Johnny Steele is a great Comedian and friend who brings brilliant political satire to life with characters who stand beside America while guiding her right into the toilet. After winning the SF Comedy Competition, hosting one of the best shows ever on Live 105, he came to LA where he signed with the prestigious Will Ignore Us Agency. But wait; there’s more: Musician/composer Kahlil Sabbagh and singer/songwriter Ginger Smith performed two original songs that blew the room away. We also saw a music video that Ginger put together for another group that she and Kahlil perform with called The Backboners. For crying out loud, do not miss it!

00:00-00:30: Opening titles

00:30-02:30: Ed’s monologue, where he talks about the upcoming Jewish holidays and how they make him feel.

02:30-07:00: Ed prepares us for the fun we’re about to have.

07:00-10:35: Ginger and Kahlil sing their first song

10:35-16:00: Ed Interviews Ginger and Kahlil, who not only are music partners, but partners in life! They’re married.

16:00-18:00: Interview continues, Ed shows clip from Ginger and Kahlil’s other music project.

18:00-22:00: Ed introduces and starts interviewing Johnny Steele, one of the Bay area’s most respected comedians.

22:00-25:00: Johnny talks about his start in comedy.

25:00-29:00: Johnny talks about living in San Francisco and doing comedy there, particularly the early days.

29:00-33:17: Ed and Johnny talk about the role of satire today, and how it has changed over the years.

33:17-37:10: Ed and Johnny talk about the changes in each other’s personal lives.

37:10-40:00: Johnny does some of his best bits.

40:00-47:37: Johnny gets political.

47:37-51:00: Fast Five.

51:00-53:29: Johnny and Ed Video

53:29-57:00 Ginger and Kahlil come back for one more song

57:00-58:10: Outro song by Ginger and Kahlil, Ed takes us home.

00:00-00:30: Opening credits

00:30-05:11: Ed’s monologue, where Ed talks about “Post-Emmy Stress Disorder.” He also talks about the many new stresses in his life as of late.

05:11-6:21: Ed introduces Oded Gross.

06:21-10:05: Oded sings a song, in which he plays a song in several keys, in fact that’s the point of the song.

10:05-12:04: Ed has a post-interview with Oded.

12:04-14:03: “Fred and Vinnie” clip, the new movie starring Fred Stoller.

14:03-18:13: Ed begins to interview Fred, introducing him to his set.

18:13-22:18: Fred talks about all of his current projects, as well as his future ones.

22:18-25:20: Ed and Fred talk about the process of writing, and then acting out what has been written.

25:20-29:11: Ed and Fred talk about their roots together in San Francisco, particularly a specific car Ed used to drive.

29:11-35:00: Fred talks about his experiences as a frequent guest star on the three biggest sitcoms of the 90’s, “Friends,” “Seinfeld,” and “Everybody Loves Raymond.”

35:00-45:18: Fred talks about the odd trajectory that his career has gone through, he also goes into details the lifestyle of a typical struggling comedian.

45:18-49:37: Oded sings one more song.

49:37-53:40: Ed wraps the show up, we end on a clip w/ Fred and Sam Kinison.

This show had everything, the very funny Merrill Davis telling us not only that she is a “too nice Southern Baptists Jew”, but also how she was informally adopted by Ed McMahon and his wife.  Then I asked singer/songwriter Oded Gross to play one of the worst songs he’s ever written and he busted out “The Monogamous Hippopotamus” followed by a brilliant song that purposefully didn’t rhyme. That’s more than enough for most people, but this isn’t a show about most people….so my friend; writer/actor/comedian Fred Raker checked in from San Francisco and shared a small part of his new one-man show “How To Make Your Bitterness Work For You.”  Nobody does it bitter or better than Fred in this show; he is truly the Carly Simon of bitterness.

0:00-0:30: Opening credits

0:30-6:55:Ed’s monologue. He talks about the great show we’re about to watch. Ed talks about the many games he plays with his daughter, and other stories from his past.

6:55-12:02: Ed introduces his guest, Merrill Davis. He talks to her about her past, growing up in Florida.

12:02-15:36: Merrill explains to Ed how she has trouble being mean to people.

15:36-16:41: Merrill’s video, looking for a sidekick, specifically Ed McMahon.

16:41-23:25: Merrill talks about her celebrity friendships, including her trip to an all-black church with Ed McMahon… and Mary J. Blige.

23:25-30:58: Merrill talks about her stand-up performances back in the South.

30:01-31:51: “Donny Gets a Haircut” video

31:51-36:10: Oded Gross performs, but first Ed interviews him about his musical past.

36:10-40:15: Oded performs a song that doesn’t rhyme. But that’s the point.

40:15-44:35: Ed asks Oded more questions about his inspirations as a singer, as well as a songwriter and comedian.

44:35-48:00: Ed introduces Fred Raker, asking about his writing, and working in San Francisco.

48:00-50:35: Fred talks about one of his first jobs, working for a gossip columnist.

50:35-54:00: Fred does his “Bitterness” bit. See what I did there?

54:00-55:03: Ed talks to Merrill Davis, as well as many other Merill/Meryl/Marell??

55:03-55:37: Ed wraps the show

A blast to have Chuck Sklar on the show. He’s a great comedy writer and comedian who has worked with some of the most creative performers including: Chris Rock, Louie CK, Conan, George Lopez and Bill Maher. He also stars in an upcoming Louie CK film and has the distinction of playing Bin Laden on Louie and Lopez tonight. We talked about writing monologues at 30 Rock for Conan and about Chris Rock calling Lorne Michaels and Tina Fey to get him a job on SNL-didn’t happen, what did happen is a very good career with much more to come.

0:00:0:30: Network open

0:30-7:05: Ed’s monologue. Ed lets us know where we are, and Ed talks about his experiences with his daughter, and her new passion, skating. He also talks about his new conquests in social networking.  He also talks about his recent trips to the bank.

7:05-10:08: “Come to the Net” video.

10:08-12:20: Chuck talks about his physical resemblance to none other than Osama bin Laden.

12:20-16:50: Chuck talks about his many writing jobs.

16:50-19:41: Chuck talks about the writing culture at the world-famous 30 Rock in New York City.

19:41-24:12: Chuck talks about one of the best jokes he ever wrote, which ended up bombing on the air.

24:12-28:12: Chuck talks about his work with Chris Rock and Louis CK.

28:12-30:10: Chuck talks about more of his lesser-known work

30:10-31:02: Ed gets angry and leaves the studio

31:02-32:14: Chuck hosts the show, for a minute.

32:14-36:31: Ed gets back from Chicago

36:31-41:12: Chuck talks about his many auditions for “Saturday Night Live”

41:12-45:31: “Fast Five”

45:31-46:15: Ed takes us away

46:15-48:22: “Love Theme” video

Very few people can say that they’ve written for shows that range from The Mickey Mouse Club to Futurama, Evan Gore can. Besides just being very funny, Evan started out as a performer at Second City in Chicago and told us about how that led to writing for all kinds of Kids TV, even though I interrupted him 100 times. He’s also performs, teaches Improv and helped me learn how to hold a gun in a scene; something every American should know.

0:00-0:30: Opening titles

0:30-5:48:  Ed’s opening monologue. Ed talks about his fondest childhood memories.

5:48- 8:00: “The Nelsons” video

8:00-9:16: Ed starts his interview with Evan Gore, specifically his shirt.

9:16-11:11: Evan talks about his writing partner, his wife.

11:11-16:06: Evan talks about his first writing job, writing for the Disney Channel. Ed and Evan also accuse their water glasses of failing at their careers. Evan also talks about his experience teaching improv comedy.

16:06-19:01-: Evan gives Ed some of his best improv comedy tools, they talk about the best things one picks up from improv comedy.

19:01-23:10: Evan talks about writing for “The Mickey Mouse Club.”

23:10-26:13: Evan talks about his other jobs writing for children’s television, mostly for Nickelodeon. He also discusses the advantages and disadvantages.

26:13-27:31: Ed talks about his disappointing  “Star Search” audition.

27:31-30:18: Evan talks about when he “made it” in L.A., and his proudest moments as a writer.

30:18-:32:02 Evan talks about his family, specifically what he explains to his children, and what shows they watch.

32:02-34:33:”My World” video, one of Ed’s favorite shows as a kid.

34:33-38:58: Ed talks about the difference between modern kid’s shows and the ones from the good ol’ days.

38:58-43:03: Evan talks about how writing for children prepared him for dealing with having children.

43:03-45:33: “Fast Five!”

45:33-46:30:Ed wraps the show up.

 

Mike Ferrucci is a good friend and one of my comedy idols. He is a world class comedy writer and a great comic. He is unique because while being one of the best joke writers around, he also is a wonderful long form writer, in both comedy and drama.  He visited straight from The Comedy Central Roast offices where he just started working on The Charlie Sheen Roast. Mike has done all of them, the one’s you remember, a lot of them are Mike’s.  He’s written for Howard Stern, Air America and of course Triumph The Insult Comic Dog and many others over the years. Mike was a Stand Up legend in San Francisco, and when he moved to LA with a movie script, he got very depressed to find that everyone had a script. He even wrote a suicide note…began with the words “Fade In.” (One of my many favorite jokes of his) This is Mike Ferrucci

 

 

00:00-00:45: Network tag/Opening

00:45-5:13: Monologue. Ed talks about the definition of insanity! He also talks about his opinion of the new set-up of the show. He talks about his favorite movie viewing experiences, and how they make him want to drive his car into the ocean.

05:13-7:30: “What’s in My Pocket?” Ed looks at what is in his pocket to look for some comedy material.

7:30-10:30: Introduces our guest, Mike Ferrucci, a master of the modern day roast.  Mike talks about the beginning of his career, and how he has evolved over the years as a writer.  He also talks about his greatest writing achievement, his suicide note.

10:30-: Mike and Ed discuss the relationship between trying to survive in the entertainment business and survive from one’s own self!

12:20-13:50: Clip from the “Roast of Bob Saget,” featuring Cloris Leachman.

14:00-16:45: Ed and Mike talk about the work that goes into putting on a great celebrity roast. He talks about the writing process with some of the best comedy minds in the world.

16:45-18:30: Ed and Mike talk about the disastrous roast performances of The Situation, and the reasons behind his failure, if there are any.

18:30-20:00: Mike talks about some of his riskiest decisions as far as writing for roasts, and how sometimes celebrities aren’t prepared for everything that goes into performing for a roast.

20:00-21:00: Ed and Mike talk about performing in rough situations, and the overall pressure of writing.

21:00-25:00: Mike talks about working with Howard Stern, and how their relationship started. He also talks about how Howard Stern helped him get over a rough period in his life, and how it was a dream fulfilled to write with him.

25:00-26:30: Ed and Mike talk about the difference between the private personality of the biggest media celebrities and their public personas.

26:30-28:30: Mike talks about his great work ethic and his ability to make hundreds of jokes in just days, and how he deals with the pressure of it all. And how that comes from his blue-collard background.

28:30-29:30: Mike talks about how Ed intimidates him. Sorta.

29:30-30:30: Ed and Mike continue to talk about the writing process, and some his favorite jokes that have been nixed by the powers that be.

30:30-32:00: Mike and Ed talk about the early days of the New York Friars Club Roasts. They also talk about how it relates and influences the roasts of the present day.

32:00-33:00: Mike and Ed talk about their mutual friend, Jonathan Katz.

33:00-35:00: Ed and Mike talk about their greatest writer influences, who were some of the best of them all.

35:00-38:00: Ed and Mike talk about some of their best memories from working the road as comedians, with Mike telling one of his best stories. Including the times when they felt like quitting.

38:00-40:00:  Ed talks about one of the great philosophical questions, should one focus on to be happy, or to be funny?

40:00-41:00: Ed and Mike talk about how lucky they really are.

41:00-42:00: Ed asks Mike who killed JFK.

42:00-42:34: We wrap the show up, Ed tells us what to look for next week.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In this amazing “best of” Humor Me clip show, while I walk around the studio looking like the character of Frank from Blue Velvet, you’ll see…David Cross, Gary Stockdale, Todd Glass, Margaret Cho, Karen Kilgariff, Julie Mitchell, Andy Kindler, Tom Dimenna as Telly Savalas,Phil Rosenthal, Geoff Bolt, Kevin Meaney and his daughter Kate, Alie Ward & Georgia Hardstark, Samm Levine, Eddie Pepitone, Jason Nash & Pete Bumgarner, Kevin Pollak, Norman Steinberg, Richard Matheson. Thank you to all these talented people and everyone who has worked on, watched or listened!!!

Special Thanks:

Julie Mitchell, Vicky Pezza

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

“Dying To Do Letterman” is a documentary film about Comedian Steve Mazan who has dreamed of being on Letterman his whole life and after getting diagnosed with Cancer makes it his mission to live his dream.  Steve and Filmmakers Joke Fincioen & Biagio Messina joined me to talk about the film, the process of making it and how the possibility of dying in any respect, can bring someone to life. All three of these folks are funny, genuine and courageous-they are continuing their quest to tour the country with the film and have raised over 47,000 dollars on Kickstarter to do so.  Here’s the site if you want to help:  http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/jokeandbiagio/dying-to-do-letterman-kickstarter-for-an-oscar-and They need 100,000 to distribute the film, which is being considered for an Oscar Nomination. Next week is our 50th show, and get ready for special surprises, even to me.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Did you know that customers and workers at Kinkos think each other are insane? Jackie Kashian has looked at photocopying from Both Sides Now. You may have seen her live, heard her cd’s or watched her on Comedy Central, CBS or HBO. She stops by to talk about her recent experience being part of “The Montreal Just For Laughs Festival”, and her ongoing podcast “The Dork Forest” starring all kinds of artists and their unusual hobbies and interests.  We talked about her use of animation, making comedy cd’s, performing for the troops overseas and how she relates to execs in the business in a friendly human way-a practice that does not go over well. With audiences all over the world and here at Humor Me; Jackie Does!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This week on Humor Me, Ed has the incredible Phil Rosenthal! You may know him as the creator and writer of this little show called Everybody Loves Raymond. Ed and Phil discuss “Exporting Raymond”; the documentary in which Phil is asked to remake the classic sitcom….In Russia. Its the cold war of comedy. Get behind the scenes info about the doc, the show and not to mention writing tips…real is funny and Phil is really funny in this extra special episode of Humor Me with Ed Crasnick.