the comic's comic

Moment of Zen: The Daily Show with Jon Stewart presents "Our Moment of Greg Giraldo"

Jon Stewart took a minute out at the end of tonight's episode of The Daily Show on Comedy Central to say a few words on the passing of comedian Greg Giraldo, who died Wednesday at the age of 44.

Stewart said of Giraldo: "The comedy world lost a good man and a great comic. And he was the type of guy that, when you were working the clubs, he was just one of those guys that you loved to run into, because he was always a font of warmth and good humor, and just smart-as-hell comedy. And fun to watch, and funny to hang out with, and we will miss him terribly."

"Here it is, our Moment of Greg."

RIP: Greg Giraldo, 1965-2010

With a heavy heart, the sad and shocking news is true: Greg Giraldo died Wednesday at the age of 44. Giraldo had been hospitalized since Saturday evening in New Jersey after an accidental overdose of prescription medication -- he was halfway through a four-night run at the Stress Factory in New Brunswick, N.J.

A statement from the family and funeral arrangements, along with planned tributes and funds, are pending.

Giraldo's management, The Collective, issued a statement this evening:

The Collective mourns the passing of our great friend and colleague Greg Giraldo. As you may know, Greg was the father of three young children and genius comedic talent who was revered, admired and loved by our comedy community.

Comedy fans knew Giraldo as much more than the guy who torched celebrities and fellow stand-ups at Comedy Central's annual Roasts, or the third judge this summer on NBC's seventh season of Last Comic Standing. He was one of our best social critics, delivering biting commentary in comedy clubs across the country.

The fan who shot footage of Giraldo last Friday night at the Stress Factory, the night before his overdose, wrote to me: "After the show, he met his fans by the bar. I got a picture with him, and he also signed my "Midlife Vices" DVD. He was an awesome guy!"

His peers also knew him as an awesome guy and comedian. Several posted their immediate reactions on Twitter this afternoon and evening...

Jim Norton: Greg Giraldo passed away today. This is the last photo of us together, taken June 28 at Noam's wedding. RIP buddy.

Greg Fitzsimmons: RIP GREG GIRALDO. ONE OF THE TRULY GREAT COMICS AND GREAT FRIENDS

Louis CK: Greg giraldo was a good guy. The kind of you're always glad to see. Also a funny comic and person. He died today. Goodbye friend.

Andy Kindler: Rest In Peace, my sweet friend, Greg Giraldo. So brilliant. My thoughts and prayers go out to his friends and family. Love all the people.

Bob Saget: Greg Giraldo. Love and peace. So fucking funny.

Mike Birbiglia: RIP Greg Giraldo. One of the fucking best. He did truly smart comedy that represented the underdog & told the truth. A sad, sad day.

Chris Hardwick: I am floored by Greg Giraldo's death. This is fucking awful. Greg was a nice dude who was one of the best comedians of our generation.

Giraldo had gone through a painful divorce and a bit of a wild period thereafter, but seemed to come out of it clean and lucid this summer. When I last spoke to Giraldo formally for the site in May, he told me: "I've been through a number of crises on several fronts. It's hard to maintain several homes and fund several people..it's all been a balancing act...but it's all been good."

One of the first things I wrote publicly about Greg Giraldo in 2006 was this: "Greg Giraldo should be a lot more famous than he is. Of all of the stand-up comedians working the circuit and talking topical, few know how to tell it like it is like Giraldo can." I still feel the same way about him today. Psychology Today published an insightful interview with Giraldo last year in which they talked about coping with a fear of failure.

Here's a clip from his 2009 special, Midlife Vices, in which he jokes about drugs and alcohol.

I still don't know the specifics of what happened to Giraldo on Saturday, Sept. 25, 2010, but I do know that anyone with a substance abuse problem needs a support network around him or her at all times. If you know someone who needs help, please do not sit back. Help.

Tim Heidecker as Brett Gelman's comedy coach (as seen and heard at Comedy Death-Ray)

"I thought the whole point of this was to get the small part in the big Hollywood comedy movie."

-- Tim Heidecker, questioning Brett Gelman about why he was still hosting "shit shows" such as Comedy Death-Ray, in a surprise walk-on appearance as Gelman's "comedy coach" at Comedy Death-Ray on Tuesday, Sept. 28, 2010, at the UCB Theatre in Hollywood.

Related: You also can hear Gelman talk about comedy and hip-hop on the podcast Hype Men.

Dane Cook tells Jimmy Kimmel what he did on hiatus between comedy tours, and he told me even more

Last night on Jimmy Kimmel Live, Dane Cook stopped by to talk about his summer, and the things he has done to occupy his time in between massive stand-up comedy tours of U.S. arenas and theaters. He starts another tour this weekend in L.A. at the Greek Theatre.

Here's a clip of Cook on Kimmel.

The previous night, Cook sat down to dinner with me in West Hollywood and dished for a full hour about where his thought process is right about now. I'll post it as soon as I can set aside enough time to decipher and transcribe the recording off of my iPhone. In the meantime, please allow Cook to tease our latest interview and even turn the Flip cam on me. Note to self: I need to remember to look more Hollywood when I'm in Hollywood. Roll it.

2010 San Francisco competition: Who's in the semis?

Week Two of the prelims ended over the weekend, and the semifinals have begun in the 35th annual San Francisco International Comedy Competition.

Who is still in the running? After a car accident sidelined comedian Marc Patrick (!?!), whom we presume is OK otherwise (!?!) -- these are your 10 semifinalists competing this week. A winner will be crowned Oct. 9.

Tony Djamco, Los Angeles

Solomon Georgio, Seattle

Steve Monroe, Los Angels

Sammy Obeid, Fremont

Nancy Reed, Austin

Nile Seguin, Toronto

Marianne Sierk, Los Angeles

Auggie Smith, Portland

Kurt Swann, San Diego

Insane Wayne, Stockton

David Letterman advises Jon Stewart and everyone not to dine and dash on Oprah, or else she'll hate you

So now the truth can be told? Amid laughing along with Jon Stewart about his recent appearance on Oprah Winfrey's "final" season, David Letterman disclosed the real reason Oprah had been giving him the cold shoulder for years upon years. Turns out she doesn't enjoy "a little horseplay." And by horseplay, he meant a little practical joke he pulled when they were both vacationing on a fancy island and dined at the same fancy restaurant. Or maybe the restaurant wasn't fancy. Sounded fancy, though. You be the judge. Oh, celebrities. They're just like us!

Roll it.

Roy Wood Jr. on tour with Last Comic Standing, and now on your morning radio in Birmingham, Alabama

Roy Wood Jr., last seen on your TV dial finishing third on this season of NBC's Last Comic Standing, and perhaps last seen by you at a nationwide LCS tour gig, can now be heard by residents in his hometown of Birmingham, Ala., on radio station 95.7 FM "Jamz" in the mornings.

Fun facts, courtesy of the Birmingham News: Wood began his career with the station in 2001 as a comic on the Buck Wilde Morning Show, whom he replaced yesterday after Wilde took his show to Dallas. And his father, Roy Wood Sr., had a long career in local radio in Birmingham.

Jr. started the gig yesterday morning. I asked him how he could do both, and before you can say, "Ain't technology great?" he began texting me back with answers. He told me the official title is "The Roy Wood Jr. Show, That Comes On In The Morning, On Your Radio, Because You Can't Afford an IPod. 'Roy Wood Jr. Show for short.'"

How does he do the show from the road? "Remote broadcasting equipment. Still under contract w/NBC to do the tour. That goes four days a week until February. Aside from traveling to Birmingham a few days a month to keep the shows affairs in order, I'll be doing most of the show remotely. Not moving back to Birmingham. Even after NBC tour ends, I'll still be living in L.A. Trying to build this show for syndication in the next year or so. God bless the iPhone 4."

He added: "Plus being in L.A. gives me access to far better guests than the old morning show was able to secure. Most good syndicated shows rarely have all the elements in the same room."

Behold the magic of modern radio.

Greg Franklin's animated short series now includes this bit by Myq Kaplan on Jews and Sea Creatures

Remember the Comedy Central series, Shorties Watching Shorties? Taking a stand-up comedian's bits and animating them sometimes can be a wonderful way to, well, illustrate the story being told within the joke. OK, I clearly need to stay out of the sun. The heat is beating me down.

But I also clearly can see something that's great and worth sharing, and Greg Franklin's animation of Myq Kaplan is one of those things. As is his previous work with Kyle Kinane and Jackie Kashian. Pretty soon he and his company will have transformed enough routines from enough great stand-ups that someone with access to the programming keys at a TV network will acquire them as a package and broadcast them on a regular basis. Until then, just click on over here over and over and over again. Time to watch Myq Kaplan's bit on "Jews and Sea Creatures," from his CD Vegan Mind Meld. Roll it!

Wayne Brady gets Mike Tyson and Bobby Brown to remake Brown's "Every Little Step" music video

Would you like what's behind Door #1 this morning? What if I were to tell you that it's Wayne Brady, Mike Tyson, Jamile McGee and Bobby Brown remaking Brown's music video for his 1988 hit, "Every Little Step," choreographed down to every little step?

Don't believe me? Roll the clip!

But perhaps you're wondering why this would be a thing in 2010. Brady told Entertainment Tonight that he and Tyson were looking for something funny to do together. As funny as you may think it is to see Mike Tyson lip-synching and dancing, it's beyond surreal to then see 2010's newest edition of Bobby Brown doing what the 1988-1989 edition of him did in his prime. Then again, it still is his prerogative.

In case you want to do the time warp: Yeah!

Beware: Leaping into the Internet abyss will only uncover covers such as John Travolta and his daughter, Ella Bleu, and Old Dogs clips. Woof.

Please welcome Stiller & Meara to Internet!

Jerry Stiller and Anne Meara, for you kids who only watch King of Queens and Seinfeld reruns, are the parents of Ben Stiller. For you kids who don't know who Ben Stiller is, then, well, you're young. I get it. Stiller and Meara, meanwhile, have been a comedy and life team for several decades who graduated from Second City and performed regularly on the Ed Sullivan Show. For you kids who don't know who Ed Sullivan is, then me telling you about the Beatles probably isn't going to help.

All of which is to say that Stiller and Meara have launched their own Internet series. On Yahoo! Please welcome them. Roll the clip!

In episode two, Stiller and Meara briefly discuss the MTV garbage known as Jersey Shore. You can also follow @STILLERandMEARA on Twitter.

AMC Theatres ties re-release of "Back to the Future" film to 25th anniversary of the trilogy's beginning

AMC's cineplexes nationwide are planning two special screenings in October of the 1985 blockbuster movie, Back to the Future. The Oct. 25 screening happens 25 years after the fictional date in which the movie trilogy started for Marty McFly.

Check AMC's Back to the Future site for a location near you.

Who thinks ranking SNL cast members is a good idea?

As if the cast members on Saturday Night Live didn't already feel like they live in a constant pressure cooker already, wondering from week to week and day to day if they're ready for late-night network television and validated by Lorne Michaels to continue their comedy careers...now there are multiple people ranking them statistically and otherwise.

Splitsider launched what it calls an "SNL Horse Race Roundup," because performing comedy on TV is a horse race and the end goal is to be on the show more than your fellow castmates. What's that? You didn't get a lot of screen time last Saturday? Start worrying extra hard now, because your time is being tracked and compared to everyone else on the show.

Best Week Ever, which continues as a blog, if not an actual Vh1 show (so please stop pestering Paul F. Tompkins with questions about it because it's not his fault), has launched its own quantitative analysis and power rankings of the SNL cast. It assigns number values to each cast member based on his or her appearances as well as performances in sketches. Guess what, Fred Armisen and Bill Hader? You're winning so far! Isn't that great news you can take back to 30 Rock with you today?

Good grief.

It's one thing to assign arbitrary rankings to the fictional characters of, say, Mad Men. But that's a scripted series, taped well in advance, and it doesn't matter. Matthew Weiner doesn't even care. Probably. It's just good fun. SNL, on the other hand, is a very real thing with real people that appears live on the TV, with last-minute changes that alter and sometimes kill sketches at the very last moment due to time constraints. I'm sure the cast -- already perhaps avoiding the Internet to read recaps such as my own so they don't have to worry about criticism -- is over the moon knowing that they're now being subjected to power rankings.

Too soon for a Roast: Friars Club postpones Quentin Tarantino fete after his longtime editor dies in L.A. heat

For all of you people who thought the constant chatter from people yesterday about the heat in Los Angeles was a joke, or worse a bad joke, well, it has turned into sad news.

Sally Menke, longtime film editor of Quentin Tarantino, died sometime yesterday after walking her dog in L.A.'s Beachwood Canyon, in the Hollywood Hills near Griffith Park. The Friars Club had planned to make Tarantino the target of its annual Roast this coming Friday, Oct. 1, 2010, but told The Hollywood Reporter that it would postpone the event and find a new date.

Official statement:

 

You'll have to wait to hear the punchline to Aziz Ansari's new joke about two celebrities

 "Please don't blog about that joke, because I'm afraid they're going to find out and kill me."

-- Aziz Ansari, after working out a new bit at the "What's Up, Tiger Lily?" show Monday night in Hollywood, Calif.

Conan's TBS offices on the day Los Angeles melted

Oh, hello. Yes, that's right. In case you weren't anywhere near Los Angeles on Monday, Sept. 27, 2010, you may not have heard that Southern California registered its hottest-ever recorded temperatures yesterday. Through the roof triple-digit Fahrenheit readings.

We learned officially that Max Weinberg would not be joining Conan O'Brien and Team Coco on his TBS show when it bows in November. We saw that Conan and TBS have a bunch of short promo clips set to the 1980s tune, "Missing You." And we got to take a look under Conan's new TBS stage. Roll the clip.

But what else can I tell you?

It's not as if I've actually been inside the Warner Bros. lot and seen Conan's employees in their unnatural environment...(yes, I forgot to apply sunscreen)

They didn't make me sign any nondisclosure agreements, but I know that Team Coco is pretty set in their desire to break their news their own way. So. I shan't be giving you any sordid details. Although I can tell you that even Andy Richter wears shorts when the temperature approaches 117 degrees in Burbank in a dry heat.

Other tidbits I'm fairly certain I can reveal: They're out shooting their first actual video today that will air on the show in November. Also, if you're wondering what happened to Last Comic Standing finalist Laurie Kilmartin, she's now a writer for Conan. Congrats, Laurie!

Keep posted to Team Coco for further updates, or just to watch Conan get a Ph.D. to do a fan's astronomy homework.

Sue Galloway and High Treason present this ad spoof for Execedrin CD brand

Sometimes I turn around and find that the UCB's Maude teams have altered their rosters. They don't ask me, nor do they always tell me. NYC-based sketch group High Treason has added Sue Galloway (30 Rock) to their team, which is great news for an already fun team.

You can see Galloway right now in a funny nationwide Sprint ad. And now you can see her and High Treason in this ad parody for Execedrin CD, wherein the CD stands for cognitive dissonance. Also featuring: Marcus Bishop-Wright, Rob Webber, Jason Saenz and Sarah Claspell. Roll the clip!

SNL #36.1 RECAP: Host Amy Poehler, musical guest Katy Perry, and many cameos from SNLs past

Thirty-six seasons, and despite any number of people who say "Saturday Night Live hasn't been funny since _____ ______ left the show," the show goes on and on and continues to be an iconic television program that not only generates talk in offices and schools the following Monday, but also continues to contribute to the national discussion on political and social issues.

I'm not sure anyone knew quite what to expect for the start of SNL's 36th season, considering its four new hires constituted the biggest addition to the cast since 2001, as well as what effect the departures (planned or unplanned) of veteran wild card Will Forte and newcomer Jenny Slate might have on the show's pre-existing recurring sketches. Perhaps knowing all of this -- as well as the lackluster starts offered in seasons 34 and 35 by world-famous but not necessarily funny hosts Michael Phelps and Megan Fox, respectively -- Lorne Michaels turned to a trusted former star of SNL in Amy Poehler to host the premiere. Of course, as we quickly learned, Michaels looked to ensure the premiere was even more of a sure thing by inviting back several of SNL's other recent bright stars for cameos both brief and extended. So. Let's get to recapping!

The cold open is a dish best served not political, at least on my comedy plate, because in the past few years, the sketch has not been able to surpass the surreal reality of the current political situation. Such was the case with this look inside the Republican National Committee headquarters for a sit-down meeting with Delaware GOP U.S. Senate candidate Christine O'Donnell. We have so much recorded quotes of O'Donnell already to speak to her craziness (and visuals to show how she even at times has modeled herself directly as a Sarah Palin lookalike (!)), so much so that even casting Kristen Wiig as O'Donnell cannot heighten this. In fact, Wiig's mugging detracts from the satire here. But. Fun fact: We get our first glimpse of newbie Vanessa Bayer, who utters a line to introduce O'Donnell. Jason Sudeikis and Bill Hader play the hapless GOP party-line guys.

Now for the monologue. Amy Poehler introduces all four of the new kids to the SNL block, then has a dream sequence in which Nasim Pedrad takes over one of her characters, Justin Timberlake kisses her, Rachel Dratch comes back only to get carried away -- "Avenge me! Avenge me!" -- and Tina Fey and Jimmy Fallon take back Weekend Update, and Kenan Thompson plays Lorne Michaels with a nod to Inception. It's all for show, and for anyone who thinks it's too much of a gimmick, just remember that the season premiere is a big to-do each year, so why not go big!

Before we can get to the new kids, however, we're treated to more old-school SNL -- viewers of the Betty White and the all-star SNL women episode this spring will remember that putting on "greatest-hits" sketches generally leads to a well-liked evening -- so Maya Rudolph rejoined Poehler for another round of Bronx Beat. Of course, this time around, the focus is on musical guest Katy Perry and her "controversy" because she showed her cleavage in a Sesame Street video with Elmo. When is Katy Perry not showing cleavage? Wait, wait, don't tell me. I don't want to know. Poehler gets a good line guessing that Perry's bra size is 3D. Notice how Perry bounces up and down in her seat. Oh, wait. You probably already noticed that.

Time for our first fake ad of the season...

Artie Lange reappeared in public, dropped in for a set Saturday night at the Comedy Cellar

In a weird bit of timing Saturday night, as Greg Giraldo was rushed to a New Jersey hospital, Artie Lange was making steps toward his comeback in New York City, appearing at the Comedy Cellar and performing onstage there.

Craig Gass, who -- continuing the weird coincidences, was Howard Stern's temporary comic relief sidekick before Stern hired Lange full-time -- had flown into New York City to appear on Stern's show Monday morning. Gass talked about seeing Lange at the Cellar. According to Gass, Lange's opening line on Saturday night was this: “Well, I sure am glad that Fashion Week is over, because I am fucking exhausted.”

Gass also snapped this TwitPic of himself and Lange on the sidewalk outside of the Cellar, and wrote as the caption: "Good to be back in NYC and run into people I haven't seen in a while..."

It's just good to see Lange alive and out and about again.

Tosh.0's entry for "Most Perfect Internet Video Ever"

This just in from the offices of Comedy Central's Tosh.0. They call it "Most Perfect Internet Video Ever." Ingredients include kittens, creepy weirdos, skateboarders, accidents, Asian girls, Godzilla, and the inevitable groin injury. Pictured: Daniel Tosh, Chris Fairbanks. Pictured but in disguise: Joselyn Hughes.

Roll it!

Ed Helms: Beauty wasn't in the eye of the bobblehead owners for some in the American cast of "The Office"

"It took them two years because I'm pretty sure they hired second graders...I remember Phyllis was so upset because the first version of hers looked like Bruce Vilanch."

-- Ed Helms, discussing the official bobbleheads made for cast members on NBC's The Office, after Craig Robinson displayed his own giant custom-made puppet to be a guests on Seth and Ed's Puppet Talk Show on Saturday night at the UCB Theatre in Hollywood.

Background: Compare the Phyllis bobblehead on sale by NBC with a Google image search of Bruce Vilanch.

Related: See and buy The Office Andy Bernard Bobblehead or the The Office Darryl Philbin Bobblehead. Each retails for $19.