I'm a Rescue

OUR FIRST EPISODE OF 2020!  SEASON 2! Steph and I are joined by Al Ducharme! Al is a hilarious comedian, who started out in the Boston comedy scene. I had the pleasure of performing with him in 1999 and he absolutely blew me away with his physical comedy, voices and his overall weirdness.  Since then he has traveled the globe performing his unique brand of stand up comedy. Bill Burr is among his fans, so much so that he had him voice Anthony one of the characters on the Netflix animated series "F is For Family."  Al talks about growing up in blue collar Rhode Island, starting comedy in high school and his eventual move to Boston where he turned down an offer to go pick up a young Dave Chappelle.  We also get to hear from Buddy the Dog and Al's wife Bernadette, who was on episode 16 of last season. Check out his web series the Two Dicks HERE! If you wanna meet your new favorite comedian listen to this episode!

On Episode 26 and our final episode of 2019, comedian Andy Hendrickson along with his wife Linda join Tom and Steph on our first couple's podcast!  Linda tells her story of how she went from Algeria to Paris to Connecticut and finally arriving in Los Angeles in 2014.  Interestingly enough Andy also made a whirlwind journey to LA, starting his stand up career in Atlanta moving to Virginia then New York and finally arriving in LA in 2014...just like Linda. You see where I'm going with this...it's like "Harry Met Sally," but different and French.  Linda tells the story of meeting Andy for the first time. Andy talks behind the scene stuff on Letterman and dealing with anxiety and lyme disease. Tom and Andy also talk about their first meeting performing on a plywood stage over a stairwell in Rockford, IL. Linda also has a great podcast available on Anchor called "Excuse My Frenchy" and a line of skin care products she'll soon be launching.  Check out Andy's website at: www.andyhendrickson.com Our first couple interview and we had a blast! 

You may know Ari Stidham from his role on CBS's Scorpion, but it all started when he was a kid growing up in the Westlake area (just outside of LA.)  After struggling in school early on, he went the independent study route, finishing school at 16.  He worked with the improv group, ComedySportz and through that landed his first role on ABC Family's "Huge."  This is a great listen as Ari goes through his audition for the role on CBS's  Scorpion to the sudden fame that went with it and the disappointment after it's cancellation.   He also talks his current projects and he has a cool poster of Danny Devito in his house.

You may know Mark Valley from the soap opera Days of Our Lives, Boston Legal and Human Target, but he's also a U.S. Army Veteran.  He talks about his career in the army. His first acting gig opposite Sir Anthony Hopkins and teaching him to throw a football (true story.) He also talks about his latest project Zburg. A web-series shot entirely in his hometown of Ogdensburg, NY with a cast made up of local actors.  We also get into his role in Zero Dark Thirty and that sinking feeling when you know you're going to be cut out of a movie.  There's no BS with Mark and he's a completely open book on this podcast. 

Steph sits down with Nicole Blaine to talk about how she has helped connect comedians with industry thru the various programs she runs at Westside Comedy Theater in Santa Monica.  She also talks shooting her own independent film with her husband and her own comedy career.  

On this episode Tom and Steph talk about how Steph has built up her business (www.funnygirlevents.com). We discuss how to approach venues, what makes a successful venue and how to get paid.  This is more of an inside look at the stand up comedy business and we cover questions our fellow comedians had and cover the things we wish we would've known when we started doing this. 

Chris Flail tells his tale of traveling from Pennsylvania to Oklahoma to California and how he eventually discovered his love of comedy.  One of Chris's first gigs was working with Tom at a casino in Delano, CA and Chris's story of that is a definite must listen. They also discuss how Chris has built one of the most successful rooms in Central California and how he's helping comedians there build their stage time. 

Growing up the son or daughter of a celebrity isn't easy especially when that celebrity is comedy royalty. Such is the case with Camilla Cleese and her dad, John Cleese, of Monty Python fame.  Camilla opens up on this one talking about sitting in on her Dad's writing sessions during "A Fish Called Wanda", being a talented equestrian, her struggle with substance abuse, and how she's blazing her own trail in comedy.  

Imagine being only two years into comedy and Rodney Dangerfield asking you to come up with a movie idea for him. That's what happened for Dennis Blair and how he ended up helping to write the movie "Easy Money."  Dennis and I worked together in Reno and we talk about his long illustrious career in comedy. From opening for Rodney to opening for George Carlin, Dennis has worked with some of the best and he shares all of these experiences.  Great insight from someone who's not just an opening act, but a really talented comedian/writer/musician.  Click his name to go to his website: DENNIS BLAIR

Vito Gesualdi is a comedian, actor, and writer who has built a YouTube following of over 160,000 thru his funny and sometimes controversial videos. His most famous/controversial being handing out Pepsi at an ANTIFA/Alt Right rally in Berkeley.  You can watch it HERE!  We talk about his growing up in Amherst, Massachusetts, how he comes up with his ideas, and how he built up his YouTube following. 

Joining us on this episode is Marc Price AKA Skippy from Family Ties. We talk growing up with a comedian Dad (Borscht Belt comedian Al Bernie) and all the comedy lessons he learned from him. His early days on stage and the lesson Jay Leno taught him.  How he got the role on Family Ties and what he learned from Michael J. Fox both on and off set.   We also talk about what he's up to now:  Doing stand up around the country and the great work he's doing with the Michael J Fox Foundation.  Check out teamfox.org to get more info and search "Skippy loves Fox" Steph wasn't able to join us on this episode.

Bernadette Pauley is a comedian, actress, and host, who has appeared on "Tough Crowd", Live at Gotham and Red Eye.  She talks growing up in Boston...well Revere and starting out in comedy in NYC, which included a stint working at a strip club selling cigars.  A lot of great insight on this one about what women have to deal with in the comedy scene and overcoming those obstacles.  

Mary Gallagher is a very talented actress, writer, comedian and also from Tom's hometown of Milwaukee. Tom and Steph talk with Mary about growing up in Wisconsin. Moving to LA and the nerve wracking audition for "Friends."  We also talk about her stand up comedy and how she went from bombing opening for Pauly Shore in the early 90s to appearing on Stephen Colbert in 2018. Mary will also be appearing on the upcoming Netflix prank show called "Prank Encounters" with "Stranger Things" actor Gaten Matarazzo.  This was a really inspiring podcast. Check it out!

Tom and Steph talk with Kyle about his start in comedy and his rise to fame as a stand up on both Comedy Central and Netflix.  We also discuss his arrival to  LA in the early 2000s and living with Tom for 2 weeks and apparently, unbeknownst to Tom, being a terrible roommate.  We talk about the comedians of Chicago past and future.  I may have also mentioned that Dan Harmon once kicked me at a party.  A lot of fun catching up with Kyle, one of the best comedians out there! Check him out!

Sharon Houston has had a very long successful career. We talk about her voiceover work on Daria, the manager she and Tom shared (he said she had "no neck"), working on Punk'd, booking reality shows like America's Got Talent and various court shows, including an episode with Tom on Divorce Court. We also talk about the current court show she created and how she's helping other people work on their creative ideas.  Check out her website HERE

For this episode we actually got questions from you the listener to ask my Dad (Art Clark.) The questions ranged from his experiences in WW2 to what's his favorite cut of meat.  My Dad was a great sport throughout all this and I think you'll really enjoy what he has to say. At 93 years old I think he has a great perspective on life and shares a bit of that advice with you.

Jeff Johnson is a very funny comedian, who I first met at JR's Comedy Club in Valencia, CA. It was actually the back room of a Marie Callendar's and Jeff was the host. Jeff developed his act there and is now traveling across the country doing stand up. He recently finished in the top 5 in The World Series of Comedy. Jeff talks about the struggle to get better as a stand up, starting his own production company, leaving the Mormon religion and finding out who his real dad was.  Jeff was very open about everything and the story of his finding his dad and actually going to meet him is a must listen. 

Dennis Gubbins is an actor/writer/comedian.  He has appeared in over 100 commercials and we discuss every single one of them...just kidding, but we do discuss how he got the gig "handing a puppy over a bush. "  We also discuss the acting and auditioning process in general. Then we get deep and discuss his work on "Enjoy It" with Brody Stevens and the fun and challenges of working with Brody.  ENJOY IT!

On this episode of the I'm A Rescue Podcast Steph and I interview Steven Slater.  Steven achieved international fame after becoming fed up with one too many rude customers while serving as a flight attendant on Jet Blue Airlines. We learn the real story about what happened and all the trouble that came with that fame.  His struggle with drugs and alcohol, the TV offers, losing his mother, and his house.  But we also learn how he's battling back.  Really great, inspiring episode from a very resilient guy. 

This week we interview Kimia Behpoornia. Kimia is one of the stars of the ensemble comedy Abby's on NBC and will soon be appearing in Brie Larson's Unicorn Store (Netflix on April 5th).  We talk to Kimia about her high school years building robots and doing improv, how she lost her manager because she gave her too much information, and losing one of her first big roles and how she handled it.  Kimia is definitely someone you're going to be hearing big things about...so why not learn how it all started. 

In this episode Tom and Steph talk all things Brody Stevens.  Brody passed away last month and really left a hole in our comedy world.  He was such a fixture on the comedy scene here in LA as well as on social media.  Tom talks about first meeting and competing against Brody in stand up way back in 2000 and their encounters over the years. Steph talks about her and a friend going to see Brody in front of an audience of six people and the impression he left. The club, Steph and I were performing at when we heard the news about Brody, was the same club Brody would be performing at the next week. This episode was tough, but I'm glad we did it because I think it's important more people know about Brody. Also, check out his half hour special on Comedy Central - available on YouTube.   Brody is gone, but will never be forgotten. Always remember PUSH! BELIEVE! and ENJOY IT!

Comedian Andy Gold joins Steph and Tom.  Tom and Andy discuss their Dry Bar Comedy Specials and Andy's unique way of dealing with the haters--it's pretty brilliant.  Then we go deep discussing Andy overcoming his heroin addiction and going on tour with the Addicts of Comedy and doing his own independent tour.

Lauren Pritchard is a very talented comedian/actress/improvisor. She talks about her journey from Orlando  to Hollywood. Preparing for her Mad TV audition while also battling rats in her apartment. We've known Lauren a long time and watching her rise as a performer is truly an inspiration. This is definitely an episode worth checking out for any aspiring comedian or actor.

Steph's mom, Carol, joins Tom and Steph on the podcast. She talks her fear of elevators, Steph's ban from most shoe stores in Southern California (except Nordstrom's) and the death of her husband and their, at times, tumultuous relationship! Somebody cries in this one.

Matthew talks working on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno & growing up without a dad and his long journey in finding out who his dad really was...a very famous Hollywood celebrity (ya have to listen to find out.) He goes into the details of how he was finally able to speak to him and get some answers.  This is a juicy one!

On this episode Tom and Steph get to interview 80s legend Diane Franklin. You may know Diane as the princess from Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure, the French exchange student from Better Off Dead, or The Last American Virgin, among many others.  Currently she stars in The Amityville Murders: The Haunting on Long Island, which comes out this weekend in many markets. Enjoy our journey thru the 80s and be excellent to each other....San Dimas High School Football rules!!!!

In our very first episode Tom interviews his wife, Steph, about overcoming the loss of her dad at age 10 and how they're both too lazy to change Steph's last name to Clark. Also we talk stand up comedy, quitting booze, the patriarchy/matriarchy, high school, and rescue dogs!