Episode 928 - Eleanor Kerrigan
Marc:Lock the gate!
Marc:Alright, let's do this.
Marc:How are you, what the fuckers?
Marc:What the fuck, buddies?
Marc:What the fucksters?
Marc:What's happening?
Marc:I'm Mark Maron.
Marc:This is my podcast, WTF.
Marc:Welcome to it.
Marc:How are you?
Marc:I don't want to be negative.
Marc:I don't want to be seemingly cynical.
Marc:I don't want to be accused of being hopeless or defeatist, but on some levels...
Marc:And governmentally, it's starting to feel like the jig is up.
Marc:The screws have been put to this country by many of the worst of us.
Marc:And the rest of us are going to have to live with it somehow and push back where we can.
Marc:I don't know really how America adjusts to living under a sort of kind of American style authoritarian system.
Marc:But I guess we're going to we're going to learn because that's that's where we're at.
Marc:As I've always said, I hope the voting works.
Marc:I'm not hopeless, but but in order not to get kind of leveled and fall into ourselves or or give up or just go blank, go dark, go dead.
Marc:We have to figure out what our coping mechanisms are and how those can help other people.
Marc:I talked to my buddy, Dan Pashman, who was just in town here for a minute, and we were talking about his show, The Sporkful, and I said, well, why do you do the show?
Marc:And he said, I guess it's my coping mechanism.
Marc:And when I think about...
Marc:Doing this show, I think on some level, it's also a coping mechanism to have a voice, to think things through out loud, to talk to other people, to share those conversations, some uplifting, some disturbing, all of them seemingly very human and poignant in that way and grounding for me and for others who listen to it.
Marc:And I think maybe you should really think about your own coping mechanisms.
Marc:What are you doing?
Marc:Are they healthy?
Marc:And can they be helpful?
Marc:Because coping is going to be a lot of what we're up for.
Marc:Coping and action where we see fit, an action that is responsible in terms of the focus of it and not endangering yourself or others, but action nonetheless.
Marc:I mean, this weekend, Saturday, the 30th, protests against the policies at the border are happening all over the country.
Marc:You can go to familiesbelongtogether.org to find out where...
Marc:uh the closest one to you is and whether or not you want to make that obviously a show of support and bodies and anger and uh speaking up is not meaningless if anything it's it's completely powerful in that you know people know that there are those who have not given in or given up and still are fighting forward keep fighting keep pushing keep speaking out it's important it's important to maintain your own sanity
Marc:by doing that in any way you can.
Marc:And it's also good to sort of think about, you know, what your coping mechanisms are and can they be manifested into something that helps others?
Marc:Because learning how to cope is going to be an important part of the next forever.
Marc:And you have to, we're going to have to stand up for who we are and who we, you know, what we believe in and how to keep our sanity and help other people.
Marc:You know, I mean, it's just, it's just a reality of it.
Marc:Keep speaking up.
Marc:Today on the show, Eleanor Kerrigan is with us.
Marc:Eleanor is a comedian.
Marc:She has worked at the Comedy Store in many different capacities for many years.
Marc:She came out here as an actress from Philadelphia.
Marc:She ended up at the Comedy Store.
Marc:She was a waitress for a while, but she was also sort of Mitzi Shore's assistant and confidant towards the end of her life.
Marc:Now...
Marc:This was recorded shortly before Mitzi died.
Marc:Mitzi Shore, the owner of the comedy store, died April 11th.
Marc:God, time is just flying by.
Marc:And she was a very mysterious and powerful woman to very many of us, especially those of us in comedy, especially those of us in comedy who started at the store.
Marc:And we're almost kind of always reacting to her.
Marc:It was a mind blower, the dynamic of the comedy store back in the day.
Marc:And, you know, how much we needed her approval and her and for her to validate us and and coronate us into the world of comedy.
Marc:But Eleanor had had some sort of very specific and very personal stories about the comedy store, about about Mitzi.
Marc:about dice about you know the sort of goings-ons there but I do need again to preface that this was recorded before Mitzi died but but I still think that I don't need it doesn't need to be changed that much but I just want you to know that that since we talked about it Mitzi was certainly ill and she had been for years and Eleanor sort of talks about you know dealing with some of that but but it was before she passed away
Marc:so what have you been doing what have you been doing as nero fiddles what have you been up to you're watching things you're filling yourself up with uh with stuff that's provocative or or relieving or challenging what are you letting into your head conspiracy theories bad news
Marc:Are you finding any reprieve?
Marc:It was weird because a lot of people have been sort of telling me to watch Hannah Gadsby's Nanette on Netflix to the point where I'm like, well, I better watch it.
Marc:And to be honest with you, I wasn't avoiding it.
Marc:I don't watch a lot of things, generally speaking.
Marc:I don't.
Marc:Hold on a second.
Marc:I dropped my pen.
Marc:I'm back.
Marc:But I heard that.
Marc:And I think she would be an interesting conversation.
Marc:And the special is very unique.
Marc:It's incredibly compelling.
Marc:About halfway through, there's an incredible turn.
Marc:And it was really a sort of provocative and challenging, intellectually satisfying.
Marc:Second half of this special was more of a theater piece that dealt with the nature of comedy, the nature of anger, the nature of shame, the nature of sexuality, the nature of art, how patriarchy, misogyny, mental illness all play into this stuff, abuse.
Marc:I mean, it was really...
Marc:I had not seen anything like that put together in that way probably ever.
Marc:And it's got me thinking, you know, day later, two days later about a lot of stuff that she said about our shared profession, about, you know, gender relations and judgment and just being different.
Marc:And, you know, the price one pays for that.
Marc:So after that, I did, I think, the opposite thing.
Marc:And I went ahead and I watched Steve Martin and Martin Short do a comedy special.
Marc:And the juxtaposition was astounding that there is an element in in Hannah's show about, you know, comedy not really being sufficient, at least for her to process her real trauma and her feelings and and her, you know, her story.
Marc:A lot of the show that she did is about that and that she doubts its capacity to do that fully.
Marc:But then I watched Steve Martin and Marty Short and I'm like, well, sometimes it's just silly shit and that's going to make you feel better.
Marc:It might not help you process anything, but it might make you feel a little bit of a reprieve.
Marc:But I'll tell you, you forget that Steve Martin, sometimes you forget how funny he can be.
Marc:And that show was interesting too.
Marc:After all is said and done, after watching that entire show and after sort of like
Marc:kind of being annoyed with Steve Martin's departure from comedy.
Marc:But he did do some classic sort of Steve Martin comedy on this special.
Marc:But being annoyed with him for just sort of like, you know, retreating into banjo land, I'd never seen him really sit down and play it.
Marc:And in the middle of this special, he sits down and plays a medley of his own compositions.
Marc:And then a band comes out and plays with him.
Marc:But seeing him sitting there with that banjo...
Marc:doing his own compositions, the way he was relating to the instrument, the way he was feeling that instrument, and that instrument has a very specific feel, and to have control over that particular instrument, and to hear that control as a listener, and to see somebody who is so connected to it, I gotta tell you, it was pretty transcendent.
Marc:And I feel like I was watching Steve Martin do maybe the one thing he really loves doing, and he does it very well.
Marc:He also did comedy very well, but I just saw him lose himself in that banjo and that made it all worthwhile.
Marc:You know, and it was something that wasn't comedy, you know.
Marc:And I watched Hannah Gadsby lose herself ultimately in her anger and transcended her shame and her sense of victimhood, which she is not, through anger and owning her story.
Marc:And, you know, and that was moving.
Marc:You know, there is something.
Marc:Fairly amazing about losing yourself in order to express yourself, but also finding yourself in order to express yourself.
Marc:And sometimes it isn't funny.
Marc:Sometimes it's beautiful.
Marc:Sometimes it's raw.
Marc:Sometimes it's disturbing.
Marc:Sometimes it's provocative.
Marc:Sort of what I was talking about, those coping mechanisms.
Marc:How can you share those things to help others?
Marc:And how can you share your own feelings of what you're going through to elevate and not to distance?
Marc:Because we're going to have to come together somehow.
Yeah.
Marc:So, folks, now we're going to talk to Eleanor, who's got a great story, who's very sweet and very funny.
Marc:And I'd known her.
Marc:I'd seen her around for a long time.
Marc:We were never really close.
Marc:We never really talked much, but it was a long time coming.
Marc:She co-hosts the Comedy Store podcast.
Marc:You can get that wherever you get podcasts.
Marc:And this is me talking to Eleanor Kerrigan.
Marc:And again, this is before Mitzi Shore died on April 11th.
Marc:But a lot about Mitzi Shore.
Marc:Rest in peace.
Marc:Thank you.
Marc:I'm trying to get a timeline because I don't really know you that well, but a lot of it has to do with the fact that when someone's a waitress at the store or an active waitress, I'm friendly, but I don't engage at all, really.
Guest:No, I completely understand.
Guest:And I have so many comics like that.
Marc:Are there?
Marc:Yeah.
Marc:Some guys do, but I guess there are other guys who are sort of like, I'm not going to even...
Guest:Well, the guys that do are usually the ones trying to sleep with the waitresses, so it's a little different, but... That still happens, right?
Guest:Oh, of course.
Guest:Of course.
Guest:Yeah.
Guest:I used to hire them, and I'd see the look in a comic's eye, and I'd be like, oh, God, she'll be gone in a week.
Guest:This is going to be a problem.
Marc:Someone's going to fuck her out of a job.
Guest:Or I'd hire a waitress, and she'd be like, oh, my God, does Polly Shore come here?
Guest:Oh, no.
Guest:And I'd be like, all right, you could just... No.
Guest:Give me your apron.
Marc:Give me your apron.
No.
Marc:So when did you start working there?
Guest:I started March 93.
Guest:Oh, 93.
Marc:Yeah.
Marc:So I'm gone already.
Guest:You were gone, but then you came back a little bit.
Marc:Right.
Marc:Yeah, during the 90s, like in and out, but it was still weird for me there.
Guest:So many people say that.
Marc:But in 93, so you were a waitress.
Guest:Yeah, I was a waitress and then I quickly moved up because not that there's an up in waiting tables because I didn't think of that.
Guest:I moved here to be an actress.
Marc:But there's a system to the store.
Guest:Yeah, especially the store.
Guest:And what happened was she fired four waitresses in one night because they were eating carnies.
Marc:In the kitchen?
Guest:In the kitchen, and she hated the smell.
Guest:She banned carnies, and she fired four waitresses.
Marc:She hated the smell?
Marc:God, I think I should have known that.
Marc:I mean, when I was a dormant guy, I used to drive the Jeep, too.
Marc:I'd have to go get her that chicken salad, the Chinese chicken salad from Chin Chin.
Sure.
Marc:So you knew her when she was cognizant and wearing her feather boa and driving her Jag still?
Guest:Sure.
Guest:And if certain people came to the house, she'd make me hide her monkey furs.
Marc:Oh, really?
Guest:I was like, I don't.
Guest:What does that mean?
Guest:But apparently they're not only are they illegal, but they're very expensive.
Marc:She had monkey first.
Marc:She has two of them.
Marc:You dealt with her at the house early on?
Guest:No, this wasn't until later.
Guest:That's what I'm saying.
Guest:I moved up because those girls got fired.
Guest:So I was new.
Guest:I was three months in.
Guest:They were like, oh, you have to take the whole main room.
Guest:I'm like, what?
Guest:They're like, yeah, everybody got fired tonight.
Guest:The whole main room?
Marc:That was in the dark days, right?
Marc:Was it filled up then?
Guest:No, 93 was still good.
Guest:They were still doing three shows in the OR and two shows in the main room.
Marc:Oh, wow.
Marc:Yeah.
Guest:So it went down to like two shows in the OR for a while and then one show in the main room and then it became like benefits.
Guest:Yeah.
Guest:I remember seeing.
Guest:Not even weekends.
Guest:Weekends, Friday and Saturday, of course, but like during the week.
Guest:Nothing.
Guest:Benefits.
Guest:Yeah.
Guest:Or nothing.
Guest:Yeah.
Guest:So it got weird.
Guest:And the belly room was always busy.
Marc:Yeah.
Guest:Yeah.
Guest:That was always an outside promoter.
Marc:Yeah, when I was there, the belly room was for non-paid regulars.
Guest:Yes.
Marc:Yeah.
Guest:Wow.
Guest:That's amazing to me.
Guest:Only, right?
Guest:Yeah, pretty much.
Marc:And we had to pull audiences out of people leaving the other rooms.
Guest:That's hysterical.
Marc:You know, we'd be like waiting around wondering if we could do a show.
Guest:Like, hey, you want to come see me?
Guest:Exactly.
Guest:Come on up.
Guest:Like, hold on, I have to seat these two people.
Guest:More comedy.
Guest:Yeah, yeah.
Marc:More comedy upstairs.
Marc:We get into trouble if we divert them to the free show.
Marc:Oh, yeah, of course.
Marc:You're like the last one left outside of a couple of comics that knows the old order.
Marc:Yeah.
Marc:I mean, like, yeah, well, that was the weird thing about like Tommy for all his all for whatever it's worth, even though I didn't know him.
Guest:He pretended to know it, but he tried to keep it up.
Marc:Right.
Marc:He tried to honor it.
Guest:Yeah.
Marc:And I don't know how he learned it.
Guest:from her yeah but she was still like functioning when tommy started there yeah because she she was in the beginning stages of dementia so she took she he was very soothing to her yeah he would she would call up and be like oh that's happened because she fell asleep with the news on right and she'd think it happened to her and so uh this one night i remember at the comedy store she called and she was like i was just raped and
Guest:So Steve Ranazzisi, who was working the cover booth, ran to get Tommy in the main room.
Guest:But in the meantime, he stopped me in my section while I was serving drinks and goes, Mitzi was just raped at her house.
Guest:And I'm like, I looked up at him like, you son of a bitch.
Guest:Because he didn't know.
Guest:And then he walked away, got Tommy, and I gave my drinks out, went back to the cover booth, and I'm screaming at him.
Guest:And as I'm screaming at him, Vince Vaughn walks up and he's like, hey, guys, did I rape Mitzi Shore?
Guest:Yeah.
Guest:I don't know.
Guest:I mean, rape is a horrible word.
Guest:And I'm like, what?
Guest:How does he know?
Guest:He was sitting in my section when Steve said it.
Marc:So he followed me to yell to see what I was going to do.
Marc:But nothing happened.
Guest:No, she fell asleep.
Guest:She would watch the news and then have these bizarre dreams that things were happening to her.
Guest:Oh, wow.
Guest:So Tommy would calm her down and then go to the store.
Guest:And then she'd come back to, you know what I mean?
Guest:Because it was the beginning stages of dementia or whatever.
Guest:Dementia, I think, is the best one.
Marc:Wow.
Marc:But she has Parkinson's, right?
Guest:Well, if you say that, she won't talk to you.
Guest:But we don't know.
Guest:Every time I would take her to a doctor, if a doctor would say Parkinson's or Alzheimer's, she'd leave.
Guest:And I'd be like, but we're not getting anywhere.
Guest:And then if they said dementia, she'd be like, well, that one's better.
Guest:i'm like you can't pick what it is lady but she was nuts like that and i remember like one time we uh she was when she was she had gotten stem cell injections and they're illegal yeah in the united states right so one guy took her this guy bob wheeler took her a long time ago yeah and she came back doing back flips yeah so she thought okay this is the cure right and
Guest:And then a few years later, she was like, I'm going to go again.
Guest:And she brought me with her.
Guest:And this is the first time I'm leaving the country.
Guest:Like, I'm an inner city kid from South Philly.
Marc:What year was this?
Guest:2001.
Guest:No, no.
Guest:2001, 2002.
Guest:Around there.
Marc:And are you a comic or a waitress?
Guest:Waitress.
Guest:So you're the head waitress?
Guest:I'm the head waitress.
Guest:I was her assistant.
Marc:Baptism and fire.
Marc:Yes.
Marc:You carried the main room.
Marc:Four people out.
Marc:I know when I first got the job there, it was like a week before I was head doorman making schedules.
Guest:Oh, yeah.
Guest:Because they go through them like water.
Marc:Yeah, because no one wants that job.
Marc:They're comics.
Marc:Yeah.
Marc:We were all immediately afraid.
Marc:You didn't even know why exactly, but you'd start working there.
Marc:I was a doorman there, and it was just sort of like you just knew.
Marc:Don't let anyone sit in any of her booths.
Marc:Right.
Marc:And don't, God forbid, someone take that parking space.
Guest:And make sure you have peanuts and popcorn.
Marc:I don't remember that part.
Guest:And German wine.
Marc:I don't remember that part.
Marc:That was later.
Marc:We were just terrified.
Marc:And then everybody would try to get in front of her.
Guest:Oh, yeah.
Marc:Yeah, yeah, to get the attention.
Guest:I remember the very first night I waited on her, I was like, hi, Mitzi, can I get you something?
Guest:And I squatted down, which she was very excited about, because she did not like waitresses standing up.
Guest:Yeah.
Guest:You block the show.
Guest:It's not about you, blah, blah, blah.
Guest:She gave you the whole speech in the beginning.
Guest:You're nothing here.
Guest:I'm like, but wait a minute.
Guest:Yeah.
Guest:But I get it.
Guest:What she meant was don't block her show.
Guest:That's the bread and butter.
Guest:Right.
Guest:And meanwhile, we were the bread and butter selling the drinks because that's how she made her money.
Guest:But whatever.
Guest:And so I squatted down and she goes, give me some quarnine water.
Guest:And I'm like, what?
Guest:And you can't make her repeat herself because that's another thing you get fired for.
Guest:What tonic water do you mean?
Guest:Quarnine water.
Guest:Is that how you say quarnine water?
Guest:I can't even say it.
Marc:What is it?
Marc:Is it the same as tonic?
Marc:It's tonic, right?
Guest:I had no idea.
Guest:I'm in the kitchen sweating trying to explain the Thai guys.
Marc:Quarnine water.
Marc:let's come back around to the trip to costa rica so so all right so you don't you don't know when you come out here you grew up where south philly so that's hardcore right that's inner city yeah we're a little nutty i'm one of ten one in ten like big catholic big irish catholic nine brothers and sisters how many brothers six boys four girls and where'd you come in the lineup eight
Marc:Really?
Marc:Is everyone still around?
Guest:I lost my sister Kathleen about nine years ago.
Guest:She had a polycystic kidney disease that she was fighting her whole life.
Guest:We didn't know.
Guest:And it's weird because she always used to tell my mom she was adopted and she was supposed to be with a wealthy family somewhere else.
Guest:And then when she got this polycystic kidney disease, they said it's hereditary.
Guest:And none of us had it.
Guest:And she's like, I knew it.
Guest:I knew it.
Guest:I want my rich parents.
Guest:Yeah.
Guest:And she was like, it's so funny, like the funniest person in the world.
Guest:But unfortunately, she lost her battle with that.
Guest:And she was on dialysis for like a little over 12 years, which is kind of unheard of.
Guest:Usually you use that to get in and out.
Marc:It didn't work out, huh?
Guest:So 12 years on there.
Marc:Yeah, it's a lot.
Marc:But she hung on for a while.
Guest:Yeah, she's amazing.
Guest:But she would go there and she would bring to her, like when she would go to dialysis, she went like three days a week.
Guest:And she would bring cupcakes and I go, Kath, a lot of those people have diabetes.
Guest:And she's like, oh, who gives a shit?
Guest:But that's how we are.
Guest:We're like goofy like that.
Marc:But did you grow up like, what did your dad do?
Guest:Oh, that's amazing.
Guest:My dad's a typewriter repairman.
Guest:That's true.
Guest:That's a real thing.
Marc:Because I saw your bid on it.
Marc:Oh, yes.
Marc:Yeah.
Guest:How embarrassing.
Guest:But yes, he had a typewriter.
Guest:It was my grandfather's.
Guest:And my grandfather made tools that actually only worked on typewriters.
Guest:So he never marketed them.
Guest:Yeah.
Guest:Because he's Irish.
Guest:You know what I mean?
Guest:We just keep it to ourselves.
Marc:Yeah, we don't want to let this out of there.
Guest:Don't let anybody know anything.
Marc:We can fix them faster and better.
Marc:Yeah.
Guest:everybody will come here yeah nobody came there and so my dad took it over and then my parents split up when i was like seven and um i would always go to the typewriter store because it was kind of a way of keeping up us keeping us off the streets as well like if it if you may feel like you had a job yeah kind of thing so but technically a lot of derelicts in your family um
Guest:What do you mean a lot?
Guest:I'm kidding.
Marc:How many of them did jail time?
Guest:We all are amazing.
Guest:Good kids.
Guest:No, my mom gets mad.
Guest:But I mean, we've had our problems.
Guest:But overall, it's amazing.
Guest:She's still around your mom?
Guest:Yeah.
Guest:We just celebrated her 80th.
Guest:I just came back.
Guest:That's why I was in Philly.
Marc:Not only is she around, she's relatively young to have that many kids.
Guest:She's so cute.
Guest:She's really little though.
Guest:I say each one of us took a vertebrae on the way out.
Guest:She's starting to shrink, poor thing.
Guest:But we gave her a surprise party last Sunday.
Guest:So it was like a big deal.
Marc:Oh, is that why you were in Philly?
Guest:Yeah.
Guest:And then I stayed to work at Parks Casino.
Guest:How'd that go?
Guest:It was great.
Guest:But it's just pay for the trip kind of.
Marc:Sure.
Guest:Like, mom, I love you, but I'm broke.
Marc:You got to go do the jokes.
Guest:Yeah.
Guest:And she didn't come this time because she got mad at me last time.
Marc:But why did you get mad at you?
Guest:Because I did a dirty joke about rosary beads and she was mad.
Guest:Oh, really?
Marc:So she hung on.
Marc:She's hanging on to the Catholic.
Guest:She still goes to church.
Guest:Like for Lent, she gave up.
Guest:She goes to church every morning for Lent.
Guest:That's her thing.
Guest:And then she gave up ice cream and picking on my brother, Tommy.
Guest:So everything's working.
Guest:Your younger brother?
Guest:No, he's the oldest.
Marc:You have two younger ones though?
Guest:I have one younger brother and one younger sister.
Marc:Really?
Guest:But we all got in trouble growing up.
Guest:I have two friends doing life in prison.
Guest:One's a guy, one's a girl.
Marc:From when?
Marc:High school?
Marc:Let's see.
Marc:Doing life?
Marc:They kill people?
Guest:I guess the one girl I lost contact with, the one guy we were still trying to help out, and then he messed up after my brother Jimmy tried to help him out and give him a job.
Guest:And on the job, he killed two people, so it was bad.
Guest:Whoa, Jesus Christ.
Guest:Yeah, we have some crazy...
Guest:People in our neighborhood.
Marc:Well, there's that Irish filly and then there's Italian filly.
Guest:And we're in an Italian neighborhood.
Guest:So our neighborhood is predominantly Italian.
Guest:But nobody really bothered us because I have six brothers.
Guest:So if you fight one Kerrigan, you got to fight the whole family.
Guest:Nobody wants to do that.
Guest:And then there was the Gallaghers and the Duffys and they were 11 and 11.
Guest:So...
Marc:So there's a few of you holding down the Irish end.
Guest:Yeah, we're just angry.
Marc:Yeah, but there's a type of disposition that is uniquely Philly.
Guest:Oh, yeah.
Marc:There's the type of Philly dude.
Marc:They all have the same haircut.
Marc:They wear roughly the same clothes.
Guest:You mean the denim jeans?
Marc:Yeah, but it's sort of a short haircut, right?
Marc:Yes.
Marc:And if they get glasses, they all have the same frames.
Marc:Pretty much.
Marc:Yeah, they all look a little like Joe DeRosa.
Marc:Ooh.
Guest:He's a suburb kid, but yeah.
Guest:But you know what I mean?
Guest:I'm just kidding.
Guest:I like to shit on Joe.
Marc:Yeah, yeah.
Marc:But you know what I mean?
Guest:Yeah, sure.
Marc:Sure, sure.
Marc:But there's different variations, and they're all loud and intense.
Marc:You don't have to tell me.
Marc:But it's unique to Jersey and Philly.
Marc:Whoa, whoa.
Marc:Oh, okay.
Marc:Don't put us in Jersey.
Marc:No, there's two different kinds, but it's definitely an East Coast type.
Marc:It's not in Chicago.
Guest:No.
Marc:It's in some parts of New York, the island and stuff, but not really the city, but Brooklyn, the Bronx, Queens, out there on the island.
Marc:But it's a very certain type of disposition.
Yeah.
Marc:You know what I mean?
Guest:I know.
Guest:It's my weakness.
Guest:Yeah?
Guest:Yes.
Guest:Oh, you like those guys?
Marc:Yeah.
Marc:That's right.
Marc:You were Dice.
Marc:He's a sheep's head bae for guys.
Guest:He's a sheep's head bae.
Guest:Yeah.
Guest:It was like, for my mother, it was like, guess who's coming to dinner?
Guest:But for my brothers, they were like, yes.
Guest:That guy.
Guest:That guy.
Guest:When Andrew and I broke up, the only one that cried was my brother, Johnny.
Guest:He's like, he's not going to be related.
Guest:I'm like, he wasn't related anyway.
Guest:They all talk like him.
Guest:Yeah.
Yeah.
Guest:I go, you're what he emulates.
Guest:You're what he's making fun of.
Guest:You don't even see it.
Guest:No, he's not making fun of us.
Guest:No, he's one of us.
Guest:No, he's making fun of you.
Guest:Jackass.
Marc:I'm not sure it was clear to Andrew for a while.
Guest:It still isn't, but I...
Marc:Yeah, he seems like a solid guy.
Marc:Yeah.
Marc:It's hard to get a word in, and you're not sure he's listening.
Marc:He's one of those guys where it's like, I'm going to have a conversation, but I'm just going to start it.
Guest:If I had to write a 1,000-page essay on all the words I got in while we dated, I wouldn't have enough words.
Marc:Oh, really?
Marc:Yeah.
Marc:I imagine that's true.
Guest:Yeah.
Marc:All right, so you're in Philly, and when you leave there to do whatever you're going to do, was it like you were running away?
Marc:Yeah.
Guest:Well, to an extent, because it was like I kept getting in the same circle.
Guest:You can't get out.
Guest:Yeah, it's on repeat there.
Guest:And it sounded dangerous.
Guest:I would fight a lot.
Guest:I had a lot of anger issues, so I would constantly get into a fight.
Guest:And if you fight with one person, they send 50 other people after you spread a rumor.
Marc:But the neighborhood seemed like you were doomed.
Marc:Exactly.
Marc:Yes.
Guest:And you just kept going in this never ending circle.
Guest:And so I was like, I tried to get out.
Guest:I started taking classes at Temple University, you know, and I'm going to Temple.
Guest:I'm a theater major and I'm wearing a Fila suit doing Shakespeare in North Philly.
Guest:You know what I mean?
Guest:Something wasn't, I wasn't getting out far enough.
Guest:So North Philly wasn't.
Guest:Or we'd take the subway back and then take with all these like normal, nice little college kids.
Guest:And then one time this homeless guy pulled a gun on us, but it was a revolver.
Guest:And I remember it was broken and you could see that there was no bullets in it.
Guest:And they were all scared.
Guest:And I'm like, get the hell out of here.
Guest:And I stood up to him and they lost their minds.
Guest:Like, what is she?
Guest:I'm like, what is she?
Guest:Pay attention.
Guest:There's no bullets in there.
Guest:This guy hasn't eaten in five days.
Guest:We could take them.
Guest:Yeah.
Guest:They're fine.
Marc:They always wonder why you didn't get off the train with the rest of them.
Guest:Why is she still on there?
Guest:She still wants to fight that guy?
Guest:No, I got to keep going, guys.
Guest:I can't afford to live on campus.
Guest:But so me and one of my exes, my ex Mario, I did a lot of Marios.
Marc:But that happened all the time.
Guest:Oh, yeah, of course.
Guest:Irish, Italian.
Guest:They love to hate and love one another.
Marc:Yeah, well, it's like they were always together.
Marc:They were always a couple of blocks apart as immigrants when they came here in New York and in Philly and everywhere.
Marc:So it was like, you know, whatever.
Guest:One had better food.
Guest:I'm not going to say which.
Marc:I'll get in trouble.
Marc:You don't want to insult your mother?
Yeah.
Guest:That's what my friends used to go.
Guest:Let's go over to the Kerrigan to get Irish meatballs.
Guest:And I'm like, what does that mean?
Guest:They're like, they're not Italian.
Guest:That's all we're going to say.
Guest:But my mom makes the best meatballs.
Marc:They were an interpretation.
Guest:But they say for the Irish, they're not bad.
Guest:That's kind of a compliment.
Guest:But they would always say, oh, it's Eleanor.
Guest:She's Irish, but she's more like Irish.
Guest:I was Italian.
Guest:Everyone thinks I'm Italian, but I think it's because the way I talk.
Marc:Yeah.
Marc:The hands go up.
Marc:Oh, yeah.
Guest:But I don't look Italian.
Marc:No, I don't know.
Guest:I have no pigment.
Marc:I don't know.
Marc:But you don't look that pasty.
Guest:Well, that's, what do you call it?
Guest:Foundation.
Guest:If I took my clothes off, you'd be like, oh, my God.
Guest:You are Irish.
Guest:Look at her.
Guest:You can see through her.
Guest:Like, it's just so bad.
Guest:But yeah, so me and Mario moved out here.
Guest:Yeah.
Guest:He, it just, I wanted to stay.
Guest:He didn't want to stay.
Guest:I got a job at the comedy store.
Guest:He couldn't find a job.
Marc:What was his plan?
Guest:I don't, his plan was to make me not move here, I'm assuming.
Marc:But he came out with you just because he was with you and you wanted to come?
Guest:Yeah.
Guest:And he was like, I'll come with you.
Guest:We'll go see.
Guest:Cause you know, I kind of want to be an actor too.
Guest:I'm like, you do?
Guest:Meanwhile, I was like going to classes and everybody was picking on me saying, you know, what do you think you're better than us?
Marc:Oh, from the neighborhood?
Marc:Yeah.
Marc:Oh, really?
Guest:Oh, all of a sudden, you're going to be like an actor, movie star, whatever.
Guest:So I was like, whatever.
Marc:Try to keep you, hold you back.
Guest:Hold you down.
Guest:Yeah.
Guest:Now they love it.
Guest:Now they're like, oh, she's a comic.
Marc:Oh, you got to see what an idiot she is.
Guest:Oh, yeah.
Marc:Thank you.
Marc:All right.
Marc:So you come out here with Mario.
Guest:Yeah.
Guest:Barrio.
Guest:Barrio?
Guest:Mario.
Marc:Mario.
Marc:Sorry.
Guest:Yeah.
Guest:That's OK.
Guest:You say Mario.
Guest:You've been out here too long.
Marc:But OK.
Marc:So yell at me for that.
Marc:He goes away.
Guest:We came out, then I got the job at the store, and then he didn't get a job, and then he tried to convince me to go home.
Guest:I couldn't do it.
Guest:Go home?
Guest:Yeah.
Guest:He was like, if you go, we'll go back, we'll make money, and we'll come back with more money.
Guest:And I'm like, that's never going to happen.
Guest:I know it's never going to happen.
Guest:If I went home for the summer.
Marc:You had street smarts enough.
Marc:Yeah, you'd have four kids.
Marc:With Mario.
Guest:Yeah, half Italians.
Guest:Please, my nerves if I did that.
Guest:But he got freaked out.
Guest:And when I was going to stay, he freaked out.
Guest:And we were living in this house, renting this house up in the Hollywood Hills.
Guest:And he just lost it.
Guest:And he came in.
Guest:He's like, you're going home with me.
Guest:I'm like, no, I'm not.
Guest:And he hit me.
Guest:And I've never been in a thing like that.
Marc:You didn't see it coming?
Guest:No, he snapped.
Marc:Like slugged you?
Guest:Yeah, like hit.
Guest:In the face?
Guest:Yeah, he hit me in the jaw.
Guest:I lift it in the doorway and I went down and I was like, holy shit.
Guest:For a second I was like, my norm would be to attack somebody.
Yeah.
Guest:I was like, there's something wrong with him.
Guest:He never did that before.
Guest:So I just grabbed the phone and I locked myself in the bathroom.
Guest:Yeah.
Guest:And I just called my brother Jimmy and I'm like, you're not going to believe this.
Guest:And he's like, did you kill him?
Guest:Like, you know, I was like, no, no.
Guest:I go, I'm a little bit in shock.
Guest:Yeah.
Guest:But this is what happened.
Marc:Good that you called your brother in Philly and not the cops.
Guest:I know how to work this.
Guest:He went home later that day.
Guest:And then his father gave my brother permission to kill him if he ever came near me again.
Guest:We don't need cops.
Guest:That's how fast it works.
Marc:Mario's father gave him permission.
Marc:So your brother called his father.
Guest:Yes.
Guest:And they gave him permission.
Guest:We don't do cops where I come from.
Marc:Not even a thought.
Guest:No.
Guest:Yeah.
Guest:I didn't even see Mario that day.
Guest:He just.
Marc:So his dad got hold of him.
Guest:Yeah.
Guest:He was gone.
Guest:And that was it.
Marc:Wow.
Guest:I see him from time to time in the neighborhood.
Guest:He's doing great.
Guest:But I knew there was something.
Marc:Do you marry him?
Guest:he's got kids yes and i i don't hate him i don't i knew there was something off he snapped out we were together for like seven years oh so we were kids you know right so it was like i knew he's not i knew there was something wrong it was something different it wasn't it wasn't just your average i hit when he doesn't do that he's never done that again since he felt completely out of control i think so completely alien environment and he snapped
Guest:Yes.
Guest:And I always felt really bad that that happened because he's just not that person.
Marc:Well, okay.
Marc:Well, that's good.
Marc:As long as you didn't say, I felt really bad because it was kind of my fault.
Guest:Oh, no, no, no.
Guest:It's always my fault.
Guest:No.
Guest:But not this time.
Guest:Yeah, good.
Guest:Yeah, I've been to Al-Anon.
Guest:Good for you.
Guest:My first ex-fiancee was an addict, so we went through some troubles.
Marc:And that was a guy out here?
Guest:Yeah, he was out here.
Guest:No, an agent.
Guest:Great guy, and he...
Guest:I met him like a year after living, working at the store and he was a booking agent for comics.
Guest:Yeah.
Guest:And then we got together, everything was great.
Guest:Yeah.
Guest:And he just went, again, my fault that he got, no, I'm kidding.
Marc:Yeah, right, yeah, yeah, of course, yeah.
Marc:But when he- I did everything I could to help him-
Guest:I did.
Guest:I tried everything.
Guest:I'm a fixer.
Marc:Yeah, sure.
Guest:I tried everything, but I didn't realize.
Guest:I never heard of that.
Marc:Yeah, right.
Guest:Of course, I was always taking the blame.
Marc:Yeah, yeah.
Marc:But that was just a neighborhood.
Guest:Yeah.
Marc:Someone's got to.
Guest:Somebody's got to take the blame.
Guest:He can't go in.
Guest:He'll go in for longer than you.
Guest:You know that.
Guest:Yeah.
Guest:So after we went to like a few different like promises, Betty Ford, thing like that, I called Argus because I needed help.
Guest:And I said, Argus, this is what I found in the apartment because he had a bad relax.
Guest:And I told Argus and he's like, you got to get out of there.
Guest:You're never going to see that man again.
Guest:I was like.
Guest:oh shit it's that heavy yeah and then he was the one that told me about alan on meetings and then i was like okay i get it yeah it's not me i can't fix this yeah it's not my fault but i also can't argues the recovery wizard yeah so you mario goes you're mario goes and that was that that was months into you being out here no that was a one month not even
Marc:Oh, so he couldn't handle it.
Guest:Yeah.
Marc:It was too isolated.
Guest:He felt lost.
Marc:He had no definition.
Marc:He was losing his sense of self, so he hit you.
Guest:After that thing happened, he went home.
Guest:He never came back out here.
Marc:So you got the job at the store.
Marc:You're just waitressing a few months.
Marc:You're head waitress, and Mitzi likes you, but you're still trying to be an actress.
Marc:You're not trying to be a comic.
Guest:No, no.
Guest:I was doing plays, and then I found out quickly no one comes to plays in L.A.
Marc:Were you training here?
Guest:I was training everywhere.
Guest:Yeah, Playhouse West.
Guest:I was at DW Brown for two years.
Guest:Wow.
Guest:I mean, I did a lot of Meisner classes.
Guest:Always took classes.
Guest:Always tried to stay sharp.
Guest:And then I would do all these plays no one ever came to.
Guest:Yeah.
Guest:I wrote a one-person show with my friend Jason Hartz that Freddie Soto directed.
Guest:Oh, wow.
Guest:Freddie Soto was my best friend.
Guest:And we had a blast.
Guest:Alan Steven actually helped us punch it up.
Guest:Oh, wow.
Guest:And we did it at the HBO workspace.
Guest:Oh, whatever.
Guest:And we were going to try to sell it.
Marc:On Santa Monica?
Guest:Yeah.
Marc:Yeah, yeah.
Guest:um and then we did it again at the black um at the complex on santa monica a little further down yeah so we were trying to run it to sell it yeah so we were trying yeah to you know because that was back when a one person show was viable and you know exactly you could get some people get some heat that didn't happen and just too many things were like not happening then i started wrestling but how long when did you start dating the uh act uh agent
Guest:Oh, the agent was before him.
Guest:The agent was in 94, 94.
Guest:Is he still around that guy?
Guest:No, and he got fired from William Mars for catering to his black clients.
Guest:And they were like, there's no money in this, right?
Marc:Yeah, and now he'd be a hero.
Guest:Well, here's the weird part.
Guest:He got fired.
Guest:They were like, there's no money in this.
Guest:You're wasting your time.
Guest:So he was like, okay.
Guest:And he screamed at him and he quit, you know, because he screamed back at him.
Guest:Yeah.
Guest:Like with facts of what he was doing, they fired him.
Guest:So all his clients left with him and they were Martin Lawrence, Chris Rock.
Guest:Oh, wow.
Guest:Tommy Davidson, Tori Adele Givens.
Marc:So he did all right.
Guest:Oh, he, they started Def Jam with Russell Simmons, like everything.
Guest:And so it just went off the charts.
Guest:And then years later, William Morris bought him back.
Guest:Uh-huh.
Guest:Like bought his company out and brought him back with all the clients.
Guest:And so he was amazing.
Guest:He was on top of the world.
Marc:Did he retire?
Guest:No, I think the drugs just took him out of the game.
Marc:Oh, so you met him after all that happened?
Marc:I met him before.
Marc:Oh, and then he couldn't get off it.
Marc:You never got off him.
Guest:And then he started and maybe I'm the problem because he fell down.
Guest:I'm just kidding.
Guest:Uh, but he, when he went down, it was just, I tried as much as I could to help him.
Guest:Everything.
Guest:I was hiding it from his clients.
Guest:Like Chris would be like, what's going on?
Guest:And I, I'm like, Oh, I don't know.
Guest:He's fine.
Guest:Yeah.
Guest:And then Martin was going through his own thing.
Guest:Yeah.
Guest:That was when he was on Ventura Boulevard with the gun or something.
Guest:Yeah.
Guest:He, we, I remember at Martin's wedding, um,
Guest:And that night, Billy left for a long time.
Guest:And I was like, where do you go?
Guest:And he's like, oh, just to do some stuff.
Guest:But I'm so naive.
Guest:I don't do drugs.
Guest:I've hung around all kinds of people, but I don't do it.
Marc:So I didn't... You didn't know that to me.
Guest:I just assumed, yeah, they were drinking or maybe took a pill or something.
Guest:I don't know.
Guest:I just...
Guest:I didn't realize how far it had gone.
Guest:And at that point, he wasn't even bad.
Guest:Yeah.
Guest:He had tried pure cocaine after that and couldn't get high enough.
Marc:Right.
Guest:One of his clients gave it to him.
Marc:Is that guy still around?
Guest:Nope.
Guest:Died last year.
Guest:Oh, no.
Guest:Nothing made me happier.
Guest:No, I'm kidding.
Guest:That's mean.
Guest:That's mean.
Guest:But yeah.
Guest:Yeah, he was an evil little shit.
Guest:Yeah.
Guest:But whatever.
Guest:And then ever since then, he tried.
Guest:But now he's back and he's doing his thing, but not nearly where he was.
Marc:Right.
Marc:And he's clean?
Guest:He's clean.
Guest:Yeah.
Guest:And he's got a kid and wife, so I'm happy for him.
Guest:Oh, wow.
Marc:That worked out.
Marc:People who lived through that 80s thing.
Marc:I agree.
Marc:Because I don't know that there are many people living that life now, but it was crazy.
Marc:I mean, I know it's around, but because it was so normalized then, the degree to people living that life was so crazy.
Marc:Because back then you could find any number of people to live that life with you.
Marc:And I guess that's still true, but you don't see it publicly as much.
Guest:No.
Guest:People try to hide it more.
Guest:Like, no, I'm good.
Guest:I'm good.
Guest:I don't know what's going on.
Guest:They put an Instagram picture with a filter and everybody thinks everything's fine.
Guest:Yeah, right.
Marc:So their eyes aren't bugging.
Guest:No, it's a filter.
Guest:That's just a filter.
Guest:I'm fine.
Marc:Yeah, that's the Coke eyes filter.
Guest:they should make that that would be great but you think of like even like freddie soto uh passing um what he would he fell off the wagon for the third time and for him what he did was i've seen people do that on a regular tuesday so it's it's weird what takes um all yeah ultimately like if you look up what it is like his what he passed from sorry i get weird when i talk about freddie but
Guest:He fell off the wagon, he was drinking, and then started doing coke, but he already was messed up inside.
Guest:He had fatty liver.
Guest:He had weird problems going on on the inside already.
Guest:And he didn't know about it.
Guest:Yeah, and the coronary said to us, just the amount of Advil that Freddie would take was ridiculous.
Guest:He said he would be dead in six months.
Guest:With or without falling off that way.
Marc:I heard that Advil's bad on your liver.
Guest:I know, but this idiot, and I could knock him out if I see him, but he would say, yeah, if you want a prescription Advil, just take eight regular Advil.
Guest:I'm like, who told you that?
Guest:He's like, no, that's true.
Guest:My whole family does it.
Guest:And I remember at his funeral telling his family,
Guest:you people really do this like i got lost they grew up in el paso it's just like yeah they make up their own shit yeah they all do it yeah and they didn't believe me and i was like because i had a tooth pulled or something like a wisdom tooth and i didn't want the medicine because it makes me nauseous right and so but i was in dire pain and he's like dude just take eight advil and i was like are you fucking with me
Guest:did you ask a doctor no i did later like two days later because i went in to make sure um get the stitches out or whatever it was they say and they were like no no that's not that's not real at all and i was like oh because he said this thank god i didn't do it yeah i mean cares but i what it might not have affected me as bad right i might not have the liver that freddie yeah yeah it's too bad i didn't really know him
Guest:Yeah.
Marc:All right.
Marc:So, so after, after the one, the, the, the stage show that didn't take, but you're still, you're still just trying to act in your waitressing.
Guest:Yes.
Marc:And you're becoming closer to Mitzi.
Guest:Very close.
Marc:And then when did you like, how did comedy happen?
Guest:How did Freddie, when Freddie passed, was that after the wrestling?
Guest:Yeah, the wrestling happened in 99.
Marc:After the show.
Guest:After the one-woman show.
Guest:And it's almost like the script.
Guest:I remember reading the script.
Marc:But you didn't do a one-woman show.
Marc:You just did the two- Right.
Guest:It was a play that Jason and I wrote.
Guest:So I guess, what do you call it?
Guest:Yeah, it was just a two-person play.
Guest:Yeah, yeah, yeah, right.
Guest:anyway we um after that didn't go everything was just not happening and i got this audition for wow women of wrestling and i was like i wonder what this is and it's almost similar to glow like where she didn't know what she was going in for and um i was saying i was waiting tables at the store i was in the kitchen and i was like man i'm i gotta go to this audition tomorrow it's stupid it's
Guest:it's in a hotel room lobby so you know i mean in a hotel lobby so you know it's a great one you know i could get an oscar for this for sure yeah and i remember telling like rogan and freddy and all these guys were hanging out in the kitchen then we started coming out with characters and so i have a baseball bat in my car naturally and i went to get it and i started like hitting things in the kitchen and i was yelling and doing like a heel character and they were like go to the audition and do that and i'm like i'm gonna get arrested yeah are you nuts and
Guest:And I went and I did that and they loved it.
Guest:And I was like, oh no.
Marc:Oh, now I got the gig.
Guest:So they gave me the job.
Guest:And I called my mom to tell her because I'm like, oh, she's going to kill me.
Marc:Did you know it was just wrestling at that point?
Guest:I found out at that point.
Guest:But I was like, oh my God, my mom's going to kill me because I'm taking this job.
Guest:I want to get out of the store.
Guest:That's another endless circle that I'm in.
Guest:Right, for sure.
Guest:I keep repeating myself.
Guest:I keep doing this stupid thing.
Guest:So I'm like, I got to call my mom.
Guest:And she hates it because I'm such a tomboy.
Guest:You know what I mean?
Marc:Yeah.
Marc:She did hate it or you thought she was going to hate it?
Guest:Well, I thought she was going to hate it because I'm such a... All she wanted was a little girl.
Guest:And then I came out rougher than most of my brothers.
Guest:And so...
Guest:She was like, I can't get this girl in a dress, you know, and all she does is play football.
Guest:I hate this kid.
Guest:And so now I'm going to call her up and tell her that I'm following technically her dream because she always wants to be an actress, but I'm going to wrestle.
Guest:So I go, it's going to be a delicate call.
Guest:So I call her on the cell phone.
Guest:I'm like, mom, don't get mad at me.
Guest:But I went to this audition and I'm going to take it.
Guest:It's a wrestling show.
Guest:And she was like, I'm so happy for you.
Guest:And I'm like,
Guest:really yeah and she's like oh my god they have great women characters on that show and i'm like they do mom it's not even on yet yeah what are you talking about and she goes uh she goes oh i'm so happy for you and i go you know what because it was 17 years ago i go i'm gonna call you back or 18 years now i'm gonna call you back from a landline uh when i get home because i don't think you're hearing what i'm saying yeah i get home i call her my sister karen after she goes yo you're gonna be on west wing
Guest:I go, no, nope.
Guest:She called the whole family to tell him I was on West Wing.
Marc:Not wrestling, West Wing.
Guest:So I have to explain to everyone that I'm not going to be hanging out with Martin Sheen.
Guest:I'm going to have a woman with a mullet and a sleeper hold.
Guest:So everything worked out.
Guest:And then finally she got into it.
Guest:Because I did take the job.
Marc:And what was the process?
Marc:Did you have to learn how to wrestle?
Guest:Everything, yeah.
Guest:They've trained us to be professional stunt people because where they made the mistake with the glow girls was they didn't really train them properly.
Guest:They kind of just threw them in there and those girls got hurt rather quickly.
Guest:Their big stars were getting hurt fast.
Guest:And so we were all, had to be trained how to go through.
Guest:I was chain smoking.
Marc:What was the name of the show at that time?
Guest:Wow, Women of Wrestling.
Marc:And was McLean involved?
Guest:Yeah, David was our guy.
Guest:That's the one you met at the store.
Marc:Sure, this was his second go-around.
Guest:This was his second go-around.
Marc:From the Glow Girls.
Guest:He was going to make it professional.
Guest:Everything was going to work this time.
Marc:He's a nice guy.
Guest:He's such a great guy.
Guest:I'm still very close to them.
Guest:I do commentary for them for their online show.
Marc:Oh, really?
Guest:Yeah, I love it.
Marc:Maybe I should get him in here at some point.
Marc:I think he likes Glow.
Marc:I think he likes the show.
Guest:Oh, no, he loves the show.
Guest:He was thrilled for it.
Guest:And I think they tried to help get some of the girls on, but I think they just want to be, they don't want real wrestlers.
Marc:They want it separate.
Marc:They trained all the girls to do it, you know, and they all can do it now.
Marc:Yeah.
Marc:Well, they got Chavo Guerrero in there.
Guest:Oh, that's great.
Marc:He's the trainer of them.
Guest:Oh, awesome.
Guest:Yeah.
Guest:Yeah.
Marc:So he's like on top of it and they got stunt people.
Marc:So they all learned how to do it.
Marc:But I do think that, yeah, they wanted it to be fictionalized.
Marc:I don't know how the original glow girls, all of them feel about it.
Marc:I know some of them are okay with it, but I imagine I know there might be some bad blood here and there.
Guest:Well, if there is, it's just because they're not working.
Marc:Right.
Guest:You know what I mean?
Guest:That's the problem.
Guest:It didn't stay on long.
Marc:Yeah.
Marc:How long did you wrestle for it?
Guest:We did two seasons, so it was like a year and a half.
Marc:Yeah?
Marc:And you were into it?
Guest:I loved it.
Guest:We did it at the Forum in Englewood, so it was amazing for me.
Guest:Yeah.
Guest:And I remember being at the top of that ramp during training, smoking, and the two trainers would walk by and go, really?
Marc:Yeah.
Marc:What was your character?
Guest:Easy Rider, naturally.
Guest:You were a motorcycle girl?
Guest:We were the white trash biker gang.
Guest:I was Easy Rider.
Guest:Then there was Thug was our leader and Charlie Davidson.
Guest:They're all very talented.
Guest:Peggy Flower is her name and Peggy Fowler.
Guest:And she's an amazing wrestler.
Guest:still wrestling i think she doesn't anymore but salina majors who trained us yeah trains these girls now that do the online and i believe it's still called wow like i remember telling dice and this was when we were just friends not dating but we were friends and i would say you should bring the kids to the wrestling because you're gonna hurt your woman parts i'm not watching that shit oh no
Guest:Even Mitzi, I would show up at Mitzi's, I'd have a black eye, or my arm would be taped up.
Marc:She'd go, what's his name?
Guest:Yeah, she'd go, you don't have to hide this, honey.
Guest:And I'd go, Mitzi, I'm not.
Guest:I don't know what you're saying.
Guest:I'm wrestling.
Guest:She'd go, Jesus Christ, who are you wrestling with?
Guest:She was terrified.
Marc:She couldn't wrap her brain around it?
Guest:No.
Guest:Iraria came, Rogan came, they would all come to see me wrestle, because I was waiting tables at the store still.
Marc:Oh, yeah.
Marc:Yeah.
Marc:Oh, that's nice.
Marc:They all came.
Marc:The boys.
Guest:Oh, yeah.
Guest:All the door guys used to come.
Marc:Dom's a nice Philly guy.
Guest:Dom's one of my favorites.
Marc:Yeah, I called him back.
Marc:My best friend.
Marc:I got to call him back.
Marc:Because it just dawned on me.
Marc:I was at the store.
Marc:I haven't seen him in a while.
Marc:So I texted him.
Marc:I'm like, you okay, man?
Marc:Yeah, because I was in my mind.
Marc:I'm like, has anyone got an eye on Dom?
Guest:Oh.
Guest:Always ask me.
Guest:I'm always talking to Dom.
Marc:Oh, yeah.
Marc:He texted me.
Guest:Anybody got an eye on Dom?
Guest:That's where we're at.
Guest:Anybody got an eye on Dom?
Marc:Yeah, yeah.
Marc:I just want to make sure.
Marc:Because I don't know.
Marc:But he always, oh, I'll see him tomorrow, I think.
Marc:But, you know, because we're always back to back at the store.
Marc:And he texted me.
Marc:I'm fine.
Marc:What did you hear?
Marc:And I'm like, I'm nothing else.
Guest:Did you hear?
Guest:Yeah, yeah.
Guest:Who spread a rumor?
Marc:Well, no, what he said, his first thought was like, I play a character that's sick on this show.
Guest:Oh, on I'm Dying Up Here.
Guest:Yes.
Marc:Yeah, yeah.
Marc:No, but he's fine.
Guest:Yes, because they took him to the hospital on I'm Dying Up Here, like for the show.
Guest:Right.
Guest:And so he was like, he goes, people are really going to think I'm sick.
Guest:I know.
Guest:I was such good acting.
Marc:Yeah, yeah.
Marc:I got to text him.
Marc:I forget to call him back.
Marc:I'm not great at it.
Marc:All right, so you wrestle for a while, but then still, when does comedy happen?
Guest:Not until, I didn't start until 2007.
Marc:So you finished wrestling, you're still waiting tables.
Guest:Still waiting tables.
Marc:Are you getting jaded and bitter about acting?
Guest:Not really, but I'm like, this is too much.
Guest:I don't know what to do.
Guest:I got to make a decision here.
Guest:And then I got involved with Dice, my second ex-fiancee, and I'm not a closer.
Guest:Yeah, we dated for like four or five years.
Guest:Really?
Guest:Yeah.
Guest:And he had full custody of his kids.
Guest:So I just started like, I was still waiting tables, driving his kids to school.
Guest:Like we were just playing house, if you will.
Guest:And then we got engaged.
Guest:And then we got engaged in April of 2005.
Guest:And then Freddie died in July of 2005.
Guest:And my world just stopped.
Guest:Like it was over.
Guest:And then everything's like, what are you doing with your life?
Guest:You know, like everything hits you.
Guest:And then 20 days later, my grandmom died on the 30th.
Guest:And I was like...
Guest:oh my god like it was just like getting all these sucker punches yeah and then i went home for a while to philly and it was just like i couldn't bring myself back to i don't know what i was doing like it's just weird so by christmas we broke off our engagement and then it was like i would break up he would break up and we went on and off for about i don't know five months or so and then after that we just
Guest:like kind of pounded it and called it quits, you know, we're like, Hey man, this isn't working out.
Guest:Cool.
Guest:But we stayed good friends.
Guest:I was so close.
Guest:I am so close with the kids and him and I love him.
Guest:I just knew that I needed something different and I didn't know what.
Guest:And so I started going back to acting classes and just seeing what the hell I was doing.
Guest:I,
Marc:Were you getting gigs as an actress?
Guest:No.
Guest:No, that was the other thing.
Guest:Did you have an agent?
Guest:Not at that point.
Guest:I didn't.
Guest:But Andrew and I did that reality show.
Guest:We were on VH1.
Guest:So we were still kind of filming that.
Guest:Yeah.
Guest:That was the big reality time years.
Guest:Right.
Guest:So I was trying to like move things off of that.
Guest:Nothing was happening.
Guest:And then I was just, I was going to move back to New York.
Guest:I was going to move to New York or Philly, East Coast, just figure something out, probably marry another Mario.
Guest:Mario.
Guest:And...
Guest:Not that one.
Guest:There's a few others I could get back with.
Guest:That one, he's married with kids, so there's a few other single ones I'm looking at.
Guest:Because comedy's not going great either.
Guest:So I started doing a one-woman show at that point.
Guest:I called Mitzi and I said, hey, would you mind if I did the belly room?
Guest:I want to work out this one-woman show.
Guest:I asked her and she was like, oh, that's perfect, honey.
Guest:That's what it's supposed to be.
Guest:And I was like, oh, yeah.
Guest:You know, like the one woman shows up there.
Guest:So then I called Andrew and I go, hey, I don't want to weird you out, but I'm going to do this.
Guest:And he's like, all right.
Guest:So he brought his new girlfriend who I hooked him up with.
Guest:I'm good like that.
Guest:And he brought her to the show to see me in the belly room.
Guest:And he was like.
Guest:You're doing stand-up.
Guest:And I'm like, no, this is a one-woman show.
Guest:I'm telling stories.
Guest:You're doing stand-up.
Guest:He's like, it's stand-up, stupid.
Guest:Like, oh, how did we not stay together?
Guest:This is weird.
Guest:And so you're so charming.
Guest:But he was kind of right.
Guest:And then he goes, look, in three months, we're going on the road.
Guest:So you got three months to come up with eight minutes.
Guest:And I'm like, what?
Yeah.
Guest:And so I was shit myself.
Guest:I was like, oh, my God, what do I do?
Guest:I started taking classes.
Guest:My buddy Adam Barnhart.
Marc:Stand-up classes?
Marc:You're the person that memorized Alan Stevens' act.
Guest:I'm aware of that, but I was terrified.
Guest:I was going on the road with Dice.
Guest:There was four people in the belly room.
Guest:We were going to the Wells Fargo Center.
Guest:2,500 people.
Guest:Right, right.
Guest:I was like, oh, my God, what do I do?
Guest:And so Adam Barnhart, who I love, does Sunday nights.
Guest:He teaches a class.
Guest:And basically all stand-up classes are.
Guest:They don't teach you how to do stand-up.
Guest:They just give you on stage.
Guest:They give you stage time.
Guest:Yeah.
Guest:So he would do that.
Guest:And there was a few comics that I knew in there that were still trying to get stage time.
Guest:So they were like, we'll take a class.
Guest:And they were helping me with tags.
Guest:Like who?
Guest:Court McCowan.
Guest:Oh, yeah.
Guest:Melanie Vesey.
Guest:Yeah, yeah.
Guest:Like, they're all people that are around that I know and I trust.
Guest:And Cynthia Levin.
Guest:Like, they were all helping just add tags and stuff to what I was doing.
Guest:Right.
Guest:So I did eight minutes.
Guest:And I...
Guest:killed in california they loved it yeah plus our show was still on yeah then we went to santa rosa california with dice great yeah everything goes great then we fly to new york and we're at westbury music fair theater in the round and andrew's like you gotta dress like this on you gotta wear high boots short shorts show your tough attitude i'm like but short shorts yeah i don't think that's gonna show my tough attitude right
Guest:And so he was like, no, they're going to love it.
Guest:They're going to get excited from you.
Guest:I'm like, okay.
Guest:And for some reason I listened because I figured he knows something about costumes.
Guest:So I put this outfit on.
Marc:You know something about like one costume.
Marc:You take him out of costume, he's wearing like knickers.
Guest:You should wear fingerless gloves.
Guest:What?
Guest:This is weird.
Marc:Does he wear capri pants sometimes?
Guest:I think so.
Guest:Yeah.
Guest:I call him pedal pushers.
Guest:And he goes, I know you're wishing me dead.
Guest:I go, that's not what it means.
Guest:You're not hearing me.
Marc:So you put the shorts on.
Guest:So I put the shorts on and it was like a cute, like more of a club outfit.
Guest:I wouldn't call it a go on stage outfit.
Guest:And I went on stage and he put two professionals out first.
Guest:Then they took a 15-minute... Don Jameson and Eric... I forget his last name.
Guest:They call him the old man.
Guest:But both of them have been doing stand-up for over 10, 15 years.
Guest:And had opened for Dice a few times, so they'd known the ropes.
Guest:Okay.
Guest:The audience.
Guest:Yeah.
Guest:And there was a fight that broke out during Jameson's thing.
Guest:And Eric, somebody threw up on somebody.
Guest:So they had to move that whole section.
Guest:Yeah.
Guest:My sister had drove up from Philly to see this.
Guest:I got her in and we look exactly alike, but we're 10 years apart.
Guest:Yeah.
Guest:And so I'm like nervous to perform in front of her and all these people.
Guest:And so they take the intermission, they send me out.
Guest:And as soon as I say I'm from Philly, they start, boo, fucked.
Guest:Philly, eagles.
Guest:And I'm like, oh my God.
Guest:It's the worst.
Guest:Because the booing just got louder and it went all the way around the room.
Guest:And you're a woman.
Guest:Yeah.
Guest:And they're from the front, the sides and the back hating me.
Guest:And then I try to get a few words in.
Guest:Like somebody was like, where's Dice?
Guest:And I'm like, he's up my ass.
Guest:You want to tickle his feet?
Guest:Like I lost it a little bit.
Guest:Like I went to the street.
Guest:And I tried to do my act.
Guest:I stayed out there for about five minutes.
Guest:I was supposed to do eight.
Guest:I think I did five and a half.
Guest:And I stayed out there, and I remember catching eyes with my sister, and she looked at me, put her hands up, like, what do you want to do?
Guest:I want to fight this whole fucking room?
Guest:We'll fight Long Island right now.
Guest:Like, I saw her anger, like, I'll fight everybody in this section here.
Guest:Yeah, yeah.
Guest:And it was so refreshing for a second, but I was sweating.
Guest:That sweat is the worst.
Guest:Yeah, my stupid costume.
Guest:I had a half bra on to try to make me look feminine, and it slid down.
Guest:And so now I have these two what looks like tumors on my belly.
Guest:And I'm trying to hold my bra up and getting booed.
Guest:And I finished my time, and I got off.
Marc:He did a whole eight?
Guest:I didn't do eight.
Guest:I did like five and a half.
Guest:I think I was supposed to do eight, but five and a half to six was enough.
Guest:Yeah, sure.
Guest:And I got off, and Andrew was like, I'm not going out there.
Guest:And I'm like, are you nuts?
Guest:They don't want to see me.
Guest:They want to see you.
Guest:And I built his confidence up, like the good, dysfunctional wife.
Marc:Good codependent you are, yeah.
Guest:You're fine.
Guest:They love you.
Guest:It's me that hate.
Marc:They were mad at them because of the way they treated you?
Marc:Yeah.
Guest:oh yeah and he didn't want to go out there and then he went out i convinced him to go out he had the best set i'd seen him have in years yeah um because he was so angry yeah and then i went upstairs and cried in the dressing room and called my mom and my brother tommy and my brother tommy was like they booed blondie they don't know what the hell they're doing i'm like this doesn't really make sense but i'll take it and then i got booed again the next night at the state theater in jersey
Marc:Oh, my God.
Guest:Me and Jameson.
Guest:Jameson was pissed.
Guest:He's like, I never get booed.
Guest:I'm like, I'm sorry.
Guest:I think I'm bringing this to the room.
Marc:No, like that audience could be monsters.
Marc:Dude, they were.
Guest:And I was like, why?
Marc:It's like what Burr dealt with in Philly.
Marc:Oh, yeah.
Guest:The Philly version.
Guest:That was him picking up for Dom My Rare, which makes my heart sing for him even more because they booed Dom because Dom, I think, shit on the Eagles a little bit.
Guest:And so my little sister was working that venue and my brother Johnny was in the audience.
Guest:Yeah.
Guest:So they booed Dom and Bill came out.
Guest:You booed Dom Irera?
Guest:What kind of people?
Guest:Like he just lost it.
Marc:I was like, yes.
Marc:You have a statue of Rocky.
Marc:He's not even a real fighter.
Guest:Joe Lewis lives down the street and you got a statue of Rocky.
Guest:Like, oh, he lost it.
Guest:And then he's like, remember when the flyers wore slacks?
Yeah.
Guest:yeah he killed terrific it's a game changer that thing oh my god yeah they everybody talked about that yes it's really great to watch so so okay so you took all these hits but then i came back and that was my thing andrew gave me uh like a year he goes look he goes uh you know i can't it's hard for me to take you out because if they mean to you like that i can't take it it hurts yeah it's too personal yeah so about he gave me about a year
Guest:to see if i really liked it stand up yeah yeah and kept doing it and then my whole goal was just to work so hard to never get booed again yeah so far been good that's great yeah and i go to governors i haven't gone to westbury yet but i'm coming back governors it's so funny like my memory of governors back when i lived in new york was they had a great sound system but i like they had speakers right up there right but i think the last time i played governors you could still smoke in there
Guest:Oh, that's funny.
Guest:Oh, you haven't been back?
Guest:Oh, okay.
Marc:Like I was a kid comic and I was living in New York.
Marc:I maybe did it twice.
Marc:But I just remember that it was just filled with smoke.
Guest:Oh, I love that.
Guest:Because I remember being a waitress and having to put ashtrays on my tray.
Marc:yeah yeah it was crazy just how much smoke was everywhere i'd smoke in the kitchen when they weren't allowed to smoke now in the showroom oh right oh really oh yeah hey do you know do you know my die story with with the quarters did you ever hear me tell them i don't know i think i didn't tell that on the earth quarters when we call it when when schubert got arrested no you didn't tell that
Marc:I told it to hear it before, but it was such a funny story, because I didn't really know.
Guest:Wait, Schubert got arrested.
Marc:Right, so something happened.
Marc:I was a door guy, I was living up in Crest Hill, and we had gone home already, but there was some tussle in the parking lot of the store.
Marc:Something went down.
Marc:Schubert got in some sort of fight or something happened in the parking lot.
Guest:And they angered the Philly Irish?
Guest:Yeah.
Marc:Right.
Marc:So they busted him.
Marc:They took him down to Beverly Hills precinct.
Marc:Okay.
Marc:And we got to be bailed out.
Marc:And Todd comes into the house.
Marc:He's like, they arrested Jimmy.
Marc:We got to bail him out.
Marc:And we didn't have any fucking money.
Marc:We're just up there like, I don't know what the fuck to do.
Marc:And Lemish goes, let's call Andrew.
Marc:Okay.
Marc:And so it's like 2.30 in the morning, right?
Marc:And Todd calls up Dice and says, Andy, yeah, they busted Schubert and he's down at the Beverly Hills precinct and we got to bail him out, but we don't have any money.
Marc:And Dice says, oh, I was just up counting quarters.
Marc:So I'll meet you down there.
Guest:Oh my God.
Guest:And we're like, what?
Marc:That's so mean.
Guest:But accurate because I know he was doing that.
Marc:That's the thing.
Marc:He's an idiot.
Marc:We go down there and fucking Dice shows up in like a tank top and he's got a bag of fucking quarters.
Marc:And he fills them out with quarters.
Marc:And they bailed him out.
Marc:That was just so funny.
Guest:He has more change.
Guest:I'm telling you, he could buy a house with the change he has in his house.
Marc:It was just so funny.
Marc:It's like, what does that mean?
Marc:Because me and Todd were like, what do you mean?
Marc:It's county quarters.
Guest:Do you really have quarters?
Marc:And he did.
Marc:He showed up with a big fucking bag of quarters.
Guest:And he had enough to bail him out.
Marc:Well, it was part of it.
Marc:But he did it.
Marc:He bailed him out.
Guest:Oh, my God.
Guest:I love that.
Marc:So now like out.
Marc:So you're still doing comedy.
Marc:You're headlining.
Marc:It's going OK.
Marc:Yeah.
Marc:Yeah.
Marc:And because you're always working.
Marc:And but like the relationship with Mitzi.
Marc:So like, you know, it's the same timeline.
Marc:But like, when do you start?
Marc:Like, when did when do you start like getting very close to her?
Guest:Well, when I was probably like 90, right after I left my first ex-fiance, she knew him well.
Guest:Yeah.
Guest:And she was going to hire him.
Guest:Yeah.
Guest:She was going to hire him because he lost his job because she didn't realize everything was going down.
Guest:And she didn't understand why it was going down.
Guest:Yeah.
Guest:And I wanted to tell her.
Guest:Right.
Guest:But I also didn't want to hurt him.
Guest:Right.
Guest:And a couple days later, I decided not to say anything.
Guest:I went to my South Philly roots and didn't say a word.
Guest:Right.
Guest:And then a couple of days later, she called me in her office.
Guest:Yeah.
Guest:And here she said, I met with him and now I know what happened.
Guest:Yeah.
Guest:And she she she just took him in like how he was.
Guest:She didn't ask him anything.
Guest:yeah why he got fired anything they just talked about what they would do with the store yeah and um just from that conversation she's like he's a mess i understand what happened yeah so she didn't hire him and then her and i got kind of closed because i kind of confided in her but i said please don't repeat that you know yeah and then she started confiding in me and then um just one thing led to another she wants to do the book she wants to do this it was more like get when i first started as a waitress she would call me flo
Guest:Not a compliment, but okay.
Guest:But she couldn't remember my name, but she knew she liked me.
Guest:So she would go, oh, give that to Flo, whatever.
Guest:And people would be looking for Flo for hours.
Guest:And I think that's me.
Guest:But then we got closer and whatever.
Guest:And then when we went to the Dominican Republic, that was probably...
Guest:2002 because it was after wrestling I wasn't wrestling anymore so it was 2002 maybe and it was right before I started going out with Andrew so we went to the Dominican Republic and I remember signing this paper that says if she gets sick they won't treat her in the states because this is illegal what we're doing and I'm like oh my god both of us are dressed in comedy store sweatsuits we look like morons you just flew down there and went right to the place we went to Florida and then there
Guest:And the whole time, like, I remember going through customs in the Dominican and she's like, these Mexicans are getting up.
Guest:I'm like, nope, that's not where we're at.
Guest:Quiet on the set, lady.
Guest:Like, just deflecting every awful thing.
Guest:And she's walking through customs like it's the comedy store.
Guest:Like, it's hers and she owns it.
Guest:Yeah.
Guest:And I'm like, hold on a second.
Guest:And they're like, like, they would just give her a look like she can't just walk through.
Guest:You know, I'm like, okay, hold on.
Guest:Excuse me.
Marc:Is it because she's mentally sick now?
Guest:No, she just has no time for people.
Guest:She's just motoring through.
Guest:And then I remember we go, she got the injections and everything, and then it didn't do what it did the first time.
Guest:Right.
Guest:the progression it is it does slow it down right but it's not a cure right and that's sucks because she wanted to be doing backflips when she came back and i i do remember signing that paper like oh god this is gonna be bad if something happens it's gonna be like weekend at bernie's right and and paulie's gonna be pissed at me and peter that i you know didn't do the proper whatever but uh she was i mean she was good but not as good as the last time yeah
Guest:So it was neat and it was fun just to do an adventure like that.
Guest:I remember in Miami that we had to walk about a mile from customs to the stupid place.
Guest:I hate that airport.
Guest:And she wouldn't get on the car.
Guest:She kept saying, I'm not a cripple.
Guest:I'm like, no, it's just going to help us.
Guest:We missed two flights because she wanted to walk tiptoe, tiptoe through the Miami airport.
Guest:I know the whole thing in and out.
Guest:She would stop and look at things.
Guest:I'm like, we've missed two flights.
Guest:Yeah.
Guest:how are we gonna get here it was oh it was brutal i lost eight pounds that weekend i kept tipping because i'd never been out of the country i didn't know i'm tipping them five dollars because she's calling them mexicans right so and they're they're like they're rubbing me down that five dollars is like giving a thousand dollar tip i didn't know yeah so i they would show up in the
Marc:So, and you've stayed close to her all throughout all.
Guest:Yeah, I try.
Guest:And I was fortunate to showcase for her only once, like live, like where she came in and she was like, it's cute, honey.
Guest:Yeah.
Guest:And I was like, oh my God, that's like a compliment from Mitzi.
Guest:But like not, like in the world of standup, they'd be like, that's not good.
Marc:You were in a tough position because she needed you for other things.
Marc:Yeah.
Guest:no i was done at that point ultimately i was out i was way out this was way after andrew this was oh so you left for a while years in oh yeah yeah because i left the comedy store in 2005 i quit yeah and then came back in 2007 as a comic yeah so for two years i was gone like not working did she pass you
Guest:No, she just told me I was cute.
Guest:And then I was like, but that's not bad because I remember I had waitresses that were comics and she, that's her.
Guest:She hates that when a waitress turns comic and nothing more than she just don't want a waitress focusing on when they're getting on stage other than how many drinks they're going to sell that night.
Guest:That's what she needs you to focus on.
Guest:So when, and usually when a waitress was a comic, they weren't that great.
Guest:I'm going to be honest.
Guest:I could think of three of them.
Guest:Yeah.
Guest:And they were pretty terrible.
Guest:And then we had a few that were great, but they came in as comics.
Guest:Right.
Marc:Yeah.
Guest:But now these girls specifically kind of put a bad taste in Mitzi's mouth.
Marc:There's no comics working now, are there?
Guest:Waitresses?
Guest:Yeah.
Guest:Well, we have male and female waitresses now.
Guest:Yeah, that's new.
Guest:We have Nick.
Guest:Yeah, Nick is a waiter.
Guest:I keep calling him a waitress, but I can't change.
Marc:That feels new to me.
Guest:He's a comic.
Guest:Yeah, it is very new.
Guest:But we had this Asian guy that we hired, Tony, a long time ago.
Guest:Mitzi loved him so much because he was super gay.
Guest:She hired him as a waitress.
Marc:Waiter.
Marc:Waiter, yeah.
Marc:It seems like everybody's making good change and good money and the place is blown up.
Marc:And it's a whole different vibe there.
Marc:It's kind of fascinating.
Marc:You almost want her to be around to see it.
Guest:Oh, she'd turn it around.
Guest:Yeah, she'd make a mess of it.
Guest:Well, because she had her own passion, her own drive.
Guest:Like she didn't like comics that were already, you know, comics, professionals.
Marc:She needed to have an edge on them.
Guest:She liked the edge.
Guest:She also liked to develop them.
Guest:She liked to, you know, throw her two cents in.
Guest:Like I remember Louis C.K.
Guest:showcased and she didn't pass him.
Guest:She said he's too polished.
Guest:What can I do for him?
Marc:Well, she told me once that I was a poet and I should wear a scarf.
Guest:Okay.
Marc:I wore one for a while.
Guest:Good for you.
Marc:I found a scarf.
Guest:People listen to her.
Marc:It's crazy.
Marc:I remember she used to tell me, you know she didn't get pompets.
Marc:It was a different time.
Marc:It was a different time.
Guest:She did it to Ari Shaffir.
Guest:I remember she tried to make him be a duo with this other guy, Dave Taylor, because they were both tall.
Marc:I know them, yeah.
Marc:Not always the best advice.
Guest:That's not what makes a comedy team.
Marc:Yeah, yeah.
Marc:Yeah.
Guest:One guy, she may go up with a puppet.
Marc:I mean, a doll.
Marc:If you think about those two as a comedy team, it would be kind of interesting.
Guest:Yeah.
Marc:Yeah, that might work.
Marc:It would be weird.
Marc:It would be angry and fucked up.
Guest:It was double anger.
Guest:Yeah.
Marc:Yeah.
Marc:But you go up there and see her now?
Guest:Uh, yeah, I do.
Guest:And, um, uh, I try to, I live close to her now.
Guest:Uh, so I try to ride my bike cause it's simpler to park over there.
Guest:And, um, so I'll ride my bike.
Guest:Sometimes I would bring comics that make her happy.
Guest:Like I brought Holtzman and Holtzman made her laugh.
Guest:This was like two years ago.
Guest:He made her laugh so hard she almost slipped out of her chair.
Guest:Cause he was just shitting on the staff that was working for her.
Guest:And I remember I brought her her favorite cookies from Canners and Holtzman ate the whole box.
Guest:I'm like, dude, really?
Guest:She doesn't want it.
Guest:She enjoys the company and then she'll recognize you, but she hasn't been speaking a lot, which is annoying.
Guest:And then I brought my friend Cynthia Levin and she started talking to us and we were like, but I couldn't understand her.
Guest:So I was like, shit.
Guest:uh i couldn't make her repeat herself because i don't want to get fired right she's still the power to fire i guess i don't know we all still live in fear man yeah i don't know i don't think about it much and i don't know if i have the wherewithal to go see her like this i i don't think she would want people to see her like that does that make sense unless she really knows you
Guest:Exactly.
Guest:And I've seen her, like I said, we went to Dominican together.
Guest:I've stayed in her house, like slept in the room with her overnight when she got real sick sometimes.
Guest:It was just hard because it was just like sad to see.
Guest:And, you know, I felt like she needed more professional help than me.
Marc:And she's got it now, right?
Guest:Yes, but it took a long time.
Guest:And like Polly, I remember this one time we did an intervention because she wouldn't let us.
Guest:Yeah.
Guest:So Polly and I had this like moment of years of fighting to like just holding each other and kind of crying together because it was just we were at our wits end.
Marc:Why were you fighting with Polly?
Guest:When I was waiting tables there, Mitzi would fight with him and throw me in the middle of it.
Guest:And so he would go, I'm going to fire Eleanor.
Guest:Okay, maybe Pauly did it too.
Guest:But he would be like, I'm going to fire Eleanor.
Guest:And she'd go, over my dead body.
Guest:And then he'd call me up and I'd be in acting class.
Guest:And I'm like, Paulie, I can't talk right now.
Guest:And he'd be cursing me out.
Guest:And I'm like, Paulie, I'll call you after acting class.
Guest:I don't have time for this.
Marc:You got in it.
Guest:It was two in it.
Guest:Again, it was like exactly what I grew up doing.
Guest:Like getting in these ridiculous situations for years.
Guest:I worked at the store for 12 years.
Guest:And I've been back as a comic now for 11.
Guest:February was 11 years I'm doing stand-up.
Guest:Wow.
Marc:Well, it's a good story because now things have leveled off there.
Marc:It's a different place.
Guest:It's amazing.
Marc:And you and Polly are okay?
Guest:Yes.
Guest:He's been on the podcast.
Guest:He came on the Comedy Store podcast and he sat down and I was like, I can't believe he's going to do this.
Guest:Is he going to curse me out?
Guest:And the minute he sat down, he's like, dude, I want to interview you.
Guest:And I'm like, okay.
Guest:And I just let him take control because I was like.
Marc:I've grown to really like him.
Guest:I feel like Pauly has grown, though.
Marc:He has.
Marc:In so many... I was there when he started doing comedy, when he was the character.
Marc:We had that sort of... The Weasel?
Guest:Before.
Guest:Oh, before The Weasel.
Guest:Okay.
Marc:Yeah, before he got the job.
Marc:So he was just the owner's kid, and he had one of those composite head shots with him in different hats and shit.
Marc:And he used to do this surfer character.
Marc:He had a hat he wore.
Marc:I've seen the pictures.
Guest:I've never seen him do it.
Marc:Yeah, yeah.
Marc:And he... There was a real...
Marc:there was a contingent of them that like saw me as somehow responsible for sam you know because like uh because like i would facilitate the parties up there like i was the guy i was the head door guy and i lived in the house and tamayo tsuki who sam used to fuck lived in the house so he bought so he would no cover night was like monday so yeah right and
Marc:So he would give me money and I would go get everything and get ready, get the house ready and hide booze.
Marc:So those of us who were left two days after the party started would have, I'd be like, I still got some stash.
Marc:Like I was that fucking guy.
Marc:And they started like, you know, Bill Kennison and Pauly and even Mitzi to a degree was like, man, Mark's doing, you know, he's in, you know, like when Sam fucking lost his shit on me and pissed on my bed and kicked my door in, like Mitzi just loved it.
Marc:And that was the, that tipped me over and I fucking had to cut out.
Marc:because i was losing my mind on coke but like they you know bill kennison like because i used to be in todd lemish's little vignettes as john lennon oh yeah and bill kennison would be like hey john lennon you're trying to take my brother with you like they were like and paulie was like what are you doing up there why are you trying to kill sam like it was like what how am i the guy i'm a fucking jewish kid from new mexico i'm you think i got any control over that fucking monster
Guest:You're just trying to be part of the gang, whatever.
Marc:Yeah, it was the wrong gang, let me tell you.
Guest:Listen, I've been in a lot of wrong gangs, my friend.
Marc:We're still alive.
Guest:Yes, we've made it.
Guest:I mean, it's... I don't know.
Guest:It's hard.
Guest:But, yeah, it is a different place.
Guest:I hate that I do it without Freddie, but everything else, it's...
Guest:And I wish my sister could see more of me doing stand-up, but she did get to see me perform in Philadelphia with Aerie Spears, gave me a guest spot at Helium.
Guest:And it was very beginning stages.
Guest:But again, it's just I know all these comics from all the years.
Guest:And every time I tell, I'll run into somebody like, I can't believe you're just doing comedy now.
Guest:Because Rogan and all those guys, they'd be like, why aren't you doing stand-up?
Guest:And even Freddie, every night, he's like, you should be doing stand-up.
Guest:And I'm like, I am a serious actress?
Guest:Uh-huh.
Guest:you don't know anything about me?
Guest:I'm gonna replace Meryl Streep, how dare you?
Guest:And Freddie would come see me do plays and I'd be crying on stage because I just lost my whole family or baby or it was something always awful.
Guest:I'm wondering why nobody comes to see plays.
Guest:Because they're terrible.
Marc:Well, you know, you remember everybody well and used to have nice things to say about everybody.
Guest:Yeah, but everybody was different.
Guest:And I only had a few fights with people in all those years at the store.
Guest:And Bobby Lee and I didn't talk for 17 years over Kirk and Pauly.
Guest:Because we had a big fight.
Marc:And you guys are okay now?
Guest:He came on the podcast.
Guest:We worked it out.
Marc:Oh, really?
Guest:Yeah.
Guest:It was pretty awful.
Marc:Well, you're the last, between you and the shores, you know, like, you know, there's not many people that know the stories, you know?
Guest:Yeah.
Guest:I wish I could, I got to get Becker on because we have some great moments.
Guest:Where is he?
Guest:Because I would spend days, he's here in the valley somewhere, but I would spend days with Becker.
Marc:Did you offer to go out there and do it?
Guest:Maybe that's a better, you know, to do that.
Guest:We can do that.
Guest:We're totally mobile.
Marc:You should.
Marc:Simple.
Marc:You should.
Marc:Well, it was great talking to you.
Guest:Thank you.
Marc:It was nice getting to know you.
Marc:We never really talked.
Guest:Yeah, because always at the store, you go on early.
Guest:You don't do the stinky late night spots.
Marc:I don't know what's going on after 11 there.
Guest:But you know what's great?
Guest:Even after the late night spots, they're killer.
Guest:It's packed.
Guest:It's great.
Guest:People stay late again.
Marc:And it's also a different place after like 11.
Marc:The turnover and then the...
Marc:freaks come and right still like that all the not you not the act the axe but like there must be a whole bunch of people that show up sure we have our shift of people we're like oh there we go yeah this is late night well i'll stay around i'll watch oh that would be amazing all right thanks thank you
Marc:There you go.
Marc:Another classic and terrific Comedy Store episode.
Marc:As I said before, I talked to her.
Marc:Eleanor co-hosts the Comedy Store podcast with, I think, Rick Ingram, who is also very funny.
Marc:You can get that wherever you get podcasts.
Marc:I got a little riff.
Marc:I got a little riff I'll share.
Thank you.
Guest:guitar solo
Marc:Boomer lives!