E-Mail This Article to a Friend Funny business (continued)

Q: Does that frustrate you?

A: It frustrates me, but I don’t really dwell on it a lot, because it’s sort of a fact of life. I mean, I could be altruistic and be bankrupt. Or I can do what I do and get rich.

Q: How do you tell someone that he’s not funny?

A: You don’t want to hurt someone’s feelings, but the problem I have is I get calls from all these comedians who are a little famous, who might’ve been very famous 10 years ago or five years ago, who say, "Hey Bill, how come you don’t book me in the club? How come you won’t use me in concerts?" And I just have to say, "Hey, look, I think you’re a funny person, but you can’t sell enough seats." Which is easier to take.

Q: What effect do you think the TV show Last Comic Standing has had on the industry?

A: I think it’s very positive. It’s one of the first things on television in a long time that really has devoted itself to stand-up comedy. To tell you the truth, I kick myself for not thinking of that idea myself. The guys who own that show are friends of mine; there’s a local guy, Barry Katz, who owns the show with Jay Mohr, a comedian, and they’re friends of mine. When the show first came out, I sort of laughed to myself; I thought, my God, what a rip-off, they’re just copying American Idol. On the other hand, I started watching the results, and every week the first year, it was winning its time slot on NBC. This year, it’s one of the hottest shows on television. And unlike The Sopranos, you don’t have to wait two years for the next episodes to come on.

Q: What do you think the big differences are between watching comics perform on TV and seeing them perform in a club?

A: Oh, it’s a huge difference. Whether it’s a comic or music, there’s nothing like seeing it live. Even if you already saw it on TV, you’ve heard the jokes, there’s nothing like the electricity of being there live. When you go there live, and you’re sitting there in the first 20, 30 rows, you are part of it. It’s just an electricity ... I can’t even think of words to describe it. It’s like a natural high.

Q: Rodney Dangerfield died recently. What are your thoughts on him?

A: He was one of my favorite comedians. I knew him pretty well. It’s kind of sad. It’s like the end of an era. The poor guy, as much money as he made, he was never happy. I think the reason he wasn’t happy is that he became very successful too late in life to enjoy it.

Q: Did he ever play at the Comedy Connection?

A: He never played at the club, but I used to see him in Vegas all the time, and Los Angeles. I knew him really well. The last 10, 15 years, he was a little bit whacked out, he was very old, his wife was very young. When I met him about 10 or 15 years ago, he was high as a kite. I went up to him at a comedy club in Los Angeles, and I said, "Hey, Rodney, I’m Bill Blumenreich, I’m from the Comedy Connection in Boston, and I’m one of your biggest fans," and I started complimenting him. I said, "As a matter of fact, I probably know all of your jokes." And he looked at me with glassy eyes and he grabbed my neck and he started choking me. What are you going to do? It’s a 77-year-old man; you can’t hit him. Finally my friend who owned the comedy club goes, "No, no, Rodney, he’s not a comic; he’s a club owner." When I told him I knew almost all his jokes, he thought I was a comedian who was stealing his jokes. He was so high he couldn’t even see straight.

I don’t know why he was still performing; he had so much money and he was so old. But he couldn’t remember his jokes, so what he was doing back then is his wife, Joan, would be backstage with a microphone in front of her and a list of all his jokes, and Rodney would be on stage with a little earpiece, and she would read the jokes, and Rodney would be on stage and he’d repeat them, and the show worked pretty well. But one time I was backstage talking with her, and a stagehand came by and he had a new pair of shoes on, and she goes, "Hey, Harry, nice shoes," and Rodney hears it and he’s on stage and he goes, "Hey, Harry, nice shoes." And the audience is staring at him. Then she goes, "No, not you!" And he’s out there, "No, not you!" I said, "Joan, what are you doing this for? It’s crazy." The guy was out of his mind.

Q: Who’s the funniest person you can think of?

A: Richard Jeni, to me, is one of the funniest stand-ups you’ll see anywhere. On the other hand, personally, he’s one of the most miserable people I’ve ever met in my life. I don’t even like to look at him. Nobody likes the guy. But when this guy gets on stage, he’s magic.

Q: Do you think people expect you to be funny, since you own a bunch of comedy clubs?

A: They probably do. My mother always used to tell me when I was a kid that I should be a comedian, because I’m so funny. But I know I’m not in the same league with these guys.

Q: Do you think of yourself as a funny person?

A: I do, but I’ve never gotten up on stage. And now that I own the stage, it would be easy, but I just don’t have the time; I’m so busy. I love what I do. When I was a stockbroker, I hated to go to work in the morning. Now I work twice as hard as I ever worked, but I love what I do.

Q: What are your other interests, besides comedy?

A: I love women. Other than that, I don’t know.

Tamara Wieder can be reached at twieder[a]phx.com