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Neil can often be seen with his Steven Segal - like ponytail, handing out business cards at various open mics all over the Bay Area It is a great honor for CringeHumor.net to bring you the following interview:
Cringe Humor: When did you decide that being a comedy coach® was your destined path in life? Neil Leiberman: It happened one night in 1978 behind the Comedy Store in Hollywood when a bunch of comedians beat me to a pulp and talked me into becoming a comedy coach. For some reason the comedians had been asking me for advice about their material, and for an even stranger reason, the advice seemed to be working for them. There was no such thing as a comedy coach back then. The job didn't exist. But I'm no fool. I saw a built-in clientele, so I jumped on it. The business snowballed so fast I gave up performing on a regular basis. It was so much more challenging for me to work in a thousand different styles versus just one, my own. So, for better or worse, that made me Americans original Comedy Coach®, which is now a federally registered trademark, so don't fuck with me. I learned very early on that "group" classes don't work. You cant generalize about stand-up. It is a very specific art form. Which is why I only work one-on-one with my clients/students/patients. CH: Aren't most comedy coaches® failed stand up comedians? NL: Yes. I certainly was. Mainly because I didn't have a coach. It takes an outside eye to evaluate your act. You are too close to your own stuff to judge it. Honestly, I was a fairly good comic, but not a great one. P.S. There are no other comedy coaches®, it's a federally registered trademark, dickweed, CH: How many hacks out in the SF/LA area do you take responsibility for? NL: Here's the deal. I don't take credit or responsibility for any of my clients. The mega stars or hacks that I have worked with do all of the sweating and hard work on stage, and they deserve the credit and/or hate mail. And besides, we need hacks. Without them, the rest of us wouldn't look half as good in comparison. God bless the hacks. Somebody has to open. CH: You don't allow your students to use foul language when performing. How do you expect one of your graduates to tackle topics such as pussy farts & black cock? NL: It's just as easy to say vagina gas and African-American penis. In fact, these are a few of my fav-o-rite things. CH: If it wasn't for open mics, what would you be doing for a living? NL: I run a very successful company called Laugh.com Records, which keeps me dripping in hookers and non-alcoholic beer, thank you very much. CH: Finish this line: "Take my wife..." NL: ..to the hospital. She's bleeding from the ass from too much African-American Penis. CH: Do you issue a bright red blazer to every graduate of your course? NL: Nobody ever graduates. Much like actors and singers have coaches for their entire careers, so do comedians. I do however, give them a golden stool sample. CH: Don't you think $800 is a tad overpriced for mediocrity? NL: No, in fact, on April 1st 2004, I will be raising my rates to $895. Mediocrity is highly underrated. Just watch Comedy Central CH: Most of your successful graduates "unlearn" what you have taught them. Do you still take credit for their success? NL: I'm not one of these people who say, "Oh yeah, I taught Robin Williams everything he knows" I leave that to Bruce Villanche. But I always show up at their funerals when they have overdosed. CH: If you could make one universal apology to your students, what would it be? NL: I should have slept with more of you
Thanks once again to Neil for being such a go getter & a trooper. To learn more about Neil and his wonderful services, visit his site: http://comedycoach.com
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A few weeks ago Cringe
Humor was contacted by the Comedy Coach® Neil Leiberman. Neil informed us he
is available for an interview to be featured on the site.