Six Degrees: Friends and ‘Daily Show’ alumni galore

I swear, every time I do one of these Six Degrees posts, I see a story, blurb, video or gig that I missed within five minutes of posting. It’s crazy! Most of the gigs in the last post are still coming up, but here are a few things I missed in that one.

Rob Riggle

• You may have seen trailers already for the upcoming Will Ferrell flick, Step Brothers, but did you know that Rob Riggle has a role in the movie? He does, and you can see him in this clip (h/t Mel O, via Comedy Central Insider). Warning: This clip contains language that we’d spell with asterisks here on NFZ!

Catalina Wine Mix Red Band Clip

Lewis Black

• Lots of little Lewis Black moments to mention this time around; here’s one (with *ahem* a charming and appropriate photo) from Modest Proposal. It makes me a little crazy that they’ve misspelled Jon Stewart’s name, but this part amused me:
  

  I’ve heard that there’s a comedic hierarchy where the jugglers and prop comedians are at the bottom and the political comedians look down on everybody else.

  Political comics look down on everybody else? They must have a self-image problem. We political comedians have always been treated as if we were bottom-feeders. We’re not even noticed. To me, it’s nice for a person to have a point of view and do their work. You don’t expect that by having a 20-minute set that will catapult you somewhere. I think it’s that simple: you have a point-of-view, you’re funny, you do your work. People do disparage against ventriloquists and mimes, well, mimes can blow me. But you know, never underestimate how well a dumb joke will go over. What are you going to do? I’ve got about 5 jokes in my act that I can’t believe I’m saying aloud.

• You can also read a Q&A with Lewis in the Times-Union (Albany). I thought it was interesting that he doesn’t consider himself a “political comic” so much as a “social satirist”: “Political satire is more about them and what they’re doing than about us and what we’re doing … I try to personalize it because it makes it easier for me to survive talking about what I’m talking about. Partially that’s because I have so little respect for the political parties.”
• Lewis will be coming to the Dallas-Fort Worth area next weekend, and the Star-Telegram has posted a Q&A in anticipation of the event. From the Star-Telegram, I just had to include this, in honor of our webmaster:
  

  You’ve played Dallas-Fort Worth several times. What surprises you most about Texas audiences?

  I have to say, the thing that really surprises me is I’d rather play Fort Worth. I performed in a place called Hyena’s . . . before I made it, and I just liked that area. And then we did one show in Dallas, and I said [expletive] it, get me to Fort Worth. And they did, and it was a conscious choice. And I’m glad, because the Bass is spectacular. Dallas is really a strange bird to me. Strange even for Texas. It may have to do with the Kennedy thing.

David Sedaris, on Amy Sedaris

• This month’s GQ magazine contains a segment on “The Funniest Person I Know”, and David Sedaris weighs in on his sister Amy (h/t Gypsy Goddess).
  

  There are a good number of people who make me laugh until I ache, but the person who’s been doing it the longest is my sister Amy. A lot of people know her from Letterman, where she’s a regular guest, but it’s not there that she really excels. Talk shows are geared toward storytelling: Here is how I got the part of the pretty alcoholic. This is what happened on the way to the awards ceremony. Amy can do this as well as anyone, but she’s best when commenting on the world around her: a sign in a shop window, the scrap of wrapping paper lying in the gutter, the haircut of the person across the room. When my sister gets going, sparks shoot out her ears – that’s how fast her mind words. There’s a cruelty, not to her humor, but to the relentless force of it. When not laughing, you’re awed.

  “Was she always this funny?” people ask. And I have to think about it. She didn’t register as a real person until she was old enough to do me favors. At 16 she got her license and appeared fully formed, as sharp then as she is now. During the years that we both lived in Chicago, I’d go to Amy’s for dinner and find what would become a Who’s Who of American comedy. She’s not one to name-drop, so I won’t either. We’ll just say they were almost as funny as she was.

Ed Helms

• Interestingly enough, Ed Helms also appears in the “FUNNIEST PERSON” section of this month’s GQ (h/t Sharon D. and Gypsy Goddess). His choice? Stephen Colbert.
  

  When I started on The Daily Show, I was so nervous that I asked him if he had any pointers. He said, “You’re gonna be great. Oh, and don’t forget to hang your soul up in the closet and come back for it later.”

  Whenever we were backstage before a taping, Steve would do this pantomime. He would pretend he was the trumpet player in the band, getting ready for his part in The Daily Show theme song. He’s miming that he’s warming up his trumpet, blowing in the spit valve, getting ready to go. And then he raises it to his mouth right when the guitar part kicks in. He would take down his fake trumpet and act surprised, like, “What the fuck? Where’s the trumpet part?” I must’ve seen him do that 300 times, and it always made me laugh.

  It probably goes without saying that I would love to see that.

• One other bit of Ed Helms goodness to share (and those of you who read the comments to my last Six Degrees post will have to forgive me for mentioning it again): Ed showed up on Late Night with Conan O’Brien a little over a week ago for a truly side-splitting interview. You can watch it here (choose the July 11th episode and jump to Act 4), and I highly recommend that you do so. My favorite bit came right at the end when he did his Tom Brokaw and Elton John impressions. They’re ridiculously good!

Seriously, y’all … watch this clip!

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