I was the All-American kid, or so I told myself - good grades, never in trouble, bright future, well-respected by my peers. My favorite comedian was Bob Newhart.
I had good grades in school, but I was always in trouble. I used to get suspended and I'm not very good at being told what to do.
I come from a time when people like Bob Newhart and Bill Cosby told stories that were devastatingly funny without being off-color.
I was considered by my peers to be a good comedian. So that's all I ever strived to do was get some recognition from my peers.
When you ask people who their favorite comedian is or favorite African-American comedian, people generally say Chris Rock, Dave Chappelle, Eddie Murphy, or Richard Pryor. Redd Foxx gets left out a lot.
I think my reputation among peers is probably different than my reputation among fans. My peers know me pretty well and so it's fairly accurate. I think I'm respected among my peers.
Seattle was my favorite team growing up, so I know a little bit about Coach Karl and his history. He's one of the best coaches in the game, well-respected by much of his peers and much of his players.
The future was and remains the quintessential American art form. Other nations sit back and let their futures happen; we construct ours. We can let the future happen, or take the trouble to imagine it. We can imagine it dark or bright - and in the long run, that's how it will be.
The only thing I really recommend, if you're starting out in stand-up is to not try to copy anybody else. You can be influenced by people. I was influenced by Steve Martin and Bob Newhart and Woody Allen, but I never tried to be someone else. I always tried to be myself. And the reason people are successful is they're unique.
I'm closer to Bob Newhart than Rodney Dangerfield.
Bob Newhart, who is my best friend, is one of the guys I adore.
I wasn't a good kid in school. I wasn't a bad kid. I just didn't focus. My grades weren't good. I mucked around, you know, a phase everyone went through.
To be sandwiched between Jane Curtin and Bob Newhart for a couple weeks is phenomenal.
I never had good grades until I dropped out of religion. And then suddenly, my grades went up.
It didn't help matters that I was shy and wore glasses. I was never one to stand out in the crowd. I liked to stay in corners. And I was happiest when I was alone reading. That and the good grades I got in school had doomed any chance of being popular with my peers. So it was a foregone conclusion that boys like Hardy were never going to take notice of me.
I got good grades in math, but I never really enjoyed it. My favorite part of math was algebra, but geometry was the worst.
I never thought of myself as being a good songwriter. There are a ton of other people that are good songwriters, but I don't think I'm in the club. What I do well is perform, sometimes sing pretty good, and accompany myself well and arrange fairly well.