This is another episode of stand up comedy, your host and emcee, celebrating 40 plus years on the fringe of show business, stories, interviews and comedy sets from the famous and not so famous. Here's your host and MC, Scott and words.
Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to another episode of stand up comedy, your host and emcee and a real good friend of mine in the business. You'll catch his interview early on in this podcast series. If you get a chance. Go back and check it out. One of my oldest friends in the business. He's had huge success on stage over several decades. He's now retired, but we're going to talk about something special but let me introduce my good friend from
Florida. Bruce, Smyrna. Bruce Bruce, so good to have you back on the show. Danny Boy, nice to hear from you. Yeah. And we were chit chatting the other day about your new your garden and stuff. And we were we were just chit chatting his friends do. And I realized that we're both in that kind of semi retired retired level of our lives after I've been in the business. I always say on the fringe of show business for 40 plus years. How long has it been for you overall?
I started in 1975. So it's almost 50 years.
Wow, that
unbelievable. That's unbelievable. For me to have accomplished so little, in that much. Is maybe it's one of the saddest stories. I don't even know why you should call this show a comedy show because this is apathetic. Hear my story. No.
Ladies and gentlemen, don't listen to Bruce. He was one of the most popular road comic he was a headliner, big rooms, small rooms, and had a terrific career. But what's great, you
kidding? Scott? Scott? Remember comedy opposite. So if I were to tell you how successful I was, that's not funny. Tell you that. I'm not failure.
I know. But as your friend I want to support a suicide hotline
Scott, I'm okay.
Well, one of the guys that my podcast audience has been listening to and a couple of the bonus shows and I did a great interview with him is Josh Rosen, who's also from your neighborhood in Florida. He's a terrific young impressionist, a lot of popularity for his Trump impression and his Biden impression. But he also does a famous sportscaster I wasn't aware of Baylor or somebody Yeah, I
know. Its name is Skip Bayless. And I'm not aware of either, but he is very popular sports. Cuz he's not baseball. He's everything about baseball. So I own to that. But yes, Josh is on Twitter now. And he's doing all these little whatever. What do you what do you not Twitter? Yeah, Twitter and the other things?
Instagram, yeah, Graham, Facebook, Twitter. And yeah, he's sharing his impressions with the world. And he's kind of gone the way of social media recognition.
Yes. You're absolutely right.
Let's explain to the audience though. How did you meet Josh and what led you to? Cuz I know you've done a lot of mentoring for him, and given him a lot of guidance. How did that come about?
Yeah. Well, I saw him down here. There's no There's other than the improv, there's no comedy clubs down here. It's a sad thing, because I think Florida has between 12 and 15 million people. And yet, other than I think like three improv, it's really disjointed. There's nothing on the scale of what your club used to be like, and you were just one of dozens of great clubs in California. We
don't have that. So he was at some bar in Boca Raton, and I was I was just going there like to hang out with comics and pretend that I'm in show business. And everybody bombs isn't just a bar. It's like a bar that has comedy nights. And they go there. For every reason in the world. Not for comedy. They just go there. Hey, Joe want to have a drink? And then a comedy show breaks out and now they can't talk to each other? Because of all the noise from the comic screaming on the mic.
So it's like the PERT the worst atmosphere people don't want the comedy comedies happening. And yet no one's laughing so it's like a cluster mess. Every which way. So, but that particular night, and I don't watch the show, I just hang out with the guys outside. I'm hearing laughter that goes something's wrong. Weird. How can there be laughter when no one laughed and I went in and I saw Josh on stage and he was You know, he's a cut above it. He's got an amazing talent level when you
can do these voices. And I mean, he can even do like Elizabeth Warren. And here's a guy who looks like a lot, a little bit like Woody Allen ish. Oh, he's doing Elizabeth Warren. And it looks like in you. You see ELIZABETH WARREN on stage. And that's what a great impressionist can do. They capture the air, and the and the attitude, and it's your eyes play tricks on you and your ears. go along with it. It's a beautiful thing. Yeah,
I've had a lot of fun working with Josh, and you're absolutely correct. It looks like a very young Woody Allen, kind of that small Jewish frame. And but he does have an amazing technique when it comes to the impressions. What's interesting is that you caught him saw him and saw something special saw that spark that he had for show business. For myself. I recently went, Yeah, I went to the local punch line. And I was there to see Jim Farrell, who you may remember was an opening act back in the
80s. And he went out of the business. He's a fourth level, Master Somalia now internationally known, but he's decided to get back into comedy as he's retiring. And we were we were doing some stuff together. And I met these three young comics, Morgan Anderson, Raul, Gonzo, and James Martin. And these are total unknown locals. But I saw something in them out of like the 12 or 15 acts I had to sit through. And I was able to meet with them in console them a little bit. I'm not doing
the mentoring that you are. But the reason I thought this was interesting conversation for my listeners, is that when people like you and I that have spent 40 plus years in the business, we can tell when somebody's got that spark, that could turn into a really strong act. So for me it was these three young people at a 15x for you. There's a slog of nobody's going up on a bar, and you catch Josh rose. And what was the conversation like with Josh, when you first met him?
Well, I I, he, he's like a strange, he's a little strange. And he's like a bookworm kind of a guy. He's very quiet. And he was like, unshaven, idiotic hair. A T shirt. He had a COVID mask like dangling like he went on stage with a COVID mask dangling off his ear. So I could see he's one of these people that has amazing talent. But isn't, you know, he needs somebody, you know, to just whisper in his ear. So I started to like, look him up, because I just I had to know
whether he was crazy. And with talent, or just eccentric with talent. So I started Facebooking him. And I see his father and his father, like lives down the street from his property was in one of these very successful communities. And the father's like, he's actually a little younger than me, but the Father with the chicks and the pool and the Ferraris and the nest and said, Go, okay, so it comes from good stock. And then in one of the photos, I see him with
phone. Do you remember Peter Salgo? Right,
yeah. Peters, interviewed on the show and a very successful Jewish based comic, and he does a terrific one man show. Yeah.
And so I called Fogle and I said, What's the story with your friend's son, as he you know, is the oil here? And he goes, Yeah, he's just eccentric. So I called the Father. And I said, I want to work with your son, blah, blah. So you know, it's been like, it's like a your it is exactly your, and the problem that he's getting just incredible. The problem is, there's just still no comedy clubs here. And a lot of guys have moved here from LA, Jimmy Schubert. A lot of people
that you don't know. But Shooby is here. And even with this plethora of great comics down here, no one can take seem to take advantage of the improvs have a big lock, you know, on big names and comics, and there's no mid mid ground. And so that's it. So he's focusing now on the Twitter thing. Yeah. And
still, you saw that lump of coal that could be turned into a diamond and you realize I
was gonna get to that. Like, like paying it forward when I lived in LA. You know, I was like a young kid hanging out at the Friars Club because I got into that old time show business group in the Friars Club was in Beverly Hills and the head guy was Milton Berle. I hope the I hope your listeners remember these people. Milton Berle was like the first television superstar and so I love being around these old time guys and Through my years there, some of them would, you know,
take me under their wing. And as much as I liked being around them and looked up to them, they were giving me advice. And I wasn't I guess, I wasn't taking it. You know, it was like, hey, in the interest thought in my head, yeah, thank you very much. I know what I'm doing. But obviously, because no one knows who I am. I didn't know what I was doing. And I had some of the
great I had a guy. I had so many I had one of the writers from Sid Caesar show took me under his wing, how Cantor who wrote eldest movies and Jerry and directed Jerry Lewis films, and wrote all the jokes for the Academy Awards. I had all these guys, but they were old. They were older men. And when you're a young guy in Hollywood, it's like, yeah, old man. I'm the guy. I'm the new GM that's done. And, and they would talk to me, and I was very respectful to
them. Don't get me wrong. But I'd say, what's this guy was this guy at? What does he know? Well, you look at Awards and the Oscars, and I really, I really messed that up. i And I regret it so much. So I try to pay it forward. I try to. And I even tell Josh, I tell Josh, about all these people I show. I show it to him on YouTube, who these people were, and how they went out of their way to try to help me and I didn't really listen to them. And I said, so. Here it is. Here's some advice to you.
Not that I'm of that caliber or quality, but I'm just telling you what I've learned. Take it or leave it, but you know, but I'm showing you why I do it. And that's why I do it. Well,
I think that's a great story is a background because anybody over 45 or 50 certainly knows about the Friars Club, Dean Martin Sinatra, all those guys would hang out there Milton Berle, the King of Comedy back in the day, but we could go on and rural
Milton Berle started in 1948 for this television show. And there were no, there was real television was brand new, and television, it would be like the size of a big screen it like it looks like a giant piece of furniture. And the screen was only you'd have to look it up on on the internet. But I think the screen was like five inches. It was tiny, black and white screen and everyone would pull up a
chair and watch it. And when Milton Berle show came out, it was so it was post World War Two, it's three years post World War Two. And it was such an innovation, that he was responsible for people buying televisions, you bought television, or watch Milton
Berle on Tuesday night. And it was and it's just so amazing when you and I'm sitting with this guy who was blowing smoke rings and the whole thing sitting next to him, and I wasn't, you know, I loved I loved who he wasn't, he was really funny, and he would give me tips. But I just
I wasn't in awe of how what greatness I was around until I left LA and started to look back on my career.
Well, that's fascinating. It is fascinating. I mean, on the one part even though you say you didn't pay attention, I think that just through exposure, you must have picked up. So
actually, yeah, no, no, I learned I learned I learned about weirdly, I never used to do facial expressions, but he had the you know, he had great expressions. And I picked up a few of his facial and primitive but because I looked nothing like him. You can't tell the
influence. It's it just looks like mugging but I'm mugging thinking of him mugging but because we look completely different that was you know that that was something else is I did I told you the Jeff Ross and Milton Berle story, right? Didn't I am one of these episodes of your show that no one listens to do you remember that?
Well go ahead and share it again.
It was like it was I think it was in 2000. And they're filming it from because Jeff, Jeff became you know, the, because Milton was the roastmaster General of the friars. And Jeff was really taking over that that spot. And Milton Berle was a child actor, I think was born like in 1990. I want to say 1915 And he was in when he was born five years old. He was into Charlie Chaplin silent movies. And so here we were, Milton was while he was cutting a cigar, you know, showing Jeff how to cut a cigar.
And I'm sitting there watching the taping. And here was America's first television superstar telling us a firsthand account of working with America's First Motion Picture star. And that was like Ah, that was a real shivers down the spine stories firsthand. From one guy about the other guy Chaplain I think was born was born in the 1800s. So, and then this was the year 2000. So that was a pretty spectacular story.
And what a great lens. There. Okay? No, no, no, I know, but the lineage to anybody that understand stand up comedy going from Charlie Chaplin to Milton Berle to all the other people that you were able to be
famous to, but even
Bruce Smirnoff picking up tips and picking up things about comedy, and now you're in your post 60 years, and you're sharing, you're
gonna be sick, I'm gonna be 66 Wow,
well, you don't look over 65. But anyway, but I'm
38 though I really do, but I am six gonna be 66
Well, but my what I was leading up to was I think it's amazing that you're sharing with Josh Rosen, some of the things that you learned over your 40 plus years, and then what you learn from the people, were you who learned from the people before them. I mean, it's an incredible lineage. But I did want to go back to something you mentioned, you actually approached his father first. And Josh isn't a child. He's a grown
man. But that's very respectful and interesting, what made you approach him as opposed to Josh direct.
Because, because I could see that he was really successful. And he probably wanted his kid to be anything. But this, because I come from a family. I come from a family like that I had a lot to just walk into. And I and I turned my back to it. And I can see the same story with Josh. And so I just wanted to get the clearance from the Father.
He was,
well, I felt that this kid would need you know, this kid, yeah, they would just be some things that he would need, like, a microphone, you know, dumb things. And I wanted to see if the father was on board with it. Because this kid, psycho Uber driver, you know, and it's like, I can't be telling him, you know, you got to have a better microphone for making these videos, things like that. I just want to see if the father was on board. And of course, the father is on board.
So we'll see what happens.
So I'm sure you were giving him tips about performance and being a professional. But also it probably weren't the I don't
have to know I don't have to this kid has got way more talent than I do. I just was giving him tips about performing. And think like, he didn't like this is what's so strange. And probably if people are listening to this, like he didn't know where he came from, you got to know where you came from. Gotta know the history of comedy. I'm not saying back to caveman, but you have to know 20th century comedy. I sat him down. He didn't know Laurel and
Hardy. He didn't know Abbott and Costello, he didn't know anything. And I so I made him watch all this stuff. He didn't know who I think he vaguely knew who the Three Stooges were, but not really. He only knew like Woody Allen, because I guess because he looks like him. And then whatever, you know, whatever people know in the 1990s 2000s. And
so we would watch Laurel and Hardy Chaplin, all this stuff. So I showed him these Impressionists from the 60s that were on the Ed Sullivan Show and The Tonight Show and they would they would come out and they go Good evening. I'm so and so. Tonight, I'm going to do my world of impressions or however they would introduce them and then they would turn their back. You know, remember how they were
little and just to be the guy that was watching this little
girl I said to Josh, just try that. And he goes second great idea. I go well, that's what they also just try it. So the next time he went on stage, he did that and you and again, he's going on after one bomb God bombing after another filthy I did this to my mother. I'm just these comics are so filthy now for no apparent reason. And, and he gets up there and goes, Good evening, welcome to my I do I'm Josh Rosen. I do impressions, turns his back turns around, and he's
a new character. And these, these people, like I said that go to this bar. The last thing they want to do is listen to comedy. They're like cheering him and he's doing great. So that was part of how we're gonna do now he knows about Laurel and Hardy and having Costello and everybody Yeah,
but it's interesting that you are able to what you and I would take for granted like turning away and then turning back into a character or shaving and having your hair done or wearing something a little respectful the audience, these are some of the basics that that you and I would take for granted that maybe some young comic, I'll give you an example I was I saw this really talented young lady Morgan Anderson and did an interview with her and stuff.
And she invited me to one of her shows, and I went to the show, and it was absolutely filthy from beginning to end. And I had a talk with her. And I said, you know, I understand that it's a different time, and I'm an old fart, and you're getting a response from the audience. But I think you're smarter than
that. And if you just wrote, to your smartness to your level of brain work, and not dropped F bombs and in other sexual topics, right and left, but just, you know, brought material that was funny, clean and relatable to the audience. You could do so much more. And it was kind of like the turning around thing for the Impressionists, it was kind of like, oh, really, do you think that would work? And it's because they come up in this nightclub, you know, when you're 2019, something 20 something.
The audience's have gotten jaded. Over the years, I was just talking with another entertainer recently, about how back in our day, you could do a three minute bit or a five minute bit as long as it was funny along the way, and then had a big payoff. You know, Larry Miller was famous for his 12 stages of drinking, which is like a 20 minute bit, but it's phenomenal. The audience's don't seem to have that patience level. And so the comics feel this need to get to the funny
faster. And since they don't have that much funny. They're throwing in F bombs and dick jokes and references to kind of fill the gap. And, and I as a producer hate that. I want them right.
But that may be that may be that may be the future, you know, even though we it's where we come from, but you know, people want their own signature on things. And this may be you know, this may be the way
Well, that could be to bring the conversation back where we started, Bruce, because I don't want to take up too much of your time today.
I think thank God.
I think it's amazing that in your retired state that you're taking the time to share knowledge to share experience, and to help Josh whether he ends up doing it on social media or on stage be
performing one more thing in defense of what you just said. If you go see this new movie, Elvis or if you read the biography about Elvis, his Tom, you know, his manager was a carnival guy. And the colonel Colonel Tom Parker. And he was he managed Elvis, the way you would manage a carnival dumpy. You know, Fly By Night carnival with with fat flat, flashing loud, all the sparkle.
So here with Elvis, the greatest gift to the world in every way, shape, and form being managed by a guy who was like, you know, you know what carnivals are like, you hit the hammer and they just push a button. So the thing doesn't go as by high as it should. So you don't win the prize. So it's like a real shift the operator and he and he used all those old techniques with a modern entertainer, Elvis, and turned him into the greatest superstar probably of all time. So there you go. Yeah.
So what I guess the lesson there is there is
something about old time show business that will never go away. But you are right. Kids don't have a real attention span anymore. So I don't know if you can do a Larry Miller and 12 minute bit like maybe you could 30 years ago.
Yeah. And as the audience has changed, I understand the comics have to change but I have always as a producer, one, I felt like my job was to help the entertainer go to that next step, which in the case of lamps, unlimited, from there, you would possibly go to television, you might get a sitcom, you might, you know, do it tonight show appearance. That's what it was like in the 80s and 90s. Nowadays, none of those options are out there, really. So it is a different world as far as where are you
going to take it? So you and I were talking about this yesterday, we don't really get how Josh Rosen as an impressionist can get famous on social media. And yet, as you mentioned, didn't he get something like a couple 100,000 downloads, and he's he could become a celebrity using his talent It's on these weird sites as opposed to onstage? Yes. It's just bizarre to me. But yeah, there are people that are famous from stuff they've done on the
internet. And for me, who is as an old school stage guy, it's like, well, if you didn't pay your dues on stage, you know, how can you amount to anything? I knew somebody the hose and squirt the kids, you know, I'm the old guy on the on the porch.
You really stepped in it in 1980. I mean, you for your idea. I mean, I just got your the first Comedy Club. And I just remember how excited I was to, you know, to go on the road. And it was just, in fact, I know, I've told you this a million times. But I was going to take the bus from LA, because I was scared of flying back then. So I had to leave at like, three in the morning. And then I went to the bus terminal in downtown LA was such scuzzy people. I said, I'd rather die
in a plane crash. So that's how I learned to break my I broke my fear of flying by working for you. And, and going, but sometimes you have me there. You know, when you had the Citrus Heights club, but 2466 times a year, it was just great. You know, get you on the phone, get all my dates at once. It's really terrific. I wish that we could have those days back.
Yeah, I think we lived at a golden time for staples. And,
and you were smart. And you were smart enough. I don't know how to figure this out. And you were right there. You were there before. anybody? Anybody on the West Coast. And from you, you went to help those people from? I won't mention any names. But you helped those people in San Jose, and they wound up having more clubs than you. Did they ever thank you for that.
They made millions and I pounded away on my little club, but I had a good life and I met people like you.
Yeah, they that you? Yeah, you schooled them. And they and they, yeah, they learned from you.
Yeah. Well, I guess it's true that in even back in the day, and up until now, we both feel it's okay to share pass along what we've learned. I'm doing it. Yeah, I'm still producing a few small shows here in Elk Grove. You're doing it by helping Josh and and who knows maybe some other young comics someday you
did it. You paid it forward. And let me tell you, they just bought their 19 FLIR jet, because you help them.
They have I guess,
solid gold, their home, everything because you and you paid it forward. And now go out onto high five and jump in front of the truck as it's coming today.
Well, I want to thank you for sharing a little bit of your story about how you've mentored Joe. And I think that for my listening audience, what I wanted to share today is that we are giving back that we are trying to help the next generation and even though we don't always understand everything they're doing because of the generation gaps when our hearts are in the right place, and I think we're having an impact. Bruce, thank you so much for being on the show. You're
welcome, Scott. Ladies and gentlemen, we hope enjoyed this short conversation about giving back and the art of Stand Up Comedy next week, we'll have another great show. Hey, thanks for listening. Bye.
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