Details About Rick Newman’s New Comedy Theatre In Manhattan

Rick Newman, the man responsible for Catch A Rising Star, which he opened in Manhattan at the end of 1972, has been a good friend of mine for many years, and he gave me this inside scoop which I will share with you Laugh Button readers.

Rick and his partner, Peter Martin, have undertaken a complete overhaul of what was The Triad Theatre on West 72nd Street, (which has been owned by Martin for the last 16 years), to come up with a place “non pareil” in New York nightlife, (in other words, that can not be compared to, for you non-linguists), which will tentatively be called “Variety 72 Theatre.” Read the rest of this entry

Chazz Palminteri on Comedy, Chris Rock, and Richard Pryor

One of the perks of doing Comedy Matters TV is getting to see movies before they hit the theatre. That’s still as much fun to me as when I go into The Comic Strip and make my own drink with the soda gun at the bar. I never get tired of doing that!

I’ve been a fan of Academy Award-nominated actor Chazz Palminteri for many years, or at least since I saw A Bronx Tale, which came out as a film in 1993. It had actually been a stage play before where Chazz acted out all 18 parts by himself. Read the rest of this entry

Prayers And Condolences For Ardie Fuqua

Hands down there’s no nicer guy than Ardie Fuqua and no one who loved his kids more than Ardie Fuqua. What a shock to hear that he lost his 19 year old son Jamaal in a car accident this weekend. How does anyone make sense of something like that?

Jeffrey Gurian with Ardie Fuqua in happier times. Our thoughts and prayers are with Ardie!

The last time I saw Ardie and Jamaal was last March 31st, at Chris Rock’s The Motherf**ker With The Hat! I was there with Richie Tienken and Ardie and Jamaal sat right in front of us. He was so proud he could bring his son with him to see Chris and afterwards we all went up to Chris’ dressing room to congratulate him. Ardie was beaming as he introduced Richie and I to his son. He couldn’t have been prouder and rightfully so. He was a beautiful kid. Very respectful, and just like his Dad.

Most people who experience a tragedy of this magnitude are allowed to grieve, but comedians are in that rarefied place where no matter what happens in their lives they still have to go out and make other people laugh. It’s what they do. It’s all they know how to do. It’s in their DNA.

I pray that God gives Ardie the strength! My deepest and sincerest condolences to you Ardie in your terrible loss!

The 2nd Annual Comedy Awards: A View From The Red Carpet

After covering the first annual Comedy Awards last year in 2011, I looked forward to covering this year’s as well. I knew it would be exciting, and it was.

Exec Produced by legendary producer Don Mischer, directed by Beth McCarthy-Miller, and with a 32 member Board of Directors that included Brad Grey, Adam McKay, James Dixon, Jon Stewart, Sandy Wernick, Steve Levine, and Rory Rosegarten, it should be no surprise that it was a star-studded event. Read the rest of this entry

Artie Lange Pours Some Comedy Juice

Comedy Juice is one of the top live comedy brands in the world, producing hundreds of A-list stand up comedy events each year, and run by a comic named Mark Serittella, who lives in LA. Read the rest of this entry

Kevin Hart Talks Black History Month And Video News Site At The Comic Strip

The Grio.com is the first African-American video news site, specifically geared towards bringing stories of interest to that community. Launched by NBC News, it’s editorial mission is to be the primary news source for the Black community on a national level. Being that February is Black History Month, they are interviewing 100 people who they feel are making a positive effect in the Black community.

One of those people, not surprisingly is comedian Kevin Hart, who jokingly demanded to know what number he was out of the 100. He sounded very serious when he said he felt he should be around number 6! (LOL) He definitely wanted to at least be grouped in with Whoopi Goldberg! (LOL) Read the rest of this entry

Mike Birbiglia Films For Sundance At The Comic Strip

All it took was for the word to get out that Mike Birbiglia would be filming something for Sundance at The Comic Strip and the place was packed, even on a Monday night. Read the rest of this entry