Funny and sexy is a great mix and not everyone can pull it off. Esther Ku’s got it down pat! To a science! In this day and age it may no longer be appropriate to tell a girl she looks sexy but I know Esther long enough that I feel comfortable doing that. She’s funny and sexy and she has so much foresight that she was Asian before it was even popular!
When she lived in New York we hung out a lot and hit a bunch of shows and I watched her grow as a performer. I even sat with her and went over material when she was preparing for Last Comic Standing.
She was one of my special guests on Ron and Fez’s Sirius XM show, now The Bennington Show, when I was a regular for a couple of years.
So to say that I know her would not be an overstatement! And I can honestly say that co-hosting the AVN (Adult Video News) awards show at the Hard Rock Hotel in Vegas, which she’ll be doing next Saturday January 26th, is a perfect gig for her. She has that rare duality of a naive yet intensely sensual creature, who’s totally unaware of her sensuality and doesn’t do it on purpose. She can’t help it! She could be one of the guys, wearing a baseball cap and hoodie, until you put her in lingerie! With the baseball cap on backwards!
Esther’s been on tons of TV shows like MTV’s Girl Code, and MTV2’s “Wild ‘n Out” with Nick Cannon, and she will be joining an all female cast for this show presented by MyFreeCams. She would actually be a great cam girl, and I could almost see her doing it for a laugh.
AVN CEO Tony Rios said that Esther ” brings a fresh, new approach to the show and we are looking forward to her contribution.” Howard Stern once selected Ku as a finalist in the Hottest Funniest Chick competition. AVN hosts in the past have been Dave Attell, Lisa Lampanelli, Jim Norton, Aries Spears, Rebekah Kochan, Thea Vidale and the late Robert Schimmel and I think I can honestly say that Ku is the sexiest of the bunch! (LOL)
She’ll be co-hosting with two adult superstars Romi Rain and Bailey Rayne, pronounced exactly the same so you know that most people will think they’re related, .. the Rain Sisters! And the musical guest will be none other than Cardi B who knows a little something about being sexy herself. She often talks openly about her former life as a stripper.
Ku said, “Ever since I was a little girl, I’ve always dreamed of hosting the AVN Awards! I feel so lucky!” When I heard that I had to call her and ask her about her sexy past. This is what she told me:
“Well I grew up super duper christian and in the midwest. My mom would block the TV when there was a kissing scene. I even got mad at my first boyfriend for watching porn because I thought that’s how you were supposed to react. I look back at that now and think that was so silly. But he watched so much porn they called him Porno John.”
How she might have looked in high school!
I asked her how she was in high school. She said, “I went to one dance in high school. I got my hair done and the captain of the football team kept telling everybody I looked like a porn star. I was so flattered! Because up till then I had glasses and was a band kid.”
Well things certainly have changed for Esther. I wonder what she’s going to wear. I just might have to fly out there to check it out! The event is part of the AVN Adult Entertainment Expo that runs from January 23-26. Hey Esther can you hook me up?
Many people have dreams that don’t get realized. Every once in a while someone’s dream comes true!
One of my dreams has always to be a presence on the radio, and thanks to Ron and Fez that dream is being realized!
(L-R) Fez Whately, Jeffrey Gurian, and Ron Bennington in the Sirius XM studio on the next to last show before they moved to Raw Dog!
Over the years I’ve guested on many, many radio shows talking about my books, my comedy writing, and other assorted things, but this time is very special as I get to bring on well known comedians that I love and am friendly with.
I also get to cover the comedy scene in both New York and LA talking about what’s going on in the clubs, who got a spot on what show, and who’s doing what with whom, … comedy wise that is!!!
For instance my first promos were about NY comic Michele Buteau getting a spot in the FOX sit-com Enlisted, every Friday night at 9:30 P.M., and then the personally exciting news that Sasheer Zamata was chosen as a regular cast member of SNL, the first African-American female to be on the show as a regular in six years, since Maya Rudolph left, and the reason that’s so exciting to me is that she is featured in my new documentary film ” The Business of Comedy” which was on WNET, Channel 11 this past New years Eve at midnight!
And I was the one who brought her in to be in it. We shot her interview at my apartment which is kind of like a comedy museum!
Jeffrey Gurian with new SNL cast member Sasheer Zamata in his apartment, during the shoot for the documentary film he co-produced and appeared in called “The Business of Comedy”!
Lastly I promo’ed a story about LA comic Mark Schiff going on tour with Jerry Seinfeld.
They’ve been friends since the mid 70’s when they first started out, and Mark is one of the original five guys who meet every year since 1980 in New York, for a New Years Day brunch and then walk across The Brooklyn Bridge. It’s Mark, Jerry Seinfeld, Larry Miller, and George Wallace. Originally there was a fifth guy named Michael Cain but he passed away very young.
My first guest on Comedy Matters Radio was Colin Quinn. I started with Colin for several reasons. First I know him for many years, but mostly because I’m in awe of his talent. He is the ultimate wordsmith, and has had four one-man shows which is an amazing feat. I recall his first one, “An Irish Wake.” I told him on air that I had gone to every one of his shows and he said he took it for granted that I was there because I’m EVERYWHERE!
His show Long Story Short which was directed by Jerry Seinfeld told the history of the entire world in 75 minutes. It was an amazing accomplishment. His new show Unconstitutional, is about the Constitution of the United States, a daunting topic to tackle comedically, and Colin worked for a year with a lot of that time dedicated to studying the Constitution and reading things like The Federalist Papers, in order to be able to handle questions from the “Constitution geeks” that would show up at his shows.
Colin is also interviewed in my book “Make ‘Em Laugh”, about the history of The Comic Strip, featuring a foreword by Chris Rock!
Jeffrey Gurian with Colin Quinn holding Jeffrey’s book “Make ‘Em Laugh” featuring an introduction with Chris Rock!
I saw Colin perform Unconstitutional this past summer at the Just for Laughs Festival in Montreal, and it got amazing reviews. I did a little interview with him for Comedy Matters TV:
He’s actually on tour with his show right now, but was kind enough to take time out to come in and inaugurate Comedy Matters Radio. The next night he was in New Orleans at the Joy Theatre and the following night in Dallas at the Wyly Theatre. He was in such a hurry that he forgot to plug his shows, but I did it for him after he left.
Jeffrey Gurian, Jackie “The Joke Man” Martling and Regina Gil head of the Gold Coast International Film Festival!
Very recently we both participated in the Gold Coast International Film Festival. I was the Head of Live Comedy Programming and produced a gala in honor of Susie Essman, and Jackie kicked off the festival with a pre-show that drew a full house. I hosted that show and had the pleasure of opening for him, and also went on his radio show, Jackie’s Joke Hunt, to promote the festival, and to tell some nasty jokes! He was also in one of the films called “Send No Flowers” with Sean Young!
I did this little Comedy Matters TV interview with him on the red carpet of the Gold Coast Festival:
I’m very much looking forward to his appearance on Comedy Matters Radio with Ron and Fez. That’s this Tuesday, 1/14/14 at 2 P.M.
Jeffrey Gurian with Jackie (The Joke Man) Martling at the Gold Coast International Film Festival!
Please remember to follow me on Twitter at @jeffreygurian and please subscribe to Comedy Matters TV at https://comedymatterstv.com
There’s only one Barry Sobel and those of you who know him know what I mean. In a world of unique characters, like you find in the world of comedy, Barry Sobel stands out. Barry claims he’s back to save The Universe with a brand new type of entertainment, Barry Sobel’s “The Skype Show.”
He’s hosting a live stand-up comedy show mixed with special appearances by comedians from all around the world SKYPING IN, so grab your Firewire cables and hold onto your seats for an inter-galactic ride, with Barry Sobel as the Mission Commander!
The first one is coming up this Saturday, June 30th at 9 P.M. at Bowery Electric, 327 Bowery, only $10. in advance and $15. at the door! In this economy, it only makes sense to do it in advance!
The Skype Show, this Saturday June 30th at Bowery Electric!
John Fugelsang, a dear old friend of mine, whose CD on I-Tunes is currently numero uno,(#1 for all of you who are not fluent in Espanol!) performs onstage at Bowery. And comedy powerhouse Brandon Wardell, SKYPES IN, from his basement in DC. ( Where he’s been hiding for years! LOLOL) Plus many more! As Barry describes it, each show will be “an amazing one-time only experience!”
This will be the premiere show for Barry, who is an “Artist in Residence” in the new comedy room at Bowery Electric, which I think means he lives there! (LOL) Future dates will be added.
Barry currently stars on “The 3 Minute Talk Show with Barry Sobel.” Created by Barry and produced by Tom Hanks and Playtone, it is everything you have ever seen in a late night talk show, all in three minutes. It can be seen on Hulu.
Barry has had a fascinating background with tons of credits. Originally emerging from the San Francisco comedy scene, he was a favorite of rock impresario Bill Graham who invited him to perform at “The US Festival,” making Barry, at the time, the comedian to perform in front of the largest live audience in the history of comedy.(There were at least 6 or 7 people there! LOL)
Barry changed the face of stand-up comedy, ( like a comedic plastic surgeon!) with his ‘Beastie Boys’ Rap, and his homage to James Brown and Bruce Springsteen, “I Can’t Do No More!”
Introduced at “Showtime at the Apollo,” by hosts The Beastie Boys and Run DMC, Barry was the first comedian to ever rap onstage…and he received a standing ovation. (If it had been a Jewish audience he would have received a “standing oy-vation! LOL)
Barry Sobel killing it onstage way back in 2010! ( He still looks exactly the same!)
But it was Barry’s career breaking performances on “The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson,” that made him a force to be reckoned with, to use an expression from The Old West!
Barry has appeared on HBO with Rodney Dangerfield, (the first major star I ever wrote for back in 1810), Eddie Murphy, John Candy and Tom Hanks, and has starred in his own HBO special, “I CAN’T DO NO MORE.”
Barry became sort of a pop culture icon when he joined up with the “Nerds” starring and rapping in “Revenge of the Nerds II.” NBC President Brandon Tartikoff championed Barry’s career and cast him on the NBC hit sitcom “227.”
Barry has appeared in many movies, including “Blind Date,” “Doc Hollywood,” “I Love Trouble,” and “BAPS,” and starred in the cult classic “Martians Go Home.” He was handpicked to work on the movie “Punchline,” the film where Tom Hanks tried out some of his material at The Comic Strip, and he actually wrote Tom’s material and coached him on how to perform. They’ve been close ever since.
Barry’s TV career started with an appearance on “Family Ties” and went to include “The Ellen Burstyn Show,” “Bridges to Cross,” and “VH1’s Vinyl Justice.” He has had recurring roles on “Dave’s World,” “The Parenthood,” and wrote for and did voices for the acclaimed cartoon, “The Boondocks.”
He even wound up playing himself on an episode of “21 Jump Street.” ( I just did that on Nick Kroll’s new show for Comedy Central, and it’s really fun, and a great honor!)
Barry guest VJ’d for years on MTV, and has been in many shows on Comedy Central having appeared on “Dr. Katz,” “The A-List,” “Comics Only,” and “The Chocolate News.” He even starred in his own Comedy Central commercial with his Mom.
He’s appeared on numerous talk shows, including “The Tonight Show,” “Oprah,” “Regis,” and “The Today Show” and if you hurry down to Bowery Electric you’ll be able to verify all this for yourselves by cornering him and asking him a million questions!
As a writer, his credits include “The MTV Movie Awards,” “The MTV VMAs,” “The Boondocks,” “Nick Swardson’s Funtime,” and Saturday Night Live, for which he received an Emmy nomination. Barry has worked for years with Jimmy Fallon, who made his first TV appearance on “The Barry Sobel Show” on Comedy Central.
Barry is currently in pre-production on season two of “The 3 Minute Talk Show,” and is developing an animated project with Tom Hanks, Cartoon03.
For a sneak preview of Cartoon03 click here: http://www.youtube.com/user/cartoon03
– “Top Secret03”
Then on Thursdays at 9, starting this Thursday, June 28th Barry is doing a show called “These Jokes Aren’t 4 Everybody-Just The Sexy People” and it will be at Revision Lounge and Gallery! (Comedy just isn’t funny unless there’s a gallery! That is at 219 Avenue B in NYC in case you plan on coming in from Europe or Asia for this event!
I know I’ll be there and I hope to see you there as well! Then I can get some more photos to add to this column! (LOL)
Besides the 60 plus films screened by the The Friars Club Comedy Film Festival, they also offered fascinating and informative daytime panels for the people who attended the festival. One of the best I attended was the one with Thomas Lennon and Robert Ben Garant, (who I know as Ben Garant), one of the most successful writing teams in Hollywood.
(L-R) Ben Garant and Tom Lennon on the “step-and-repeat” at The Friars Club for their new book Writing Movies for Fun and Profit: How We Made a Billion Dollars at The Box Office and You Can Too!
Back before Ben was one of the team that formed MTV’s The State, he and I and Michael Ian Black wrote an inter-active film for Sony called “I’m Your Man”. As I recall, Sony spent about half a million bucks to outfit the Sony Theatre on 19th Street and Broadway with a series of buttons at every seat, where the actors would ask the audience to make choices during the film. “Should we escape out the window or should we go to the roof?” And the audience would vote, the votes would be tallied immediately, and the course of the film would be changed to accommodate the audience’s wishes. It was the first of it’s kind at the time.
The film poster for “I’m Your Man” written by Ben Garant, Michael Ian Black, and believe it or not Jeffrey Gurian! Ben wrote a billion dollars worth of movies since and I WATCHED a billion dollars worth of movies since!
A close-up of the credits on the “I’m Your Man” poster in case any of my readers don’t believe me!
Jeffrey Gurian of Comedy Matters TV with Michael Ian Black at what must have been a formal event! If not, Gurian is way over-dressed!
He went on to become one of the founding members of MTV’s “The State”, (as did Tom Lennon), and then went on to be a co-creator of Comedy Central’s Viva Variety, a short-lived but very funny pseudo-European-type variety show of sorts. From 2003 to 2009, Ben and Thomas created and starred in Comedy Central’s hit Reno 911, a take off on the FOX show COPS that ran for 88 episodes over the 6 years it was on.
As writing partners, Garant and Lennon’s films have earned over $1.4 billion in box office revenue alone. Some of their films were Night at The Museum, Let’s Go To Prison, Balls of Fury, and Herbie Fully Loaded, to name just a few.
Tom Lennon stroking an imaginary beard, while making nefarious plans with Jeffrey Gurian from Comedy Matters TV at The Friars Club!
In 2010, Garant and Lennon created a pilot for FX called USS Alabama, a sci-fi/comedy set a thousand years in the future, aboard a United Nations Peacekeeping spaceship, the U.S.S. Alabama, and they screened the pilot at The Friars Club!
In 2011, Garant and Lennon released a book about their careers called “Writing Movies for Fun and Profit: How We Made a Billion Dollars at The Box Office and You Can Too!
The book cover for “Writing Movies for Fun and Profit: How We Made a Billion Dollars at The Box Office and You Can Too!
Ben and Tom met in 1988 while students at NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts and have been together ever since! They are so in synch when they speak! Like an old married couple,( in the best sense!) who know what the other is going to say before they say it. They did such a fun informative panel, and these were some of the their thoughts on L.A. and writing in general:
a. LA is gross! It’s an oil rig. As you land you’re like, ” Is that a poison gas?” It’s a lonely town. It’s a cess pit!”
b. No one reads anything in L.A, … they watch it! No matter what script you’re working on it’s too long! A script length of 105 pages is best!
When they were in The State, there were 11 people and they had to “pitch” ideas every day. “It was like getting thrown in the deep end of the pool!”
When they pitch they do a 12 minute rehearsed pitch, that they practice out loud. The two of them together do a very funny pitch. They kind of did one as an example.
They told a funny story about trying to sell a pitch about a Mall Cop to the studio that was already doing Paul Blart with Kevin James,( about a mall cop, … for any foreign men who might be reading this post!) and then had to show up at 11 other pitch meetings that were already set up to pitch the same project knowing that the answer would be “NO”!
They shot “Alabama” in 3 days on a Russian submarine. They describe it as Reno 911 on a rocket ship. It was very funny. Eddie Izzard who I recently ran into in Montreal plays the villain, the ruler of Tango.
Eddie Izzard in his on-screen personna as the villainous ruler of Tango in the FX pilot “Alabama”, written by Ben Garant and Thomas Lennon!
The “real” Eddie Izzard, the way he looked at the airport after The Just For Laughs Festival in Montreal this past July!
There was a character named Mr. Magenta who looked like a really hot girl, but was actually a male on the planet she came from. They didn’t really rehearse except for practicing how they would envision themselves teleporting, and then landing at their destination in a way that looked believable.
(L-R) Ben Garant in character with Mr. Magenta in the FX pilot “Alabama”!
Matt Kiernan, interviewing Tom Lennon and Ben Garant about their new book at The Friars Club!
The host of this fun, and well attended event was Matt Kiernan!
On a personal note is was really special for me to re-unite with Ben after all these years and to be able to congratulate him on all of his success. What was even more special was to see how humble he was and how happy he is with his new wife Kathy, who was kind enough to shoot the little video you will be seeing very shortly.
I seem to be starting a trend. When I interviewed Jimmy Fallon recently,my D.P. wasn’t able to show up so Jimmy’s wife Nancy who is a TV producer, shot the interview for me!
PART 1 – http://wp.me/p1pHIm-mc
PART 2 – http://wp.me/p1pHIm-mo
This time, Ben’s new wife Kathy shot the interview for me! I should probably just limit my interviewing to celebs who are married and who bring their wives with them! Maybe my life would be a lot easier. I wonder if Kathy can edit??
Watch for the Ben Garant video coming soon! And don’t forget to buy the book!
Ben Garant in a historic, and patriotic salute from the step and repeat at The Friars Club, with Jeffrey Gurian from Comedy Matters TV!
I get to see a lot of fun projects before they hit the big or small screen, but this one from MTV was really super! As part of Comic Con NYC, 2011, MTV held a screening and a panel for it’s new animated show “Good Vibes” premiering Thursday, Oct. 27th, at 10:30 P.M. The panel was moderated by none other than Gary ( Baba Booey) Dell’Abate, Howard Stern’s longtime producer.
Gary (Baba Booey) Dell’Abate, Exec. Producer of the Howard Stern Show moderating the Good Vibes panel at Comic Con 2011!
The series follows two high school surfers, Woodie, voiced by Adam Brody of The O.C., and Mondo, voiced by Josh Gad from The Book of Mormon, who live and surf in Playa del Toro, described as “a colorful Southern California beach community!”
Woody (voiced by Adam Brody) and Mondo ( voiced by Josh Gad) on their way to the beach to do a little surfing and girl watching!
Mondo is really small and overweight, and Woody is tall and skinny with a huge blonde afro, and a big “penis” nose,( description by Adam Brody!), and like any other high school guys,… and maybe any guys at all for that matter, are obsessed with sex and pretty girls.
Almost everyone from the show showed up for the panel. On the production end there was David Gordon Green the creator of the show, and Exec. Producers Mike Clements, Brad Abelson and Tom Brady, all of whom appear in the video below.
(L-R) Exec. Producer Mike Clements, Exec. Producer and Head Writer Tom Brady, and Creator/Exec. Producer David Gordon Green on the Comic Con panel for Good Vibes!
(L-R) Tom Brady, Debi Mazar, Alan Tudyk, Olivia Thirlby, Josh Gad,Adam Brody, and Brad Abelson in a Good Vibes line-up! They’re all guilty of a great performance!
On the talent side there was Josh Gad voicing the part of Mondo, Adam Brody voicing Woody, the fantastically sexy Debi Mazar voicing the role of Mondo’s super-sexy Mom Babs, Olivia Thirlby, who had previously worked with David Gordon Green in the Judd Apatow movie he directed “Pineapple Express”, and Alan Tudyk from Joss Whedon’s Emmy award-winning TV series, “Firefly”.
Jeffrey Gurian of Comedy Matters TV with Debi Mazar, the sexy voice of Babs on MTV’s Good Vibes, premiering Thurs. 10/27/11 at 10:30 P.M.
Babs (Debi Mazar) in a towel being drooled over by Adam Brody’s “Woody”, which is a perfect name for him! ( Especially in this scene! LOL )
Jeffrey Gurian of Comedy Matters TV with Josh (Book of Mormon) Gad, the voice of Mondo, in MTV’s new animated show “Good Vibes”!
Check it all out right here and don’t forget to watch this Thursday, Oct. 27th at 10:30 ET/PT on MTV, right after the return of Mike Judge’s Beavis and Butthead!
Kelly Cutrone is a powerhouse! How do I know? Aside from the fact that I count her as a dear friend, and know her for many years, she managed to wind up on Page 6 two days in a row, about the same story. No one does that! (LOL) It’s hard enough to get on Page 6 at all, but to have two stories back to back? Only Kelly Cutrone could do that!
Jeffrey Gurian of Comedy Matters TV with Kelly Cutrone at the Barnes and Noble book signing for her hit book ” If You Have To Cry, Go Outside.”
Kelly is the head of the hot fashion P.R. firm People’s Revolution, and when she arranged for me to attend the shows at Fashion Week that she was in charge of, it was very clear that she runs everything with a tight fist! Kelly doesn’t mince words when she’s on the grind! And people jump to do her bidding.
She’s had a lot of TV experience, including her run on MTV’s The Hills which led to her starring in the spinoff, ” The City”, and finally as the star of her own show on Bravo, ” Kell On Earth”, which she also Exec. Produced!
I recall my first trip out to LA many years ago. Kelly made one phone call, and got me a super room at an even better price at the Sunset Marquis hotel in Hollywood. Then when I was out there she hooked me up with lots of fun events to make me feel at home, like I was in New York!
I remember the event she created that really put her in the public eye. Many years ago, she produced a show in NYC, in an art gallery, and the show was called ” Love, Spit, Love”. It was basically naked couples in various intimate poses within an art gallery setting. Live art, if you will! And lots of people did! I remember being there as her guest and there were tons of cops, and police barricades to try and control the huge crowds that had come to try and get in.
She mentions that event as a monumental event in her career in her hit Harper One book ” If You Have To Cry, Go Outside”, which chronicles how she overcame the often difficult and challenging events in her life that led up to the success she enjoys now.
Kelly Cutrone’s hit book, ” If You Have To Cry, Go Outside” published by Harper One!”
I was at the book signing for that event, and I came away with one of the most special pieces of memorabilia in my whole long career. When Kelly signed my book she wrote: “Dearest Jeffrey,
You are a legend! I worship you!
And under that was a big Heart, and then her name “Kelly.” And if you don’t believe me, here it is!
No caption is needed! This photo speaks for itself! (LOL)
So I along with millions of other people will be watching for Kelly on ANTM, and rooting for her continued success!
Everyone loves a Roast, and everyone, especially in the comedy community, was anxiously awaiting the Comedy Central Roast of Charlie Sheen! The jokes could basically write themselves. There was so much to use for inspiration. I wrote for the famed Friars Roasts for many years, but I have to say the level of humor then was nowhere near as cruel as it is today! There’s nothing left to say that is considered shocking anymore! It’s all been done, so now people say the most horrible things they can think of, and it passes for humor because no one has the balls to tell them it isn’t funny!
I won’t say which jokes I think that applies to! I’ll leave that up to you!
This Roast was produced by my old friend Jeffrey Ross who I know for a long time. Jeffrey’s become known as the Roastmaster General, which is very similar to being the Postmaster General. The Postmaster General is in charge of delivering the mail, and the Roastmaster General is in charge of delivering the funny! I wonder how much Jeffrey had to do with who the Roasters were.
Comedy Central V.P. JoAnn Grigioni, Jeffrey Gurian, and Jeffrey Ross at the after-party for the Donald Trump Roast!
He himself commented, ” Look at this dais. This lineup is so pathetic, I was hoping I’D get replaced by Ashton Kutcher!”
Jeffrey Gurian of Comedy Matters TV with Jeffrey Ross, somewhere cool back in 2004!
Ross about Sheen – Charlie Sheen is to stand-up what Larry Flynt is to standing up! ( Brilliant! )
He went on to say, ” Martin Sheen and Emilio Estevez would have been here tonight, but they had a family obligation”!
Jeffrey Gurian of Comedy Matters TV with Jeffrey Ross at the Friars Club book party for Gurian’s book, ” Filthy, Funny, and Totally Offensive!”
Those are the kind of jokes I love. Clever, and funny but not cruel!
And then he asked Charlie about his kids, ” Don’t you wanna live to see their first 12 steps???” ( Hilarious! )
Greg Giraldo was missed, but was mentioned when Ross said about Anthony Jeselnik, ” Some say you’re the next Greg Giraldo. Let’s hope so!”
Also missed were Lisa Lampanelli who had another committment, and Gilbert Gottfried, who was committed!
Seth McFarlane is a great Roastmaster. He’s really found a niche for himself cause it’s a hard thing to do. I don’t know how much he writes himself, but his lines are sharp and he delivers them like he wrote them!
Seth McFarlane on TV when he hosted the Roast of Donald Trump!
I like his simple lines like ” Anthony Jeselnik’s act combines the excitement of standing there with the thrill of saying words!” That’s hysterical!
He followed it up by saying, ” You know him best by me saying his name right now! “
Anthony Jeselnik chillin’ at The Comic Strip after his set!
Seth on Mike Tyson – He’s beaten every opponent he’s gone up against so far, except the letter “S”!
Amy Schumer showed how she got on the dais with her clever lines:
Amy to Tyson – Mike Tython. Am I saying that right? You have a slutty lower back tattoo on your face! Men don’t know whether to be scared of it, or finish on it! ( To his credit Tyson laughed at everything that was said about him! )
Jeffrey Gurian of Comedy Matters TV with Amy Schumer at Gotham Comedy Club!
Amy to Sheen – You are really so famous. It was international news when you ruined the lives of those two girls that were living with you, … your daughters! ( Very edgy! I think family members used to be considered out of bounds when we wrote the Friars Roasts!) I remember one joke I wrote that got side-lined about an honoree who was so neat he let other guys f**k his wife so he wouldn’t have to get his c**k all messy!
Jeffrey Gurian with a very dressy Amy Schumer, including what look like pearls, at Gotham Comedy Club!
Amy mentioned Patrice Oneal’s bout with Diabetes and said this was also a farewell party for Patrice’s foot, and told a joke where his grandmother was the brunt of the joke. It almost looked like Patrice winced at that one, which is hard to do!
Jeffrey Gurian of Comedy Matters TV with his pal Patrice Oneal when Patrice was Jeffrey’s guest speaker at an event to create comedy workshops for inner city kids!
I was his co-host for a while on his Sirius Radio show The Black Phillip Show along with Dante Nero,who labeled me a “Level 12 Pimp”, a title I held proudly! (LOL) Patrice said he chose me not only because we got a long so well, and made for interesting partners, but because I was the only white man he ever met who knew all the words to AMG’s “Bitch Betta Have My Money!”
Jeffrey Gurian of Comedy Matters TV with Patrice Oneal at the Friars Club book party for Jeffrey’s book “FIlthy, Funny,and Totally Offensive.”
Check out some clips from the show here where Patrice is talking about me, and the beautiful girl I had with me, Jacqueline Beaulieu:
So again, there’s not many things that Patrice wouldn’t say, and I don’t know if I could even think of one, but I really think he winced at the grandmother joke!
But Amy took some unfair heat when referencing Ryan Dunn from Jackass who was killed in an auto accident, and was friends with Steve-O who was on the dais. She said, ” Sorry for the loss of your friend Ryan Dunn. You were thinking “it could have been me”, and we were all thinking, ” Why wasn’t it you?” Which doesn’t seem so harsh in light of the other things that were said, and remembering that it IS a Roast!
Seth McFarlane made jokes about Amy Winehouse, when writing Charlie Sheen’s make believe obituary, and no one said anything about that?
When Steve-O jumped face first into Mike Tyson’s fist and broke his nose, Seth said, ” That’s what it looks like when an asshole gets fisted!” No one’s that quick, so I guess that part was planned!
Anthony Jeselnik has such an unusual delivery. I can’t exactly explain what it is, but it’s great. It gives him the ability to say things you would never expect him to say. They said he’s dating Amy Schumer. I can see that happening! I think it works comedically as well as socially!
Anthony to Sheen – “The only reason you got on TV in the first place is because G-d hates Michael J. Fox!”
Patrice Oneal is like a philosopher. He does best when he has time to develop his premises of which he has many! He did great on the Roast when he told Seth McFarlane that he needs a partner to bring down his ego, like Hanna-Barbera had, like when Hanna thought he was bigger than Yogi and Barbera had to slap the shit out of him!
He also advised Seth to just come out and admit that he’s gay! He said ” No straight guy writes that many show tunes!”
You have to have a thick skin to be a Roaster or a Roastee! Everyone present gets what’s coming to them, … whether they deserve it or not!!!
This past week I co-produced a sold out comedy fundraiser to fight Diabetes at the legendary comedy club The Comic Strip with my partner, Richie Tienken owner and founder of the club. The club was packed to hear comedy from the first lady of comedy Elayne Boosler, Eddie Brill from Letterman, Goumba Johnny the afternoon host of WKTU, national headliners Jim Mendrinos, Louis Ramey, and Jeff Pirrami from The Friars Club, Chuck Nice from VH1 and the host of The Hot 10 on Centric TV, Sherrod Small from VH1’s Best Week Ever, Harrison Greenbaum, the winner of The Andy Kaufman Award and one of Comedy Central’s “Top 10 Comics To Watch”, and even I did a little surprise spot.
(L-R) Richie Tienken, Elayne Boosler, and Jeffrey Gurian at The Comic Strip to fight Diabetes.
(L-R) JR Ravitz, GM of The Comic Strip, who also holds the auditions for the club, with host/MC Jim Mendrinos.
Jeffrey Gurian with fantastic host/MC Jim Mendrinos!
The incredibly straight Harrison Greenbaum with comedy writer/producer Jeffrey Gurian at The Strip.
(L-R) Harrison Greenbaum, Eddie Brill, Goumba Johnny, Jeff Pirrami, Elaine Boosler, and Jim Mendrinos in a rare group picture at the bar during the Diabetes fundraiser!
(L-R) Jon Fisch, Chuck Nice, and Harrison Greenbaum backstage waiting to go on at The Strip!
(L-R) A newly svelte Eddie Brill, Jeffrey Gurian, a newly svelte Jim Mendrinos, Richie TIenken, Louis Ramey, and an ALWAYS svelte Leighann Lord!
Sean and Jessica Mannion manning the new Sony VG-10 Hi Def camera during the show!
(Front L-R) Scott Blakeman, Sherrod Small,(Rear) Barry Weintraub, promoting our fundraiser on NY1's "Inside City Hall", with show host Errol Louis!
In the audience was a journalist named Rachel Wilgoren who writes for the Manhattan lifestyle site Nearsay, ( http://www.nearsay.com) and I thought it was good enough to send around to my peeps.
I got to cover the red carpet for one of Comedy Central’s most exciting nights, the first annual Comedy Awards at The Hammerstein Ballroom on West 34th Street in Manhattan.
This is the first ever multi-network, multi-platform event dedicated to honoring and celebrating the world of comedy, and it’s not a moment too soon! People are being funny at an ever increasing rate. Soon the entire planet will be absolutely hysterical, … except for certain unnamed countries where laughing is still considered a crime!
The event airs Sunday, April 10th at 9 P.M. simultaneouly across MTV Networks, Comedy Central, Spike TV, TV Land, VH1, and Nick at Nite. In other words you have to try hard to miss this show. If you miss this show, it is obvious that you are determined not to have a good time in your life.
The show will honor not only stand-ups but also writers, directors, sit-coms and just about everything and anyone who ever made you smile! The talent was amazing. Bruce Willis presented an award, and for some reason grabbed himself during the presentation!
Bruce Willis looking all over for his wallet, while presenting an award!
As I got set up on the red carpet, with my assistant Sean Mannion manning my new Sony VG Hi-Def camera and my Sennheiser mic with the Comedy Matters flag, and the wireless set-up, (LOL) I noticed that Christian Finnegan was hosting the red carpet. When I went over to congratulate him, he played it off very humbly, but I convinced him it was a great honor.
Jeffrey Gurian holding his brand new Sennheiser mic with Comedy Matters flag, while talking to Dylan Gadino, CEO of Punchline Magazine on the red carpet.
Aileen Budow ran the red carpet very efficiently as she always does with the help of Eve Kenny.
I got to interview Jon Stewart who I had not seen in a long time, and who acknowledged that fact on camera, Will Ferrell, Olivia Munn, The Gregory Brothers, Mark DuPlass who wrote, produced and directed Cyrus, and who was there with his beautiful actress wife Katie Aselton, Craig Robinson, and Louis CK who I got to congratulate for being honored this coming summer in Montreal as Comedy Person of the Year. Many of them did a little promo for Comedy Matters. Check it out here!
Jeffrey Gurian and Craig Robinson hanging out after the award show.
Louis CK either giving me the finger, or telling the cops it was me who did it, on the red carpet of the Comedy Central Comedy Awards.
This night, he was up for “Breakthrough Performer” against Aziz Ansari, Ty Burrell, Whitney Cummings, Danny McBride, Emma Stone, Daniel Tosh, and Kristen Wiig, and if you promise not to tell anyone, I’ll confide in you that he won! Do you promise? If not, I won’t tell you!
I also got to see one of my favorites Kristen Schaal who recently hosted the Writers Guild Awards, and who for whatever reason, didn’t answer an e-mail I sent her telling her I was coming to see her.
She said that Nick Kroll had mentioned to her that I said “Kristen didn’t answer me”, and she was so sweet, and apologized, and I told her next time I’m sending her two e-mails at a time to make sure she sees it!
Kristen Wiig’s handler got so upset that I didn’t recognize Kristen that she didn’t bring her over to talk to me. For some reason Kristen looked different to me that day, but I was surprised her PR person would react that way. Maybe she was a little stressed?
The Roots came over to chat, mainly because they told me they dug my hair! Those are guys who are not afraid to express themselves through their hairstyles, especially Questlove!
Jeffrey Gurian with Questlove and The Roots complimenting each other on their respective hairstyles!
I explained to them my theory that most men wear their hair like they’re embarrassed for having any. Almost like an apology. Sorry I have hair. I’ll try and wear it in a way you don’t notice. Let’s see, is this short enough, and non-descript enough for you???
Jimmy Fallon was out of town, but they were “representing” as the house band for the show.
I had been waiting patiently on the red carpet hoping to see Tracy Morgan who was there to present Eddie Murphy with the Comedy Icon Award.
Tracy Morgan presenting Eddie Murphy with the Comedy Icon award, which Eddie said was an "old man" award!
Tracy told me he would try to make an appearance at my Diabetes Comedy Fundraiser, “Laugh at Diabetes” on April 14th at The Comic Strip but when I called him to confirm, his number had changed, and I couldn’t get the new one.
I stood on the red carpet freezing my butt off cause I took off my coat so everyone could see my nice tux ( it was Black Tie!), and just as I walked away to get my coat to warm up for a minute Tracy breezed right on by. Sean tried to alert me, but it was too late, and I never got to find Tracy in the madness that ensued afterwards. Very frustrating!
Jeffrey Gurian with Tracy Morgan at Anthony Anderson's Mixtape Show at Gotham!
So if any of you know how to reach Tracy, please ask him to contact me about this coming Thursday, April 14th at 8 P.M. at The Comic Strip at 1568 Second Avenue between 81st and 82nd Street. Tracy himself is battling Diabetes which is why I was hoping he’d make an appearance.
Also there was Bill Murray, who presented an award to David Letterman who was actually there to accept it, TIna Fey, Ricky Gervais, Jon Cryer, who was crying about what happened with Charlie Sheen, Stephen Colbert who threw everyone else from The Daily Show off the stage so he could “faux rant” about Jon Stewart, Alec Baldwin, who received an award from Kick-Ass’s Chloe Moretz… I mean nobody but Comedy Central gets all these people to show up!
Bill Murray making a point at the Comedy Awards!
Jon Cryer lamenting the fate of Two and a Half Men while presenting!
Chloe Moretz of Kick Ass presenting an award to Alec Baldwin!
One of the coolest things happened when I ran into my old buddy James Dixon of Dixon Talent. I know James from his days as an agent at William Morris when he used to pal around with another agent named Mike August. James has become a powerhouse in entertainment and opened Dixon Talent where he manages some of the biggest names in comedy like John Stewart and Stephen Colbert to name just two.
After the show, James and I were catching up when Jon Stewart came by, and James said to Jon, ” You know Jeffrey Gurian right?” And Jon said, ” Sure I do.” And then James himself was kind enough to snap a photo of Jon and I, since my assistant Sean had to leave early to celebrate his wife Jessica’s birthday! Besides being an amazing manager, James takes a good photo, don’t you think???
Jeffrey Gurian with Jon Stewart after the Comedy Awards. Photo taken by Jon's manager James Dixon.
I’ll be writing more about this exciting event in the days that follow but this will give you a little preview of what to expect.
Chris Rock made his Broadway debut in a hard-hitting and fantastic new show with one of the strangest names ever to hit Broadway, The Motherf**ker With The Hat.
The Schoenfeld Theatre Marquee for The Motherf**ker With The Hat starring Bobby Cannavale, Chris Rock, and Annabella Sciorra
What’s particularly funny to me as a comedy writer and something I’ve thought about since The Vagina Monologues came out, is that as a writer you can call your work anything you want, and people HAVE to say it if they want to either buy it or see it.
They could just have easily called this play The C**ksucker With The Beard, and nice, regular people would have to call up and say, ” I’d like two tickets for “The C**cksucker With The Beard”, and no one could say anything about it cause that’s the name of the play.
Before The Vagina Monologues, no one used the word “vagina” in regular conversation. It felt too weird. As a matter of fact, when I saw it, the next day my mother asked me what play I saw the night before, and I felt so uncomfortable I told her I didn’t remember. She said ” How can’t you remember? You just saw it last night!”
And that’s when I realized I would rather my mother thought I had brain damage than that I knew the word “vagina.”
Anyway, this play was superb. it’s only in previews so by the time it opens officially it will supposedly be even better although I don’t see how that can happen. Now I’m not a critic, so I look at a performance as to whether I enjoyed it or not.
I don’t notice things that critics tend to notice. When I use a camera, I leave it on “Auto”. If I can see the picture I think it’s a good camera. When people rave about audio systems, it means nothing to me. If I turn on my CD player, and I can hear the song, and it sounds good to me, that’s all I need to know.
I don’t know about the bass, the treble, and all that other stuff. All I need to know is that I can hear the song clearly enough to tell it from another song,and I’m good to go!
Annabella Sciorra, Chris Rock, Elizabeth Rodriguez, and Bobby Cannavale in Chris Rock's dressing room after the show.
That being said, this cast is superb. Every one of them is a shining star. Chris Rock plays a guy named Ralph who’s the A.A. sponsor of a career criminal named Jackie, fresh out of jail, and trying to stay sober and do the right thing, played by the incredible Bobby Cannavale.
Even if you knew Bobby Cannavale personally, ( which I did), you would NEVER recognize him in this role. He actually changed physically, and looks like a completely different person. I’ve met him a few times over the years, and even looking at his photo I have to struggle to see that it’s him.
He used his talent to morph into a Puerto Rican or Dominican drug addict from The Bronx, who walks, talks, looks and sounds the part.
It’s not even acting. He BECOMES that person. He reminds me of my friend Cipha Sounds, the highly successful and talented non-drug addict radio DJ who does the morning show on Hot 97, Cipha Sounds and Rosenberg, and who IS a Puerto Rican from The Bronx.
Over the years, I had met Bobby several times through my friends Ethan Hawke and Peter Dinklage, with whom he starred in the Academy Award nominated picture “The Station Agent”, but I think he must have worked out hard physically for this part as well as having learned the script.
His body is “cut”, but even his face is cut. And he mastered the facial expressions, and even the hand motions of the kind of guy he’s playing. In the photos we took after the show, he’s throwing some kind of street hand signs, … but doing it right! Bobby’s Dad is Italian and his Mom is Cuban, so he probably gets a great tan during the summer!
Chris Rock acts like he’s been on a Broadway stage all his life. It’s his first show but he’s been on stages all over the world, so it didn’t intimidate him at all.
I went to the show with Richie Tienken, the owner and co-founder of the legendary comedy club The Comic Strip. Richie discovered Eddie Murphy and went on to manage him for 11 years and in 1986 they jointly discovered Chris Rock, so Chris is always happy to see Richie.
Watch the little interview I did with Chris backstage after the show. Richie is in it as is Chris’ friend, hilarious comic Ardie Fuqua, who happened to sit right near us in the audience.
On the way up the 6 flights of stairs to Chris’ dressing room, ( and I’m not kidding about that!) we ran into the rest of the cast and brought them with us to take the photos you’re seeing here.
Annabella Sciorra has been a favorite of mine since The Sopranos. She’s so talented and plays the long suffering wife of Ralph, Chris Rock’s character, in this, her Broadway debut as well.
She was running home to take care of her kids but was kind enough to come upstairs for a group photo for Comedy Matters, and that’s why she was wearing her hat and coat!
(L-R) Frt. -Annabella Sciorra, Jeffrey Gurian,Richie Tienken,(Back) Chris Rock, Elizabeth Rodriguez, and Bobby Cannavale in Chris' dressing room after the show.
Chris plays a guy so cold he actually tells a guy in detail how he’s been with his girlfriend and when I say in detail, I mean “IN DETAIL”! It was COLD, bro’!
I meant to ask Chris what that was like, even doing that on stage, cause most people could never do something like that in real life, but I didn’t get a chance to. I plan on seeing the show again, so maybe I’ll get to ask him that next time.
So much of acting is learning to detach from self-consciousnessm so you can be free to do what you have to onstage.
Another actor making his Broadway debut, who wasn’t with us backstage is Yul Vazquez, a very talented actor who played such an unusual character called ” Cousin Julio”. He plays kind of like a gay Jean-Claude Van Damme character who is very ready to “throw down” at any moment, to stand up for his cousin Jackie, played by Cannavale.
Yul is the co-artistic director and founding member of the LAByrinth Theater Company of which Cannavale, Elizabeth Rodriguez, who plays Victoria, Jackie’s girlfriend, and writer Stephen Adly Guirgis are all members.
Gurguis who is a brilliant writer is the other co-artistic director of the LAByrinth Theater Company.
I saved Elizabeth Rodriguez for last, because I wanted to give myself enough room to praise her. (LOL) She’s done lots of theatre and television, with recurring roles on NY Undercover, The Shield, and All My Children, besides numerous roles on other shows. She’s also been in films like “Miami Vice”, “Jack Goes Boating”, and “Acts of Worship”.
Even more amazing to me, a day or two after I met her I found out she’s the next door neighbor of my dear friend Mary Elizabeth, who just happened to call and excitedly ask me if I heard about this play, telling me her friend and neighbor Elizabeth is in it. I’m like ” Elizabeth Rodriguez?” That can’t even happen!
The way Bobby Cannavale captured the essence of his character is the way Elizabeth captured the essence of hers. I fully expected her to talk that way when I met her after the show, because it seemed to real to be a performance.
Obviously, while growing up, she met many girls like the one she portrayed, and so have we all, but it’s one thing to meet them, and another thing to be able to bring them to life on the stage. This girl is AMAZING, and sexy in a very subtle way. She makes it very easy to fall for her character, who is tough as nails on the surface, but really just wants to be loved like everyone else. I plan to do a separate interview with Elizabeth in an upcoming posting, so stay tuned!
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