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On his childhood in New York City's Upper West Side, on his father's cosmetic dentistry business and style of humor; on his mother and her toothpaste business 07:23
Interview: Robert Smigel
On his early interest in the Felix the Cat cartoons and imitating the cat's voice; on being the class "instigator" 08:15
Interview: Robert Smigel
On being admitted to Cornell University for pre-med in order to become a dentist like his father; on wanting to be a comedian since he was three years old; on his early influences being comedians like Red Skelton, and television shows like Mister Ed; on wanting to be involved in theater and writing or performing 05:16
Interview: Robert Smigel
On trying stand-up comedy for the first time as part of a contest to perform at the Comic Strip; on his comedic influences such as Andy Kaufman and David Letterman; on comedy that commented on the form itself; on his early stand-up act; on catching the "comedy bug" after winning a comedy stand-up contest; on his first appearance performing at the Comic Strip; on being interested in comedy that "tore everything down and made fun of itself" 14:37
Interview: Robert Smigel
On meeting Tim Kazurinsky who introduced him to Second City; on taking a hiatus from dental school; on his love of Chicago and how the experience at Second City helped build his confidence as a comedian; on gravitating towards sketch comedy over improv; learning how to develop writing sketch comedy from the players at Second City; on his early sketch comedy ideas; on meeting Dan Crowley in Chicago and joining his comedy group (All You Can Eat); on honing his comedic voice 23:43
Interview: Robert Smigel
Robert Smigel on wanting to be a comedian since he was three years old, and on his early influences - comedians like Red Skelton and TV shows like Mister Ed 01:33
Interview: Robert Smigel | Person: Red Skelton
Robert Smigel on being introduced to the Second City by Saturday Night Live's Tim Kazurinsky 02:04
Interview: Robert Smigel | Person: Tim Kazurinsky
Robert Smigel on his early ambition to be funny but not believing one could make a living at that profession; on early cartoon drawings he would make, but deciding early on to follow his father's footsteps to be a dentist instead 03:56
Interview: Robert Smigel | Profession: Writers
Robert Smigel on the "modern" type of "so bad it's good" comedy he was interested in early in his career; catching the comedy bug after performing and winning a comedy standup contest at NYU; "I was stung, I was infected"; on getting to perform at The Comic Strip in New York city; on his closing bit as Ronald Reagan (foreshadowing a later TV Funhouse sketch "The X Presidents"); on getting more gigs after that; on being a fan of comedy that "tore everything down and made fun of itself" 14:35
Interview: Robert Smigel | Profession: Comedian
Robert Smigel on wanting to be a comedian since he was three years old 01:34
Interview: Robert Smigel | Profession: Comedian
Robert Smigel on wanting to be a comedian since he was three years old 01:34
Interview: Robert Smigel | Profession: Performers
Robert Smigel on joining a sketch comedy program (The Players Workshop) at Second City in Chicago; on his love of Chicago and how the experience at Second City helped build his confidence as a comedian; on gravitating towards sketch comedy over improv; learning how to develop writing sketch comedy from the players at Second City like Dan Castellaneta; on his early sketch comedy ideas; on meeting Dan Crowley in Chicago and joining his comedy group (All You Can Eat) as his replacement; on Al Franken and Tom Davis, original writers from Saturday Night Live, coming to Chicago to see a show Smigel had created, "All You Can Eat and the Temple of Doom" 18:58
Interview: Robert Smigel | Profession: Comedian
Robert Smigel on the "modern" type of "so bad it's good" comedy he was interested in early in his career; catching the comedy bug after performing and winning a comedy standup contest at NYU; "I was stung, I was infected"; on getting to perform at The Comic Strip in New York city; on his closing bit as Ronald Reagan (foreshadowing a later TV Funhouse sketch "The X Presidents"); on getting more gigs after that; on being a fan of comedy that "tore everything down and made fun of itself" 14:35
Interview: Robert Smigel | Profession: Performers
Robert Smigel on joining a sketch comedy program (The Players Workshop) at Second City in Chicago; on his love of Chicago and how the experience at Second City helped build his confidence as a comedian; on gravitating towards sketch comedy over improv; learning how to develop writing sketch comedy from the players at Second City like Dan Castellaneta; on his early sketch comedy ideas; on meeting Dan Crowley in Chicago and joining his comedy group (All You Can Eat) as his replacement; on Al Franken and Tom Davis, original writers from Saturday Night Live, coming to Chicago to see a show Smigel had created, "All You Can Eat and the Temple of Doom" 18:58
Interview: Robert Smigel | Profession: Performers
Robert Smigel on wanting to be a comedian since he was three years old; on his early influences in comedy 01:23
Interview: Robert Smigel
Robert Smigel on being influenced by television shows like Mister Ed and the talking horse (which may have influenced his character "Triumph the Insult Comic Dog") 01:33
Interview: Robert Smigel | Show: Mister Ed
Robert Smigel on wanting to be a comedian since he was three years old, and on his early influences being comedians like Red Skelton, and television shows like Mister Ed and Saturday Night Live, but on deciding to become dentist like his father because he didn't think it was possible to have a career as a comedian 06:01
Interview: Robert Smigel | Topic: Creative Influences and Inspiration
Robert Smigel on Dan Crowley inviting him back to Chicago and Second City and eventually joining his comedy group (All You Can Eat) as Dan's replacement, and on Al Franken and Tom Davis, original writers from Saturday Night Live, coming to Chicago to see a show he had created, "All You Can Eat and the Temple of Doom" 09:19
Interview: Robert Smigel | Topic: First Big Break