AFTER HIS SOLD OUT SHOW!**

He held it down for an hour with non-stop laughs and his very unique delivery. That’s a very rare thing to have and I was glad to tell him that after the show. It’s very hard to have a unique delivery. Gilbert Gottfried does it, Judah Friedlander does it, and Chris does it too.

He makes it sound like he doesn’t know what he’s going to say next in that very kind of staccato way he has of speaking, jumping from one thing to another. To the audience it sounds like he’s saying it all for the very first time. He hits on very current topics like memes, peanut allergies, cancel culture etc.

And he kept his jacket on the whole time too, but took it off for the VIP meet and greet after the show. Almost the whole audience signed up for it and lined up to buy merch and take photos.

A lot of his merch was about History Hyenas the podcast he does with his comedy bro’ Yannis Pappas. Both of these guys were my guests on Sirius XM’s Bennington Show. After the Gotham show I went backstage to ask him a couple of questions.

THE INTERVIEW

JG: So tell me about History Hyenas.
CD – History Hyenas is a podcast I do with Yannis Pappas, it’s been going on about 18 months now, we just sold out The Gramercy Theatre a couple of weeks ago and we’re gonna do another show , actually a residency there throughout 2020, and we’ve had Jim Gaffigan on, Bill Burr, Andrew Schulz, and all the episodes are available on i-Tunes…
JG – But what’s the concept of the show?

CD – The concept of the show is it’s a history show but it’s comedy first, so you’ll learn but you’ll laugh first and foremost, it’s always comedy and then we’ll throw in some history stuff that you can regurgitate at a party and sound and look cool!

JG – Do the comics have to study history before they come on?

CD – No, we don’t require comics to study at all. They come on and if they are passionate about it, like Jim Gaffigan came on and did a whole episode about the Samurai culture in Japan because he had just come from there and he loved it. Bill Burr came on and did a whole history tour of Boston because he knows all about it, and that works but we’ve had other episodes where we just had Michael Kosta on or Sam Morril and just shoot the shit just being three comics in a room.

JG – I just got back from Japan and it’s crazy over there. I did a couple of shows there and it’s insane.
CD – Yeh, I would love to go to Japan.

JG – It’s a long fucking trip!

CD – Yeh, I’ll take an edible.

JG – You better bring more than one for 14 hours. What else do you have that people should know about, … your special 38 Waist?

CD – Well my special 38 Waist is on Comedy Central, but I’m gonna do a second special Size 36 Waist, that comes out on Comedy Central in August of 2021.
JG- Really? Or are you just fuckin’ with me?

CD – No I swear. Cause I’ve been on Keto, and I have a good boxing trainer Paulie, who’s here tonight that feeds me oregano pills, he’s here in the green room, I have a cartoon in development with Comedy Central, and of course I hope that all those things go, but my real passion right now is the podcast Hisstory Hyenas. That’s why the shows were sold out at Gotham this weekend, and why shows in general are selling out for me now is because of that podcast.

JG – Where do you tape it from?

CD – We tape it from The Comedy Cellar, RiotCast Studios, Bobby Kelly’s podcast network, and we tape anywhere from 4 hours a week to 8 hours a week depending on how much coffee Yannis has had.

JG – Tell me about the cartoon.

CD – It’s slated to come out hopefully some time in 2020, and I also have a non-scripted show in development with Comedy Central. The cartoon’s about my life. it’s about being a single Dad, with a bi-racial kid, and a father who’s in the Mafia. ( Lots of laughter)

JG – That’s a hilarious story. It’s gotta be a hit.

CD – So it’s me and my Dad raising this Puerto Rican kid doing the best we can.

JG – Is there anything you’d like to do that you haven’t done yet?

CD – Well in 2020, I moved up in certain markets to theaters, so I’m hoping to go from the comedy clubs to the theaters, and start selling theaters out, that’s really my main goal for 2020.

JG – Well I just have to say that I’ve seen you from the beginning and you’ve always been funny so I’m not surprised that you’re doing so well because you deserve it because you worked really hard.

CD – Thank you Jeff I really appreciate that. Thank you brother. Always a pleasure to see you!

John Belushi on Saint Marks

Thanks to long-time comedy manager Jason Steinberg of Steinberg Talent, I got to see this play. It’s called “With A Little Help – It’s John Belushi” and it’s at Theatre 80 on St. Marks Place, and owner Lorcan Otway told me his family has been in the theatre business for over 300 years! That’s longer than I’ve been in comedy!!! And the theatre is beautiful by the way filled with show biz memorabilia including some rare posters!

The award winning play is an ensemble piece with about 8 characters all of whom playing two or three parts except for Jack Zullo who wrote the show and plays a very spirited John Belushi. He definitely brings John’s energy level to the stage.

All good actors and very entertaining, but if I had to say anything at all in a positive yet constructive manner, 90 minutes into it they hadn’t gotten to the SNL years yet, and John’s discovery by Lorne Michaels. Otherwise as I said, … very entertaining. They mentioned National Lampoon a lot, so it was very fitting that when I left I ran out to LIC to catch the inaugural National Lampoon show mentioned above.

Jason by the way. who has been instrumental in the careers of many big stars handles Tony Woods who just had a big thing in the New York Times, and Donnell Rawlings who just launched a new podcast, The Donnell Rawlings Show. He announced it on Joe Rogan’s podcast that for the very first time he spoke by himself, all alone for 44 minutes! Joe had been encouraging him to do it for months, and he didn’t wanna show up on the show again without having done it, … so he finally did it!

KRYSTYNA HUTCHINSON GOES SOLO

I caught up with my girl Krystyna Hutchinson at Stand Up New York, and we hadn’t seen each other in too long so we took a moment to catch up. She was hanging with Justin Silver and she just did her first time solo headlining gig at American Comedy Company in San Diego and brought Justin to open for her.

She said that 4 out of 5 shows were sold out and she did 45 minutes for the first time and found it very draining, but lots of fun.

**KRYSTYNA HUTCHINSON AND JUSTIN SILVER AT STAND UP NEW YORK**

GM Jon Borromeo told me the club is focussing on discovering and promoting young talent, that hadn’t been able to get stage time at other clubs, and he named Zach Zimmerman as an example, who just happened to be standing next to him at the time, and said he did his one man show at the club!

COMEDIANS IN “THE IRISHMAN”

If you’re willing to sit through 3 hours of Martin Scorcese’s new hit “The Irishman” which I did because it’s on Netflix and I could get up, walk around, get a snack and pause it when I wanted to you’d see a bunch of comedians in roles, and I personally counted about 18 people I knew personally from the comedy and acting world.

Ray Romano has a big part as Bill Bufalino, the attorney who repped Teamster leader Jimmy Hoffa and was the cousin of mob boss Russell Bufalino played by Joe Pesci.

In an example of perfect casting, Jim Norton had a nightclub scene where he portrayed the late legendary Don Rickles, and Sebastian Maniscalco who’s always hilarious had a great serious role playing the part of “Crazy Joe” Gallo, which he did so well.

**WITH SEBASTIAN AT MADISON SQUARE GARDEN AFTER HIS SOLD OUT SHOW**

Bobby Funaro who started out working the door at Carolines on Broadway and went on to be in The Sopranos played a character named Johnny, Paulie Herman who used to own Columbus Cafe and is in just about every mob movie played Whispers DiTullio, the late Vinny Vella played a meat company manager and others I’ve known and/or worked with or interviewed in different projects over the years were the amazingly talented Bobby Cannavale who played a crazy character named Skinny Razor, Bo Dietl, legendary detective who recently ran for Mayor and unfortunately did not win, Kathrine Narducci who played Russell Bufalino’s wife Carrie, as well as Artie Bucco’s wife in The Sopranos, and attended my play “A Punch In The Face” dedicated to actor/martial artist/Hells Angel Chuck Zito who also attended, Stevie Van Zandt from E-Street who played Jerry Vale in this movie, and Silvio Dante in The Sopranos, my old friend Danny Abeckaser who went from a club promoter/owner to movie actor and producer, Garry Pastore who played Albert Anastasia, and most recently played a gangster named Matty ” The Horse” in HBO’s The Deuce and is the cousin of another old friend of mine, Vinny “Big Pussy” Pastore, and there were more!

**BACKSTAGE WITH BOBBY CANNAVALE AND CHRIS ROCK AND THE CAST ON BROADWAY WHEN COMIC STRIP OWNER RICHIE TIENKEN AND I WENT TO SEE “THE M-F’ER WITH THE HAT”**

LOVE FOR PATRICE GOES ON

So I’m walking down St. Marks Place the other night on my way to the John Belushi play when I hear someone yelling out to me. At first I didn’t turn around cause I’m from New York, but then he said “Mr. Gurian”, so I turned and looked.

It was this nice young musician named Supremo Massiv who happened to have a gig right across the street but ran out and had to tell me what a big fan he was of the work I did with Patrice O’Neal on the Black Phillip Show and how much the show meant to him.

It happens wherever I go, most recently in Japan, but in Boston, at Skankfest, at a Syndicate event, and with people from all over the world, the love for Patrice lives on. And a few months ago I started taking a photo with each and every one of them.

**WITH “BLACK PHILLIP” FAN SUPREMO MASSIV ON ST. MARKS PLACE IN NYC**

MEDERI CENTER BENEFIT

The Mederi Center located in Ashland, Oregon was founded by a master nutritionist named Donnie Yance, who specializes in treating cancer and other serious illnesses with herbs and nutrition in conjunction with traditional medicine.

Some friends of his, including consciousness guru Alan Steinfeld of New Realities, saw me performing at West Side Comedy Club one night and the next thing I knew I was the MC at a big fundraiser they held on 11/22 at the Warehouse of the Fairfield Theatre Company in Fairfield, CT starring pop star and cross over artist Gino Vannelli and jazz singer Grammy nominee Roberta Gambarini. It was a fabulous night, well attended and raised a lot of money!

**WITH JENNIFER YANCE, GINO VANNELLI AND DONNIE YANCE AT THE WAREHOUSE OF THE FAIRFIELD THEATRE COMPANY**

Tags: "Jim Norton", "National Lampoon", "stand-up comedy", cancer treatment, Chris Distefano, Comedy, comedy world, Gino Vannelli, Healing, inside look at the comedy world, National Lampoon movies, Patrice Oneal, Ray Romano, The Irishman

Posted in: Comedy, Comedy Clubs, Comedy Events, Comedy Matters, Entertainment News, Jeffrey Gurian News, National Lampoon, Podcasts, Point of View, Self Help Information, Social Media, Stand-Up Comedy, Variety Show

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STAR STUDDED GARDEN OF LAUGHS RAISES 2 MILLION BUCKS FOR KIDS

Posted by Jeffrey Gurian on April 15, 2019

I had been waiting for weeks to cover the biennial “Garden of Laughs” at the Hulu Theatre at Madison Square Garden. It’s a star studded event that raises money for underprivileged kids and kids with disabilities. It’s produced by Rory Rosegarten of The Conversation Company and his team, and features some of the biggest comedy stars in the biz as well as many top actors. We were expecting Jerry Seinfeld, Bill Burr, Jon Stewart, John Mulaney, Michael Che, John Oliver, Iliza Shlesinger, Tiffany Haddish, Brian Regan, and actors Debra Messing, Lucas Hedges, Ansel Elgort, Michael K. Williams, Toby Leonard Moore, Gaten Matarazzo, and all hosted by 3 time host Steve Schirripa of Sopranos fame.

WITH RORY ROSEGARTEN PRODUCER OF GARDEN OF LAUGHS

A lot of people don’t know that Steve booked some of the biggest comedy acts when he used to book talent in Las Vegas, and he’s very funny in his own right. Not every star decides to do the red carpet so we’re never really sure who’s going to come out. It was slated to start at 6:30, so I made sure to get there at 5:30 to have time to set up because there’s no real schedule with a red carpet. It’s very stressful. Sometimes several stars come out at once and while you’re talking to one, another one you would have liked to talk to walks by. It’s also all improv. Some journalists come with stock questions that they ask each person. Not me! All my stuff is improv’ed on the spot.

I specifically had my videographer show up at 4 to pack the camera bag and make 100% sure we had all of our equipment. We went over it together. So imagine my surprise at 6:10 when he suggested that we do a mic check and the shock ran through my body when we realized we hadn’t packed the microphone. I can’t describe the horror, and the icy cold feeling that ran through my body. Weeks of planning, and I’m on the red carpet with no mic.

The one thing you need to do interviews besides the camera and we didn’t bring it. I decided I’d have to run home and get it. But I live on the other side of town and it was rush hour. Perfect! I told my assistant to try and shoot some B-roll, and I ran out like a maniac, flashing my red carpet badge to security as I ran through one door after another. As I was running I tried to figure out which would be the fastest way to get home. Should I run back to 8th avenue to take the train, call an Uber, or just jump into a taxi.

I chose the closest taxi and just like in the movies I told the guy to step on it. I said I had to get across town and back in 20 minutes which was impossible. I turned on my WAZE and we got to my house at 6:26. I told him to wait in the downtown direction, jumped out of the cab, ran past my doormen, got the mic and ran back downstairs so fast that both of my shoes opened and I didn’t stop to re-tie them.

Just past 6:30 my assistant texted me that no one had come out yet. As we got closer to the Garden he texted me that John Mulaney was on the red carpet! Shoot! I was hoping he’d come out late but he came out first. Luckily my videographer had the sense to tell John he was working with me, and that I had to run home to get my mic, so John left me this hilarious message, which made it a little bit better!

Of course as we got near the Garden we got stuck in traffic, and every block seemed to take a year. Finally we pulled up in front, I gave the driver a big tip just like in the movies and ran back in, not expecting to have to go through airport-like security again. But I was wrong. Very wrong. I flashed my badge but it did no good. I told the guy I had forgotten my mic and had to run home to get it and I was missing the whole red carpet but he wouldn’t hear of it. He said he had to do his job. The only man in Manhattan who had to do his job. And of course because I was so nervous I kept leaving something metal in one pocket or another and literally had to go through the metal detector about 10 times while the people behind me waited patiently.

Finally he let me through and then I first had to re-fill my pockets. By the time I got upstairs I had missed Mulaney and Tobey Leonard Moore from Billions who I would have loved to talk to, so I finally bent down to re-tie my shoes, and then Michael K. Williams came along. I loved Michael’s characters “Omar” on “The Wire” and “Chalkie” White on Boardwalk Empire so I was excited to talk to him. He told me that working with Martin Scorcese was a dream come true for him and that he also works with kids from Garden of Dreams which is the charity itself that Garden of Laughs raises money for.

WITH MICHAEL K. WILLIAMS ON THE RED CARPET AT MSG

To tell you the truth I had never noticed that he had a scar that ran from his forehead right near his eye and down onto his cheek. Obviously I didn’t bring it up, he did. He said he was working with a young boy of 14 who also has scars on his face from an assault, and that he was able to give him some reassurance that he’d be okay. Michael told me he had been assaulted by a gang on his 25th birthday. Man’s inhumanity to man.

Rory Rosegarten came out and told me had been looking for me because he knows I always come early to these things. When I told him the mic story he said the exact same thing that John Mulaney said without having heard him say it. You can hear it for yourself in the video below. He was there with his family. I was able to congratulate him on another successful show, and it was great to see him looking so healthy again.

Michael Imperioli who played cousin Christopher Moltisante on The Sopranos came out next, and we hadn’t seen each other in years so it was so nice to re-connect. He’s got a movie coming out with Nick Cage, and an NBC TV series based on the movie The Bone Collector, and when we inquired about each other’s health and I told him I had survived a heart attack he said he was sorry, and it sounded like he said he was sorry I survived. Funny!!!

WITH MICHAEL IMPERIOLI ON THE RED CARPET AT GARDEN OF LAUGHS

Bill Burr is always a great time on the red carpet and as soon as he sees me he starts yelling out things like “Oh no”, and “This is gonna be good.” I told him I was thinking of texting him to let him know I was going to be there so he could think up some insults for me, but he said he didn’t need any advance notice because they just came naturally. He started out by asking me about my sport jacket and if I had gotten it at Woodstock, which was actually very funny.

LAUGHING WITH BILL BURR AT GARDEN OF LAUGHS

I asked him if he knew of the You Tube video called “Bill Burr Roasting People” which has over 5.4 million views and opens with he and I on the red carpet where he says he hopes I go bald so that one day we’re two old bald guys on the red carpet.” He said that not only does he know about it he hates that people think he doesn’t like me because he LOVES me, … and that made me feel really good.

I had sent him a recording that the late great Patrice O’Neal had left for me on my phone one night at 4:05 A.M. It was the first night we had done the Black Phillip Show together and Patrice was so happy with it he couldn’t wait to call me and so humbly suggested that we do a show together just the two of us. He said he didn’t want to assume anything, as if I might have said “No”, but unfortunately we never got to do it. I still get messages and e-mails from guys who track me down to give me props on my work on Black Phillip. R.I.P Patrice. Btw Bill said he listened to it, and I hope he did cause it’s one of my greatest possessions, along with the phone message that Richard Lewis left me saying that some jokes I had written for him were “hilarious” and if he was ever going to use anyone else’s jokes it would be mine!

Bill’s interview went on so long that at one point he asked me if it was still an interview or just two guys talking on the corner! Then he offered me a $700. class he was giving on how to end an interview. He’s hilarious and the very best! And he’s off on a tour from Iceland to Israel!

Just when I thought it was over, I left the red carpet but luckily didn’t pack up yet when I saw Tracy Morgan talking to Bill Burr and went over to catch up with Tracy. His new season if his TBS show “The Last O.G.” was premiering that night and we had a few laughs on camera. He always says something so nice to me and this time he said, “You ARE comedy!”

WITH TRACY MORGAN AT GARDEN OF LAUGHS

Last on the red carpet was John Oliver who was going to be the very first presenter that night. I asked him if his kids were old enough to know that he’s playing Zazu the bird in the new remake of The Lion King directed by John Favreau due out this July. He said his son is only three and he took him to a movie in which he did the voice of a porcupine named Steve. He told him that was his Dad and his son said ” No it isn’t”, just like my Too Much Tuna sketch with Nick Kroll and John Mulaney. Anyway this little video is a recap of my adventurous day on the red carpet of Garden of Laughs.

Please feel free to “Like”, Comment and Subscribe and please share it with a friend. On Twitter and IG I’m @jeffreygurian

Tags: "Brian Regan", "Nick Kroll", a dream within a dream, Bill Burr, charity, Comedy, comedy night, Darryl McDaniels, Debra Messing, dream, Garden of Dreams, Garden of Laughs, HBO, Hilarious, iliza shlesinger, Jerry Seinfeld, Jill Martin, John Mulaney, John Oliver, Jon Stewart, Just For Laughs, Justin Tuck, kids, kids with disabilities, Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, Laughing, Lucas Hedges, Manhattan, michael che, MSG, MSG events, New York City, NFL, night life, NYC, red carpet, red carpet events, SNL, sports, the garden, The Giants, Toby Leonard Moore, Tracy Morgan, underprivileged kids, victor cruz

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Kenny Warren and Gabe Dorado Do Magic

Posted by Jeffrey Gurian on February 3, 2019

Magic is the only word that came to mind when I got to the Grisly Pear at 107 Macdougal Street. I had performed there many times when it was a bar upfront with almost kind of a comedy space in the back. Now it’s a legitimate comedy club in the back with a bar up front! And it’s all thanks to the hard work and dedication of comic/producers Kenny Warren and Gabe Dorado.

You may know Kenny from his show “Comics Cutting Comics” in which he cuts comic’s hair before they get up to perform, which would be horrifying if he wasn’t a legit barber. Fortunately he is, and works out of a shop up in Harlem called Levels. I’ve been there for a shoot we did together called ” Comics Cutting Comics Live” where I had the chance to perform in the barber shop, which was scary to me. Those who know me know I do not frequent barber shops! (LOL) Just the thought freaks me out, but for Kenny I show up! (LOL)

(L-R) Matt Pavich, Norlex Belma, Kenny Warren, Pat Brown, Larry Beyah, Barry Ribs, Jeffrey Gurian

And to show you the kind of guy he is, he was nice enough not to insist on cutting my hair. Even when we did the show out at the Creek and the Cave, he let me slide on the cutting part, and he still let me perform.

When I got to The Pear, the first thing I happened to notice was a big poster like art thing of AMarie Castillo mounted on the wall.

It caught my attention, and then as I looked around I saw Kenny Babbitt, Napoleon Emil and Mallory Bryant up there too. And then I noticed that the walls of the entire place were covered with beautiful graphics of all the comics who performed there, with their social media tags.

Kenny is very big on giving up-and-comers a place to work out and feel at home. He even refers to the place as “the dojo.” He understands the struggle and what it takes to try and get known in this crazy business, and let me tell you it’s a very big thing to come into a club and see your very own picture up on the wall.

He’s doing six shows a week there, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday, including three on Friday alone, 8, 10, and 12, and he gets a packed house most of the time, unlike when the space was shared by other producers. He’s basically doing it on his own with people like Kathryn Henson producing their own shows, like her show “Late Night at The Pear” on Thursdays at midnight. Gabe Dorado runs the shows on Thursday at 10 P.M., Friday 6 and 8 P.M. and Saturday’s 10 P.M. and 12 A.M. slots.

The show I was on had a great line-up with the very funny Phil Duckett bringing it as the host. He really got the energy flowing, and then there was K.C. Arora, the aforementioned Katharyn Henson, Kareem Green who brought down the house with a very funny “choking” routine, a young funny comic named Marcello Hernandez, Onika McClean and just as I was leaving Neko White dropped by to do a set!

Kenny will be out in LA this month appearing at the clubs, and we wish him lots of luck! As for me, I hope to be doing more sets at the new Grisly Pear Comedy Club! Thanks Kenny!!!

PLEASE LIKE, COMMENT AND SUBSCRIBE TO COMEDY MATTERS TV ON YOU TUBE AT HTTPS://WWW.YOUTUBE.COM/GURIANNEWSNETWORK COMING UP ON TWO MILLION VIEWS!

@jeffreygurian on Twitter and IG

Tags: "Comedy Matters TV", "Greenwich Village", "stand-up comedy", audience, barber, barbershop, Comedy, comedy club, comedy clubs, Comedy Matters, Comics Cutting Comics, Gabe Dorado, Harlem, Hilarious, Jeffrey Gurian, Kenny Warren, Laughter, Macdougal Street, packed house, six shows a week, The Grisly Pear, The Village, top comics

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Tom Shillue Is A Killer … Host

Posted by Jeffrey Gurian on January 11, 2019

Tom Shillue is a multi-talented performer. He’s a stand-up comic who often tours with Jim Gaffigan, he’s a TV and radio personality, an author and he sings in a barbershop quartet, and if you don’t believe me just go to You Tube and watch him singing as one of the Rag Time Gals with Jimmy Fallon and Justin Timberlake on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon to Justin’s Sexy Back. It’s hilarious! And it’s got over 15 MILLION views!!! Just like MY columns! (LOL)

I’m proud to say that Tom and I go way back. Back to when he was doing small shows with an ensemble group. I always knew he’d do big things. Now he’s got his own show three hours a day on Fox News Radio. I was thrilled to be asked to appear.

I went on with fellow comic and friend Jimmy Failla in the third hour and we had a blast!

WITH JIMMY FAILLA AND TOM SHILLUE

Tom had just finished taking calls on “The Wall.” My point if I had been asked to make it, was that you could be the greatest humanitarian in the world, and care with all your heart for everyone, but would you ever leave the front door to your home wide open for just anyone to enter? Our border is the door to America which is our home. You always have to be careful who you let in.

We had to discuss stories from the news like:

People going crazy while waiting on extremely long lines for salads, because people’s New Year’s resolutions were to lose weight, so salad bars were overrun. People are INSANE! Plus there is an undercurrent of anger in our society today and it’s palpable. Everyone is angry at something!
Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez’s dance video – we all agreed that she was an energetic and spirited dancer which is basically everything you’d want in a representative.

https://t.co/Z fYVw8yEpK

3. Ellen Degeneres facing backlash after defending Kevin Hart – she put him in an awkward situation where he could do nothing else but agree that he’d “evaluate” reprising his role as host of The Oscars. Basically no one wants to host the show and risk their career by possibly offending the group of people sitting at home waiting to be offended by something.

4. The Bachelor contestant who pretended to be Australian by using an Aussie accent- and when asked where she was from replied, ” The accent, it’s Australian” never saying that SHE was Australian, just the accent. I thought she did quite a good job. It’s not that easy to imitate an accent!

5. And one story we didn’t get to was that bathrooms which have been getting lots of press lately, in particular Men’s Rooms, will soon be equipped with changing tables so that Dad’s taking care of their infants won’t have to crouch down and change them on the floor anymore. They will have the same facilities as Ladies’ Rooms, which actually makes sense!

Tom is performing in a series of live shows around the country with Greg Gutfeld former host of “Red Eye with Greg Gutfeld” on the Fox News Channel who Tom replaced back in 2015, and who is one of five co-hosts on the Fox News political talk show The Five.

It’s the Gutfeld Monologues Tour and they will be in Tampa on March 2nd and W. Palm Beach on March 3rd.Tom will be doing some stand-up and then introducing and interviewing Greg, and in some way it kind of reminds me of the kind of shows that Dave Chappelle who does with John Mayer, combining both of their talents.

Tom has a hit book called “Mean Dads For A Better America” and we even got to plug MY two new books, the audio version of my Amazon Best Seller on Happiness “Healing Your Heart, By Changing Your Mind – A Spiritual and Humorous Approach To Achieving Happiness” with great reviews from M.D.’s, psychiatrists, psychologists, and people who run recovery centers,

Order on Amazon: https://tinyurl.com/y86edojd

and my newest book with the comedy lowdown on 13 of our biggest holidays called “Holiday Hilarity- A Humorous History of Celebration” which also recently hit Best Seller status on Amazon, and has fun reviews from international comedy star Gad Elmaleh, Bert Kreischer, Andrew “Dice” Clay, The Lucas Brothers, and even Countess LuAnn from the Real Housewives of New York!

Order on Amazon: https://tinyurl.com/yaqamcgy

Tags: "stand-up comedy", Amazon, analysis, Best Seller, books, Comedy, Fox News Radio, News, performance, point of view, politics, real news, three hours, Tom Shillue, touring

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You Pop New Social Media Craze

Posted by Jeffrey Gurian on May 13, 2013

There’s a new social media game in town and it’s name is You Pop. I broke the news recently on Sirius XM during my one-on-one interview with Ron Bennington of Ron and Fez fame!

YouPop, the new social media craze that will soon sweep the nation! Sign up early! Not only is it free, but you can get paid to sign up!

Created by Darin Myman of WallyWorld Inc., the company’s logo is “Hire Anyone To Do Anything, … Well Almost!”

It’s a way for any creative or talented person in the world to make money over their Smart Phones and become a You Pop star! It’s good for comedians, actors, musicians, models, dancers, magicians, and any other creative person! And I have the honor of being the Chief Creative Officer!

Based on the concept of “Crowd Sourced” entertainment, it allows creative people to offer their specialized services and funny video greetings over their Smart Phones for a price of their choosing. The feeling is the lower the price the more traffic and the more money you can expect to make. The cool thing is that you can make money just for signing up!

The first thing to do is to “Register” at http://www.youpop.com. Once you click “Register” you’ll come to a page that asks for a User Name and PassWord, and then a “Referral/Promo Code.”

This is the page where you register for YouPop!

The “Referral/Promo Code” for Comedy Matters people is JG20. Putting in that code will allow you to register early under my name as this won’t be launched nationally to the public for another 30 days. Then there will be a national ad campaign. Once that happens you can get lost in the shuffle so it’s best to sign up now!

Get a cash bonus of anywhere from $20 to $60. and possibly even more for coming up with a fun, interesting concept! Anything in the “Sexy” category,(PG-13), will get paid $75. if accepted!

It’s as easy as signing up for Facebook, except here you can make money and have lots of fun doing it!

You’ll come to a page that has a few options, one of which says ” I Will Do”. That is where you post things you are willing to do and videotape yourself doing them on your Smart Phone, (i-Phones and Droids). You fill out a simple profile and explain what you will offer. They can fall into different categories like custom video greetings with you dressed up as a Biblical character, a comic book character, (great for Comic Con fans), any kind of Cosplay character, movie characters, old man/old lady, Anime, or anything else you can think of.

Examples of “Sports Stars” posting services they are willing to do under the ” I Will Do” category!

You may also respond to people requesting video greetings where You Pop customers tell you what they want you to say, (PG-13) … nothing you’d find offensive. Offers get screened by the company! These would be found under the heading of ” I Need” and would be great for people who like to make viral comedy videos, and do pranks and dares!

Situations that people request that would lead to viral comedy videos, pranks and dares, and lots of fun!

Or you might find people posting a service like this one where the offer is to design a custom dress for a woman for $250.00. It’s like a multi-media CraigsList!

This is for people who want to offer a particular service!

It’s all PG-13, but there will also be a fun “Sexy” category for models and “hot” girls who may want to write messages on their bodies, wearing a bikini, or lingerie or other interesting attire! Signing up for this category and posting an idea the You Pop people like will get you $75. just for signing up!

Some examples of possible offers could be:

1. I will say anything to anyone for $10.

2. I will break up with your boyfriend or girlfriend for you for $15.

3. I will drive a store clerk crazy by asking non-stop questions for $20.

4. I will quit your job for you for $25.

5. I will tell off someone in your office for $10.

HOW AND WHAT TO DO :

1. Register using my Promo/Referral Code of JG20

2. Send an e-mail to Jo@YouPop.com, with a CC to me at jeffrey@jeffreygurian.com with the category and character you plan to portray for the video greeting cards, along with your idea. Like a birthday greeting dressed as Batman, Spiderman, or a character you make up! Comedians may want to offer a one minute Roast! BE CREATIVE!!!

3. You Pop will notify you if your offer has been accepted, and you will be paid anywhere from $20 to $60. or more depending on how unusual and fun your suggestion is. As I said earlier, people in the “Sexy” category, (but still PG-13!) will receive $75. YOU CAN EVEN BE YOURSELF, BUT HAVING A CHARACTER OR SPECIAL GIMMICK (SUCH AS WRITING A MESSAGE ON YOUR BODY WEARING A BATHING SUIT OR COSTUME), WILL GET YOU MORE ORDERS! All sign-up payments will be received in a week.

REVIEW OF COMPENSATION:

IF YOUR SUGGESTION IS APPROVED BY YOU POP, YOU WILL RECEIVE $50. FOR YOUR IDEA, FOR SETTING UP YOUR PROFILE AND YOUR “I WILL DO” VIDEO OFFER. THEY WILL PAY AN ADDITIONAL $10. FOR COSTUMES, CELEBRITY IMPERSONATORS OR UNIQUE CHARACTERS.

MODELS: THEY WILL PAY $75. TO SET UP A PROFILE UNDER THE CATEGORY OF “SEXY”, AS LONG AS IT’S STILL PG-13!

YOU WILL RECEIVE PAYMENT WITHIN 7 DAYS VIA PAYPAL OR CHECK! YOU CAN OFFER TO POST AN AD IN MORE THAN ONE CATEGORY, AND YOU CAN ADD ON CERTAIN SERVICES FOR ADDITIONAL FEES, BUT YOU WILL ONLY BE PAID A SIGN-UP BONUS FOR YOUR FIRST ACCEPTED PROPOSAL!

YOU ALSO GET PAID 85% OF MONIES THAT COME IN FOR YOUR SERVICE WHEN YOU POP PUTS IT OUT TO THE WORLD AT LARGE!

SO WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR??? GET CREATIVE AND SEND IN YOUR IDEAS RIGHT NOW TO JO@YOUPOP.COM WITH A CC TO JEFFREY@JEFFREYGURIAN.COM, AND DON’T FORGET TO USE THE COMEDY MATTERS PROMO CODE OF JG20!

SEE YOU ON YOU POP!!!

Tags: " You Tube", "Comedy Matters TV", "Droid", "i-Phone", "Make Money", "Ron and Fez", "Ron Bennington", "Sirius XM", "Smart Phones", "Wally World", "WallyWorld", "You Pop", "YouPop", Comedy Matters, Facebook, Jeffrey Gurian, Sirius Radio, Twitter

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