Mitch Hedberg still plugging away at stand-up comedy
Comic Mitch Hedberg on writing: “Every moment of the day,” he says, “is a potential joke.”
Tom Alesia
September 8, 2004
Actors and comics
A comedian at heart:Louie Anderson returns to his comic roots
“You’re opening something – your chest cavity – that’s not meant to be opened. It’s not like the refrigerator door.”
Tom Alesia
July 24, 2004
‘Bell’ rings: Dustin Diamond cashes in as dimwitted stand-up comic
Exploring the underbelly of TV fame might have provided plenty of material. But Diamond’s caught between reruns and reality.
Tom Alesia
March 24, 2004
Tom Hanks: Playing tough guy, he seeks new kind of hit in ‘Perdition’
“Every time you take a job, everybody’s trying to figure out, ‘What’s the strategy behind him taking this? What does this mean?’” (His voice rises.) “‘That diabolical genius: What is he up to?”
Tom Alesia
July 7, 2002
At 77, Paul Newman remains on top
“I suppose the best actors are like children. And to the extent that you can sustain and maintain that childlike part of your personality is probably the best part of acting.”
Tom Alesia
July 7, 2002
Jeff Daniels: The actor’s work, in his own words
“Funny is funny. I’m a student of comedy. I really am. I love it. I will argue until the day I die that comedy is harder to do and more worthwhile when done properly – which means making the audience, not a critic, laugh – than drama. Do 200 people in a theater fall out of their seats laughing? That’s the verdict.”
Tom Alesia
March 16, 2001
Ed Asner slams Hollywood with spunk
“I don’t know which is worse,” Asner said, “the lack of senior presence on TV or the quality of it when they do portray us.”
Tom Alesia
October 8, 1999
Spike Lee strikes: Director speaks out in Milwaukee event
“(Quentin Tarantino) says he grew up around Black people so that makes it OK to use the ‘N’ word. That’s ludicrous. He leads young white America to believe it’s OK to use that word.”
Tom Alesia
January 29, 1999
Jon Stewart emerges from comic crowd
“A guy brought trained condors and one flew out in the audience, and we stood there dumbstruck while it bit an audience member’s back,” Stewart says. “I was staring at this huge bird gawking in the audience. The trainer’s sitting there, `Hey, man, maybe you should go to commercial.’ And I said (angrily), `Hey, maybe you should get your bird.'”
Tom Alesia
November 20, 1997
Bob Newhart: A Standup Guy
“When I was in accounting, I’d call a friend up on the phone and do these comedy routines. Eventually, I decided I would give comedy a try for a year or two. Warner Bros. liked my tapes. They said, ‘We’ll record you at your nightclub gig.’ I said, ‘Well, we have a problem there because I’ve never played a nightclub.'”
Tom Alesia
February 27, 1997
Chris Farley mania: TV comedian returns to Madison
“It’s weird, but I love it,” said Farley, after he greeted well-wishers. “A lot of guys from (‘SNL’) will say, ‘Man, was I harassed by those people.’ I think, ‘Why are you in this business?’ It comes with the territory.”
Tom Alesia
July 16, 1993
Joan Rivers never runs dry
Joan Rivers, her tiny and freakishly obedient dog Spike, and Illinois’ preppie first lady stood silently in the dimly lit room where Lincoln’s tomb sits. History never blended such an unusual trio to mourn Abe.
Tom Alesia
March 27, 1992
John Waters: The weird world of the cult and pop culture filmmaker
“‘Hairspray’ would be the perfect movie to show on airline flights,” Waters says. “There’s music and dancing, no sex or violence. They said they couldn’t show it because Divine, who played a loving mother, is in it. I know if John Candy had played the role, they would have shown it.”
Tom Alesia
April 11, 1991
Sam Kinison: Comedy and controversy
“I’ve always tried to look for a clever angle in a punch line rather than just do shock comedy and bathroom material. To shock was never a goal.”
Tom Alesia
February 21, 1991