Today's Guest: Jason Stuart, comedian, actor I’m not one to put labels on a person, but I guess if the cover of Jason Stuart’s latest DVD can describe him as “America’s top gay stand-up comic,” then it’s okay for me to repeat it. But that leads to a question: Does “gay” mean homosexual men... Continue Reading →
Big, proud, funny and loud, it’s comedian Ralphie May! PODCAST INTERVIEW
Today's Guest: Ralphie May, comedian Ralphie May is the big man on the comedy campus. You know that if you’ve ever seen him—he’s a heavyset southern guy with soft gentle looking facial features. Then he opens his mouth—and, oh my God! You probably remember Ralphie May best from season one of “Last Comic... Continue Reading →
Long live the Queen! Lisa Lampanelli demands your attention! PODCAST INTERVIEW
Will success spoil standup comedy queen Lisa Lampanelli? That’s what Howard Stern asked her in January 2009. He thinks that now that the standup comedian has hit the big time with her first HBO special, “Long Live the Queen,” on HBO, that it might be too much exposure for her extremely vulgar, awfully funny... Continue Reading →
How Charles Grodin got to be whoever he is! PODCAST INTERVIEW
Image via Wikipedia If you ever watched Charles Grodin on his old CNBC talk show—or on countless guest appearance on other shows, from Johnny Carson to David Letterman—you probably asked yourself, “Who does this guy think he is?” Apparently, Grodin wondered the same thing. The famously fussy Mr. CrankyPants has published a new... Continue Reading →
Comedian Michele Balan is still standing with Mr. Media! PODCAST INTERVIEW
Today's Guest: Comedian Michele Balan Not to put too much pressure on her, but Michele Balan is a standup comedian from New York, where every city block is bursting with comic setups and teardowns. So she’s gotta be funny, right? Balan first came to national attention on the comedy reality series “Last Comic Standing.”... Continue Reading →
Humbug! Mad cartoonists Al Jaffee and Arnold Roth talk shop! PODCAST INTERVIEW
Today's Guests: Legendary MAD Magazine and Humbug! cartoonists Al Jaffee and Arnold Roth. My mother bought me my first MAD magazine off the newsstand at a Stop & Shop supermarket in 1969. The cover featured a Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid parody that I believe was drawn by Jack Davis. I read... Continue Reading →
Only comic Eugene Mirman has The Will to Whatevs! PODCAST INTERVIEW
Eugene Mirman is one of the driest comedians I’ve ever encountered. He’s so droll, so subtle, that at first it’s difficult to detect if he’s on or really believes what he’s saying. Here’s a hint: he’s on. Mirman, who you may know from his guest appearances on the HBO show “Flight of the Conchords”... Continue Reading →
Plop! Plop! Really weird, it’s the work of Basil Wolverton! PODCAST INTERVIEW
Today's Guest: Monte Wolverton, author, The Wolverton Bible Cartoonist Basil Wolverton was known for his grotesque drawings, fantastically odd creatures, spaghetti-like hair, smoothly sculpted caricatures and insanely detailed crosshatching. His career in the golden age of comic books lasted from 1938 until 1952, after which his illustrations and caricatures extended into such publications as... Continue Reading →
No longer a punchline, no longer Stuttering John Melendez! PODCAST INTERVIEW
John Melendez has one of the most interesting careers in show business. During his 15 years as "Stuttering John," a punchline on Howard Stern’s radio show, he was the cast member you loved to hate, not for the stuttering but for the way he managed to piss off everyone around him. Still, you couldn’t... Continue Reading →
Don’t let your favorite fem novelist fall in the Booby Trap! PODCAST INTERVIEW
Today's Guest: Sue Ann Jaffarian, novelist, Booby Trap (The Odelia Grey Mysteries) Someone is killing beautiful blondes all over Laguna Canyon and once again, plus-size paralegal Sue Ann Jaffarian—I mean Odelia Grey—is called upon to figure out who is behind the serial killings. I guess I became confused because there are so many uncanny... Continue Reading →