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Catching Up With Comedians: Daily Summaries Delivered
by Rich Stein
Rich Stein, a long time standup comic, took a few years off the road to teach high school, get married, and have a kid. Now, retired from teaching, he is back on stages and reconnecting with old friends and trying to Catch up with Comedians. Plenty of funny stories, anecdotes and tributes to the greats both famous and infamous!
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- 1 weeks ago51 min
Comedian Jimmy Shubert joins host Rich Stein
Jimmy Shubert born and raised in Philadelphia was one of seven boys with a police detective Dad and a school teaching Mom. Jimmy attended a magnet high school for the creative and performing arts and he was a professional working magician by age 15. He especially liked taking the acting classes Jimmy started performing stand-up comedy right out of high school in the local Philadelphia area. He moved out to Los Angeles during The Comedy Boom of the eighties and after being noticed by Sam Kinison, he became one of Sam’s outlaws and performed with them in Las Vegas casinos, showrooms and at the Universal Amphitheater in front of 6500 people In 1997 JIMMY did well enough at the Montreal "Just For Laughs" festival to get a holding deal to develop a sitcom for 20th Century Fox JIMMY has performed all over the United States twice, China, Hong Kong, Singapore, Ireland, Mexico, and along with Drew Carey performed for the troops in the Middle East and Afghanistan for Armed Forces Entertainment. JIMMY Polkes holes and political correctness from a working man’s point of view. His latest album released on iTunes, Apple, and Amazon Music depicts that being a Comic in today’s culture is like walking through a minefield wearing clown shoes! His fifth Comedy album produced by Grammy Award nominated Dan Shlissel is entitled : "Clown Shoes!" Jimmy kicked off his very busy acting career in 1999 playing Vic Jr, the bouncer in the movie “GO” directed by Doug Lyman. That movie became a cult hit and catapulted Jimmy into many other high profile films such as Mr. and Mrs. Smith starring Bran-gelina, Jerry Bruckheimer‘s Coyote Ugly, One Hour Photo starring Robin Williams and The Italian Job starring Charlize Theron. On television Jimmy did fifteen King of Queens over five years, several appearances on Entourage and guest starring roles on Monk, E.R., Two Broke Girls and Disney’s hit show Zeke and Luther. Jimmy has been in all the big Documentaries about Comedy from 'Dying Laughing' to 'I am Sam Kinison' to the three part masterpiece by Mike Binder, which shows the entire history of comedy from the early 1970s until present time simply entitled "The Comedy Store!" Please Welcome a man who has truly been through every phase of show business from television, movies, stand up, magic and he is still going strong: Jimmy Shubert
- 3 weeks ago48 min
Director Linda Mendoza joins host Rich Stein
Linda Mendoza is an award-winning Director, born and raised in Detroit, Michigan. She was a Sociology Major before falling into the television industry. Linda got her start in the multi- camera/variety genre as a production assistant. She worked her way up on hit shows such as 'In Living Color' and ''Saturday Night Live." Linda’s love of stand-up started at an early age. Later her opportunities working with artists like Robin Williams, on 'Robin Williams at the Met', Billy Crystal’s 'Midnight Train to Moscow' and Martin Short's "I Martin Short, Goes Hollywood" allowed her to learn the art of Stand-Up from the best. The 'Chris Rock Show' for HBO would help her transition to full-time directing and the 'Bernie Mac Show' would be her break into narrative, episodic television. Since then, Linda’s gone on to direct over 130 episodes of comedy including, Brooklyn Nine-Nine, Black-ish, Grown-ish, 30 Rock and Scrubs. She has directed two features. Chasing Papi for Fox 2000 and Relationship Goals, which is currently streaming on Amazon Prime. She is so thankful to her family for all the love and support. Her husband, Tim, for being the perfect life partner. The beautiful young men she was blessed with, her son, John, and her nephew, Marccus. And of course, her best friend and sister through it all, Dora. She is so grateful to God, for guiding her and helping her succeed. Despite herself! Linda is proud to be a working member of the Director's Guild of America for over 35 years. Please help me welcome my very special guest today, Director of comedy from sit coms to specials and the coveted Mark Twain Prize for American Humor: Linda Mendoza.
- Jun 19, 20261h 3m
Comedian Tom Ryan joins host Rich Stein
Tom Ryan has been a full-time standup comedian for over thirty years. He made two appearances on the Late Show with David Letterman and recently performed at Carnegie Hall. Since he was about 10 years old, Tom wanted to be a standup comedian. The first standup comedy he ever heard was from David Brenner and George Carlin. At 26, he left an insurance job in his hometown of Philadelphia to move to Florida where he landed a job at a local golf course. The job lasted only 3 weeks. Ryan says, “Losing that job was the best thing that ever happened to me because it forced me to confront exactly what I wanted to do with my life.” He took a job as a doorman at the newly opened Comedy Corner in West Palm Beach. It was the lowest paying but most valuable job he ever had. It provided him with a complete comedy education watching acts such as Jerry Seinfeld, Dennis Miller and Bill Hicks. It was not long before Tom made his stage debut. Within two years he was working full time as a comedian. Since then, Tom Ryan has worked steadily at comedy clubs, concert venues and corporate functions across the U.S. In addition to his Letterman appearances, he has also been featured on Showtime, A&E, Comedy Central and NBC. He has performed as the opening act in concert for B.B. King, Natalie Cole, Jeff Beck, Earth, Wind and Fire, Aretha Franklin, Tim Allen, Steven Wright, Brian Regan, Gary Gulman, Jerry Seinfeld, and Dennis Miller just to name a few. Tom’s comedy can be heard regularly on Sirius XM radio. His original style makes it easy for him to write for special events. He regularly headlines corporate events including Citigroup, HP, Morgan Stanley and Church and Dwight. Tom believes that the best comedy comes from the most unlikely sources. Here is an example from his act: “I was driving around the other day and my oil light came on. But that little symbol looks nothing like an oil can. When it first came on, I thought well, apparently my car is low on gravy.” BOOK NOW (https://tomryan.com/contact) Please welcome: Tom Ryan...
- Jun 8, 202628 min
Filmmaker and Animator Gene Hamm joins host Rich Stein
This is Gene Hamm‘s third visit to my show. He brings a lifetime of art and animation to his third feature film Entitled: "Don’t Call Us, We’ll Kill You!" It will be on the Roku channel. In addition to his work for Disney, Hanna Barbera, and many others, he has also taught animation for over 25 years at the Art Institute in Marin County. He is also promoting his new online course where he will teach animation from conception to completion. In this class, Gene will take you through all the components of animation, voices, special effects, storyboards and you will be able to learn by the end of this course everything that it takes to complete your animated film. The course will be available very soon on Animation A2Z.com Please welcome the always busy and very animated Gene Hamm.
- May 21, 202640 min
Comedian Andy Huggins joins host Rich Stein
Andy Huggins: Andy Huggins always loved Comedy and has a vivid memory of the sound the audience made laughing hysterically in a huge movie theater, when he first watched the Marx Brothers in Duck Soup. After graduating from high school in Virginia, he started doing Open Mic nights and telling jokes between the musical acts. He moved to Los Angeles after Johnny Carson kept mentioning that all the wave of new comedians came from The Comedy Store on Sunset Boulevard. After working in LA for a couple of years, some comics he made friends with told him he should move to Houston,Texas to get way more stage time than in Los Angeles. He took their advice. Andy's story is different than most, even Rodney Dangerfield, who broke into Comedy in his 40s! Andy literally made it at age 68 when he brought over 40 years of doing one- liners in front of an international stage. His look and voice along with his integrity, work ethic and love for the craft of Comedy, ensures his third act to be a real barn burner! Ladies and Gents, Andy Huggins
- May 10, 202658 min
Comedian, Prop Master and Show Runner Joe Dalo joins host Rich Stein
My guest Joe Dalo was born in Philly and raised in South Jersey. He started out like most comics working open mics and progressed to the real comedy clubs like The Comedy works and The Comedy Factory Outlet. He also wanted to be an actor and he was in the road company of Toni and Tina‘s wedding. Joe had a building and construction background which gave him another side hustle; He started getting hired on prank and hidden video shows as a builder and prop-master. Due to his positive demeanor and leadership he worked his way quickly up the crew ladder because he was a guy who had the ability to hire the right people and get things done. He worked for years on Ashton Kutscher‘s show Punk’d and went from PA to Show Runner and appeared on many episodes. He has also worked on all of the Jackass films in every capacity and personally built the “BIG HAND” Which famously slapped everyone big and small. He can also be seen in the upcoming Jackass Five! He is also on a show currently running on Netflix called FOUL PLAY, with Anthony Davis; I saw it on my queue as I was scrolling last night. After all that, his love and desire to do standup comedy still prevails and he is still out there hitting the stages; ladies and gentlemen, please Welcome Comedian, Joe Dalo.
- Apr 24, 202657 min
Comic, Producer, Entrepreneur Rhonda Shear joins host Rich Stein
Rhonda Shear grew up as the youngest of four kids in New Orleans. Her Mom Supported her dancing and modeling while Dad instilled in her the Mind of the Business Model. She left Louisiana with a College Degree from Loyola University, and the Title of Miss Louisiana USA/World/International She headed west to Los Angeles where she studied acting and started paying her dues. She graduated from the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in Pasadena and studied with Harvey Lembeck. She eventually started getting small roles on television shows such as Chips and Dallas. Her natural ebullience and funny demeanor opened doors for her on comedies like Married with Children, Cheers, Three’s Company and the Dukes of Hazzard. She was even cast in SPACEBALLS by the legendary Mel Brooks Many agents and producers tried to discourage such a pretty and voluptuous young woman from pursuing the historically alpha- male world of stand up comedy however she followed her own intuition and before long she was working the Comedy Store/ Improv/ Laugh Factory circuit as well as going on the road and working steadily in the Las Vegas Casinos as a stand up comic. Her big break came when she was hired as the hostess of a show produced by USA Network titled “UP ALL NIGHT!” The show had been running for two years with the female hostess doing the Friday night ( Campy comedy movies) and Gilbert Gottfried hosting the Saturday night ( scary monster movies) Rhonda was a big hit and she went on to host alongside the great Gilbert for the next eight years ( 8 years on tv and over 450 episodes ) On my podcast Rhonda talks about the 2025-26 Reboot of the Up All Night show and all things in the RHONDAVERSE ; including her own line of Intimate Apparel which she started out selling on QVC / Home Shopping Network; including her signature “AHH BRA Rhonda is one of those rare humans who evokes inspiration just through her voice and spirit and her laugh which even having a slight cold during our interview she laughed and carried on like the true pro that she is. Ladies and Gentleman I am So proud to introduce Comedian, Writer, Producer, Entrepreneur and all around Neat Lady: Rhonda Shear ✌️💕🎙️🎙️🎬
- Apr 9, 20261h 10m
Comic, Actor, Writer, Director Ted Lange joins host Rich Stein
My guest today Ted Lange was born and raised in Oakland California. While most people would recognize Ted from his 10 seasons starring as Isaac the Bartender on THE LOVE BOAT; before that show he had already appeared in 4 to 5 films, was a regular in a sitcom that ran for 39 episodes and he had already appeared in the Broadway production of the musical HAIR! TED Lange is a GRADUATE from LONDON’S ROYAL ACADEMY and is also a MEMBER of the AMERICAN FILM INSTITUTE! Ted went on to write and direct a dozen episodes of THE LOVE BOAT and once that hit show wrapped, he has gone on to act in hundreds of different roles in television, film and the stage. While Ted has remained active and very visible on film and television over the years, his real passion is writing and directing for the live stage. He has penned at least a dozen plays for theater and has become a much sought after producer and director as well. Currently he is producing his passion project he wrote entitled: "Shakespeare Over My Shoulder;" where he spent years researching, interviewing and lecturing about his theory that Othello was not written by Shakespeare but by someone else. So keep your eyes out for his new play and other projects Ted is involved in such as The Love Boat podcast and many charitable endeavors in which Ted participates. Ladies and Gents: I am proud to introduce Comic, Actor, Writer, Director: Ted Lange
About Catching Up With Comedians
Rich Stein, a long time standup comic, took a few years off the road to teach high school, get married, and have a kid. Now, retired from teaching, he is back on stages and reconnecting with old friends and trying to Catch up with Comedians. Plenty of funny stories, anecdotes and tributes to the greats both famous and infamous!
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