Richard Jeni, Rest In Peace
March 14, 2007 · Print This Article
We start today’s episode with the shocking news that comedian Richard Jeni died in an apparent suicide over the weekend. Brian examines some of the theories surrounding this loss, and answers some listener questions as to why this seems to happen all too often.
The big topic of the week focuses on the resurgence of the roast. From Dean Martin to Comedy Central, is this form of comedy still relevant or are the new wave of roasters the biggest insult of all.
Plus find out what Brian really thinks about people with disabilities and enjoy as we shine the spotlight of a former stand up who has managed to be one of comedy’s great leading men for almost 30 years.
Email: brianmcomedy@gmail.com
Give the show a call: 206-600-4325
Hey pallie, it was indeed our Dino who is the father of Roasts. Never was, never will be anyone as cool as the King of Cool. Oh, to return to the days when Dino walked the earth!!!!!!!!!!!!
Hey, Brian.
Sorry that this message is coming two shows late, but I have a quickie comment on your comments in your “Brian Begins” episode.
Copyright is - simply - the protection accorded anything that has been created as unique and saved in a fixed form.
This isn’t a copyright lesson, but more of a little rant.
Based on the law - and on 15 years as a professional journalist and author - jokes are copyrightable.
In the same way that this very comment - in the form that it appears - is immediately protected by copyright law once I hit SUBMIT COMMENT, jokes are similarly protected.
The blurred line comes (as you I think were implying) when a SUBJECT is shared and used as a jumping off point by many comics.
If I were to recreate that horrible pig joke (remember the one about the salesman and the pig so good you can’t eat it all at once? The same joke that lost in a squeaker to Herpe’s Jan/Feb best joke? Yeah. that one). If I rewrote that joke from scratch and then told it on stage somewhere. The moment it was out of my mouth and in the ears of the horrified audience, that is copyrighted.
Same goes for a haiku I put on Bowlofcheese.com a few weeks back. Same goes for each and every one of your podcast episodes. Same for the comments on this blog.
The sticking point - and boy has this become a little rant…maybe it should be entered in the March/April contest - is enforcement.
Unless you formally register your joke or your email or your episode or your blog entry or your book or whatever, you can only enforce the copyright to the extent that you get someone to stop using your material and collect ‘actual damages’ that misuse has caused you financially.
IF YOU DO register it at the copyright office, then you can get treble (triple) damages for the misuse plus other fees like lawyers, etc.
In closing, I’d like to thank the academy and my mom.
Keep up the good work!
Jeff
I liked the Denis Leary roast. I thought Colin Quinn was pretty good, and I liked how they were ripping Keifer Sutherland the whole time. I haven’t seen any of the other ones.
Here’s a funny clip of Norm on Conan.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=GoLm-vD89SQ
It’s hard to believe Steve Martin was funny with the crappy movies he does now. He’s like Hugh Grant, he always plays the same character. When he tries to deviate from that (the steaming pile known as Shopgirl) it was just creepy.
Hey Brian! Great show; I gotta say, this is easily my favorite podcast, and I’m not just saying that because I’ve been on the show.
THANK YOU for showcasing Steve Martin, one of maybe 10 truly original (maybe even fewer) stand-up comics to come out of the pre-Comedy Boom era. I know a lot of comics who he was the main inspiration for, or at least was a major component in their desire to do stand-up. I have all 4 of his albums, including the Steve Martin Bros. which is half banjo, and I can honestly say that I believe he was the greatest master of premises in the history of stand-up (or perhaps in a first-place tie with Woody Allen). I would put “Let’s Get Small” up against any album every made.
Also, just a quick note on Norm: I’m not sure how intentional this is, but his delivery has a habit of making people cackle with laughter before he reaches the big payoff. I’m sure he uses this to his advantage more now than he did when starting out, but he’s always been someone who I absolutely loved growing up. If anyone gets a chance, type his name into YouTube and check out any of his interviews on the Dennis Miller show. They’re all gold.
And one quick question: how do feature acts and headliners go about marketing themselves effectively without an agent or pub person? I don’t know if you’d ever have time to touch base with it, but what ways do comics get their names out there? I’d like to know a little more about press packs, sending videos to clubs, what goes on resumes, etc. Thanks a ton for even reading this, can’t wait for next week’s show.
Great question Joel, I’ll definitely use the topic on an upcoming show.
Thanks for the clip Darcy, my man crush on Norm is strong and beginning to affect the family. It’s true that Steve Martin movies have started to go the way of Eddie Murphy, but I’ll put his earlier stuff up against amost anything. The Jerk is the funniest movie of all time. It’s a proven fact.
Great show as always!
Sorry I didn’t comment on the last podcast, but life has been crazy busy lately. Brian as for the magic at a comedy club…well actually…..all I’m going to say is…. the Amazing Jonathan! if that dude doesn’t make you laugh, your funny bone is broken!!!!!!!! I don’t plan on presenting my act as a comedy routine, hell I barely can present it as a magic act.
Richard Jeni, I remember him from way back, late nights on showtime specials in the late 80’s. He was a great comedian, and it is a shame when you get that low. Being someone who suffers from bi-polar disorder (no, it has nothing to do with two polar bears) I totally understand what that is like, because I am one of those who fucked up a suicide attempt. I’m not saying this to bring anyone down or for sympathy or for any shock value. But just to give you some insight, when depression gets you that low, you do have a chemical imbalance in your brain. You are NOT, I repeat, NOT yourself when you are in that state of mind. Suicide is one of the most selfish acts that can be done because the people who suffer the most are those who love you the most.
The best way I can describe it, for those who are interested, is like, you know those people who when they get drunk, they get all weepy and cry about every little thing. Well they would not behave that way without the chemical change brought on by the alcohol. So with that said, Richard probably had a bad depression going and for whatever reason decided it just wasn’t worth going on.
Me personally, the last time I hit that low, I literally thought to myself,”Well, if it is so bad I am willing to end it all, it can only get better. Plus, what have you got to loose to just see what is in this crappy hand you were dealt.” I manage my disorder with medication, which is the glue that keeps me together. Wellbutrin literally changed my life.
Anywho, it is true about most entertainers looking for adoration. That is one of the reasons I perform magic, it’s the power that I can lie and control the minds of seven year olds, as they trash my set. What a rush, a retarded rush.
Anywho, on to a lighter subject. I have to make an apology and retract a statement I made in the past. I had slammed Sarah Silverman, and I had only seen her on those crappy Comedy Central roasts (I stand by that), but I gave her a chance and listened to her standup, and liked her humor. Who would’ve thought pedophelia jokes could be so funny (not that I condone nor think pedophelia is either funny or acceptable.). Her comedy is skewed and I like it, heck she made me laugh. So I would like to publicly say that I am sorry to have said anything negative about her, but not Jeffery Ross, he still isn’t funny to me as a comedian.
Well, I for one am glad to have you around Snappy. Of course it’s nearly impossible to get into the head of someone who’s in that kind of pain. On the surface it seems like he had everything. He was making $1 million a year doing a job thousands of people would kill for. Just goes to show you how little things like that really matter.
I really don’t like these Comedy Central roasts too much. I’ve only seen highlights of the old Dean Martin roasts (BTW I live a half hour from Steubenville, OH, birthplace of the Rat Pack’s resident lush) but I still chuckle when I see the clips. These new ones seem are awful for the very reason you brought up: these people don’t know each other. Why the fuck are Andy Dick et al roasting William Shatner? Nichelle Nichols and George Takei, who by the way was the butt of way more gay jokes than Shatner was actually ripped-on, made sense as they worked with him for years. Add in there the train wreck that is Farrah Fawcett which I was more interested in her trying to stay IN her dress than what she was attempting to communicate… badly.
What can you say about Pam Anderson? No… really… what? Aside from being sponsored by Spalding? Of all people to roast, and NOT do it literally, why her? Seriously, once you get past her chest, which is a rather serious undertaking, there really isn’t much of interest left to talk about except bad movies, bad TV shows and homemade porn.
I think the reason the Leary Roast worked was because he has travelled in the same circles as the people who roasted him and therefore there was a genuine rapport between them.
Anyone see that train wreck “Are You Smarter Than A 5th Grader” (hosted by Jeff Foxworthy). I watched it last night and the guy needed help on 3/6 questions. Anyway, he drops out and proposes to his girlfriend (who the announcer discribed as a knockout or some such word, she was just fair at best). I turned the channel before I saw what she said. The guy was a complete douchebag.
If this is the kind of bullshit Jeni was aspiring to, he’s better off.
Yeah, the show’s not good. And why do they think that putting a pair of glasses on Foxworthy makes him look scholarly? Here’s one for you Jeff…If you accept your boyfriend’s proposal after he just proved he’s dumber than a 10 year old child on national tv. You might be retarded.
Nothing says scholarly quite like a sport coat and a pair of Wrangler jeans.
Hell, the game show was created by Mark Burnett of Survivor fame (creator), and it’s not like the contestants would do well on jeopardy. I liked the novelty of it for one episode, but it wore off literally after the first contestant. The night before last there was a lady on there, or I should say, stupid cunt, whose question was, “What country would you be in if you crossed the northern U.S. border?” The dumbass used one of the “cheats” allowed.
God, everyone knows it’s Croatia! (just kidding)
I swear they got all of their contestants from Mississippi.
But to stay on the Roasts topic, the big difference, in my opinion, of the way it is done now, and the way it was done when Dean Martin did it, is it is not A list. They also, instead of making jokes about the people, try the most vile insults they can muster. When the new roasts are performed, they will include several others as the target, that are on stage other than just the guest of honor.
To me, Don Rickles was great at the roast. The man could call you an asshole and you would beg for more. He isn’t called “Mr. Warmth” for nothing.
Speaking of this, Brian, a good topic would be of some of the older actor/comics such as Rickles (he had a vegas show for years), Milton Berle, Jack Benny, Dean Martin, Jerry Lewis and the such. This will make a good show in a couple of years after you have done all of the shows of strictly comedians.
Also, an all female show would be interesting, though the thought of you in lacy lingerie and talking in a high voice isn’t that appealing. Elaine Boozler (sp), Felicia Michaels, Phyllis Diller (a stand-up pioneer), Janine Garofalo, Rita Rudner, Amy Sedaris, Wanda Sykes and Aisha Tyler, to name a few.
Personally, I don’t think you should exclude people whose beginnings were in stand-up then went on to stage and/or film. I also don’t think you should include Foxworthy and Tim Allen.
alright, good talk guys, good talk. High five.
I love the suggestions Snappy, keep ‘em coming. And just to be clear, I excluded those comics because I had to narrow it down to 4 comics to spotlight in March, not to diminish his accomplishments. Except for Tim Allen. Him I was trying to diminish.
Thanks Brian for the interesting comments on Jeni’s death.
Also, BMO mentioned Norm McDonald and said some people find him annoying. I do not. I clicked on Darcy’s clip and remember how funny he is. However, when I heard annoying and comedian in the same sentence, I immediately though of a name I have not heard for many years: Emo Phillips.
OMG, Emo Phillips, you know he is still doing his schtick! I can’t believe it, it is annoying, but equal to Judy Tenuta.
Ugg, they both are like a train wreck, you just gotta watch. Although I believe Roseanne stole her vocal sounds (kind of a growly sneer) from Judy, I at least hear similarities, and Judy was definately before Roseanne.
That would be a great show, comedians that are annoying, but successful anyway, LOL that would be a train wreck.
well, since I have just successfully used Train Wreck three times, I am calling it a night, I gotta crash (no pun intended,LOL)
Brian, A couple of comedians that I really like, that would be great to highlight are Doug Stanhope and David Cross.
Doug has a bit on suicide that is pretty good it goes something like, “Suicide isn’t a bad thing. You know life just isn’t for everybody. Say your watching a really bad movie, chances are it’s not going to get really good at the end. You have the right to get up and walk out of the movie, you should have the right to end your life at that point.
That doesn’t do it justice, so I will try and get you the mp3 Brian.
I wish I could agree guys, but I actually like Emo. I find him to be the opposite of Norm. His delivery is irritating but if you can get past it he’s a really smart writer. I’m not sure if he and Judy are still an item, but I can only imagine that going out with those two would be the most horrendous double date ever.
One thing Emo did right, is become recognizable to many who aren’t even comedy fans, due to the niche he carved out for himself.
Here’s a question: What ever happened to Paula Poundstone? She was big around Jeni’s time and then a few years ago she was arrested for statutory rape or molestation or something and then she fell off the face of the earth.
Lord, the laughs generally come to an abrupt halt the minute you molest a kid.
Hota-J-Hota! Not only did I somehow conjure up Emo Phillips, Snappy piles on with Judy Tenuta, who was also dead to my memory before I wondered in here. Nightmares tonight for sure.
I would have to defer to BMO’s judgement regarding his core writting skills, but Brian’s phrase was key: “If you can get past (his delivery) he is really a smart writer”. Hell I couldn’t even get past the haircut much less the delivery.
I better get back to the ‘This Ain’t Iowa’ podcast where I belong. Its too scary here.
It’s interesting that you all hated Shopgirl. The book is really amazing, and the movie captures it really well. In both he really captures the discomfort, disillusion, and depression in real relationships. Of course he was creepy, he was playing a 50-year-old millionaire having sex with a depressed 25-year-old. There’s no way to do that without being creepy. It’s nice to see someone come out of comedy and do something really creative and beautiful like he’s done with Shopgirl and his other fiction. Note: This does not relate to the Cheaper By The Dozen or Pink Panther movies.