I was recently voted into a rather elite group — a club of comedians and comedy writers, mostly veterans in their field, called Yarmy's Army. Founded by the late Don Adams in honor of his brother, Dick Yarmy (Don's real name was Don Yarmy), Yarmy's Army is a place where folks in the business of funny sit around and tell stories and provide general support for one another and select charities. One of its distinguished members is the guest this Wednesday on Stu's Show, the show biz interview program hosted by Stu Shostak on his very own web-based station, Shokus Internet Radio.
He's Jack Riley, a very talented gent. You have to be talented to steal The Bob Newhart Show from Bob Newhart.
My old comrade Lorenzo Music was one of the creators of the show and I asked him once if they conjured up the role of Elliott Carlin and then cast Riley to fill it…or if they looked at Riley, realized how funny he could be playing self-obsessed, paranoid and belligerent, and concocted Carlin to make use of all that. "A little of each," was Lorenzo's reply. I thought Riley was the funniest thing on what would even have been a funny show without him. But then Jack's funny everywhere…on cartoon shows like Rugrats, in movies (including most Mel Brooks films) and on many, many other TV programs, including Mr. Leno's.
Stu's interviewing him tomorrow. I think this is going to be such a good show that I've decided to tag along and be in the studio for the live telecast. Listen to it. Call in if you get a chance. I guarantee you a fine time.
Now, very important: This is not a podcast. You can't download it and listen to it whenever you want. You have to "tune in" when it's on…which in this case is from 4 PM to 6 PM Pacific Time, 7 PM to 9 PM Eastern. Stu's Show is done live on Wednesday and that's the best time to listen because, among other reasons, you can call in and ask questions. You can hear the show on your own computer by going to the website of Shokus Internet Radio at the appointed hour and clicking where you're told to click. The show reruns on other days, usually in the same time slot. Check out the site for a full schedule…and while you're there, take note of some of the other fine, free programming.