Richard Lewis: All Grown Up
Richard Lewis came of age in Englewood, but the veteran comic insists he wasn’t raised in New Jersey. Rather, he quips, “I was lowered in New Jersey.” Still, the 68-year-old actor/comedian, a 1965 graduate of Dwight Morrow High School, has a soft spot for the town of his youth. He talked to New Jersey Monthly about his formative years and his latest role as a psychiatrist in the new Starz comedy series Blunt Talk, which stars Patrick Stewart as a drug-abusing British newscaster who hosts a Los Angeles talk show.
New Jersey Monthly: “I was raised by wolves” was your catch phrase during your early days in comedy. How bad was your childhood?
Richard Lewis: It was pretty bad. I didn’t see my father much. My dad was such a successful caterer that he was booked on my bar mitzvah—and I had my party on a Tuesday. Talk about low self-esteem. My father died young and my sister and brother moved out by the time I was in junior high. So it was me and my mother, and we didn’t get along too well. She didn’t get me.
NJM: What didn’t she get?
RL: Everything. Before I played Carnegie Hall in 1989, I performed at the Plaza Theater in Englewood. I did a two-hour show. My mother showed up early in the lobby and said to fans, “I’m Richard’s mother.” During my set I joked that my father had 12 heads. My mother stood up and said, “That’s a load of crap.”
NJM: Did your mother behave at Carnegie Hall?
RL: I had to make a tough call. I told her that her presence would interfere with how I thought, since I would visualize her there. I told her that she couldn’t come, and she didn’t. She stayed back in Jersey.
NJM: Why did you loathe Larry David, who is now your best friend, when you were growing up?
RL: We were archrivals as teenagers at a summer sports camp. Our issues started at birth. We’re three days apart, and we were both born in the same Brooklyn hospital. I’m convinced that Larry tried to strangle me with my mother’s umbilical cord. I was a good athlete. Larry was a gangly, obnoxious asshole. I hated him. We became friendly years later as young comics in New York, but I noticed something one night. “There’s something about you I hate,” I told him. “Wait, you’re that Larry David from summer camp.” And he said, “You’re that Richard Lewis.” We nearly came to blows.
NJM: Ironically, you play a psychiatrist on Blunt Talk.
RL: It is ironic, considering all the therapy I’ve had. I work with a brilliant bald man, Sir Patrick Stewart. I find these bald geniuses like Sir Patrick and Larry, and I get great work.
NJM: What was the most surreal moment from your childhood?
RL: Many Yankees rented houses on our block, Van Nostrand Avenue. The most surreal moment was when Mickey Mantle drove up, and I was wearing a Brooklyn Dodgers shirt, and he said, “Hey kid, why are you wearing that shirt?” I walked away shamefaced, but as an adult I became good friends with Mickey. You look at who I became friends with and it’s pretty amazing. I never could have guessed it would have turned out this way. As a child I stood on the roof of my house and looked out at Manhattan and wondered what was going on there. I went down on the street and kids were selling lemonade, and it hit me that there’s got to be more to life than this. I was right.
Full story by Ed Condron at: http://njmonthly.com/articles/jersey-living/richard-lewis-all-grown-up/
TruTV Premieres First Scripted Comedy From Denver’s Grawlix, and It’s Amazing
“The short version: Those Who Can’t definitely can. If you’re a fan of comedy television, here’s a series you can get excited about.”
“Tuesday night TruTV premiered the first two episodes of the series as part of the New York Television Festival in a packed theater, and we were excited to be invited. First thing we noticed walking in the door, Bobcat Goldthwait is attached to the series, and that is always a good sign. Bobcat has been helping to create some of the best comedy in film and television for decades now, so we were excited to learn he directed a few of the episodes, and flew in from California just to moderate the panel at the premiere.
For anyone unfamiliar, truTV has left the world of true crime television behind and have been evolving to a comedy based network. They’ve been proving their strength with popular shows dealing in everything from sketch comedy to hidden camera pranks, with shows like Impractical Jokers, Friends of the People, Billy on the Street and The Carbonaro Effect. Those Who Can’twhich won’t air till 2016 may be their best project yet.
Those Who Can’t is the network’s first fully scripted comedy. It takes place in a small town high school– Smoot High– and centers on three immature teachers who act a lot like the school’s worst behaved students. The shows creators and stars– Adam Cayton-Holland, Andrew Orvedahl andBen Roy play the teachers and get into a slew of trouble all of their own making. The series is slightly reminiscent of Brooklyn 99 in tone and style, but it’s 100% original. The series evolved out of characters that Cayton-Holland, Orvedahl and Roy created for their popular webseries- The Grawlix which was in turn based on their monthly stand up show, also called The Grawlix. If you’re confused, don’t worry there’s no test.
For years, Adam, Andrew and Ben have been the talk of Denver, and watching the first two episodes of Those Who Can’t we could immediately see why. They have a rare chemistry and great energy, and the show is fun and creatively and comedically sharp. They also have a tremendous supporting cast. The team brought comedianRory Scovel on board, who is brilliant as the school’s eccentric principal, and Maria Thayer who you’ve seen pop up on a huge list of some the funniest shows on television (Eaglehart, Louie, Strangers with Candy, 30 Rock, Portlandia, The League, Mulaney, Kroll Show to name a few). Thayer is outstanding as fellow faculty member librarian Abbey Logan, who just wants to be liked by the popular students.
The reaction to the episodes was tremendous in the theater, and in a lively Q&A with the cast followed the screening, we learned that the series was filmed at Van Nuys high school, which also served as Ridgemont High School in the iconic 80’s comedy Fast Times at Ridgemont High. So if you believe in comedic karma, that’s one more thing going for the TWC team. Goldthwait, who directed two of the episodes showered praise on the Cayton-Holland, Roy and Orvedahl, saying they are some of the nicest, funniest people he’s ever worked with and compared them to The Young Ones or the Marx Brothers.
We asked Bobcat how he seems to end up working with some of the best talents in the business before the rest of the world knows about them. Bobcat said that it was because he made some decisions early on in his career that he wasn’t happy with, and wanted to make up for it now. “I sold out and did a lot of crappy things,” he said, “so now at 53 I only want to be involved with cool things.”
TruTV found Those Who Can’t when it Amazon purchased the pilot and featured it as part of its Amazon Pilots program. Although the team said the pilot had the strongest and most positive viewer response at the time it aired, Amazon decided not to pick up the series, but Amazon’s pass was truTV’s gain. When Amazon didn’t pick up the show TruTV purchased the series as part of their rebrand.
Kyle Kinane, Susie Essman, T.J. Miller, Kate Berlant are just a few of the familiar comedy faces you can look forward to seeing throughout the series. Those Who Can’t is set to premiere in early 2016 only on TruTv.”
Complete story at: http://theinterrobang.com/trutv-premieres-those-who-cant-grawlix/
Entertainment Weekly SXSW Review Praises Ari Shaffir, Big Jay Oakerson
Brilliant comedian Ari Shaffir has a show on Comedy Central called This Is Not Happening, and it’s based around personal stories told by stand-ups that all center around a single thing or idea. In the past, the concepts have been “friendship,” “drugs,” and every topic in between, but this time around, the talking point was appropriately “music.” Everyone on the bill rose to the occasion. After Shaffir’s opening story about being marooned at SXSW after being told the show he was supposed to perform at didn’t actually exist, each subsequent comic knocked it out of the proverbial park: Andrew Santino spun a tale about how a Mark Ecko sweater led to his motorboating a stranger at a String Cheese Incident concert; Nick Thune recounted his misadventures with Scott Weiland; Big Jay Oakerson felt bad about his altered friendship with megastar and longtime pal Kevin Hart; Ali Siddiq conjured his near-magical (and drug-assisted) run-in with George Clinton. But it was Sasheer Zamata who stole the evening, as the SNL star gave a rapt audience the blow-by-blow of her odd misadventures (both sexual and otherwise) with a recent SNL musical guest she only identified as Falcor (because she loves The Neverending Story). What began as mild flirting morphed into her receiving a $30,000 watch, some fraught texting, a single bizarre sexual encounter, and a yeast infection Zamata’s doctor described as “crazy bad.” This Is Not Happening is an awesome concept that should run and run; the season finale happens to be this Thursday after @Midnight.
Article here: http://www.ew.com/article/2015/03/18/sxsw-2015-tuesday-canadian-hardcore-royal-thunder-and-sasheer-zamata-having-sex
TruTV Greenlights First Scripted Comedy Featuring Super Artists’ Ben Roy
truTV has ordered its first full-length scripted comedy, Those Who Can’t, the network announced in a press release Tuesday.
Those Who Can’t follows three dysfunctional high school teachers played by Adam Cayton-Holland, Andrew Orvedahl and Ben Roy, also known as comedy trio The Grawlix and the creators of the show. Maria Thayer stars as librarian Abbey Logan, who eventually joins in on the teachers’ antics despite being skeptical at first.
Ten episodes of the half-hour comedy are set to premiere in early 2016. Originally set up for Amazon, Those Who Can’t was picked up by truTV as the network’s first scripted pilot in December as part of its comedy-driven “Way More Fun” programming initiative.
Cayton-Holland, Orvedahl, and Roy will serve as executive producers, in conjunction with Tracey Baird and Krysia of Thank You, Brain! Productions as well as Michael Rotenberg and Josh Lieberman of 3 Arts Entertainment. Angel Annussek and Rich Korson are executive producing for truTV.
Full Article here: http://www.ew.com/article/2015/03/03/trutv-greenlights-scripted-comedy-those-who-cant?asdf&hootPostID=20b050a8b4876d2f491ae42e02ea2140
Super Artists to Head to SXSW This March
Kick it with Comedy Central at the annual SXSW Festival in Austin as the brand hosts shows with comedians Big Jay Oakerson and Ari Shaffir at Esther’s Follies and holds a two-day event with free beer, food and festivities for the fans.
Come and hang out at Esther’s Follies (525 E. 6th Street) with Jay Oakerson who has built a reputation for his ability to engage the audience and turn it into a nightly unique comedy experience and Ari Shaffir who is joined by his comedian friends in telling hilarious and true stories. Additional comedic talent (TBA) is slated to perform at “What’s Your F@!?#ng Deal with Big Jay Oakerson” at 8:00 p.m. and “This is Not Happening” hosted by Ari Shaffir at 10:00 p.m. on Tuesday, March 17 with both shows free to SXSW badge holders.
http://www.broadwayworld.com/bwwtv/article/Comedy-Central-to-Head-to-Annual-SXSW-This-March-20150223
Comedian Ari Shaffir On Trading the Synagogue for the Strip Club
Comedian Ari Shaffir wasn’t always the irreverent skeptic audiences know him as from his stand-up specials, podcast and now new late-night series This is Not Happening on Comedy Central. Raised an Orthodox Jew, it wasn’t until studying at Yeshiva University that Shaffir realized that religious conviction didn’t really jive with the rest of his world views.
Read the article here: http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/cuff-podcast-comedian-ari-shaffir-772249
Artie Lange to Appear on Special NYC Episodes of @Midnight
A roster of A-list panelists will visit Chris Hardwick’s Comedy Central show, “@midnight,” when it comes here from L.A. for a week’s worth of shows kicking off Nov. 3 in conjunction with the New York Comedy Festival.
Jim Gaffigan, Jeff Ross, Artie Lange, Michael Ian Black and Hannibal Buress are just a few of the comics who’ll panel on “@midnight” next week, with special appearances by Abbi Jacobson and Ilana Glazer (“Broad City”) and Stephen Colbert also in the mix. “@midnight” will tape at ABC Television Center on the Upper West Side.
“We’ve done live shows around the country before but not for air,” says Hardwick. “This is our first time shooting from another city. You can’t have a show about stand-up comedy without coming to New York at some point. The show will have a slightly different vibe and fun mix,” he says, including New York-centric material incorporated into its segments (“#HashtagWars,” “Rapid Refresh” and “Sweet Emoji”).
“We’ll focus on social media happening in and around New York so it will feel a lot more regional in that sense,” Hardwick says. “We’re doing some remote spots … when we’re in L.A., there’s nothing regional about it. Our set [in New York] is going to be different and we’re going to have comics on who we haven’t had on yet, with topics revolving around New York.”
http://nypost.com/2014/10/26/chris-hardwick-brings-midnight-to-nyc/
Comedy Central to Air World Premiere of ARTIE LANGE: THE STENCH OF FAILURE, 10/18
Artie Lange is back in Jersey, and back on Comedy Central in the world premiere of “Artie Lange: The Stench of Failure” on Saturday, October 18 at Midnight ET/PT. For fans that can’t wait for Lange’s new material, the special will be available on October 13 on CC: Stand-Up Direct.
In front of a packed crowd at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center’s Victoria Theater, Lange doesn’t pull any punches when he talks about his stints in rehab and a PSYCH ward, covering everything from playing Scrabble with mental patients to giving advice to a crack addicted baby seller.
Leading up to the on-air premiere, the Comedy Central Stand-Up Web site and app will feature preview clips from the special. Fans can follow Lange on Twitter at @artiequitter, and tweet using the hashtag #StenchofFailure to join the social chatter around the special.
“Artie Lange: The Stench of Failure” will be available on October 19 in the Comedy Central App to fans that sign in via their cable or satellite provider. The Comedy Central app is available for free for iOS on the App Store, for Android on the Google Play store, and for Xbox One.
The extended and uncensored version of “Artie Lange: The Stench of Failure” will be available for download on Amazon Instant Video, iTunes, Xbox Video, Sony Entertainment Network and Vudu on October 21. The special will be available for pre-order in SD and HD on Amazon and iTunes on October 16. The album will be available on October 21 on iTunes, Amazon MP3, Spotify, Rhapsody, and all other streaming platforms.
One of the most sought after live comedians in the business, Lange began his career in the comedy clubs of New York City, where he helped to create the popular sketch comedy group Live on Tape, which landed him his debut television role as one of the original series regulars on FOX’s “Mad TV.” His success on Mad TV led to being cast opposite Norm MacDonald in the MGM feature film “Dirty Work,” his first starring role. This led to a string of feature films, including New Line’s “The Bachelor,” “Lost and Found,” “Mystery Men” and the independent drama “The Fourth Floor,” as well as supporting roles in “Old School” and “Elf.” Lange also starred in, co-wrote, and produced his own feature film, “Beer League.”
Lange is a regular guest on “The Late Show with David Letterman,” “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” and “The Best Damn Sports Show, Period.” He was a guest roaster on Comedy Central‘s Roasts of Hugh Hefner and William Shatnerand also shot episodes of the critically acclaimed hit series “Entourage” for HBO, and the season finale of “Rescue Me” for F/X. Lange was a beloved regular on “The Howard Stern Show” for eight years and during that time, his first memoir, “Too Fat To Fish,” became a New York Times bestseller, paving the way for his second book, “Crash and Burn,” published in 2013. He continues to sell out venues across the United States.
Comedy Central stand-up series include “Adam Devine’s House Party,” “The Meltdown with Jonah and Kumail,” “Gabriel Iglesias Presents Stand-Up Revolution,” “The Half Hour,” “Comedy Underground with Dave Attell” and the upcoming “This is Not Happening.”
For clips, trailers, and other behind-the-scenes content visit www.cc.com/stand-up
Full Article at: http://www.broadwayworld.com/bwwtv/article/Comedy-Central-to-Air-World-Premiere-of-ARTIE-LANGE-THE-STENCH-OF-FAILURE-1018-20140930#
Whose Line is it Anyway Posts its Highest-Rated Episode
The CW’s Whose Line Is It Anyway proved its resilience. After dropping a tenth in its move to Monday last week, the improv comedy show (0.7) rose two tenths (40%) in its second week on the new (temporary) night to post its highest-rated and most watched episode (1.92 million) since the beginning of the 2013-14 broadcast season.
http://www.deadline.com/2014/06/ratings-rat-race-whose-line-is-it-anyway-rises-hillary-clinton-interview-soft/
Listen Up: The 20 Best Comedy Podcasts Right Now
‘Greg Proops Is the Smartest Man in the World’
It turns out Whose Line Is It Anyway? only hinted at its former in-house player Greg Proops’ gift of gab, which is constantly on display in the weekly soliloquy he calls a “Proopscast.” Armed with a lifetime of accumulated trivia, reckless tales of youthful adventure, exquisite diction, and an unflappable comic pomposity, Proops dissects both consequential and ridiculous news items while unburdening whatever is bothering him. From crowd interactions to any given newspaper headline, each bit of stimulus serves as a way to take a mad flume ride through the sluices of Proops’ brain.
