The Late Late Show Calls

Tuesday September 9th, 2008 - Lake Villa, IL

Another email out of the blue today that threw me a ray of hope. I heard from the talent booker of the Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson again. She is a very nice lady and I’ve had contact with her in the past and thought I was going to get a shot on the show. Then I heard she wasn’t there anymore and it shot all my hopes down but now she’s back again.

She told me to get her a set and give her some dates and hopefully we can get this done. I spent a couple of hours today working on a four and a half minute routine I would do on the show and that’s not easy for me. I don’t usually work that way and it feels rather odd.

This is where I need to be smart and do what she says and just get on the show. It would really add a lot of credibility to my whole life’s work and be a legitimate national credit at long last. I’ve done a lot of regional and local type stuff but never anything on a network.

There are many reasons for that but the main one is I have never made it a priority. I am always doing so many things at any given time that just focusing on television hasn’t been what I thought about. I always thought it would ‘just happen’ and it never did. Stupid me.

The truth is I can hold my own with anyone as a standup comic. I have paid my dues for a lifetime and have prepared for this. Can I do four and a half minutes of comedy on a TV show? In my sleep. I could do several nights in a row and not repeat a single word but it’s not about that. It’s about getting on ONCE and doing a good job. That’s the main focus.

There are a lot more important things than being funny and I totally understand that. I’ll do the job if I get the chance and not embarrass myself. What is yet to be determined is if I am likeable and the public accepts me. Can I plug into their tastes? I have no idea at all.

I probably know and have worked with a few hundred other comedians and more than a few of them have had TV shots over the years but very few have parlayed that into a huge career. Frank Caliendo did it and good for him. He does impressions and that wasn’t what anyone else was doing at the time and he found a niche right away. The public bought it.

That’s never been what I do so that’s not a factor. I plug in to people who are intelligent but frustrated. I am the underdog and the struggler. It’s always great to hear about another person who is doing worse and I’m that guy. It’s a tension release valve and I open it up.

Rodney Dangerfield sure found his groove with much the same angle as I’m selling. He was right around the same age I am now when he started to hit it and the public bought it for forty years. His greatness is timeless and if I can achieve half his success I’ll be all set.

I’m not comparing myself to Rodney because he was as great as it gets. I’m not looking to be the next Rodney. I want to be the first me. I may be SIMILAR to Rodney’s style but I am very much my own act and when I’m on a roll there aren’t too many others now who can match my energy. When I get in my zone I can really bring it and I just want a chance.

Playing small clubs and driving through cornfields is getting WAY old. I am ready for a comedy career after having had a job for twenty plus years. There’s a big difference and it all starts with having one successful TV shot. It’s one of my most important steps ever.

It’s still not too late to make up for most of my biggest mistakes over the years if I nail a few impressive TV shots. Again, doing the first one is the key. A winning streak begins at ONE and that’s the one I’m at now. I want to go in there and not blow a chance for ‘two‘.

Some of my biggest mistakes over the years have (in no particular order) included being too scattered, not making a base in New York or LA and not pursuing management. I was farting around in radio far too long and also dealing with a lot of other things I didn’t plan on like keeping myself out of prison when my ‘friend’ tried to pin a bank robbery on me.

Whatever I did I did and good or bad the results are what put me exactly here. I did do a few smart things too and one of those was NEVER stopping doing standup. I always kept improving and going on stage no matter what was going on in my life. If I was working in radio I still made it a point to stay sharp in the clubs. That’s what makes me strong now.

Rodney had his own things to overcome too and he took a break for many years. Johnny Carson liked him and that’s what really launched him and now I need someone to throw a bone my way and give me my shot. Will it be Craig Ferguson? I hope so. I think he’s very funny and I respect how hard he’s worked to get where he is. I get good vibes from him.

This will help everything else I am doing. If I nail a hot appearance on network TV it’ll make the papers both in Chicago and Milwaukee with a ‘local boy makes good’ angle. I’ll get lots of coverage on WLS from Jerry Agar who’s always been a big supporter anyway.

I’m not going to get ahead of myself with any of this but I really feel it’s time for a shot. I’ve been out here in the trenches for years and years and I’m ready. I did exactly what the talent booker told me to do and now I will wait to hear back from her. She’s always been prompt about getting back to me in the past so I don’t expect any glitches. I think I’m in.

She said in her email ‘let’s pick a date’ so it now appears to be not a matter of ‘if’ but a matter of ‘when’. That’s the best news I could hear and it couldn’t come at a better time. I am in a good mindset and am working out both physically and mentally. I’m on top of it.

This was exciting news but I’m still not getting cocky. I’ve got a lot of other work to do and I didn’t forget about that. I did get my half hour walk in today and it was very brisk. It was probably because I was so pumped about the TV show but that’s fine by me. I walked a lap in the Gurnee Mills mall once again and broke a nice sweat. My legs are still sore.

What an exciting thing this will be. Rodney is still my comedy hero and if I can have an opportunity for a little time in the sun I’ll enjoy every second of it and pay him homage at every chance I get. When Joan Dangerfield sent me an email it really invigorated me and I hope at some point I can make her proud by carrying Rodney’s pedigree forward with me.