Day: October 11, 2010

If you're a fan of the late Robert Schimmel, but particularly on Facebook, then you've seen his family air some dirty laundry over the weekend as Schimmel's brother and eldest daughter squabble over how and whether to raise money for his surviving children. Jeff Schimmel, Robert's brother who also is in the comedy business, posted multiple updates to his friends warning them against donating to funds established from outside of the Schimmel family, then expanded his warning to include even family members. He has since deleted those Facebook updates. But in an email, he told The Comic's Comic: "I cannot condone what my niece is doing, but won't go into detail.  Therefore, I can't recommend that anyone donate.  Draw your own conclusions." On Robert Schimmel's Facebook Fan page, Jeff's niece and Robert's daughter, Jessica Katz, wondered today why her Uncle Jeff was trying to stop her. In an email to The Comic's Comic, Katz said: "I have no idea why Jeff doesn't want to help his family." Last week, Katz established a fund to help pay for the medical bills for Schimmel's other daughter, Aliyah, and his son, Jacob, both of whom were also injured in the car accident that took the comedian's life last month. As she explained on the site Help Bob Schimmel's Kids, Schimmel already couldn't work due to the liver transplant he was awaiting before...

Congratulations are in order for Auggie Smith, winner of the 35th annual San Francisco International Comedy Competition, which wrapped up its month-long contest over the weekend. Smith previously had finished runner-up in the SF contest back in 2001, but returned this fall to take home the victory. I first saw Auggie and beheld his manic ranting style way back in 1997, when he finished runner-up to Mitch Hedberg in Seattle's competition. Some say being older makes you wiser. Looks like as Auggie gets older, his anger comes into sharper focus. Or maybe it just fits his persona better, coming from the mouth of a 40-year-old instead of a twenty-something. Perhaps just as Lewis Black got exposed to a wider audience in his middle age, this win in San Francisco will put Auggie Smith front and center in front of more people. Here are your final standings from this year's San Francisco competition: 1. Auggie Smith, Portland 2. Tony Dijamco, Los Angeles 3. Sammy Obeid, Fremont 4. Kurt Swann, San Diego 5. Solomon Georgio, Seattle Want to see some recent video featuring Mr. Auggie Smith? Here he is on the Bob & Tom radio program this summer talking about how he feels about the kids these days (and the parents who are failing them). Roll it.   And here is a bit from the stage this summer, talking about the...