Here's a weird story. Last night, there was a taping of America's Got Talent at the Pantages Theater here in Los Angeles. A comedian comes out and does a bit that goes over quite well. When it's time for Howie Mandel (one of the judges) to give his critique, he says that he recognizes the routine as very similar to one performed by another comedian, Frank Nicotero. And here's the really weird part: Frank Nicotero is in the theater. He's the warm-up comedian for America's Got Talent.
I always wonder about this kind of thing. It's one thing to steal another comic's material and do it in some comedy club that he'll never visit. It's another thing to do it on national TV where either he'll see it or someone who knows the material will call and tell him. You'd think no one would do this simply because they'll never get away with it…and yet every so often, someone attempts it. Back when he was in the cast of Saturday Night Live, Jay Mohr "wrote" and performed an entire sketch that even he had to later admit was plagiarized from a comedian named Rick Shapiro. This is like robbing a bank and leaving your driver's license with the teller.
Here's a report on what happened at the America's Got Talent taping last night.