Comedy, Red Hats, and Inspiration: Damon Wayans’ Debut Novel

Photo by Brian Solis

Some inspirational words from Lionel Richie, and a chance encounter with a group of ladies with red hats, led to the first novel by actor, comedian, and writer Damon Wayans.

From his early years in movies (as the banana man in “Beverly Hills Cop”) to his days on TV’s “In Living Color,” as characters like Homey D. Clown, Wayans has proven his comedic abilities in many ways. And his novel Red Hats demonstrated his keen ability to create memorable, if sometimes irascible, characters.

Our conversation about his book was a little more sedate than his TV sketches.

So here now, from 2010, Damon Wayans.

Damon Wayans is 63 now, and is reportedly working on a new project with ABC.


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A Valentine’s Day Special: Carl Reiner’s ‘All Kinds of Love

Photo: John Mathew Smith

Happy Valentine’s Day!

It’s a day of romance, relationships, maybe even marriage, but most especially it’s a day of love. All kinds of love.

In fact, All Kinds of Love was the title of actor writer Carl Reiner’s 1993 novel. It featured a delightful cast of characters dealing with a variety of romantic situations, with a good deal of comedy thrown in, as we would expect no less from the man who created TV’s iconic Dick Van Dyke show.

So here now, from 1993, Carl Reiner.

Carl Reiner was 98 when he died in 2020.


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A Daughter’s Loving Embrace: Rain Pryor’s Book About Richard Pryor

Rain Pryor (center_ with Bill and Hillary Thompson

The late Richard Pryor was a hugely talented comedian and brilliant entertainer — but, by his own admission, a failure as a father.

In 2006 his daughter Rain Pryor wrote a memoir, a sympathetic portrait of the man, failings and all. Her book was called Jokes My Father Never Taught Me.

So here now from November 2006, Rain Pryor.

Richard Pryor died in December 2005, at the age of 65.

Rain Pryor is 54 now, and is active as a comedian, actor, and singer.


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Louie Anderson

Phorto: Melly Allen

Today, March 24th 2023, would have been comedian Louie Anderson’s 70th birthday.
I first met Louie in 1989, when he published a book of letters to his alcoholic father, a book called Dear Dad. We talked again about that book a couple of years later, and then in 1993 I interviewed him again, for his book called Goodbye Jumbo, Hello Cruel World.

Louie struggled with his weight, and his self-image, for decades. Of course, he turned his weight problem into a source of comedy that made him immensely popular.

But it was in writing both those books that Louie Anderson really started to figure out who he was, and what he really wanted.

So I’ve decided today to offer you highlights of both interviews , starting with our conversation about Dear Dad. S

The next time I talked to Louie was in 1993. His book Goodbye Jumbo, Hello Cruel World was a chronicle of his struggles with weight. So here now, from 1993, Louie Anderson.

Louie Anderson died of cancer in January 2022.


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Edie Adams

Edie Adams was a very popular movie and television star in the 1950s, known widely for her comic impersonations of sexy singers, and her own wonderful singing voice.

But eventually she became even more widely known for being the wife of legendary television comic Ernie Kovacs. The two of them were a hugely popular comic duo.

But their story had a tragic end. In early 1962, Kovacs was killed in an auto accident. He was the only occupant of the car, and it was never known precisely what happened to cause the accident.

I met Edie Adams in 1990, when she finally wrote the book that publishers had been after her to write ever since Ernie kovacs’s death.

So here now, from 1990, Edie Adams.

Edie Adams died in 2008. She was 81.


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Gilbert Gottfried

We got sad news last week but comedian Gilbert Gottfried had succumbed after a long battle with muscular dystrophy.

Funny and controversial, by turns relatable and outrageous, Gilbert Gottfried built a fan base of millions.

In 2012 while he was on a whirlwind book tour, I had a few minutes with Gilbert.

And I found him to be exactly the kind of guy you would hope that he would be- the kind you’d love to sit down and have a few beers with.

So here now, from 2012, my interview with Gilbert Gottfried, as we talked about his book called…

Gilbert Gottfried was 67 when he died last week.


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Judith Belushi

Tomorrow, March 5th, is the 40th anniversary of the untimely deaf of comedian. John Belushi.

Belushi was one of the original cast members of Saturday Night Live when it premiered in 1975, and he was the star movies like Animal House and The Blues Brothers.

But John Belushi also had a substance abuse problem, and on March 5th, 1982, he died in a Los Angeles hotel room. A woman named Cathy Smith was accused of administering a fatal speedball to Belushi.

And suddenly, at the age of 31, his high school sweetheart Judy was left a widow.

A few years later, Judith Belushi wrote a memoir of her experience. And that’s when I met her.

So here now, from 1990, Judith Belushi.

Judith Belushi Pisano is 71 now. She and Victor Pisano divorced a couple of years ago.


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Yakov Smirnoff

Who knew Russians had such a great sense of humor?

Well, few Americans thought so, until the 1980s, when the young Russian-born Yakov Smirnoff burst onto the scene.

When he arrived here in 1977 from Ukraine, Smirnoff actually spoke no English.

But quickly he was able to turn his foreigner’s naivete into a very successful comedy act.

In 1987, with Smirnoff’s popularity nearing its peak — and just before a visit to the U.S. by Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev — Smirnoff went on a book tour to promote a hilarious book he call America on Six Rubles A Day.

So here now, from 1987, Yakov Smirnoff.

Yakov Smirnoff is 70 now. He still performs occasionally at his theater in Branson, Missouri, and tours world wide.

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Bill Kinison

It was an HBO Young Comedians special in late summer 1985 that launched a young comedian to national fame. Sam Kinison became wildly popular almost overnight.

And for the next several years was one of America’s favorite stand-up comedians.

Tragically Sam Kinison’s life ended abruptly in April 1992 in a horrible car crash in California. His brother Bill Kinison was in the car behind him and witness the accident.

Two years later Bill Kinison wrote a book about his little brother call Brother Sam. That’s why I had a chance to meet him/

So here now from 1994 Bill Kinison.

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Al Franken

Al Franken has had several careers. He was one of the original writers and cast members of Saturday Night Live in the mid-1970s. In fact, he was with the show for 15 years.

Later he became a liberal commentator, with his own radio show.

Then there was a short-lived NBC sitcom called Lateline..

And then, in 2008, he ran for the United States Senate from Minnesota. And he won. Six years later, he was re-elected.

But he was forced to resign his senate seat in early 2018, after allegations of sexual misconduct.

Al Franken is now 70 years old. He can be heard Saturday mornings on Sirius-XM Radio. And he’s currently on a 15-city live tour.

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