Catching Up With Comedians

My guest today is Comedian Vince Harper.
Vince was dancing a lot as a teenager and inspired by his older brother, he started pursuing it full time.
From a young man, he had joined a dance group that performed on the stages at Disneyland and eventually they were good enough  to perform on TV shows, American Bandstand, Dance Fever, The Midnight Special as well as the Merv Griffin Show.
His group known as  "Dancin Machine" eventually was performing for the Stardust Casino in Las Vegas and soon after the group got a gig at the Chicago Playboy Club before Vince was legally old enough to drink.
VINCE was drafted by some old friends to start a Chippendale style version of male stripping and he was doing that around the time he started seeing more and more stand-up comedy legends like Richard Pryor, Sam Kinison, and Bill Hicks inspire him to start trying to add a little Comedy to his stripping routine.
Once he started doing Comedy guest spots at all the new comedy clubs that were exploding in the eighties, he had been bitten by the bug. He happily traded shedding his clothes for slinging his jokes.
He quickly took his years of experience as a dancer and started doing stand up all across the country and he has never stopped doing it and that puts him in the 40 plus year Comedy Club. Please welcome my guest who is still telling jokes for paying crowds: Vince Harper.

 
My guest on the podcast this week is Mr. Jay London. Raised in the Bronx, Jay’s two passions in life have both served him well:  stand-up comedy and boxing.
In both enterprises you are fighting for your life and in both you can kill or bomb out and die.
Jay fought his way through the Bronx neighborhoods and school yards and later through the local comedy clubs and “Live at the Apollo!”
He fought his way into the house on season two of “Last Comic Standing” where he first came to national attention. He became a fan favorite where in an unprecedented move the producers brought him back for a wildcard shot on season three. 
To say Last Comic Standing was a big deal in Comedy would be an understatement;  there have always been Star Search type shows, but on L.C.S. stood the best and the brightest of club comedians as well as stars, young and old, who came on the show to be mentors, celebrity talent scouts and judges, as well as hosts of which there were numerous over the nine season run of the series.In addition to appearing on the “King Of Queens” as well as several other films and television series we will talk about what Jay is doing now as he proclaims He is Still in the Fight because it Ain’t Over Yet!Please Welcome:JAY LONDON

George Hamaty started as a stand up comedian at Penn State and continued for twelve years developing an act while also studying acting.
After college, he decided to head west to Los Angeles, which is where I first ran into George.
He was only in LA for the years 1985 through 1991,  but he rose up the ladder from opening act to feature act and met many people and definitely made his mark.
George is  proud to say that as an Arab American, he relied heavily on his ethnicity.
 Personal drama forced him to leave the business but currently he is writing a book on his experiences which is part cathartic, part humorous and ALL TRUE;  Entitled: 
“I Could Have Been A Great Comedian, But Took Myself Too Seriously.”
Please welcome my guest and old friend,George Hamaty 

Linda Marcus Smith joins me this week for her second appearance on the podcast. 
Linda gained much notoriety during the pandemic when she interviewed not less than 1000 comedians for her podcast "The Comics Spot."
Since the end of the pandemic, Linda has worked tirelessly rising up the ranks in the Las Vegas Comedy Clubs and Casinos.   Just over a year ago she decided to make the move back to her native homeland, New York City.
Linda has worked very hard over the past year to build up her Comedy Chops in the many Comedy Clubs of the New York "Tri-State Area."
Linda, as a proud army veteran is very passionate about raising awareness for all military personnel as well as veterans who may be in need of helping out or lifting up.
To this point, as part of her Comedy Journey, she is very passionate about booking her own shows for military audiences as well as booking Comedy Shows where Military veterans and their families may benefit from the money raised from these shows.
We also draw attention to the shows, dates and places that Linda will be performing at and producing over the next year.
We will announce those locations and dates at the beginning and the end of this podcast. Thank you for listening and please welcome my special guest:
 Linda Marcus Smith.

 
Welcome Dan Rosenberg to the podcast .
In 1992, Dan moved to Los Angeles to start a stand-up career at age 22. 
 
He sold cars in the daytime and did stand up at night.
When the Northridge earthquake hit in 1994,  he took that as a sign to leave LA while he could still catch a plane that had an accessible runway.
 
He moved back to Pennsylvania to coach basketball and  after that he ended up teaching Comedy traffic school in Orlando, Florida, which basically jump started his return to stand-up comedy .
 
A born salesman, and entrepreneur,  Dan started his own company, called “humor vision” where he went to, and performed at The “Just For Laughs” premiere comedy showcase in Montreal for seven years in a row.
 
In 2001 he saw Rick Springfield at the Universal Amphitheater and thought,( he’d be perfect for my sitcom!)
 
This is a story of how dogged determination, hard work and seeking out the right people can actually lead to dreams coming true.
 
Not only did he get Rick Springfield to star in his movie , but it has now won awards at multiple film festivals and Dan is now a full-time standup and working on his third hour long special for streaming on television
 
Welcome Dan Rosenberg

My guest today is David Uhlfelder who was raised in Colorado and started his comedy career when he was barely 20 years of age and pursuing an engineering degree at Cal State University, San Luis Obispo.
He earned his degree and has been working as a comedian for eight years now and without the assistance of a day job.To understand how you could visit:
https://www.daviduhlfelder.com/    as well as https://www.cal comedy underground.com/ 
Not only can you see his credits and comedy history but you can also peruse the locations where he produces comedy shows at myriad locations from San Diego to San Luis Obispo.David goes on the road as much as possible where he works as a Feature act and has been starting to Headline shows as well.Please welcome to my podcast this up and coming Comedian, Producer and Showrunner; David Uhlfelder!

My guest today is Comedian, writer, actress: Brenda Pontiff.A Texas, Gal, born and raised in Bay City.She was in the second generation of comics who started at Houston's Comix Annex  which began the famed careers of Sam Kinison, Bill Hicks and the Texas Outlaws.One of these Outlaws has had a rebirth of late:  Andy Huggins, of AGT fame. Brendaworked with Andy many years ago and now is opening for him at select clubs on the West Coast.Brenda, who refers to herself as a TEX-A-CORNIAN, proud of her Texas roots and moved to California in 1993, just four years after starting her stand-up career.Before stand up, she had worked for many years after college as an actress doing Cabaret shows while getting her masters. She also was an executive for Deloitte and Ernst & Young selling professional services.When Brenda‘s Mother became ill in the mid 2000's she returned to Texas to help her family navigate Mom‘s Health.While in Texas, she developed and grew her own consulting business and still has that business today while she pursues her comedy career as well.Please help me welcome a woman who is helping to establish a high mark in comedy for not only women but anyone who takes the stage and the microphone:
Brenda Pontiff

I am proud to Welcome Comedian Bob Zany on my # 50 Podcast today.  
Born, Robert Tetrault in West Covina, California; the family later moved to the Sherman Oaks, Van Nuys section of the San Fernando Valley.
With two older brothers and one younger sister, Bob was Ensconced well into middle child status, but the family unit was close and parents very supportive of their brood.
 
Bob Zany started out in Comedy at the tender young age of 15 on none other than "The Gong Show" starring Chuck Barris 
The Gods of showbiz smiled down upon young Bob that day as he was not given the GONG but rather he was paid $125.98 as a "specialty act!"  In addition to that, he also gained a membership into AFTRA (the union) and was awarded a waffle iron as his take-home prize.
From that point on Bob was in show biz and he worked tirelessly from booking his own shows to working at the Ice House and wherever else he could get on stages before reaching  the age of 18
Among Bob’s many credits are:
Seven appearances on A&E’s AN EVENING AT THE IMPROVSTAR SEARCHPOLITICALLY INCORRECT with BILL MAHERWORKING WITH RODNEY DANGERFIELD FOR TWO YEARS and filming a special with RODNEY!
Television series appeared on:ROSEANNETHE DREW CAREY SHOWTHE TONIGHT SHOW with JAY LENOCOMICS UNLEASHED FILMS:JOE DIRT THE INFORMANT  (Matt Damon’s attorney)
DOCS:
I AM COMICCLOSE BUT NO CIGAR
One of Bob’s personal victories and a turning point in his career was auditioning with scores of other comedian at The Improv, in 1991 to perform on the JERRY LEWISLABOR DAY WEEKEND TELETHON FOR MUSCULAR DYSTROPHY.
  As Bob was a throwback to the Comedians of Jerry's era, if he auditioned well, he was sure to score the show.  Once again his years of experience and dedication paid off as Jerry Lewis loved him and he performed on the telethon from 1991 until “ they fired the other guy” as Bob always said.  
So close to twenty years on the TELETHON and once he became part of "JERRY'S FAMILY as ED MCMAHON called it, Bob Performed on the Last Twelve years as a CO-HOST during the overnights which were the prime time Comedy Slots!
 
A true comedy legend at this point, having tread  the boards for 48 of his 63 years, Bob has gotten to rub elbows and work with the likes of Milton Berle, Jan Murray, Red Buttons, Rodney Dangerfield and Steve Martin. Additionally he has worked with Norm McDonald, Jim Carrey, Jordan Brady and Ritch Shydner, just to name a few of the modern era. 
After all this success, his most current special for the Dry Bar Comedy Channel has 10 million views on YouTube and over 40 (that’s FOUR O) million views on all social media, making Bob Zany one of the top 10 comedians for all the comics who have been seen on the "Dry Bar" specials.
A fitting benchmark for a man who has been working hard at his craft for close to 50 years.
Please help me Welcome, "The Most Sarcastic Comedian 0f All Time":
 Mr. BOB ZANY!
 
 
 

Today, joining me for his second visit is Gene Hamm;  a writer- producer and Animation Film Maker.
 
Gene has been working in animation for over 40 years…
…….starting out with Hanna-Barbera where he was a model maker and then onto  Prema Vision as the in house free lancer with the iconic "Art CLOKEY" who created Gumby, Pokey and so many other Beloved childhood characters using stop action editing. 
          In the ensuing years he worked for the likes of Disney// Sega video games,
          Walter Lantz, Tex Avery  and has also been teaching young people animation at
             the Academy of Art for over 15 years.
             Last year he joined me to talk about his animated film titled Hell TOUPEE ,      
             which WON film awards, and has been playing on Roku and other platforms!
 
  Today he is here to talk about his brand new 77 minute long animated  feature that’s been playing on Roku and Roku.com Titled "THE DREAM HAT!" This is a film that could really be a big hit among the HIGHLY COVETED children’s market and up into teens and young parents. It’s a HIGH ENERGY//  OUTSTANDING  film with a great message About love//hope and redemption!
 
Please Welcome back////my special guest/// The Professor of Animation: GEEEEEEEEEEENE. HAAAAAAAAAAAMMM!

Welcome to the show today, Wyatt Cote. Wyatt had figured out very young that he was a water child. He loved the ocean and by six years old, he was starting to surf the inside breaks in Long Beach and Huntington Beach. He loved the beach vibe and has been a surfer ever since.
Though he attended the University of Hawaii as his father wanted him to pursue a professional career, Wyatt decided early on the collegiate life was not for him and against his father‘s wishes he quit school and decided to start doing something he really loved, which was stand-up comedy.
At the tender young age of 19 years old, he started going to Open Mic. nights in Los Angeles. While his early attempts were hit and miss, he put everything he had into stand-up comedy, going out to clubs night after night and grinding out his material and  within a fairly short time he started to see and feel that he could really make a go at this stand up comedy life.
Now here he is eleven years later, barely thirty years old and those early dues he paid are really bearing fruit.
He generally features or headlines comedy clubs all across the country as well as performing at the Comedy and Magic Club in Hermosa Beach, which is the Crown Jewel of Clubs where only the top comedians perform. In addition to that he won First Place in World Series of Comedy Competition in Las Vegas in 2021.
Help me, Welcome a guy who is really going places in Comedy and someone who a lot of comedians both young and old could learn something from, Wyatt Cote.