Podcast episode 261ish: Dylan Rhymer

Dylan Rhymer became the first guest of this leap year, 2012, when he dropped by the What's So Funny? studios on January 1st. He also helped set a record for the longest episode in series history at 1 hour 18 minutes 22 seconds, beating out the last episode of 2011 featuring Harry Doupe, who clocked in at an already impressive 1 hour 16 minutes 7 seconds. (For the record, third place goes to Larry Miller at 1 hour 10 minutes 52 seconds.)

But it's not about time, it's about content. And there's never a shortage of topics to talk about when Dylan's around. We discussed old-timey radio, religiosity, bike lanes, parliamentary assholes, public breastfeeding, North Korea and more.

So here you go. Have at 'er. Click and listen. Or download at iTunes. Your call.

Podcast episode 244ish: Larry Miller

It's great when people you've admired for years turn out to be great people. Such was the case with Larry Miller. I first saw him back on Johnny Carson's Tonight Show in the 1980s many times. Then he moved on to many a character role in many a movie. But he's still doing stand-up. And surprisingly, he admitted on this podcast episode, he feels he's just starting to feel he gets it after 32 years on stage. We sat down in his hotel room on an off-day shooting (he was here making another film) and he couldn't have been nicer. And what a positive outlook he has on life. He's a regular Benedict Spinoza. From The Story of Philosophy, by Brian Magee:

...[Spinoza] argued that it was absurd for individuals to be obsessed by their personal problems, these being merely petty concerns: we should try to see our problems as occupying the place they actually do in the totality of things; and when we do that we shall see them as insignificant – and this will greatly help us to bear them.

You'll see what I mean when you listen to the episode, which runs ten minutes longer than most of the others and could very easily have run twice that long. We talked about his days on Carson, starting out in New York with Jerry Seinfeld, and he offers many words of wisdom along the way. Enjoy.

As always, click below to listen right here and now on your computer. Or download it at, say, iTunes, onto your personal listening device to listen at your leisure whenever and wherever you like.

And check out some early Miller from back in the day:

July 31: Larry Miller

What an exciting weekend this will be, What's So Funny?-wise. It turns out it's also a holiday. Who knew? As it turns out, we have a very special episode of WSF? on Sunday (I always used to love to hate those "very special episodes" of sitcoms back in the day, but this is nothing like that.) The great Larry Miller will be our guest.

Larry Miller may not be a household name but he's one of the best stand-up comics of his generation. He was on Johnny Carson's Tonight Show about 25 times and I probably saw all of them. I used to watch Carson religiously and would pay extra special attention any time a comedian was on. And Miller was one of my favourites. Maybe you're a baby reader and weren't around then. Okay. Fair enough. If you don't know the name, you'll certainly be familiar with the face and voice – he's one of the top character actors around. His first biggish supporting role was in Pretty Woman but you've seen him in the Christopher Guest mockumentaries like Waiting for Guffman, A Mighty Wind and Best in Show or such mainstream hits as Princess Diaries, The Nutty Professor and Bee Movie. On the tube he's been Seinfeld, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Boston Legal and 10 Things I Hate About You.

Last Sunday night I heard Miller dropped in and did 15 minute sets at the Comedy MIX on Burrard both Friday and Saturday night. I was devastated that I didn't know about it since I'd never seen him live and was such a big and long-time fan. But a little birdie told me he'd also be dropping by on Tuesday and Wednesday. So I went down on Tuesday and finally got to see him. What a treat. And what a prince of a guy. I asked about recording a show with me and he couldn't have been nicer. He said he had time the next afternoon and he welcomed me to his hotel room where we chatted for about 70 minutes. If he didn't have to run and do a conference call, we could have talked for another hour, easy. So this show will run long (now that we have no show immediately following us). My levels, it turns out, were a little lower than his but that's okay because he did the bulk of the talking.

We touched on his appearances on Carson, his days starting out in New York with Jerry Seinfeld, his connection with other comics of any level, and he exhibited a refreshing perspective about life and show business that more people should adhere to. So mark this on your calendar. Chances are you don't have to work Monday morning so you can stay up. We get things started, as usual, at 11 pm on CFRO 102.7 FM, and you can livestream it here. Next Sunday, of course, it'll be available in podcast form.

And while you're at it, check out his blog/clog and his podcast, This Week with Larry Miller.