Veteran stand-up discusses the art form, set for Rocksino show; plus 5 memorable Macdonald moments

Most standup comedians spend their careers cranking out one-hour specials. It becomes a never-ending plight to write and hone the material, find the perfect location to film, and then perform the show for multiple cameras under the bright lights of a theater or club.

As veteran funnyman Norm Macdonald will explain, it’s the antithesis of the real stand-up experience. Although the comic of three decades is frequently still out on the road performing, only recently did Macdonald record his first stand-up special.

“The Netflix special comes out May 8, I think,” Macdonald said. “It’s one of the 52 comedy specials Netflix has this year!” he continued with a laugh. “They literally have one a week.”

Macdonald, known for a variety of achievements from his time as “Weekend Update” anchor on “Saturday Night Live,” to the cult classic movie “Dirty Work,” to his numerous guest spots on late night shows, will bring his unique and hilarious brand of standup to Northfield’s Hard Rock Rocksino on April 14.

The man who needs no lengthy introduction recently resumed work on his podcast, “Norm Macdonald Live,” recording a soon-to-be-released episode with retired late night king David Letterman. He’s also currently penning a followup to his best selling and critically acclaimed novel/anti-autobiography, “Based on a True Story.”

Macdonald was upbeat, candid and poignant in a recent brief but highly entertaining conversation ahead of his Rocksino show.

Q. I wanted to first talk to you about your recent book, “Based on a True Story.” You’ve always been an outstanding storyteller — from your guest appearances on “Howard Stern” to late night shows to parts of your act — and your book is no different. Who are some of your literary influences, and what authors have had the most profound impact on you?

A. “When I was young I liked the guys everyone liked when they were young — J.D. Salinger and Hemingway. When I got older, I started reading almost only Russian writers, but I’ve read a lot of different things. I’m trying to get into science fiction now, because I’ve never read it before. There’s just so many books to read. You’ll never read ‘em all.”

Q. Until recently, you never really did a true, one-hour special for TV. What was your reasoning behind that, and was there a lot of pressure to do one?

A. “Yeah, there has been. But I never wanted to do one. I was always disappointed with the ones I’d seen compared to the live shows they were based on, because I knew all the comedians. Really the only ones that ever really made me laugh have been Richard Pryor’s one-hours. I just always felt it was a live medium. I’m the opposite with a (musical) artist. Then I’d rather hear it in a studio to get it perfect. But with a comedian, I’d rather hear it more raw or off the top of the head.

“I just did a comedy special for Netflix (chuckles). It was exactly like what I thought it would be. I was trying too hard, and I just wasn’t as comfortable as I usually am. The place is brightly lit instead of dark. It’s the opposite (of live stand-up). They have a guy go out, although I told them not to do this. They usually have a guy go out, and they tell him ‘Just laugh at everything!’ It’s embarrassing (laughs). I did one special when I first started. They used to have a thing called ‘HBO Comedy Half Hour.’ It was for guys who weren’t known at all. They did them in Chicago at the Vic Theatre. That was the worst. They would have like 2,000 people there, and meanwhile all of us were drawing about 200 people. So they would tell everybody, ‘As soon as he walks out, go crazy!’ It would be humiliating. They would do four a day, and everyone would jump to their feet like you were Elvis (laughs). It was just so embarrassing, so that soured me on them.”

Q. Doug Stanhope did one for Comedy Central, and he recently wrote in his book that right after the spastic applause, he asked the audience, ‘OK, what’s my name again?’ Everyone went silent, and Comedy Central of course cut around it.

A. “That’s hilarious (Laughs). That’s really funny.”

Q. Simply put, what does stand-up comedy mean to you?

A. “Stand-up comedy to me is the purest form of comedy. It’s because the audience — and that’s the other problem with the specials. In stand-up, the audience isn’t on your side. They’re not complicit with you, because they’re paying money. They don’t know who you are before you make a name for yourself, and even if you do make a name for yourself, they still expect you to deliver. When I first went from stand-up to writing for sitcoms, and I wrote for a very, very good sitcom (‘Roseanne’), I saw the first script and I said, ‘Oh we’re dead.’ I was in a big panic. I was telling everyone, ‘These jokes all suck.’ Everyone was like ‘Don’t worry, relax.’ And then sure enough the audience went along with it. But it was because I was measuring it by the nature of stand-up.

“Personally, I think stand-up is the best, because it’s the shortest. Then I would (rank) sketch, then TV shows, then movies way at the end. It’s very hard to find a comedy movie. I used to go to Blockbuster, and I’d sort of have OCD trying to get one. I could never find eight or 10 good comedy movies that you just keep coming back to. I remember I talked to (Quentin) Tarentino, and I said ‘I think your movies are comedies, because you don’t have the problem of labeling them comedies,’ because comedies surprise. You get to do a big long thing with Christopher Walken, and at the end the pocket watch is up his ass, but nobody’s expecting it, because it’s not called a comedy. If it’s called a comedy, you’re expecting a joke every minute. So it’s bad just labeling something a comedy. It’s tough enough in the first place. But yeah, the shorter the better. One-liner comics I think are the purest form. Man. There’s guys like Mitch Hedburg and Dimitri Martin, every joke has to be so good. If you get three or four ones that aren’t so good, then it’s just terrible.”

Q. Speaking of one-liner comics, is the late, great Rodney Dangerfield the king of that form?

A. “He’s my favorite. Everyone points to Richard Pryor, and I can see that. But I would (rank) Dangerfield as sort of a tie. What I liked about Dangerfield — and this is what the old stand-ups had that we don’t have as young punks — he had regard for the audience. He looked funny, he acted funny, he talked funny, he had jokes. He put thought into every single part of his persona, the same way Jack Benny did. We don’t do that anymore. I was telling Jerry Seinfeld that I appreciated that he still did that. He has regard for the audience. He just doesn’t come out there. There’s room for guys to just go out there in T-shirts and jeans, but not every guy, you know?”

Q. I know you’re a huge golf fan, and the Masters is right around the corner. Any thoughts or predictions for this year? And any thoughts on Tiger Woods? I think we’re the same in that we both want to see him make a comeback.

A. “I do, too. I think Tiger will win a major again, and I think it will be the Masters. It’s not gonna be this year, obviously, but I think that’s the only one he can win, but I think he can win it two or three times. That’s my hope. I know I’m getting a little crazy (laughs). I would choose Rory McIlroy or Phil Mickelson for this one. I’ve seen Rory on the par-5s in the big tournaments get it within four feet for the eagle. I know he has the capacity. He seems to remember he’s Rory McIlroy at some point in the game. He definitely could be as dominant as Tiger, but he just became a celebrity there for a while, and Tiger never did that.”

Reach B.J. at 330-580-8314 or bj.lisko@cantonrep.com

On Twitter: @BLiskoREP

FIVE MEMORABLE NORM MACDONALD MOMENTS

Norm Macdonald has had a diverse and storied career. The legendary stand-up will bring his act to Northfield’s Hard Rock Rocksino on April 14. Here are five memorable moments from the 30-year comedic veteran.

1. “Weekend Update.”

Arguably the best “Weekend Update” anchor in “Saturday Night Live” history, Macdonald's removal from the "Update" chair was controversial to seemingly everyone but him. It was rumored that NBC executive Don Ohlmeyer wanted Macdonald canned because of his frequent targeting of Ohlmeyer’s friend, O.J. Simpson. Macdonald later revealed to David Letterman that it was simply because Ohlmeyer didn’t find him funny. While the comedy world was reeling from his removal, Macdonald hilariously took the whole thing in stride.

2. “The Comedy Central Roast of Bob Saget”

In 2008, Comedy Central asked Macdonald to participate in the roast of his friend, fellow comic and “Full House” actor Bob Saget. The producers of the show urged Macdonald to come up with material akin to the brutally insulting nature of the series. Macdonald did the opposite, instead trolling the roast with meek, inoffensive, work office humor he pulled from a book called “Jokes From Retirement Parties.” The audience was bewildered. The dais and fellow comedians in the audience were doubled over with laughter. It’s consistently ranked as one of the most legendary moments in Comedy Central’s roast history.

3. The real problem with jail rape from “Dirty Work.”

Macdonald and Artie Lange were hilarious in the cult classic, “Dirty Work,” and perhaps the one scene most often quoted is Macdonald’s diatribe to prisoners. “You fellas have a lot of growing up to do, I’ll tell you that,” Macdonald’s character Mitch explained. “Ridiculous. Completely ridiculous. Can you believe these characters? Way out of line. Way out of line. Have a good mind to go to the warden about this. You know what hurts the most is the … the lack of respect. You know? That’s what hurts the most. Except for the … except for the other thing. That hurts the most. But the lack of respect hurts the second most.”

4. The ESPYs

The greatest monologue in awards show history, Macdonald lambasted a room full of famous athletes for a full eight minutes. Half were offended, the other half in hysterics, which is pretty much on par when you ask Macdonald to do comedy for what amounts to a room full of suits. One memorable joke: “I was watching last night, I saw speed skating. And, uh, my goodness, you know? Could the outfits they wear be any tighter? Holy Lord! There was an East German woman, I swear, you could see the outline of her entire penis.”

5. “Late Night with David Letterman.”

Macdonald appearances on any late night show are always hilarious and memorable, but perhaps his most poignant performance was his last. As one of Letterman’s favorite comedians, Macdonald was asked to perform the final stand-up set on the show.

“This will be my last time on the David Letterman show, I understand,” an emotional Macdonald said as he transitioned into a story about the first time he saw Letterman perform. “Mr. Letterman is not for the mawkish, and he has no truck for the sentimental,” Macdonald said. “If something is true, it is not sentimental. And I say in truth, I love you.”

It was a fitting sendoff for Letterman, who will be the guest on an upcoming edition of Macdonald’s video podcast, “Norm Macdonald Live,” later this year.