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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