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Thursday, Nov 26, 2009
"Daily Show" comedian Lewis Black can't get a TV show, hates politicos and really hates stupid people.
Dec 12, 2000 | Watching Lewis Black perform live is like watching a schizophrenic having a mental breakdown -- you're not quite sure whether to laugh or run. Stuttering with Tourette's-like constipation, his twitching fingers splayed to their contorted ends, the comedian is an aneurysm waiting to happen, an apoplectic fireball burning with cynicism, contempt and misanthropy. From weathermen to the White House, no individual or institution is exempt from his harangues.
Best known as the acid-tongued correspondent from Comedy Central's "The Daily Show With Jon Stewart," Black manages to stand out among other comics with his subversive, distinctly manic personality. He also has brains. He's a playwright and a graduate of the Yale School of Drama. But unlike fellow ranter Dennis Miller, who uses smug references to show off his intellect, Black vents with the exasperation of an everyman. His cathartic routines -- performed live, on television and on his CD, "The White Album" -- are literate without being esoteric, didactic without being condescending.
I recently sat down with the grumpy gadfly prior to a sold-out show at the Gotham Comedy Club. If he's irascible onstage, he was perfectly affable and generous off.
I'm going to give you a few names and I want you to tell me the first word that comes to mind:
Syphilis.
Arrogant.
Oprah.
Bitch.
The only Jewish girl I know who gave a blow job.
Being in an industry that promotes diplomacy, have there been any professional repercussions to being so honest?
Early on as a writer, I met [former segment producer] Frank Gannon, who was doing Letterman -- a great guy. He said, "The good news is you're really intelligent. The bad news is you're really intelligent." Then I found out that he was a speechwriter for Nixon and I said, "That's like telling me you've worked with Himmler." He laughed out loud, so I know he got it, but I also know it's not the thing I should have said.
One of the reasons I didn't do as well in the theater community is that I told people to go fuck themselves and I shouldn't have. You have to learn that part of the job. You have to smile and nod your head and not say anything. I've never really been good at it. My advice to any young comic is -- when in doubt, don't drink.
You're very critical of the state of American culture, especially when it comes to our political system. In your professional opinion, where in God's name did we all go wrong?
Part of it is education. I really believe that the bottom line of the culture is education. They can talk about family values and all that crap all they want, but it's a matter of how you transmit knowledge from one generation to the next, and we're not doing it anymore. Now don't tell me you can't come up with an educational plan you can speak about passionately that we will understand.
These people out there are not stupid. I don't know why there's a certain gutlessness to both parties, why it's so difficult to speak your mind. This society has grown tenfold and I don't think the leadership has grown at all. If we're gonna teach kids wood shop, I think leadership training skills should be taught since I don't think these people know how to lead.
With so many worthy targets out there, who has given you the best material?
Dan Quayle -- because he was so consistent. He was unbelievable. I had almost 50 minutes of material on him.
How do you think we ever got to a point where people like that could get into office?
The media has scared a lot of people out of the business. People don't want to talk about their lives, the way they're being exposed. Like in the case of [former Texas governor] Ann Richards, who I have a great amount of admiration for, she loses to George W. Bush 'cause she's honest, so they pick her apart. Once you start becoming honest they pick the shit out of you -- unless you're Jesse Ventura, who's very, very honest, but isn't really saying anything.
If you were the emperor of Rome and could throw one person to the lions -- who would it be?
It would've been Newt Gingrich, but at this point I'd have to say Trent Lott. He's a moron.
