Posts Tagged Just For Laughs

COMEDY MATTERS ROUNDUP WITH NICK KROLL, BILL BURR, PAULY SHORE, JOE DEROSA, TODD BARRY, NORE DAVIS, MARINA FRANKLIN, CHUCK ZITO, PATRICE BENEFIT, AND SO MUCH MORE!!!

L-R – NAPOLEON EMIL, CHRIS MILLHOUSE, NICK KROLL , REGINA DECICCO, MIKE FEENEY, JAMES MATTERN AND YOU KNOW WHO IN FRONT BACKSTAGE AT CITY WINERY!!!

NICK KROLL DOES CITY WINERY

Chris Millhouse brings great talent to City Winery as evidenced by his recent show I attended with all the comedy stars shown above. He performs but doesn’t host, and often has uber-host James Mattern do the hosting honors. James always hosts all the shows for Chris Distefano and I assume he will be there when Chris does MSG on September 11th.

It was one hilarious set after the other and to top it off Nick Kroll closed out the show with such a killer set filled with very different and unique humor. I couldn’t even begin to describe it but that’s what Nick does because he’s so creative. The audience was really excited to see him as were the other comics on the show. Make sure to check out the 8th and final season of “Big Mouth” on Netflix! And celeb photog Marcus Russell Price was there to immortalize the evening and was the one who took that group photo above! Shortly after, he visited the Comedy Matters crib and we did our own unique shoot which you will see shortly!

Comedy Matters TV is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.Subscribed

ANNUAL PATRICE BENEFIT AT CITY CENTER

For the 12th year in a row, comedy exec. Maureen Taran and Bill Burr have brought over 2,000 people together at City Center to celebrate the life of the great Patrice O’Neal who left us way too young at only 41 years old. For those of us lucky enough to have known Patrice he was a trip!

I had the honor of being the third co-host on The Black Phillip Show, a radio show we did on XM radio before it became Sirius XM radio. It was me, Dante Nero and Patrice and we had a blast. That show touched a lot of hearts and minds and to this day, as recently as two weeks ago, I still get guys coming up to me to thank me for my input on the show. This phone call came from Patrice the first night we did the show together. If you listen till the end you’ll see that he called me at 4:05 A.M. to tell me how much he liked the show and suggested that we should do a show together. Truly one of my greatest honors!

I had such a unique relationship with Patrice and everyone involved knew it. At Patrice’s funeral, his wife Von came over to me and said “Patrice really loved you.” It was sad but definitely one of my greatest honors. Patrice was so much more than a comedian, To me he was a comedy philosopher!

WITH PATRICE AND DANTE NERO; #2-WITH MY GIRL JACQUI; PHOTO#3- WITH MY GUESTS, AND DREW BOOGIE,

That kind of response from Patrice didn’t come easy as any comic can attest to who went up against him, or got on his bad side. He and I never had any kind of adversarial relationship. It was pure love. As one of the only white guys that was ever honored for Black History Month ( true fact see the photo of the invite!) for creating comedy workshops for inner city kids, Patrice came to Gotham to inspire the people in the workshop.

PHOTO #1-THE INVITE TO BLACK HISTORY MONTH EVENT HONORING ME; PHOTO #2- MY LAST PHOTO WITH PATRICE IN 2011 THE YEAR HE LEFT US

Rich Vos was the perennial host of the event at City Center and he was sharp as ever. No one escapes his barbs! All phones went into Yondr bags so there was no photos to be had. Needless to say everyone killed. Vos opened with about 15 minutes. Cipha Sounds was missed and was not here this year on the ones and twos. Sean Patton was the first to hit the stage, and he did great, followed by Rosebud Baker who had an interesting take on abortion, and several jokes on her husband Andy Haynes, another great comic who I last saw when we did Subway Takes the same day with Kareem Rahma.

Thanks for reading Comedy Matters TV! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.Subscribed

Nimesh Patel had a strong set as usual after Vos introduced him as an Uber driver. He was followed by D.C. Benny who is a great story teller. Years ago I did a story telling show he was producing at a place on Houston Street called Madame X.

Greer Barnes is a force unto himself. He’s just so talented, not only with his jokes, but with the sound effects, impressions and accents he mimics so perfectly. His African accent totally kills, and when we see each other all we do is laugh. He has such a great spirit and was one of the few comics on the show that showed up at the after-party at The Stand where it’s held every year.

While at the after-party Bruce Hills, multi-year President of JFL Montreal, the largest and most prestigious comedy festival in the world, and most recently inducted into the Canada Comedy Hall of Fame, and even more importantly a friend of mine for 30 years, asked if he could take a photo with me, and honored me by saying I was “an icon!” At JFL’s 40th year festival, Bruce and I took a photo with my JFL VIP pass from 1992, which I treasure and is still in pristine condition.

But I digress! Back to the benefit, Vos announced a special guest and Stavros Halkias came out and did a really strong set which I was glad I got the chance to congratulate him on at the after-party. I love being able to congratulate comics when they kill, cause we all need to be reaffirmed. It’s an important thing to do, and not enough people do that. He lost 40 pounds on Zepbound which he described as a very disrespectful medicine. I think it was he who had the great line, “If you wait too long to come out to your grandmother, you’re going to have to do it every time you see her! “ Genius!!!

And then Bill Burr came out and destroyed the crowd as he usually does. First he went after Vos by sarcastically saying, “ Did you see all his jewelry? He looks very successful!” Every so often Bill laughs during his set like he can’t believe what he just said. I know him for so long. I know him since the days he had red hair!

PHOTO #1-BACK IN 2005; PHOTO #2- MONTREAL 2011

And as long as I know him I still don’t know when he’s kidding with me. At the after-party at The Stand I was sitting alone eating at a table when I heard someone call my name. It was Club Soda Kenny, my longtime friend, who’s Bill’s security. I left my food and went over to say hi and share a hug and Bill was at the table sitting with Jodi Lieberman, Zoe Friedman, Maureen Taran and producer Masavia Greer.

I said hello to all, hugged Jodi, Zoe and Maureen who thanked me for coming every year, and I said hello to Bill but I didn’t sit down at the table. I just stood there and finally to break the ice I leaned over and said to Bill, “Congratulations on doing Broadway. How long were you in rehearsal? And he said something like “ I’m just relaxing and there you are crouching over to do an interview. You’re always working!” But he said it in a Bill Burr kind of way where you think he’s pissed off. So I said, “ I was just making conversation cause I think it’s so great that you’re on Broadway.” And then he paused, and smiled and said, “ I rehearsed for about six weeks!” So I knew he was just busting my balls like he likes to do.

Then he went off on my outfit cause I was wearing a leather blazer and he asked me if I was in The Ramones, and kept coming up with old rock references that I reminded him of. I told him that I always try and wear something he can make fun of! At that point, I was afraid to ask him for our usual annual photo, so I’m using some of mine from the past! (LOL)

JOE DEROSA SPECIAL AS A FILM

Sometimes I make a note in my phone when I meet someone I think is talented. I first met Joe DeRosa November, 2007 at Carolines during a comedy competition.

At the end of April, NY Comedy Club owner Emilio Savone texted me to let me know that Joe was premiering his latest special “ I Never Promised You A Rose Garden” at The Angelika Film Center as a film, and as usual he wrote “ It’s not an event unless you’re there!” , which always makes me feel special! ( No pun intended!)

The special is described as “ an all new hour of hopeless comedy derived from the dark mind of Joe DeRosa. Joe’s bleak outlook on society will actually bring joy to you in the dire climate we’re all living in.”

The description didn’t do it justice as it is a remarkable piece of work. So well thought out, so original, and so well rehearsed that it sounded like it was the first time he was saying what he said. I told him so at the theater, and had my chance to say the same thing to the audience on the mic at the Q&A that followed moderated by comic Nick Alexander, but the next day I felt I had to text him again. I wrote “Hey Joe, I hope you don’t mind me repeating myself but last night was so special. So clever, so intelligent, so well thought out and so well pereformed in such a natural way, not like a performance. Just needed to tell you that.” I got a heartfelt response.

A lot of Joe’s fans in the audience recognized me from my wild dancing debut in Joe’s music video for his band Salsa Windfall called “Mouth On My Money.” If you haven’t seen it yet this is your chance! We plan to do more!!!

And the after party at Joey Roses, ( Joe’s sandwich shop) was awesome and I ran into my old friend Pauly Shore there who was in town to perform at The Stand the next night which I of course attended! When Pauly saw me the first thing he said after introducing me to people as his agent, was “Baby and Max” which was a romantic comedy feature script I wrote that Pauly loved and wanted to star in back in the day! Just the fact that he still remembered that was so awesome! Maybe it could still happen!!!

Thanks for reading Comedy Matters TV! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.Subscribed

PAULY SHORE DOES THE STAND

The main room was packed with Pauly fans. He even did a little of “The Weasel” for them from his days on MTV, and the line-up was very cool with Todd Barry, one of the only guys who makes me laugh out loud, my old pal from Playboy Comedy Cort McCown who was in from LA, and new Dad Mark Normand who I’ve never seen have a bad set. Pauly was so funny and often does very self-deprecating humor, especially about his career. He said he wants to do more movies so maybe “Baby and Max” still has a chance! Noted film producer Noel Ashman has it listed on IMDb as being in pre-production! All we need is the money!!! $$$

GOTHAM ALL STARS

Always a good time at Gotham and I even have my own table #69, but it doesn’t have a number on it like all the other tables do, cause people keep stealing it! My dear friend Marion Grodin is always a great host and gets people in the mood to laugh, and this time it was Kyle Grooms in from Florida who it’s so great to see looking so healthy after he conquered his health problems! He always gets me when he describes how it was growing up in the hood with the name “Kyle”. As he says “ No one’s afraid of a guy named Kyle!”

Marina Franklin is always just so funny and so honest on stage and thankfully conquered her own health problems. She even announced her age which is a brave thing to do!

I was really excited to see Tommy Brennan who absolutely killed, and who I hadn’t seen since we filmed our pilot at Gotham called “The Raw Side of Comedy” which hopefully will finally find a home some day. Tommy was one of the stand-outs in the pilot!!!

COMEDY SHOUT-OUTS

Shout out to Tommy Gooch who saved the show by being so funny at Famee Furlane, a private Italian club out in College Point that I attended with entrepreneur Gus Podias!

WITH TOMMY GOOCH AND ENTREPRENEUR GUS PODIAS

Shout out to Nore Davis my old pal from Comic Strip days who I saw was performing at West Side Comedy Club so I made sure to get over there. Nore is also nothing but honest on stage as he discussed being in professional therapy, ( as opposed to street therapy!) dealing with grief and actually managed to make his Mom’s funeral funny. He’ll be shooting yet another special, currently unnamed, this coming November at a venue in Brooklyn.

And lastly a huge shout out and congratulations to Chuck Zito, the baddest guy on the planet, on his amazing documentary “ Chuck Zito – An American Story” that I was honored to be invited to by Chuck himself. More than 400 people showed up to the AMC Theater in Westbury for a one hour red carpet and screening of the film. I got to re-connect with actor/writer/producer Gary Pastore, actor/writer/director Willie Demeo who I know since he was in my film “I Am Woody” about a mob boss obsessed with Woody Allen, and the legend himself Bo Dietl who has the very first reserved table at Rao’s.

Chuck spent many years as the Pres. of the Hell’s Angels before he went on to become a famous actor in films like Carlito’s Way, The Rock, Homefront and TV shows like Law and Order, Entourage and his amazing turn as the head of the Italian gang in HBO’s hit show OZ. Chuck and I have been friends since he was bodyguarding Charlie Sheen so many years ago, and I brought that photo with me of the day we met. So wonderful that his 93 year old mother was there to enjoy the honor with him.

WITH CHARLIE SHEEN AND CHUCK ZITO; WITH CHUCK ON THE RED CARPET; CHUCK ZITO FILM POSTER AND LOOK WHO’S IN IT!!!

I actually have more but all good things must come to an end as they say! I’ll put them in the next column. In the meantime follow me on Instagram at @jeffreygurian and feel free to share this with a friend, and please consider subscribing! Due to the length : If the newsletter is truncated in an email, readers can click on “View entire message” and they’ll be able to view the entire post in their email app.

Thanks for reading Comedy Matters TV! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.Subscribed

Share

Discussion about this post

CommentsRestacks

Jeffrey Gurian's avatar

TopLatest

COMEDY MATTERS ROUNDUP WITH PETE DAVIDSON, JIM GAFFIGAN, TONY ROCK, JOE DeROSA, HA HA FEST, GAME BREAKERS AND SO MUCH MORE!!!

PETE DAVIDSON HOSTS SNL

Nov 8, 2023•

Jeffrey Gurian

2

Comedy Matters Roundup with Jo Koy, Ali Wong, Jimmy Failla, Troy Bond, Josh Wolf, The Sunshine Comedy Festival, Comedy Cellar Podcast…

COMEDIANS RULE THE GOLDEN GLOBES

Jan 31, 2024•

Jeffrey Gurian

1

(L-R) Nikki Glaser, Chris Rock, Drew Barrymore, Jim Gaffigan, Adam Sandler

Apr 29•

Jeffrey Gurian

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

Dec 10, 2024•

Jeffrey Gurian

2:10

© 2025 Jeffrey Gurian

Privacy ∙ Terms ∙ Collection notice

Start writingGet the app

Substack is the home for great culture

https://substack.com/visited-surface-frame

Comedy Matters TV

Comedy Matters TV

2Dashboard

Jeffrey Gurian's avatar

COMEDY MATTERS ROUNDUP WITH NICK KROLL, BILL BURR, PAULY SHORE, JOE DEROSA, TODD BARRY, NORE DAVIS, MARINA FRANKLIN, CHUCK ZITO, PATRICE BENEFIT, AND SO MUCH MORE!!!

Jeffrey Gurian's avatar

Jeffrey Gurian

May 27, 2025

1

Share

L-R – NAPOLEON EMIL, CHRIS MILLHOUSE, NICK KROLL , REGINA DECICCO, MIKE FEENEY, JAMES MATTERN AND YOU KNOW WHO IN FRONT BACKSTAGE AT CITY WINERY!!!

NICK KROLL DOES CITY WINERY

Chris Millhouse brings great talent to City Winery as evidenced by his recent show I attended with all the comedy stars shown above. He performs but doesn’t host, and often has uber-host James Mattern do the hosting honors. James always hosts all the shows for Chris Distefano and I assume he will be there when Chris does MSG on September 11th.

It was one hilarious set after the other and to top it off Nick Kroll closed out the show with such a killer set filled with very different and unique humor. I couldn’t even begin to describe it but that’s what Nick does because he’s so creative. The audience was really excited to see him as were the other comics on the show. Make sure to check out the 8th and final season of “Big Mouth” on Netflix! And celeb photog Marcus Russell Price was there to immortalize the evening and was the one who took that group photo above! Shortly after, he visited the Comedy Matters crib and we did our own unique shoot which you will see shortly!

Comedy Matters TV is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.Subscribed

ANNUAL PATRICE BENEFIT AT CITY CENTER

For the 12th year in a row, comedy exec. Maureen Taran and Bill Burr have brought over 2,000 people together at City Center to celebrate the life of the great Patrice O’Neal who left us way too young at only 41 years old. For those of us lucky enough to have known Patrice he was a trip!

I had the honor of being the third co-host on The Black Phillip Show, a radio show we did on XM radio before it became Sirius XM radio. It was me, Dante Nero and Patrice and we had a blast. That show touched a lot of hearts and minds and to this day, as recently as two weeks ago, I still get guys coming up to me to thank me for my input on the show. This phone call came from Patrice the first night we did the show together. If you listen till the end you’ll see that he called me at 4:05 A.M. to tell me how much he liked the show and suggested that we should do a show together. Truly one of my greatest honors!

I had such a unique relationship with Patrice and everyone involved knew it. At Patrice’s funeral, his wife Von came over to me and said “Patrice really loved you.” It was sad but definitely one of my greatest honors. Patrice was so much more than a comedian, To me he was a comedy philosopher!

WITH PATRICE AND DANTE NERO; #2-WITH MY GIRL JACQUI; PHOTO#3- WITH MY GUESTS, AND DREW BOOGIE,

That kind of response from Patrice didn’t come easy as any comic can attest to who went up against him, or got on his bad side. He and I never had any kind of adversarial relationship. It was pure love. As one of the only white guys that was ever honored for Black History Month ( true fact see the photo of the invite!) for creating comedy workshops for inner city kids, Patrice came to Gotham to inspire the people in the workshop.

PHOTO #1-THE INVITE TO BLACK HISTORY MONTH EVENT HONORING ME; PHOTO #2- MY LAST PHOTO WITH PATRICE IN 2011 THE YEAR HE LEFT US

Rich Vos was the perennial host of the event at City Center and he was sharp as ever. No one escapes his barbs! All phones went into Yondr bags so there was no photos to be had. Needless to say everyone killed. Vos opened with about 15 minutes. Cipha Sounds was missed and was not here this year on the ones and twos. Sean Patton was the first to hit the stage, and he did great, followed by Rosebud Baker who had an interesting take on abortion, and several jokes on her husband Andy Haynes, another great comic who I last saw when we did Subway Takes the same day with Kareem Rahma.

Thanks for reading Comedy Matters TV! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.Subscribed

Nimesh Patel had a strong set as usual after Vos introduced him as an Uber driver. He did some questionable political material, which he played off by saying his wife was Jewish, a fact which he confirmed to me at the after-party, and he was followed by D.C. Benny who is a great story teller. Years ago I did a story telling show he was producing at a place on Houston Street called Madame X.

Greer Barnes is a force unto himself. He’s just so talented, not only with his jokes, but with the sound effects, impressions and accents he mimics so perfectly. His African accent totally kills, and when we see each other all we do is laugh. He has such a great spirit and was one of the few comics on the show that showed up at the after-party at The Stand where it’s held every year.

While at the after-party Bruce Hills, multi-year President of JFL Montreal, the largest and most prestigious comedy festival in the world, and most recently inducted into the Canada Comedy Hall of Fame, and even more importantly a friend of mine for 30 years, asked if he could take a photo with me, and honored me by saying I was “an icon!” At JFL’s 40th year festival, Bruce and I took a photo with my JFL VIP pass from 1992, which I treasure and is still in pristine condition.

PHOTO#1-WITH GREER BARNES;PHOTO#2- (L-R) ZOE FRIEDMAN, JODI LIEBERMAN, J.G. AND LIZ HILLS; WITH COMEDY EXEC LEGEND BRUCE HILLS (Greer Barnes and Bruce Hills photos courtesy of Marcus Russell Price)

But I digress! Back to the benefit, Vos announced a special guest and Stavros Halkias came out and did a really strong set which I was glad I got the chance to congratulate him on at the after-party. I love being able to congratulate comics when they kill, cause we all need to be reaffirmed. It’s an important thing to do, and not enough people do that. He lost 40 pounds on Zepbound which he described as a very disrespectful medicine. I think it was he who had the great line, “If you wait too long to come out to your grandmother, you’re going to have to do it every time you see her! “ Genius!!!

And then Bill Burr came out and destroyed the crowd as he usually does. First he went after Vos by sarcastically saying, “ Did you see all his jewelry? He looks very successful!” Every so often Bill laughs during his set like he can’t believe what he just said. I know him for so long. I know him since the days he had red hair!

PHOTO #1-BACK IN 2005; PHOTO #2- MONTREAL 2011

And as long as I know him I still don’t know when he’s kidding with me. At the after-party at The Stand I was sitting alone eating at a table when I heard someone call my name. It was Club Soda Kenny, my longtime friend, who’s Bill’s security. I left my food and went over to say hi and share a hug and Bill was at the table sitting with Jodi Lieberman, Zoe Friedman, Maureen Taran and producer Masavia Greer.

I said hello to all, hugged Jodi, Zoe and Maureen who thanked me for coming every year, and I said hello to Bill but I didn’t sit down at the table. I just stood there and finally to break the ice I leaned over and said to Bill, “Congratulations on doing Broadway. How long were you in rehearsal? And he said something like “ I’m just relaxing and there you are crouching over to do an interview. You’re always working!” But he said it in a Bill Burr kind of way where you think he’s pissed off. So I said, “ I was just making conversation cause I think it’s so great that you’re on Broadway.” And then he paused, and smiled and said, “ I rehearsed for about six weeks!” So I knew he was just busting my balls like he likes to do.

Then he went off on my outfit cause I was wearing a leather blazer and he asked me if I was in The Ramones, and kept coming up with old rock references that I reminded him of. I told him that I always try and wear something he can make fun of! At that point, I was afraid to ask him for our usual annual photo, so I’m using some of mine from the past! (LOL)

ME AND BILL THROUGH THE YEARS

JOE DEROSA SPECIAL AS A FILM

Sometimes I make a note in my phone when I meet someone I think is talented. I first met Joe DeRosa November, 2007 at Carolines during a comedy competition.

At the end of April, NY Comedy Club owner Emilio Savone texted me to let me know that Joe was premiering his latest special “ I Never Promised You A Rose Garden” at The Angelika Film Center as a film, and as usual he wrote “ It’s not an event unless you’re there!” , which always makes me feel special! ( No pun intended!)

The special is described as “ an all new hour of hopeless comedy derived from the dark mind of Joe DeRosa. Joe’s bleak outlook on society will actually bring joy to you in the dire climate we’re all living in.”

The description didn’t do it justice as it is a remarkable piece of work. So well thought out, so original, and so well rehearsed that it sounded like it was the first time he was saying what he said. I told him so at the theater, and had my chance to say the same thing to the audience on the mic at the Q&A that followed moderated by comic Nick Alexander, but the next day I felt I had to text him again. I wrote “Hey Joe, I hope you don’t mind me repeating myself but last night was so special. So clever, so intelligent, so well thought out and so well pereformed in such a natural way, not like a performance. Just needed to tell you that.” I got a heartfelt response.

PHOTO #1- JOE D. ON THE BIG SCREEN; PHOTO #2- NICK ANGELO MODERATING WITH JOE D.

A lot of Joe’s fans in the audience recognized me from my wild dancing debut in Joe’s music video for his band Salsa Windfall called “Mouth On My Money.” If you haven’t seen it yet this is your chance! We plan to do more!!!

And the after party at Joey Roses, ( Joe’s sandwich shop) was awesome and I ran into my old friend Pauly Shore there who was in town to perform at The Stand the next night which I of course attended! When Pauly saw me the first thing he said after introducing me to people as his agent, was “Baby and Max” which was a romantic comedy feature script I wrote that Pauly loved and wanted to star in back in the day! Just the fact that he still remembered that was so awesome! Maybe it could still happen!!!

Thanks for reading Comedy Matters TV! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.Subscribed

PAULY SHORE DOES THE STAND

The main room was packed with Pauly fans. He even did a little of “The Weasel” for them from his days on MTV, and the line-up was very cool with Todd Barry, one of the only guys who makes me laugh out loud, my old pal from Playboy Comedy Cort McCown who was in from LA, and new Dad Mark Normand who I’ve never seen have a bad set. Pauly was so funny and often does very self-deprecating humor, especially about his career. He said he wants to do more movies so maybe “Baby and Max” still has a chance! Noted film producer Noel Ashman has it listed on IMDb as being in pre-production! All we need is the money!!! $$$

(Clockwise) PAULY SHORE; MARK NORMAND, CORT MCCOWN AND TODD BARRY

GOTHAM ALL STARS

Always a good time at Gotham and I even have my own table #69, but it doesn’t have a number on it like all the other tables do, cause people keep stealing it! My dear friend Marion Grodin is always a great host and gets people in the mood to laugh, and this time it was Kyle Grooms in from Florida who it’s so great to see looking so healthy after he conquered his health problems! He always gets me when he describes how it was growing up in the hood with the name “Kyle”. As he says “ No one’s afraid of a guy named Kyle!”

Marina Franklin is always just so funny and so honest on stage and thankfully conquered her own health problems. She even announced her age which is a brave thing to do!

I was really excited to see Tommy Brennan who absolutely killed, and who I hadn’t seen since we filmed our pilot at Gotham called “The Raw Side of Comedy” which hopefully will finally find a home some day. Tommy was one of the stand-outs in the pilot!!!

MARINA FRANKLIN AND TOMMY BRENNAN

COMEDY SHOUT-OUTS

Shout out to Tommy Gooch who saved the show by being so funny at Famee Furlane, a private Italian club out in College Point that I attended with entrepreneur Gus Podias!

WITH TOMMY GOOCH AND ENTREPRENEUR GUS PODIAS

Shout out to Nore Davis my old pal from Comic Strip days who I saw was performing at West Side Comedy Club so I made sure to get over there. Nore is also nothing but honest on stage as he discussed being in professional therapy, ( as opposed to street therapy!) dealing with grief and actually managed to make his Mom’s funeral funny. He’ll be shooting yet another special, currently unnamed, this coming November at a venue in Brooklyn.

And lastly a huge shout out and congratulations to Chuck Zito, the baddest guy on the planet, on his amazing documentary “ Chuck Zito – An American Story” that I was honored to be invited to by Chuck himself. More than 400 people showed up to the AMC Theater in Westbury for a one hour red carpet and screening of the film. I got to re-connect with actor/writer/producer Gary Pastore, actor/writer/director Willie Demeo who I know since he was in my film “I Am Woody” about a mob boss obsessed with Woody Allen, and the legend himself Bo Dietl who has the very first reserved table at Rao’s.

Chuck spent many years as the Pres. of the Hell’s Angels before he went on to become a famous actor in films like Carlito’s Way, The Rock, Homefront and TV shows like Law and Order, Entourage and his amazing turn as the head of the Italian gang in HBO’s hit show OZ. Chuck and I have been friends since he was bodyguarding Charlie Sheen so many years ago, and I brought that photo with me of the day we met. So wonderful that his 93 year old mother was there to enjoy the honor with him.

WITH CHARLIE SHEEN AND CHUCK ZITO; WITH CHUCK ON THE RED CARPET; CHUCK ZITO FILM POSTER AND LOOK WHO’S IN IT!!!

I actually have more but all good things must come to an end as they say! I’ll put them in the next column. In the meantime follow me on Instagram at @jeffreygurian and feel free to share this with a friend, and please consider subscribing! Due to the length : If the newsletter is truncated in an email, readers can click on “View entire message” and they’ll be able to view the entire post in their email app.

Thanks for reading Comedy Matters TV! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.Subscribed

1

Share

Discussion about this post

CommentsRestacks

Jeffrey Gurian's avatar

TopLatest

COMEDY MATTERS ROUNDUP WITH PETE DAVIDSON, JIM GAFFIGAN, TONY ROCK, JOE DeROSA, HA HA FEST, GAME BREAKERS AND SO MUCH MORE!!!

PETE DAVIDSON HOSTS SNL

Nov 8, 2023•

Jeffrey Gurian

2

Comedy Matters Roundup with Jo Koy, Ali Wong, Jimmy Failla, Troy Bond, Josh Wolf, The Sunshine Comedy Festival, Comedy Cellar Podcast…

COMEDIANS RULE THE GOLDEN GLOBES

Jan 31, 2024•

Jeffrey Gurian

1

(L-R) Nikki Glaser, Chris Rock, Drew Barrymore, Jim Gaffigan, Adam Sandler

Apr 29•

Jeffrey Gurian

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

Dec 10, 2024•

Jeffrey Gurian

2:10

© 2025 Jeffrey Gurian

Privacy ∙ Terms ∙ Collection notice

Start writingGet the app

Substack is the home for great culture

Posted in: Jeffrey Gurian News

Leave a Comment (0) →

STAR STUDDED GARDEN OF LAUGHS RAISES 2 MILLION BUCKS FOR KIDS

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

 

 

 

 

 

Posted in: Breaking News, Celeb Photos, Charity Events, Comedians In The News, Comedy Central, Comedy Clubs, Comedy Events, Comedy Matters, Comedy Thoughts, Comedy Videos, Entertainment News, Featured, Jeffrey Gurian News, New TV Show, Nightlife Events, Red Carpet Events, Social Media, Stand-Up Comedy, TV Show

Leave a Comment (0) →

Lil Rel Killin’ It Bigtime

I’ve had the good fortune to know Lil Rel since at least 2012 when we met up at the Just for Laughs Festival in Montreal, which is where this photo was taken.

Over the years since I’ve seen him many times and watched as his career blew up very deservedly I might add. The man is hilarious and multi-talented.

 

This past summer at the very same festival, which is the biggest and most prestigious comedy festival in the world, Rel received the award for “Breakout Comedy Star of the Year”, presented to him by his friend Deon Cole. This video was shot on the red carpet of the awards show.

Since his breakout performance in Jordan Peele’s smash hit “Get Out” back in 2017 Rel has been on a constant roll, with films Uncle Drew, Bird Box which is out right now, and his new film which will be at Sundance this year, “Brittany Runs a Marathon” co-starring Jillian Bell.

He’s currently on his Relevant 2 Tour and made a stop in NYC to headline at Carolines on Broadway one of the most prestigious clubs in NYC. I dropped by to catch the show and support, and needless to say it was a killer show, but I’ll say it anyway. And Rel looks great.  He lost weight and looks really in shape. They even commented on it on his recent appearance on The Breakfast Club with Charlamagne Tha God.

He had comic/actor/tour-mate Jay Alexander from “Rel” hosting the show, with comic/actor Reedo Brown from “Caught The Series” and “Rel” as his feature. Both were really funny and then Rel came out and totally crushed the room. He has such an easy way on stage and is so likable that he had the crowd from minute one! His delivery and intonation add to the humor and he’s very physical onstage as well.  A couple of times he showed his ability to move, and the man can dance! (LOL)

He’s also a great story teller and his story about going to see a show where he expected to see The Jackson’s performing, but only Tito showed up on stage, and only played his part of the songs he sang in, was hilarious, as were the stories about his family and the people who hit him up for money now that he’s doing well. It was a smooth hour of non-stop laughter.

I was waiting for him when he got off stage and went back into the green room to hang out a little bit. Emmy nominated comedy writer/comic Sam Jay was there, who commented positively on my scarf, and told me she’s back writing for SNL, and having a blast, as was my man Jack Thriller who I didn’t recognize at first.

He was there with his trainer who’s turning him into a beast, and I was sitting right across from him thinking, ” This guy looks so much like Jack Thriller”, and finally someone addressed him as Jack and I realized that it actually WAS Jack Thriller. Jack told me he’s finally moving his fun, crazy Party and Bullshit Show down to Times Square in Manhattan where it belongs. Last time I was at the show he had Safaree from Love and Hip Hop performing. It’s always a whole lotta fun, packed with tons of girls too!

Rel was very accommodating to all of the people who came back and wanted to take photos with him, because he’s really humble and handling his fame really well.

After Sundance he’ll be in Nashville, Orlando and a whole bunch of other places so check it out on his website: https://thelilrelcompany.wordpress.com/ and follow him on Instagram at @comedianlilrel

That’s it for me.  Until next time, remember that Comedy Matters!  I’m OUT!!!

Posted in: Celeb Photos, Comedians In The News, Comedy Central, Comedy Clubs, Comedy Events, Comedy Festivals, Comedy Matters, Comedy Videos, Entertainment News, Film Festivals, Jeffrey Gurian News, Stand-Up Comedy

Leave a Comment (0) →

Amy Poehler, Nick Kroll, Michael Cera, Sarah Silverman and more at JFL Comedy Awards Show

Out of all the amazing shows and panels at this year’s 31st annual Just for Laughs Festival, I think the most exciting event was the JFL Awards Show.

The Awards Show poster showing recipients Amy Poehler, Edgar Wright, Mitch Hurwitz, Nick Kroll, Michael Cera, and Mark Lonow and Budd Friedman.

The line-up of talent was fantastic. And I would be remiss for not thanking certain people who made my attendance at this year’s festival even more meaningful than ever, so special thanks to Paul Ronca the Director of the Comedy Pro-Conference, Zoe Friedman the Artistic Director of The Awards Show, Olivia Benaroche the Industry Coordinator and my Guardian Angel, and Emily Shore my other Guardian Angel borrowed from Andy Nulman, Pres. of JFL. Thank you all sincerely!

So the Award Show was spectacular. Amy Poehler received the Comedy Person of the Year Award, presented to her by Seth Meyers. Interviews with both of them will follow very soon, in a separate Comedy Matters post.

Nick Kroll received the Breakout Comedy Star of the Year Award and it was presented to him by his old friend John Mulaney, which was a very meaningful experience for both of them.

Nick Kroll and John Mulaney in their personnaes as George St. Geegland (L) and Gil Faison!

Nick Kroll as Bobby Bottleservice.

Nick Kroll as Dr. Armond, eminent canine plastic surgeon!

In a later interview alone with Nick, outside of the Variety party for the Top 10 Comics To Watch, he said something to the effect that John was a funny guy with a lot of potential, as if he was a newcomer! Then he busted out laughing! You’ll see it in the video when it’s finished being edited.

The hilarious Michael Cera, who takes nerdiness to new heights in most of his Judd Apatow helmed films and who is back on TV in the resurrected Arrested Development now on Netflix, won an award for Best Comedic Short Film for his 16 minute short, Brazzaville Teen-Ager. It was presented to him by Sarah Silverman who did something so funny on the red carpet.

Jeffrey Gurian of Comedy Matters TV on the red carpet of the JFL Awards with winner of Best Short Comedy Film, Michael Cera!

I was positioned at the end of the red carpet where I often prefer to be so that people have time to talk to me and no one else is waiting. That works except when the event is running behind and the PR people rush the celebs along. But in this case it worked out fine.

I was in the middle of interviewing Michael Cera, and discussing our mutual friendship with the wild and wooly Kenny Hotz, when Michael asked if Kenny was what he was smelling.

Jeffrey Gurian of Comedy Matters TV interviewing Michael Cera on the red carpet discussing their mutual friend Kenny Hotz!

A few seconds later with no pre-planning, strictly by coincidence, Nick Kroll came over and started sniffing Michael. Nick asked him if he uses fabric softener because he told him he smelled great.

Nick Kroll sniffing Michael Cera and telling him he smelled great!

Michael left and I continued interviewing Nick, when right in the middle, one of my all time favorites, the incredibly talented and beautiful Sarah Silverman jumped in and said she had skipped all the other press people to come and talk to me. Sarah has the most amazing smile!

Sarah Silverman joins Nick Kroll in an interview by Jeffrey Gurian for Comedy Matters TV!

Jeffrey Gurian of Comedy Matters TV with Sarah Silverman at the JFL Comedy Awards!

Then she and Nick double-teamed me, and wound up interviewing me, and evaluating my outfit! It was very funny because Sarah was wearing such an unusual outfit, like a hoodie on top with a T-shirt, and a very hot lingerie looking combo from the waist down, with boots!

Sarah Silverman and Nick Kroll evaluating the outfit worn by Jeffrey Gurian of Comedy Matters TV on the red carpet of the JFL Comedy Awards!

Sarah Silverman presenting the award to Michael Cera in her sexy thigh highs and boots, topped off with a T-shirt and hoodie!

It was hysterical and you can see it right here!

I shot 32 interviews over the four days I was up there with people like Amy Poehler, Seth Myers, Judah Friedlander, Paul Provenza, Colin Quinn, Bo Burnham, about 26 more, and we’ll be rolling them out as they’re done, so keep your eyes on my Comedy Matters TV You Tube channel at http://www.youtube.com/guriannewsnetwork, and PLEASE SUBSCRIBE!

Posted in: Breaking News, Celeb Photos, Comedians In The News, Comedy Central, Comedy Clubs, Comedy Events, Comedy Festivals, Comedy Matters, Comedy Videos, Entertainment News, Featured, General Information, Home Page, Important News, Nightlife Events, Press Junkets, Red Carpet Events, Sketch Comedy, Stand-Up Comedy

Leave a Comment (0) →

Sklar Brothers in National Commercial for Time Warner Cable

I happen to know the Sklar brothers for a long time. Still can’t tell them apart. I interviewed them in Montreal this past summer at the Just for Laughs Festival, for Comedy Matters TV and embarrassed myself on camera by getting their names wrong, or at least that’s what they told me.

(L-R) Randy Sklar. Jeffrey Gurian of Comedy Matters TV, and Jason Sklar (correct me if I’m wrong! LOL) at the Just for Laughs Festival in Montreal!

See for yourself:

But anyway, they have a hot podcast called “Sklarbro Country” which I hope some day to be on, and I was really happy to open the Sunday paper and find the ad they’re doing for Time Warner Business Cable! Maybe they can find out why I always lose my internet connection??? Huh guys??? Hook me up!

Jason and Randy Sklar in their national Time Warner Cable ad! Good for them!

Posted in: Breaking News, Celeb Photos, Comedians In The News, Comedy Central, Comedy Clubs, Comedy Events, Comedy Festivals, Comedy Matters, Comedy Videos, Nightlife Events, Podcasts, Radio Show

Leave a Comment (0) →

Dean Edwards Packs ‘Em In at Gotham Comedy Club

Dean Edwards is one of those rare guys who starts out strong and gets even stronger the longer he’s on stage. When most comics are winding down, he’s just getting started. Last night at Gotham, the room was so packed they almost had to put strangers at my table! (LOL) That’s packed!

Headliner Dean Edwards with Gotham owner Chris Mazzilli at the gorgeous Gotham Comedy Club!

And Dean greeted me warmly when I came in which made it even more special. Then he told me had had my book ” Make ‘Em Laugh” and that made it even better, and then he topped that by telling me he was in Barry Katz’s office out in LA and when he walked in Barry had my book on his desk!

Barry is one of the co-creators of Last Comic Standing and one of the top comedy managers in the biz. Last July in Montreal we did a “two-hug interview” for my Comedy Matters TV, which you can see right here. A “two-hug” interview by the way, is a very rare occurrence! (LOL) This may be the only one in existence!

Dean and I will always have a special moment that we shared because I was standing with him in Montreal during the Just for Laughs Festival when he found out he had gotten SNL. It was very exciting for me, so I can only imagine how HE felt! (LOL)

Dean Edwards and Jeffrey Gurian from Comedy Matters TV outside the showroom at Gotham Comedy Club!

Karen Bergreen was the MC and Karen is always funny, and really knows how to warm up an audience! She mines her relationship with her two little boys for material, and she imitates them perfectly! Not that I know them, but for all intents and purposes, it sounds like she imitates them perfectly!

MC/comic Karen Bergreen onstage at Gotham Comedy Club!

Like when they were riding in a cab where the driver was wearing a turban, and her little six year old son asked, ” Mommy, why is a genie driving our taxi?” That is hysterical! I’m sure the driver had no idea what that meant either! (LOL)

And when her older 8 year old son told her something he liked about her that was kind of a backhanded compliment she answered with, “And the only think I like about you more than your little brother is that your school day is longer!”

Harris Stanton came up next and he too is always a crowd pleaser. He was also very close to Patrice Oneal and was on Patrice’s last big show when he taped “Elephant in the Room” down at the Skirball Theatre. I used to see him a lot when I was hanging out at CB’s Comedy Club down on Macdougal Street!

Anyway he totally brought his A-game to the stage, and talked about how New York has changed him since he was a polite young man who came here from down South. Now he raced a woman to a seat on the subway!

Harris Stanton onstage, opening for Dean Edwards at Gotham Comedy Club!

And I like when he does a bit about how people shouldn’t complain if they get hurt being someplace they’re not supposed to be, and he directed this remark mostly to white people. Like if a guy gets bit by a shark. Harris is like, “Where were you when it happened? In the ocean? Well you see that’s the problem. You were in the shark’s home. If you got bit by a shark in the supermarket, I’d feel bad for you, but if you go into the ocean where you don’t belong, you gotta expect that to happen.

Or when guys get lost climbing a mountain. Another white guy thing! You don’t read about Black guys getting lost in an avalanche, or being attacked by a shark while surfing. Only white guys do stuff like that!

Rich Francese always has great lines and he was up next. He said he thought his wife was cheating on him, because the other day he caught her belittling another man! That’s really funny!

Rich “The Bouncer” Francese killing it onstage at Gotham Comedy Club!

He also said he didn’t get the concept of an ‘intervention”. At an intervention the alcoholic or drug addict is surrounded by his parents, relatives and loved ones. Aren’t those the people who made you drink and take drugs in the first place?”

Dean’s audience was waiting for him, and he hit the stage to resounding applause. He talked about lots of different things. Like people who read the NY Times always want you to know they read the NY Times! “Like, … I saw this article in the NY Times, …”

Personally the NY Times makes me nervous. Especially the Sunday edition. I always feel like I’m gonna have to cut out articles and summarize them for the next day as “Current Events” homework! I still hate Sundays because of that memory!

If you take a moment to watch this you’ll see a little film I made some years ago as part of The “Men Who” Series, about men who do very unusual things. It’s called “Men Who Dance In Traffic With The Sunday Edition of the NY Times.” That’s about all it’s good for! (LOL)

In talking about women, Dean says he wants a woman so fine that when she enters a room, she has her own theme music, and it plays automatically!

He did a masterful piece which got an applause break about being the only Black guy on a flight to Russia, where they thought he was Kobe Bryant, and he imitated the Russian accent like it was a Grinch song backwards.

Dean Edwards showing lots of expression during his sold out headlining gig at Gotham!

Accents and impressions are a real strongpoint for Dean, and his Eddie Murphy is only surpassed by his Denzel Washington which he used to close the show the night I saw him.

In talking about Kim, Khloe, and Kourtney Kardashian he said that never in this country have Black men been so supportive of the KKK! And that Kim Kardashian has taken out more Black men than Sickle Cell Anemia! That is HYSTERICAL!

On comparing his Associates Degree education to that of his wife who is a professional, with a Post-Graduate degree, he said an associates degree is like a receipt that you were in the building, … nothing more! Nothing to brag about!

He even does impressions of animals! When he described Beyonce as being so fine she was like a stallion, he pranced around the stage clip-clopping like a horse.

But ending on introducing his wife to Denzel Washington was the piece-de-resistance, that proves what an “artiste” Dean Edwards is! Plus he’s the nicest guy you’d ever want to meet!

Posted in: Celeb Photos, Comedians In The News, Comedy Central, Comedy Clubs, Comedy Events, Comedy Festivals, Comedy Matters, Comedy Videos, Nightlife Events

Leave a Comment (0) →

Mark Malkoff’s Bill Murray Show

When I first met Mark Malkoff I had no idea how much we’d have in common. He’s a very interesting guy! (That’s not what we have in common! LOL) He sets himself a difficult goal and then puts all his energy into making that happen.

Jeffrey Gurian of Comedy Matters TV with Mark Malkoff of The Bill Murray Show on My Damn Channel!

Mark hosts The Bill Murray Show on My Damn Channel, and the sole purpose of the show is to get Bill Murray to come to Mark’s house in Queens and have dinner with him and his beautiful wife Christine. If I was Bill I’d go. When I went for the taping, Christine made me a great meal, and the two of them were so nice, and really fun!

So when I was asked to appear and talk about my new book “Make ‘Em Laugh” with Chris Rock, and my experiences with Bill Murray of which I had four to speak of, I was very excited to do so! Also because I love My Damn Channel and Rob Barnett rocks! (He’s the guy who created My Damn Channel, just so you know I’m not giving a shout-out to some random guy! LOL)

Grace Helbig’s “Daily Grace” on MDC is amazing and she gets millions, and millions of hits! I just saw her doing her version of “Gangnam Style” and she’s adorable, and does it so well. She must have gone to dancing school as a little girl in Korea!

Jeffrey Gurian of Comedy Matters TV with the ebullient Grace Helbig from “Daily Grace” on My Damn Channel at the Just for Laughs Festival in Montreal!

I actually got to interview both Grace and Rob up at Montreal this past July during the Just for Laughs Festival! ( See Grace’s interview above, and Rob’s interview right here!)

So basically all the My Damn Channel stuff is super and I was psyched to be on.

The reason I relate so much to Mark is that Mark sets out to do things that appeal to him, even if they’re unusual. When I looked him up, I realized I had read about some of his exploits without realizing it had been him.

He’s a former “Colbert Report” staffer, who also visited 171 Starbucks locations in Manhattan in less than 24 hours, moved into a Paramus, N.J., IKEA for a week, and convinced New Yorkers to carry him 9.4 miles.

If I had known that I would have told him about my film I made years ago as part of the “Men Who” Series. It was part of a series of short films about men who go to work in unusual ways entitled “Men Who Insist On Being Carried To Work”! You can actually see it on my website at http://www.jeffreygurian.com, where you will also see Peter Dinklage star of HBO’s hit “Game of Thrones” starring in a film called ” Men Who Dance Where They’re Not Supposed To” and he gets arrested for dancing in a “No Dancing” zone!

So the Bill Murray thing really resonated with me because when I was in my 20’s, before I knew anyone in show biz, there were only three people I ever wanted to meet, and they were Salvador Dali, Woody Allen, and The Beach Boys, and I got to meet and spend an evening with each one of them. I actually made that happen!

Jeffrey Gurian of Comedy Matters TV with Woody Allen in a much more recent photo than when I first met him! I made him laugh by saying, ” Hi Woody, I’m a very close friend of yours!”

And that’s when I realized that if I could lose my self-consciousness, expand my comfort zone, and not be embarrassed to go out and try things, I could basically accomplish anything I wanted, and meet whoever I set out to meet!

Each of those three events is a story in it’s own, but when I realize what I was able to manifest in those days, it’s not unlike what Mark has set out to do. And if you want something bad enough there’s nothing you can’t accomplish.

I live in Manhattan and Mark lives in Queens so ordinarily I would drive, but just that day Pres. Obama came to town, specifically to mess up traffic, so I did something I never did before! I went to Queens by train! Mark gave me great directions and it wasn’t even that bad.

We had a great time and Mark speaks comedy! The guy is a fund of knowledge about comedy and was able to speak to me knowledgeably about people that were way before his time, and people that I knew well like Milton Berle, who was was my original sponsor in the LA Friars Club, Henny Youngman,Jack Rollins, Charlie Joffe, and Alan Zweibel to name just a few!

Also there was My Damn Channel’s Jesse Cowell, the Exec. Director of Original Content, who oversees 30 new series, ( not 10, or 20, but THIRTY!) that will be debuting on My Damn Channel.

Jesse was very low key but is also a lightweight karate champ and when I watched his You Tube videos of him kicking butt, I was like, … this guy’s no lightweight! (LOL) When you’re that well versed in martial arts, you can afford to be low key. It takes great discipline to get that far, and it was always one of my dreams to be that accomplished in Tae Kwon Do. One of my very few unrealized dreams!

In my interview which will air tomorrow, Tuesday Oct. 16, 2012 and will be posted on the My Damn Channel website (http://www.mydamnchannel.com), besides talking about my new book with Chris Rock called “Make ‘Em Laugh”, you’ll hear me telling my stories of my experiences with Bill Murray:

Jeffrey Gurian of Comedy Matters TV with Bill Murray at The Four Seasons Hotel in NYC! ( No, we weren’t staying there together! LOL)

1. How we originally met up at SNL in the early years!
2. How Bill Murray tried to repair my car one night during the 90’s.
3. Me and Bill Murray at a press conference for his film “Get Low”.
4. A screenplay I wrote, with Bill Murray specifically in mind for the lead called “Searching For Ed Zintz”, where as the result of a practical joke gone wrong, Hollywood winds up honoring a guy who doesn’t exist, it becomes the hottest ticket in town, people are fighting for tickets, and Bill Murray, a failed comedian, gets hired to play the guy “Ed Zintz”! But because of my ADD, I got so confused that while I was with Bill Murray, in his company, alone and right next to him, I forgot to tell him about it!

Jeffrey Gurian of Comedy Matters TV in yet a second photo with Bill Murray just to prove to myself I was actually there!

Well, if he comes to Mark’s house for dinner, maybe Mark or Christine would be kind enough to mention it, and then we can all make the movie together!

And then I think my next goal after that is to get my own show on My Damn Channel, and have Rob Barnett come to MY house for dinner!

Posted in: Books, Celeb Photos, Comedians In The News, Comedy Clubs, Comedy Events, Comedy Festivals, Comedy Matters, Comedy Videos, Featured, General Information, MTV, New Films, New TV Show, Podcasts, Red Carpet Events, Sketch Comedy, Weird News

Leave a Comment (0) →

Help Tom Cotter Win "America’s Got Talent"

I’ve known Tom Cotter for a long time and always admired his work. Not only his performance but especially his writing. It’s just so sharp and clever, and he works really clean, which in a business where so many comics are obsessed with “bathroom related material”, is a breath of fresh air, (not usually found in most bathrooms! LOLOL)

Tom Cotter with Jeffrey Gurian of Comedy Matters TV at The Comic Strip in 2003!

With all the times I’ve seen Tom perform, I still run into the room to catch his set if I know he’s going up. He’s a reliable crowd-pleaser! His lines like, ” I was the youngest in the family, but I was always beaten up by the two oldest, … Mom and Dad!” ” I used to get smacked around by these green berets in my neighborhood. Some people call them “girl scouts”, … whatever!” “The morning of my 16th birthday, the whole family tried to surprise me with a car, … but they missed!”, … make me laugh every time I hear them!(Which is not to say he’s not adding new lines all the time! Try giving a woman a compliment like that, and she’ll KILL you! “Every time I see you in that dress you look fantastic”!)

Those are just three of Tom’s jokes that helped him impress Howard Stern, Sharon Osbourne, and Howie Mandel, and pass the audition for the 7th season of the show. His material really lends itself to doing 90 second bits which is basically what you get on the show. Most comics are still adjusting the mic stand and asking people where they’re from for the first 90 seconds. Tom doesn’t fool around. He gets one laugh after the next. You can see it right here:

http://youtu.be/ug4ju_jFs70

As a long time writer, I appreciate people who punch out the jokes. One after the other. That’s why you’re out there to tell jokes and make the audience laugh, and Tom is a master at that.

Howie Mandel gave him two “thumbs up” on camera right after his audition set, told Tom he had just become a big fan of his, and that he was confident, polished and very funny. Sharon said Tom’s performance was one laugh after the next, and “really, really spot on!”, and Howard not only thanked him for being on the show but used the word “excellent” to describe his performance!

Since that time, they have grown to love him as has the audience, and you can see they’re really rooting for him to win.

Tom is married to the very funny, and very pretty comic Kerri Louise and they have 3 little kids. I remember when they were shooting their show for the WE Channel called “Two Funny” about the lives of two married stand-up comics who have baby twins. They were shooting an episode at the Just for Laughs Festival in Montreal, which is the biggest comedy festival in the world. (I just got back from there last month, where I shot 40 interviews for Comedy Matters TV, including one with Tom Cotter which you can see below!)

Anyway, I was chasing them all over to get a photo with the help of their manager Peter Rosegarten from The Conversation Company, but I could never get the two of them together in the same place at the same time! Finally I just gave up, and as I was leaving, and waiting for my car to take me to the airport, who pulls up in their car but Tom, Kerri, and the twins Cameron and Harrison. They got out of the car and I got my photo, and I just spent the last two hours searching for it on my computer to no avail!

I found the column from September of ’05, but I can’t find the photo! However I do have the video I just shot with Tom up in Montreal where I was the official videographer this year for my Comedy Matters TV! Check it out right here:

Those twins are 7 years old now and they need their Dad to win America’s Got Talent, so he can keep them in the style they need to be kept! And that goes for Kerri Louise as well, whose nick-name according to Tom used to be “Comic Relief”! (LOL)

Tom Cotter and the lovely Kerri Louise at Danny Aiello’s comedy room Danny’s Upstairs, back in 2007! You’d never know she had 3 kids, right?

In order to get into the finals, Tom took the “ballsy” move of letting Howie Mandel choose the category of his material from a list. Howie chose “College” and Tom went on to destroy the crowd with his killer set!

So the finals begin this Wednesday, Sept. 12th, on NBC, at 9 P.M. New York time, 8 P.M. Central time(whatever that is! LOL), and the results show is the next night on Thursday, 9/13. So make sure to vote for Tom, and let a true comedic talent win. He’s not only funny, but the nicest guy you’d ever wanna meet!

The world needs more laughs and Tom is the guy that can bring it!

Posted in: Breaking News, Celeb Photos, Comedians In The News, Comedy Clubs, Comedy Events, Comedy Festivals, Comedy Matters, Comedy Videos, New TV Show, Nightlife Events, Red Carpet Events, Variety Show

Leave a Comment (0) →

Saturday Night Live Comes To The Comic Strip

The cast members and writers of SNL seem to have found a home at the legendary club called The Comic Strip, in NYC. This year is the 35th year that it’s open and still going strong. SNL made it’s debut in 1975!

The Strip opened June 1st of 1976, and on June 17th Jerry Seinfeld walked in to audition. The reason we know this is that his original sign-up sheet is still on the wall. It’s also in the book that will be out Oct. 1, 2012, called “Make ‘Em Laugh” written by myself and owner/founder Richie Tienken.

Make “Em Laugh with an intro by Chris Rock will be out on Oct. 1st but is available right now for pre-order at a big discount on Amazon.com!

Recently D.L. Hughley filmed a Comedy Central special there because of it’s history with Eddie Murphy and Chris Rock. Richie was Eddie’s manager for the first eleven years of his career, from his SNL days through Beverly Hills Cop 2, so lots of big comics today grew up dreaming of someday being on that very same stage.

D.L. Hughley with Jeffrey Gurian of Comedy Matters TV backstage at The Comic Strip for DL’s Comedy Central taping!

SNL writer Colin Jost is a regular performer at The Strip and he’s been bringing his buddies from SNL, writers and cast members to do shows at The Strip. Recently one went down on Sunday night. The MC was Danny McDermott, currently working with Richie Tienken and Bob Wachs as his managers.

Danny McDermott MC’ing the SNL show at The Comic Strip!

The packed crowd got to see a hilarious show, with an opening set by Teddy Smith who is always hysterically funny.

Teddy Smith killin’ it onstage at The Strip!

New featured player Kate McKinnon was there and her strength is character work, which is the only way you can get on SNL. I believe her first time on the show she did a sketch with Sofia Vergara, who was the host that week, and it was a faux Pantene commercial where she played Penelope Cruz.

Sofia got all the easy words and Kate as Penelope got all the impossibly difficult scientific words to try and pronounce in her Spanish accent! It was hysterical. This night at The Strip Kate put on a bee hat with little antennaes and discussed the mating habits of bees!

SNL cast member Kate McKinnon showing very unusual but effective mic technique onstage at The Comic Strip!

Mike O’Brien came up, who is in his third year of writing for the show. He is also the host of the very funny Hulu internet show called ” Seven Minutes in Heaven” which he created with another SNL writer Rob Klein! He takes celebs into a closet and tries to make out with them! I always thought only the kids I went to school with knew that game. I had no idea it was real and that other kids knew it too!

Mike also created the sketch “Kickspit Underground Rock Festival”, where they advertise things like spraying viruses on the crowd, and a band named Mrs. Potato Dick. That sketch he wrote with Colin Jost, while both were suffering from sleep deprivation! The part I liked best was that everyone who attended got a pitchfork!

That reminded me of a short film I made several years ago called ” Men Who Take A Pitchfork To The Movies”, which was part of my “Men Who” Series, including “Men Who Enjoy Latin Dancing With Tools”, and “Men Who Dance In Traffic With The Sunday Edition of the New York Times!” Watch it here if you dare!

SNL writer Mike O’Brien, host of Hulu’s “Seven Minutes in Heaven” onstage at The Strip!

I did a video with Colin recently for Comedy Matters TV which will be up soon. We kept passing each other in Montreal at the Just for Laughs Festival last month,and we kept saying we had to sit for an interview but it never happened. I knew I’d see him in NY though so we caught up backstage at The Strip one night and got it done!

Colin Jost with Jeffrey Gurian of Comedy Matters TV in the luxurious, uncluttered private office of The Comic Strip!

I thought he was kidding when he announced from the stage that his parents were in the audience, because his material at the moment was not particularly parent-friendly, having focussed mostly on bj’s, but he was serious. So afterwards I told him of the first time I met Chelsea Handler, when she was performing and doing BJ jokes and her Dad was in the audience.

Chelsea Handler with Jeffrey Gurian of Comedy Matters TV in Montreal at the Just for Laughs festival!

In the interview I did with Chelsea in Montreal recently I reminded her of that and she said she takes every opportunity she can to torture her father! That video will also be ready very soon!

And cast member Vanessa Bayer also performed at The Strip, and she’s adorable, and very funny! We all hung out backstage while they were waiting to go on. Her celeb impressions on the show include Kourtney Kardashian, Miley Cyrus, (although now she’ll need a short blonde wig for that one!), and Hillary Clinton!

SNL performer Vanessa Bayer onstage at The Comic Strip!

The last SNL performer to go on was Jay Pharaoah. His Denzel Washington is so killer! He and Colin Jost are both in my “Make ‘Em Laugh”, and when I saw him in Montreal at the Just for Laughs festival, he read out loud from the intro written by Chris Rock, in Chris Rock’s voice which was absolutely hysterical.

Jay Pharoah of SNL, the man of so many voices, onstage at The Comic Strip!

We were all just chillin’ in the lobby with JB Smoove, his manager Rick Dorfman, JB’s wife Shahida Omar, Lou Wallach past head of Comedy Central and a bunch of other people, when Jay took the book and started reading as Chris. I filmed it and the video will be ready for you guys very soon! Jay said when Chris sees it he’ll probably just “nod his head like he usually does when he sees my ass!”

Finishing up the show were Gary Gulman, who can take one concept and run with it for an extended period of time. Like when he examines the history of Greece and how they fell as a culture. They went from one of the most educated and sophisticated cultures in the world, to focussing on salad. One day in modern times they decided to put all their efforts into salad, and they knocked it out of the park!

Gary Gulman, an expert in Greek Salad, making people laugh at The Comic Strip!

Last up was Phil Nee, one of the original Asian comedians whose parents were so avant-garde, they were Asian before it was even popular! You can always count on Phil as a strong closing act, and that’s exactly what he did. It was a great night at The Comic Strip!

Phil Nee doing what he does best, onstage at The Comic Strip!

Posted in: Celeb Photos, Comedians In The News, Comedy Clubs, Comedy Events, Comedy Festivals, Comedy Matters, Comedy Videos, General Information, New TV Show, Nightlife Events, Sketch Comedy, Variety Show

Leave a Comment (0) →

Just for Laughs Video With Huge Stars-Montreal-30th Anniversary

Every July in Montreal, the city gets taken over by hundreds of thousands of comedy fans from all over the world, all wanting to see their favorite comedy stars. It’s the biggest comedy festival on the planet! (There may be bigger ones on other planets,but I’m not privy to that information! I no longer own the Hubble telescope!)

This year for the 30th anniversary I was an official videographer, and got to shoot around 40 interviews with some of the biggest stars in comedy as well as the up and comers! The huge stars of the future!

Chelsea Handler with Jeffrey Gurian of Comedy Matters TV at the Just for Laughs Awards Luncheon where she won the award for “Comedy Person of the Year”!

Marc Maron of WTF fame with Jeffrey Gurian of Comedy Matters TV. Marc credits Jeffrey’s hair with making him feel safe during the “dark” times in his life!

I shot for four days straight and got some amazing interviews with people like Chelsea Handler, Bob Saget, Howie Mandel, JB Smoove, Marc Maron, Adam Carolla, Triumph The Insult Comic Dog, and his Dad Robert Smigel, Todd Barry, Joel McHale, and the Sklar Brothers.

Wayne Brady with Jeffrey Gurian of Comedy Matters TV backstage at the gala that Wayne hosted at JFL!

Triumph the Insult Comic Dog making nice to Jeffrey Gurian of Comedy Matters TV after insulting him in every way he could think of! (But fortunately it was all in jest!)

Plus interviews with newer stars like Jay Pharaoh from SNL, who read an excerpt from Chris Rock’s intro to my new book “Make’Em Laugh”, in Chris Rock’s voice, Chelsea Peretti, Hannibal Buress who won for Rising Comedy Star of the Year, Myq Kaplan, Moshe Kasher, Jermaine Fowler and Lil Rel from the new In Living Color, Joe Mande, Grace Helbig from That Damn Channel’s “Daily Grace”, Kenny Hotz, the only Canadian to have two American TV shows on at the same time, “Kenny vs. Spenny”, and “Testees”, and Jessica Williams the newest correspondent on The Daily Show who let me swing her around like we were in the playground!

Jay Pharoah from SNL with Jeffrey Gurian of Comedy Matters TV, who’s trying to learn how to hold his fingers like that!

Grace Helbig from My Damn Channel’s “Daily Grace” with Jeffrey Gurian from Comedy Matters TV at the Comedy Conference on You Tubers at JFL!

All of this on camera! Check it out right here!

And a second shorter video with just the A-list stars and hosts of the galas, Chelsea Handler, Bob Saget, Howie Mandel, JB Smoove, Marc Maron, Adam Carolla, Joel McHale, Marc Maron, and Triumph The Insult Comic Dog, with his Dad Robert Smigel!

And for a longer, more in-depth article and photos check out the previous post:

http://wp.me/p1pHIm-192

Posted in: Celeb Photos, Comedians In The News, Comedy Clubs, Comedy Events, Comedy Festivals, Comedy Matters, Comedy Videos, National Lampoon, Nightlife Events, Podcasts, Red Carpet Events, Sketch Comedy

Leave a Comment (0) →
Page 1 of 2 12
Follow by Email
YouTube
YouTube
Instagram