Louis CK on Lucky Louie, Boston roots

Louis CK had just gotten finished with his controversial appearance on The View when he got on the phone with me to talk about his new HBO show, Lucky Louie. The View’s female panel took him by surprise with their stinging criticism. "All of a sudden, I’m watching life and …

Alonzo Bodden on Last Comic Standing

In 2006, Alonzo Bodden was the unknown winner of NBC’s Last Comic Standing, and here is what he had to say about the aftermath of that (this is all before he came back in 2007 to be a judge on the show). Ant, who never came close to winning on …

Nick DiPaolo, off the air

Nick DiPaolo sometimes give off the impression of an anti-comic, or perhaps a rather extreme example of the comic’s comic, playing to his fellow comedians more than he does his audience. When I talked to him in June 2006, we began by talking about his online home, which, at the …

When Stand-Up Stood Out

You don’t need to be from Boston to appreciate When Stand Up Stood Out, the film by comedian Fran Solomita about the late 1970s and early 1980s, when Boston was, in fact, the Hub of the comedy world (or so it seemed). Think of Boston comedy in that era as …

The return of Last Comic Standing

Jay Mohr is out and Anthony Clark is in. Ponder that for a moment. Now let’s move on to a new season of Last Comic Standing. The first two hours aired last Tuesday. There’s an hourlong recap tonight at 8 p.m., but while you wait, here are some things you …

Greg Giraldo

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. My interview with him ran on Friday, and I went to see his show Saturday …

Barry Crimmins, on satire and Boston comedy

The political satirist often faces a paradox: The best of times for the satirist may be the worst of times for others. Which brings us to Barry Crimmins. Crimmins — former booker for the legendary Ding Ho comedy club in Cambridge and Stitches in Boston, now writer for Air America …

David Sedaris supports future planet of the apes

Yes, really. That’s one thing to take away from last night’s talk by David Sedaris at Symphony Hall. Sure, there were the amusing essay readings. About an hour’s worth of Sedaris. But then…the monkey. (Cue the flashback) The supposedly sold-out appearance by essayist David Sedaris at Boston’s Symphony Hall on …

Blackballed: The Bobby Dukes Story

Docucomedy or mockumentary? Either way, Blackballed: The Bobby Dukes Story is an amusing look at the people who play paintball — and Rob Corddry is at the center of it all as the movie’s comeback kid. The film starts a weeklong run at Cambridge’s Brattle Theatre. Corddry, 35, said filming …

Dane Cook on the night of “Vicious Circle”

I’d interviewed Dane Cook in 2005 upon the release of his breakthrough CD/DVD "Retaliation," but hadn’t really talked to him in-depth in person until April 15, 2006, the night he’d tape two sold-out shows at Boston’s TD Banknorth Garden for HBO’s "Vicious Circle." Cook took some time in his dressing …