NBC’s host of Late Night, Jimmy Fallon, who’s show is up for 3 Emmy Awards, made a rare stand-up comedy appearance in NYC, at the Gotham Comedy Club on West 23rd Street. Jimmy sat down backstage with Jeffrey Gurian from Comedy Matters TV in an even rarer video interview, with some great and funny stories from his past and his present. Check it out!
Jeffrey Gurian of Comedy Matters TV does EXCLUSIVE Video interview with Jimmy Fallon!
I never know whether to write about myself in the first person or third person, but it’s MY blog, so I guess first person is fine.
People who know anything about my story know that I was a severe stutterer. I started stuttering at about age 6 or 7 and it made my high school and college years miserable. Only another stutterer has any idea of the embarrassment and humiliation a stutterer feels when not only are they stuttering, but even worse, when nothing comes out.
That’s how it was for me. To this day, I’ll never forget the day in high school, when I was called on in class and I stood up to answer, which is what we had to do in those days, and absolutely nothing came out. Not a sound. And I felt the redness of embarrassment coming over me, and I can still feel it today. That’s how powerful the experience was.
I always knew a lot of kids and I didn’t let my stutter make me isolate, but it made me very unhappy. I couldn’t even say my name which is a problem for many stutterers. ( Not to say MY name to say their own names! LOL)
So when I got to college, and it was a huge college made up of kids from many high schools in NYC where I grew up, I made the decision to run for Pres. of the Freshman class, telling myself that if I could win the election and be President, I wouldn’t have to stutter anymore, because it would prove to me that kids liked me, and that I was okay.
Somewhere along the way I must have picked up the idea that I was flawed in some way, and I had a very negative self-image. Since I wasn’t able to say my name I appointed other kids as my campaign managers, and they introduced me to kids I didn’t know yet, and once I got a few words out I was able to speak.
Btw, my belief is that stutterers have a hard time saying their names, because your name represents your identity, so if you’re not happy with who you are, it’s not going to be easy for you to tell people who you are.
Anyway, I won the election and I was the President of the Freshman class of Hunter College and I still stuttered. It was a great lesson for me. It taught me that outside validation doesn’t work. It doesn’t matter how many people tell you you’re fantastic, and gorgeous and talented, it matters what you think of yourself.
I became obsessed with stopping stuttering. I had been to many types of therapy and none of them worked. As a matter of fact it made me worse being surrounded by stutterers worse than myself. I took the next two years and worked on myself constantly. I think that was about the time I was given the Grace to figure out that I didn’t stutter when I was alone.
Most stutterers don’t. That means there’s really nothing wrong with you. What a revelation. If you can speak fluently some of the time, you can speak fluently ALL of the time. I created the stuttering problem myself! And anything you create you can un-create. It took me a few years of very hard work, but it was worth it. One of my greatest accomplishments is being fluent.
I think about it every day and every time I speak. I’ve been doing radio and TV shows for years and I challenge myself all the time, and stand up to the fear. Stuttering is a bully that wants me to stay alone and not accomplish anything in my life.
With the popularity of The King’s Speech, which I thought was incredible, I was asked to do several public appearances to discuss Stuttering and my cure.
I’m including both of those video clips here, one on the Joey Reynolds show , ” All Night With Joey Reynolds” on NBC, and the other on Valerie Smaldone’s show Valerie’s New York, on WOR Radio.
One of my greatest gifts is working with other stutterers to teach them what I did and how NOT to stutter.
If anyone who is reading this happens to stutter or knows someone who stutters, after watching the two videos in this blog, please ask them to read the Stuttering page on my website, at http://dr.jeffreygurian.com/stuttering.html and if it makes sense to them, which is important, because a lot of my cure is about knowledge, ask them to contact me at [email protected]
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.
Paul Reiser is one guy who doesn’t forget where he came from. As huge as he is, he’s still grateful for the people who helped him get there, so when he came to New York to promote his new TV show on NBC airing tonight at 8:30 P.M. with Paul playing himself, he came to visit Richie Tienken at The Comic Strip, the club where he started out so many years ago.
After taping Jimmy Fallon earlier, he came to the club, and did a spot at the 8:30 show, left and came back and did the 10:30 show and then came back the next night to do the 10:30 show, and even stayed to do the late show at 12:30, plus he stayed and mingled and took photos with anyone in the audience that wanted to meet him. That’s the essence of a nice guy who cares about the audience.
Paul onstage caught in a typical Paul Reiser expression, while performing at The Strip!
Richie Tienken, Paul Reiser, and Jeffrey Gurian at The Comic Strip after Paul's set.
Paul is one of the many Comic Strip alumni, who went on to become huge stars, and that I interviewed so far for the book Richie and I are doing on the history of the club, which opened on June 1, 1976. This June will be 35 years.
On June 17th Jerry Seinfeld walked in to audition and about a year later, Paul Reiser came on the scene, with other comics like Carol Liefer, Mark Schiff, Rich Hall, Larry Miller and a lesser-known comic named Michael Cain.( I think that’s how he spelled Cain. No one seems to know for sure, and unfortunately he’s long gone so no one can ask him!)
Paul told me great stories during the interview I did with him. One of them was how he got the movie “Diner” in April of 1982, a film role that really put him on the map! ( What kind of an expression is that? Who even came up with that? A cartographer back in Colonial days??? LOL )
Jeffrey Gurian, Paul Reiser, and Richie Tienken after Paul's interview for the book on the history of The Comic Strip.
It was February of 1981, and Paul had accompanied this friend comic Michael Cain, who was also a stand-up comic and a close friend, to an audition for this new Barry Levenson movie “Diner.” Paul was really on his way to go shopping at Macy’s for underwear and socks,because he had an upcoming gig at The Comic Strip in Ft. Lauderdale and rather than do laundry, he thought he’d just buy more underwear and socks.
That was his mission. So he accompanies Cain, who didn’t wind up getting the gig, but when the casting director saw Paul, she asked him for his headshot. He said he didn’t have one as he was only there with his friend and really just wanted underwear and socks.
She convinced him to come back the next day with his headshot, which he did and then he left for Ft. Lauderdale. He was down there two days when he got the call that he had gotten “Diner.”
His character’s name was Modell. There was no part actually written for Modell as Paul found out when they sent him the contract and the script. He gave the contract to Bob Wachs another founder of The Strip who happened to be a lawyer, and he gave the script to Richie Tienken to look at. Richie came back to Paul and said, ” Your character is Modell right?” Paul said ” Yes” to which Richie replied, ” Well, I don’t know how to break this to you buddy, but you ain’t in the script. Not even once.”
Tienken continued, ” They told you you gotta flesh out your part? Well, I sure hope you do cause you ain’t got any lines! “
Barry expected Paul to create his role on camera which he did. He improvised the whole thing and as he did he got more and more lines. Michael Cain became one of the inner circle of comics who met every New year’s Day for brunch, along with Paul, Jerry Seinfeld, Mark Schiff, and Larry Miller. After Michael passed away they kept doing it as a tradition, which they do to this day. They have brunch and walk across the Brooklyn Bridge.
Jeffrey Gurian and Paul Reiser at The Comic Strip back in '09.
Well a lot has happened since then, and tonight is the debut of Paul’s new show on NBC called appropriately enough, The Paul Reiser Show. Watch this little video I shot with Paul to promote his show. We all wish him well and hope it will be a big hit. How can it not be? Paul Reiser is starring in it!
On June 1, 1976 Richie Tienken and Bob Wachs opened the legendary comedy club called The Comic Strip. It was at 1568 Second Avenue in Manhattan, between 81st and 82nd streets. It’s still there and thriving.
Jeffrey Gurian, Jerry Seinfeld and Richie Tienken at The Comic Strip for Jerry's interview for the book!
On June 17th, 1976, barely two weeks after it opened, a young, unknown comic named Jerry Seinfeld came in to audition. His sign-up sheet still hangs in the club. It says ” Good. Definitely put on Monday 6/21.”
Richie Tienken, Ray Romano and Jeffrey Gurian below Ray's old photo on the wall at The Comic Strip!
Not only did Seinfeld get his start there, but so did Paul Reiser, Larry Miller, George Wallace, Ray Romano, Adam Sandler, Colin Quinn, Susie Essman, Jim Gaffigan, Eddie Murphy, Chris Rock and many other huge stars who called that club their home.
Jeffrey Gurian, Susie Essman, and Richie Tienken after Susie's interview for the book!
Jim Gaffigan and Jeffrey after Jim's interview at The Strip. Richie must have been hiding!
Richie and Bob went on to manage Eddie Murphy for 11 years, from his SNL career through Beverly Hills Cop 2. Richie also managed Adam Sandler, Tony Rock, and Colin Quinn.
Jeffrey Gurian, Tony Rock, and Richie Tienken after Tony's interview at The Strip!
Jeffrey Gurian, Judah Friedlander, and Richie Tienken under the photo taken BEFORE Judah was World Champion! ( over his left shoulder!)
I have been chosen by Richie, to write the book on the history of the club, and so far have interviewed about 26 of the biggest names that have come out of the club, including Seinfeld, Larry Miller, Paul Reiser, George Wallace, Colin Quinn, Ray Romano, and Chris Rock.
Recently Judah Friedlander of 30 Rock fame, and The World Champion, came to the club to sit down with Richie and I to reminisce about his beginnings, and his memories of the club in the early days of his career. This is a little video excerpt of the interview.
Ryan McCormick and Mark Goldman have a P.R. company aptly named Goldman/McCormick, which should really be named Goldman/McCormick’s Super-Incredible Fantastical Magical P.R. Company, but they couldn’t get all that on the business cards. Every so often they do an event at their offices on West 38th Street, ( 34 W. 38th, 5th Floor).
Tonight they did an event centered around a client’s book called Joe Dimaggio- The Long Vigil, but I wouldn’t care if they were doing an event around a coloring book! I know if it’s a Goldman/McCormick event I have to show up because it will always be a fun, spectacular event packed with interesting people. And tonight was no exception.
Bob Bowden and Jeffrey Gurian on the step and repeat at Goldman/McCormick
Anyone who knows me knows I love comedy news and always have. There’s something about news, and the cadence of news, and probably the absurdity of most news that lends itself to comedy, which is why SNL has been doing a News Update since the Civil War. I had the honor of writing for the legendary Weekly World News, where I had my own column called “Gurian’s World of the Bizarre” where I got to write stories like “Rare Virus Sweeps Japan, Victims Too Weak To Bow”, and ” Man Impaled On Spike Still Shows Up For Work On Time.”
The Onion guys actually told me they were fans of Weekly World News. Unfortunately it’s no longer in existence, but fortunately for me, … I am. Bob told me that virtually all of the Onion on-air newscasters were once serious newspeople doing real news on TV. Bob humself was a reporter on Bloomberg TV doing boring business news until 2006, when his agent submitted him for the Onion gig.
Bob used to do his Bloomberg gig from the Nasdaq Market site on 43rd Street and Broadway, which is now the site for the new late night TV show “All Night With Joey Reynolds” on NBC New York Nonstop. When I walked into the party the first thing Bob said to me was, ” you’re not gonna believe this, but I saw you the other night on Joey Reynolds’ new TV show.” Turns out he’s doing the show next week. it’s a great show on M-F, from midnight to 2 A.M., channel 161 on Time Warner in Manhattan, but seen on all cable providers.
I’ll do more on Joey Reynolds in a another posting! Stay tuned!
For Free Books, Private Celeb Videos and One-On-One Skype Calls To Meet Jeffrey Please Join Our Patreon Page
