Hi 71 / Lo 51
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Hi 71 / Lo 51 |
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Volume 71, Issue 65,
Thursday, December 1, 2005
Life & Arts Giraldo gives back to comedy Harvard-educated comedian's show provides a stage for other stand-ups By Dusti Rhodes
After countless appearances on Comedy Central's Tough Crowd with Colin Quinn and a spot on Dave Attell's Insomniac Tour, comedian Greg Giraldo has proven he is capable holding the attention of a studio audience, not to mention millions of TV viewers. How does he do it? By showing the work of other comedians. This may sound like a bum deal to some, but anyone who has seen the show since it began in the fall knows that Giraldo allows himself plenty of camera time to get his own material out there and to take digs at the comedians featured on the show.
Greg Giraldo gave up a life in law to pursue a career as a comedian, and now hosts his own television show on Comedy Central. Photo courtesy of Comedy Central Giraldo includes a nice variety of stand-ups who expose viewers to a number of different styles of comedy that they may or may not choose to stay tuned for. "The show itself is a two-and-half-(hour) block of stand-up. If you happen to like a ventriloquist and he is on the show you'll be pleased; if not, I'm screwed," Giraldo said during a conference call. In past episodes Giraldo has featured comedians like Jim Gaffigan, Zach Galifianakis, July Gold and tour buddy Attell. Giraldo, who has a law degree from Harvard University, got his start in comedy in New York City. Giraldo worked in the law profession for a while -- an experience that was translated to his short-lived ABC sitcom Common Law -- but decided that stand-up was for him. "I thought, ‘Well, I don't really have a real job where you can sleep all day and drink for free. I'm pretty funny, let me try that,'" Giraldo said. Giraldo made a name for himself at a comedy festival in Montreal and since then has had spots on shows like Late Night with Conan O'Brien as well as being a featured comic on Comedy Central Presents. Giraldo is hard pigeonhole; his material ranges from the absurdity of the criminalization of marijuana to his most common subject -- his wife. Giraldo is known for discussing the unhappiness of marriage, but said it all comes with the territory of the job. "Any reasonable woman is going to destroy a guy for living like that," Giraldo said. Another part of the job is having to be funny despite trying circumstances. Giraldo mentioned a stop with Attell in Las Vegas when he found out moments before he was to go on stage that his father had been diagnosed with cancer. Giraldo did his act regardless, admitting that sometimes you just have to find a way to make it through. "Most of the time you just drink, which is what I recommend to all college students," Giraldo said. As for the future, Giraldo said he's not much for making plans and will concentrate on his show for now. "If I was the kind of person who sat down and had those kind of focus plans, I probably wouldn't be at a bar every night telling jokes," Giraldo said. "My goals -- are just not to suck, really." Catch Friday Night with Greg Giraldo at 7:30 p.m. every Friday on Comedy Central. This week's featured comedians are Alonzo Bodden, Corey Holcomb, Rudy Rush and Kevin Hart. Send comments to dcshobiz@mail.uh.edu |
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