The Bold & Fresh 2010 Tour!

FOX News talk show host heavyweights Bill O’Reilly and Glenn Beck in the midst of a 2010 book tour called The O’Reilly Beck Bold & Fresh Tour 2010 to promote their books ( Beck’s Arguing with Idiots – How to Stop Small Minds & Big Governments and O’Reilly’s A Bold Fresh Piece of Humanity)

The tour will focus on their books but also be platforms for raging against the issues they feel are threatening this country the most (like healthcare).  The website for the tour describes it as:

“Don’t miss out on the rare opportunity to see these two men live on stage. It’s an event that makes professional wrestling seem like a night at the opera. You’ll hear from Bill, you’ll hear from Glenn, and then… they’ll take the stage together. What happens then? Heaven only knows, but one thing is for sure—you’ll want to see it with your very own eyes.

It’s time for the truth — straight up, whether you like it or not. Bill O’Reilly and Glenn Beck are teaming up and going on tour. Your town may never be the same.”

I’m not exactly sure why conservatives can’t seem to come up with better (less snark-worthy) names for their movements and events (Teabag Party?  Really?).  But O’Reilly and Beck continue the worst-name-ever campaign with “Bold & Fresh” which (1) sounds like the name of an organic grocery product (2) is how most mouthwash manufacturer’s describe their mouthwash and (3) sounds like the name of a feminine hygiene product.  But… okay.

If you’d like to go, you can purchase tickets here (be forewarned – they’ve already sold out in four cities – next tour date and location is February 13th in Los Angeles).  I tried to find the ticket price but after being clicked through to an endless electronic paper trail of websites, I gave up.  That is sooo NOT bold and fresh.

(We’ll be covering the book tour when it comes to NY so look out for our posts on it).

Never in my life have I read a book that reads like a screenplay to a good Biopic.  However, I’m Dying Up Here: Heartbreak and High Times in Stand-Up Comedy’s Golden Era reads that way.  But, a Biopic on who exactly?  Written by William Knoedelseder, the book covers the trials and tribulations of such famous comedians-turned-talk show hosts as David Letterman, Jay Leno and Richard Lewis, not to mention plenty of other great comedians of 70’s/80’s like Tom Dreesen, Andy Kaufman, and Robin Williams.  But it doesn’t just stop at the greats.  It mentions dozens of comedians who had fleeting success and even those who didn’t catch the breaks who will forevever be footnotes in the history of comedy (despite their efforts and talent).

This book is a biography, but not of any specific person.  This book is a biography of Comedy.

Ok, so of course that’s a bit of an exaggeration.  It’s not a biography of Comedy from beginning to end.  But, if there was book about the history of comedy, this would certainly be a chapter in it.  I’m Dying Up Here is essentially the story of how the stand up comedy world migrated from New York City to Los Angeles, from the small, dark clubs where most of the great comedians got their start to the stage of The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson where careers were literally made or broken based on one 5-minute set on the show.

Back in the 1970’s there weren’t the dozens of potential outlets for talented entertainers that there are today.  You couldn’t film yourself performing your craft and post it to YouTube, instantly exposing yourself to billions of people. No, back in the 70’s comedians had one place and one place only that they could make their name, The Tonight Show.  The odds of landing on the show were about the same as getting hit by a UFO but it was a goal every comedian lived and died for.

The most famous comedy clubs of the time were ran by Mitzi Shore (mother of actor/comedian Pauly Shore).  The most talented comedians of 30 years ago would show up on a weekly basis, trying to get in good enough with Mitzi, so that they could eventually get in good with Johnny Carson.  So was the hierarchy of the time.

I’m Dying Up Here shows the carefree time of the mid 70’s (the disco, sex and drugs era) up to when the comedians went on strike to rally support for fair compensation.  In the first two-thirds of the book, we see are shown how incredible friendships were formed in the name of comedy and a drive to succeed, only to see them torn apart by by the very same devices (not to mention greed) in the final few pages.

The story is filled with laughs, of course, like Letterman dealing with an unexpected heckler.

“Ringo Starr made a memorable solo appearance at Sunset one night, arriving so intoxicated that Mike Binder, who was working the door, had to help him to a seat in back.  Starr was seated just as David Letterman took the stage, and the former Beatle immediately began heckling him, which attracted the attention of every comic within earshot.  Letterman had a reputation for eviscerating hecklers, and as word spread along the back hallway, other comics started filing into the room to watch the impending bloodshed.

It wasn’t a fair fight.  In the spotlight, Letterman couldn’t see who the heckler was, so he showed no mercy, and Starr was too drunk to appreciate how badly Letterman was beating him up.  Finally, one of the comics took pity and called out, “Hey, Dave, it’s Ringo.”

“Oh, that makes sense,” Letterman shot back in the direction of Starr.  ”You ruined your career, and now you’ve come here to ruin mine.”  George Miller almost fell off of his stool laughing.”

Those are the types of stories that lay burried in the creases and crevaces of comedy history that this book shines a light on and it’s a joy to expereince.  What’s surprising though, is the amount of sadness and insecurity that is laced throughout this book.  It’s extremely interesting to see how these people, who had put so much time and care into each other, were so willing to let it slip away over such awful business decisions, competitiveness and insecurities.

Most of this occurs during the talk of the comedians strike.  This part of the book, although necessary, was a little bit drawn out  at times.  What had before been an ecclectic explanation of dozens of different comedians, really focuses on Mitzi Shore and Tom Dreesen.  Also, at some points during this sequence, the author will try to punch up certain scenarios too much — using adjectives and adverbs that make his writing seem, oddly, way too Shakespearean at times.  This comes off as a flaw to me, that I think most readers would be able to see past which is unfortunate because, but for that flaw, this book is so well written and important that it should not only be read, but should be developed into a movie or a mini-series in the next few years.

Once you’re able to get through some information about the comedians’ strike, the book concludes very well, and you’re left with a great understanding of how important Johnny Carson was to comedians.  You also get insight into Dave Letterman and Jay Leno’s friendship before it crumbled to the ground in the early 1990’s.  Most importantly, you get a chance to see what life was like for a generation of comedic geniuses before they were discovered.  What it was like when they were just like you and me, ordinary guys and girls trying to help their friends through life even as they struggled with finding their way to their destiny as well.

9 out of 10 microphones

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Mike Sacks’ recently published new book, And Here’s the Kicker – Conversations with 21 Top Humor Writers on Their Craft (July 2009), is a fantastic compilation of interviews with top humor writers.  This list is eclectic to say the least ranging from old school comedians such as Buck Henry (Get Smart, The Graduate) and Irving Brecher (The Wizard of Oz, At the Circus), to newer writer’s like Paul Feig (Freaks and Geeks), and Stephen Merchant (BBC’s The Office).

The format of And Here’s the Kicker is very simple.  Sacks interviews twenty writers of various race, sex, background, and comedy specialty.  Each interview starts the same, a stroll through the early part of each writer’s life.  How were they brought up?  Did they always know that they were funny?  After that, the interview branches off into how the writer molded their craft (and were molded by their craft) through their careers.  Finally, each interview ends with Sacks asking the all-important question:

“What advice do you have for aspiring comedy writers?”

This book is a great read for two main reasons.  First off, aspiring humorists can learn so much by listening to the icons of the past (I include myself in that category – striving to perfect my craft begins with learning from others who have perfected theirs).  Sure, times have changed, the entertainment industry has evolved.  What worked fifty years ago isn’t necessarily relevant today.  But, what’s interesting is that each of these people shared one common belief:

If you aren’t honest with yourself when you write, you’re audience will never trust you enough to find it funny.

Secondly, even if you aren’t interested in writing, it’s still an extremely interesting and entertaining book to read.  So many stories of the past are recalled, including a detailed analysis of Woody Allen’s neurosis, how Harold Ramis and Bill Murray teamed up, and talk show legend Dick Cavett’s “almost-threesome” with a woman and Marlon Brando.

Sacks interviews screenwriters, essayists, columnists, stand up comedians, editors,  teleplay writers, and talk show writers (which just so happens to be our forte here at Art of Talk).

Which brings us to how many of these writers helped shape the ever-popular genre of tv talk shows into what it is today.  There are quite a few interviews that took place with people from the talk show industry.  Merrill Markoe speaks of her partnership with David Letterman, both romantically and professionally.  She explains the role of a woman being the head writer on The Late Show during the 1980’s when women writers were few and far between in the writer’s room on tv.

Marshall Brickman talks candidly about how he went from pushing his typewriter on a rolling cart down the street while writing monologue jokes for Johnny Carson on The Tonight Show, to becoming the show’s head writer over night.  Was he really that talented?  Brickman responds, “The other writers didn’t want the job.  They were smart.”

Dick Cavett interviews Groucho Marx (1971)

Larry Wilmore chronicles his history of battling the networks while writing television shows and how that (despite the inherent frustrations) parlayed into him becoming the “Senior Black Correspondent” on The Daily Show.  He shares with us his secret weapon for fighting network suits and staying on top of the comedy-writing dog pile:  he uses his ignorant and abrasive character as a way to speak as truthfully as he can, even if it has to be done satirically.

My favorite interview of this entire book was the one with Dick Cavett (host of The Dick Cavette Show — at its peak in the early to mid 70’s).  He speaks so informatively, while also sharing so many incredible stories.  These include, Richard Nixon attempting to shut down production of “The Dick Cavett Show” (who knew Tricky Dick was a talk show hater?), sneaking into The Tonight Show studio, tricking the godfather of talk shows, Jack Parr, into reading his jokes, the already noted Marlon Brando threesome story, his incredible relationship with Johnny Carson, and the unbelievable story of how, during one of his interviews, his guest died on stage (talk about a show-stopper).

Altogether, I only found about four out of the twenty-one interviews to be uninteresting – which makes this book worth the price.  If you want to be a humor writer, this book is a must have.  If you just want to be entertained by outrageous stories of fun and debauchery from legendary Hollywood writers about themselves and the celebrities they partied with (stories you would never hear otherwise), this book is a must have.  And if you just enjoy late night talk shows and want to get a peak into the behind-the-scenes politics and talent that defined this genre, then don’t let this book pass you by, you might just learn something.