Stories From Vegas’ Golden Era

Jun 24, 2023 272.8K Views 454 Comments

Today we meet up with old-school comedian Harry Basil who brings us deep into the stories of golden-era Vegas comedians and culture.

► Video edited by: Natalia Santenello

♪ upbeat jazz ♪
[applause]
PETER: Good afternoon, guys.
Many call Las Vegas
the entertainment capital of the world.
Therefore,
comedy has a huge influence here.
So today we have the great privilege
to meet up with Harry Basil.
A living legend in these parts
who’s worked with Rodney Dangerfield,
Nicholas Cage, many others.
We all know what comedy is
from the outside.
Maybe you’ve been to a few shows
like myself.
But what is it like from the inside?
We’re gonna get the stories
here on the strip.
He’s been here for decades.
He knows the ins and outs
and what it’s like behind the scenes.
Let’s do this.
-We’re in front of the Bellagio right now.
The Bellagio fountains.
But this was the Dunes Hotel
back in the ’80s.
-Okay.
-It opened in the late ’40s.
-So my very, very first time
performing in Las Vegas…
Even being in Las Vegas,
was at the Comedy Store at the Dunes Hotel
and the marquee was literally right here.
It’s the first time
that we got to see our names on a marquee.
I think I was with Louie Anderson
and I was just this
young 23-year-old comic.
When I was a kid I always loved comedy.
I grew up watching Martin and Lewis,
Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis,
and Abbot and Costello.
-Okay.
-And I loved that kind of comedy,
slapstick comedy.
I always liked the spontaneous stuff
that involved pulling people
out of the audience,
and I loved movies.
So I created this act
where I pull people out of the audience
and I reenact movies live on stage
with costumes and props,
and I used audience members as my costars.
So it’s like, here I am in my sixties,
I’m 63 now,
and
I’m kinda like a man-child on stage,
a little boy with his bag of toys.
-Right.
-And like, “Hey, look at me.
Look at me, everybody.” you know?
-You do impersonations too?
-Do a little bit, maybe just a little bit.
I just had a baby, 79 years old,
my sperm still works.
-DeNiro…
-79 years old…
He’s not even gonna be able
to lift the kid, you know?
-Wait, he just had a kid?
-He just had a kid, yeah.
-Wow.
-I remember on that opening night
after we performed
and we saw our names on the marquee,
Jim Carey and I were walking down this way
towards Caesar’s Palace,
and we were just like…
It was like 2:00 in the morning,
and we were both kind of high
from performing, you know?
All the energy and everything like that.
And Jim was opening
for Rodney Dangerfield at Caesar’s Palace.
-Okay.
-So he actually came over,
and was like a special guest
on the Comedy Store show, you know?
-How as Jim Carey back in ’84?
-Oh man, he was great.
First, he had this amazing
standing ovation impressionist act.
Where he would sing and stuff like that.
-Sure.
-And then he kind of threw away that act
and just started doing
this really bizarre stuff
and the comics would
just stand in the back of the room.
Even if he was dying
we just loved to watch him
because you were gonna see
something brilliant.
He was so animated.
-Right.
Like, in the ’80s if you were to say,
“Who do you think is gonna be
the biggest star out of this whole class?”
You know, of the 1980s,
like, kind of lump us all in there.
You know, Bob Saget, Louie Anderson,
Dice, Jim Carey,
and everybody wouldda said Jim Carey.
-And Dangerfield,
how was that working with him?
-Oh my God, Rodney was the greatest
because Rodney loved young comedians
and he had these HBO specials.
-Okay.
-The first one was in 1984
and he loved to discover new talent
and put these comedians
on his HBO specials.
And a lot of people
became really famous from them.
I mean it really propelled
Sam Kinison and Andrew Dice Clay.
Like, they wound up getting their own
HBO specials after Rodney’s special
and then they were selling out
stadiums and arenas.
On the creative side
it’s cool just working out together,
the bullsh*t in the green room,
asking another comic to watch a bit,
and then maybe the bits not working
and another comedian
might just throw a line
that helps them finish that joke
and make it a stronger joke.
PETER: So comedy in Vegas though,
the heart and soul of Comedy
is Los Angeles? Is that fair to say?
-Uh, no.
There’s so many great cities,
but LA and New York are the two big places.
-Okay.
Where if you decide, like,
“Hey, I’m gonna…”
“I’m gonna try
and make it in the business.”
-Yeah.
-I think New York and LA is
because of television,
and movies, and stuff like that.
-What about Vegas right now,
how’s the scene?
-Oh my God, there’s so many LA comics
and New York comics that are moving here
and there’s so many clubs.
A comedian could make
an amazing living here.
A lot of the headliners even say,
“Hey, I’ll be the host this week.”
or “I’ll feature,
I don’t care, I live here.”
“I want to work.”
-Sure.
There’s a lot of guys that live here
that perform at all the clubs.
Maybe they have a mini residency
or uh, they go on the road
and do cruise ships and other casinos.
And always come back and have a week here.
[loud hip hop from PA]
[child rapping]
Future Strip headliner.
I remember my mom came out to visit
and she was posing and pointing
at the marquee with my name.
-How did your mom feel
about you becoming a comedian?
-Oh, well she always knew I was silly,
and she was very proud of me,
and, you know,
I use a lot of costumes in my act.
I spoof Superman.
So she would iron my cape for me.
“I ironed your cape for you.”
and I was like, “I wonder if
Superman’s mom was ever like that?”
-And your father?
-My dad… My dad kind of, uh…
The line I always like to say is
that he went out for milk one day
and never came back.
He kind of left my mom with five kids.
-Oh, I’m sorry.
-But you know what,
he is the one that kind of got me into
enjoying comedy when I was young.
-Okay.
-You know, watching Abbot and Costello,
and Jerry Lewis, Dean Martin.
-Sure.
-And then when he left, he left his
Super 8 movie camera in the closet.
Which I was never allowed to touch.
And then I wound up making movies with it,
and I wound up becoming a film maker.
-Do you think because that experience
maybe that helped you get into it?
-It made me be a better man.
That’s for sure.
-Oh, really?
-Never did drugs, never…
..you know, gambled like he gambled
and stuff like that.
I’m a good husband, a good father.
-Okay.
Growing up, I had to start getting a job
at 12 years old.
You know, delivering newspapers.
-Okay.
Then I became waiter and a bus boy.
I mean a bus boy,
and a waiter, and a bartender.
But, you know, I told my mom
as much as she needed me to be there
in New Jersey to help her with
my little brothers and sisters
that were younger than me,
I want to go out to Hollywood, and…
And pursue acting,
and become a director, or whatever.
Didn’t even know
I was going to become a comic.
This friend at the hotel
I was working at said,
“Hey, go to the Comedy Store
on Monday night, it’s amateur night.”
“It’s free to get in, you watch
these horrible amateurs go up first…”
“..but then the professional comedians
go on afterwards.”
And sometimes Richard Pryor stops in
or Robin Williams.
So I went and did that,
and I’m watching these guys go up first
that weren’t that funny
and they’re each doing like five minutes
and then I’m watching Louie Anderson,
and Andrew Dice Clay, and Jim Carey.
Like, before they were anybody.
And I was like,
“Wow, I could do something like this.”
‘Cause Jim was doing impressions
and using music
and I could always do impressions.
So I was like,
“Let me put an act together.”
And I did, and I auditioned a week later,
and Mitzi Shore hired me.
-And I only had
like 15 minutes of material.
She started working me
at the Westwood Club
and I’d come up with more material.
And then she opened up
The Comedy Store at The Dunes
and next thing you know,
I’m only a comedian for two months
and I’m headlining Las Vegas.
-Wow, so you fell into it quickly?
-I fell into it very quickly.
HARRY: The great thing about today is
you can become famous, as you know,
off of this little tool right here.
-Yeah.
-You can shoot on your phone.
-$300 GoPro.
-You can shoot comedy bits.
There are guys that have gone viral,
Trevor Wallace is a huge comedy star.
I think he was making these little videos.
He’s also a really, really funny comedian.
-Mm-hmm.
– And this guy’s selling out like crazy.
-Do you think it’s easier now
or when you started?
-I say both because years ago
you could go on The Tonight Show
or have a sitcom and become a star.
Today, you could, like, again, just shoot
something off your phone that goes viral
then all of a sudden you’re
selling out theaters and stuff like that.
Like today, you could…
You could do The Tonight Show
and nobody could see it.
‘Cause like you said,
nobody watches TV anymore.
-Yeah.
-They’re watching HBO Max
or they’re streaming.
-Okay, the barrier to entry
was harder then…
Like, there were more gatekeepers
back in the day but if you got through.
-Right, in the ’80s…
The comedy boom in the ’80s
at The Comedy Store on Sunset Boulevard,
almost everybody had a deal.
The network would give you money,
and they would hold you,
and then they’d try to
develop something for you.
Sometimes a great show came out of it,
sometimes it didn’t,
Tim Allen had a deal with Disney
and they created Home Improvement,
and it made him a super star.
-If you could take your pick,
start comedy when you did
or be of this generation and start now?
-Wow, I’d rather start when I did.
It was just… You know what,
it was so much cooler.
We all looked out for each other.
All the other comics,
we were like in this class.
I mean I was in the Movie,
Peggy Sue Got Married.
It was my first movie
and it’s because Louie Anderson
and Paul Rodriguez
recommended me to the casting director
on a movie that they were in.
And then next thing you know, I’m cast
in the movie, Peggy Sue Got Married
because of that.
And it was two other buddies
that recommended.
Guys don’t do that today
like they did back then.
And then in the clubs you would go on,
and they’d go,
“Oh, Richard Pryor’s going on after you.”
or Robin Williams, or Rodney popped in.
-It was great.
-Wow.
Listen, at The Comedy Store today,
and at The Laugh Factory Today
there are big stars that still pop in.
But back then, oh my God.
Like, all of a sudden
have Richard Pryor go up, you know,
and the crowd just go insane,
and then Robin go on after him.
It was just so magical.
-What’s changed in comedy from those times?
The actual performance of it.
-I think…
I think that there are some people
that get offended more.
I think that all of a sudden
something can happen in the club,
and all of a sudden there’s a video
like Michael Richards using the N-word
on stage at The Laugh Factory, Hollywood.
And the next thing you know,
CNN has that footage or, um,
there was a joke that Daniel Tosh did
a couple years ago
and somebody, like, posted that online,
and then everybody was, like,
trying to cancel that person.
It was just crazy.
-So it’s more PC now or can comedians
be totally free and just let loose?
-You know what, you can still cut loose.
I mean, you know, obviously comics like
Dave Chappelle, Bill Burr,
Andrew Dice Clay, they’re…
Louis CK, they’re controversial
and you know
that they’re gonna be controversial
So how can you, like, be up in arms
if they talk about something
on their Netflix special?
-Right.
-And people try to, like, cancel them.
-Well, isn’t that the point of comedy?
-It’s crazy. It’s comedy. It’s comedy.
And those guys are known for it.
It’s one thing if you go on…
Oh, they were on Ellen
at 4:00 in the afternoon
and they said all of this vile stuff,
you know?
Like how can they do that?
-Right.
What do comedians make?
Obviously it depends the comedian.
But, like, what’s the high and low?
-There could be a comedian that you
never heard of and never will hear of…
-Yeah.
-And he could make
a couple hundred thousand a year
doing cruise ships, right?
-Uh-huh.
-That’s all he does is cruise ships, right?
Or he performs in the college market
or there’s Indian Casinos
around the country.
There’s corporate comedians
that only perform at corporate events.
Comedians could play
comedy clubs all around the club…
Or I mean all around the country
and make at least $100,000 or more.
And this is a no-name comedian, you know?
-How much is that comedian working?
Is he going full-on hardcore?
-He might.
It all depends on whether he has a family
and whether he wants…
I know guys that are on the road
every single week.
-So then what’s the upper echelon?
Like the Jerry Seinfeld,
how much is he making?
-Jerry Seinfeld, I would imagine
is probably making
a couple hundred thousand
a night or a show.
You know,
when he performs at Caesar’s Palace.
And then if he does
a private event somewhere
that could be like
a half a million dollars.
You know for somebo… But we’re talking,
he’s like at the very top.
When I used to open for Rodney,
Rodney performed at Bally’s,
and then also at the MGM,
and he was making
about $50,000 to $70,000 a show,
and he would perform five times in a week.
And he would do that
maybe eight times a year.
So maybe he was making, like, $3 million
just off of that one hotel for eight weeks.
You can imagine, like, when he was younger
and he used to go on the road all the time
and then he would do
the light beer commercials.
He used to get paid
a couple of million dollars
to do those HBO specials.
And then the movies,
I think he made like…
-Like Caddyshack?
-$20 million off of Back to School.
-10 or 20 million off of that.
That’s what’s great about this business.
A comedian can perform live,
they can sell merchandise,
they can release a comedy album
or a comedy special,
and then they can act in movies and TV.
So it’s opened up
to so many different other…
Or they could write on a sitcom or a…
Or a show like, you know,
Bill Maher’s show or something like that.
-Okay.
HARRY: I advertise over here
on this billboard.
The Laugh Factory advertises…
-You’re the owner of The Laugh Factory?
-One of the owners of The Laugh Factory.
-Okay.
-With Jamie Masada, the CEO and founder,
and my partner, Joseph Merhi.
Who I think you did a piece on.
A pretty popular piece.
-Yeah.
That’s who connected us.
-And Joseph and I met
making movies together.
We did two Rodney Dangerfield
movies together.
-Nice.
-We’ve been friends since 2001.
When we started making movies together.
-Very nice man, huh?
-Oh, he’s the best.
This area here,
we’re heading towards Downtown
and this is the arts district.
It’s really cool.
There’s a lot of funky…
I guess I would compare it to, like,
maybe Melrose
and a little bit of Hollywood Boulevard.
It’s like all these really cool…
-I’ve never seen this part of Vegas.
It’s this really fun, funky kind of area.
A lot of the young people
and a lot of the young locals come here.
-So what do you get out of it
when you’re on stage?
You see people laughing.
-It’s a high.
You know, like sometimes comedians,
if they don’t perform
they can get really obnoxious.
[chuckles]
Because they don’t have that outlet
of going on stage.
I remember my wife always used to say,
“Oh, you need to perform.”
“You’re so freaking obnoxious right now.”
-It’s your release?
-‘Cause yeah, it’s your release.
-Okay.
-And then Rodney always used to say
that it was a love affair.
A romance with the audience.
And, you know, sometimes you go away
from that one crowd and you go,
“Wow, that was…”
“Man, they were so fun.
They were on fire.”
And everything worked.
I had so much fun with them.
Or sometimes you go,
“God, those guys sucked.”
They hated me. [chuckles]
I want to retire, you know?
But then you’ll get the next crowd,
you’ll do great again.
And, you know, it all works out.
-How was he off the stage?
Was he a super happy positive guy?
-Rodney was down most of the time.
-Okay.
-[as Rodney]
“Man, it’s f*cking tough, okay.”
“It’s tough when
you’re born in a truck, all right?
“I’m telling you where it’s at.”
And then he would smoke some pot.
[as Rodney]
“Hey man, I dig you, baby.”
“If you need anything
just let me know, man.”
“Okay, I f*cking love you.
Okay, Harry?”
-Are a lot of comedians depressed
do you think?
-A lot of it comes from that, yeah.
A lot of it comes from, like, you know,
a rough childhood.
I mean Rodney, you know,
in his biography he talks about
how his mother never hugged him,
never made him breakfast.
His father left him.
Like me, his father left him.
He said, [as Rodney]
“My father didn’t have time for us kids.”
“He was always busy,
out trying to make other kids, you know?”
and his father left when he was young.
Wasn’t around.
His mother was a very cold person.
-So the pain from the upbringing
sort of gives you the ability to…
-Maybe.
Maybe it gives them the…
If they’re not screwed up,
maybe it gives them
the…
The tendency to talk about tough things
and see the funny stuff in it.
HARRY: We are at
the legendary Tropicana Hotel
and the world-famous Laugh Factory
comedy club has been here for 12 years.
There’s been rumors about
the baseball stadium coming here.
We don’t know if that’s for sure yet.
We could be standing
on home plate right now.
-Oh, coming into this property?
-Taking down the Tropicana
and building the stadium here.
-Oh.
-There’s been comedy in this corner
for almost 40 years.
Rodney Dangerfield opened up a club here
in 1986 called Rodney’s Place
and he did a special.
Tim Allen was on that special.
We have a booth dedicated to Rodney
and a statue.
We’re gonna head into the club now
and I’m actually gonna perform tonight.
-Yeah, yeah.
-I haven’t performed since October
but I’m gonna be a special guest
on the show tonight
Our headliner is
Brian Scolaro from New York.
He’s one of the funniest comedians.
I love him.
And Jerry Bednob from
The 40-Year-Old Virgin.
“Go f*ck a goat.”
That guy.
He’s on tonight.
He’s a legend as well.
And Rodney Dangerfield,
we have a booth dedicated to Rodney
and a statue.
Every once in a while I’ll kinda kiss it,
and give it a pat, and thank him.
‘Cause I feel like
he’s still looking out for me.
-You know having this club here.
-He was your mentor, huh?
-He was my mentor.
He was like a… like a dad.
And we did five movies together.
I was in two of his HBO specials.
We wrote a couple specials together,
and we wrote five movies,
and he let me direct his last two movies.
And that’s how I met my partner,
Joseph Merhi, the movie producer.
-Wow, very cool.
PETER: The sponsor of today’s video
is Cuts Clothing.
Cuts is by far the best t-shirt
I’ve ever worn.
The brand is super stylish
and performs in all types of conditions.
No joke, I can wash a Cuts tee
up to 50 times and it still looks great.
My personal favorite Cuts product
is the Pima cotton tee.
They’re super comfortable,
buttery soft, but still hold their form.
Easy to dry when I’m on the road
shooting videos,
and they don’t wrinkle.
I also like the fact that
the Pima tee is made in Peru.
Cuts has a full line of sweats, polos,
joggers, vests, jackets, and much more.
They also have a women’s line of clothing.
Cuts’ super talented design team
is constantly coming up with
new styles and fits
that look and perform exceptionally well.
If you want to get in on some Cuts
and give them a try
you can get 15% off your next order by
clicking my link below in the description.
www.cuts.team/peter
Again, that’s 15% off your purchase
with Cuts if you click on my link below.
Now back to the video.
[applause]
[as Kermit the Frog]
Thank you for being here tonight.
Boy, what a great audience.
Thank you very much. Thank you.
Take a bow, Rich. Take a bow.
-Hey, there’s Rich Little,
ladies and gentlemen.
RICH: What a great audience that was.
-I know, I saw you got a standing ovation.
-God, those people from Canada went nuts.
They all wanted a picture.
Which is a little risky
but I did it anyway.
HARRY: Hey, in Canada
I heard they only have sex doggy style.
That way they can
both watch the hockey game.
That was Rodney’s joke.
[both chuckling]
RICH: And Harry,
you know, he’s incredible.
-Thank you, Rich.
-Harry Basil is the most unique entertainer
you’ll see in your life.
HARRY: Oh, that’s really…
-He’s the road runner of comedians.
He’s all over the place.
-Thank you, Rich for saying that.
There, see. It worked out. It worked out.
-Last time it was more but that’s okay.
[all laughing]
PETER: Mr. Little,
how long have you been doing comedy for?
-Me?
-Yeah.
-Oh my God, over 60 years.
-Sixty years?
-Yeah.
-How is it now compared to 60 years ago?
-Um…
Well…Vegas has changed a lot.
I mean an awful lot.
I mean in the old days people came here
to see the stars, you know?
Now they come here to…
You know, for the food,
and for the extravaganzas,
and for the magic shows,
and the big production number shows.
So it’s not so many single performers
as it used to be, you know?
Nobody tells jokes anymore.
They do routines about
their personal experiences in life.
Things…
Amusing things that’ll happen to them.
You know?
Observational humor.
Back in the early days you had Myron Cohen,
and you had Milton Burrow, and Bob Hope,
and they all told jokes.
You know, but…
-You like that style better?
-I like that style, yeah.
Yeah, because I can do the impression
and if they impression’s any good
the audience will react and applaud,
and if you tell something funny
as that person
then you’ve got two things going for you.
-..show, let’s put our hands in.
Star, smile, shine.
-Go team.
-You met Jerry, right?
PETER: Yes, Jerry.
Are you getting out there tonight?
-Oh, yeah.
HARRY: He’s a special guest.
-It’s the full line up.
-Yeah.
-This is a star-studded lineup.
-..a long time.
PETER: Yeah.
And, you know, you do comedy
and booking.
And the old saying, you know,
“Those who do… Those who can, do.
Those who can’t, book.”
HARRY: Oh, thank you.
-You…
HARRY: Those who can’t teach, teach gym.
HARRY: I don’t perform
so I can give old guys like you more dates.
More dates.
[all laughing]
HARRY: This was the cover when we
performed at The Dunes Hotel.
This was the opening week.
That’s me, I was headlining,
Louie Anderson,
Andrew Dice Clay, Paul Rodriguez,
Blake Clark, Argus Hamilton, and Jim Carey.
And it says, “Band of unknown zanies
invade The Dunes…”
“..with fresh wave of comedy.”
And it was May 4th, 1984.
I was 24 years old.
-How fun was that?
-I was only a comedian for three months
and headlining Las Vegas.
WOMAN: We had so much fun.
-How is it being married to a comedian
for 30-plus years?
Walk me through that story.
-First of all, Harry’s in another…
Just another realm of type of human being.
He’s just one of the best people
I’ve ever known.
He legitimately…
-That $20 that I gave her…
-He’s legitimately just…
There’s not many out there.
When I met Harry, I was extremely young,
and I was trying to get into acting,
and he pursued me,
and he was nerdy-ish
but also…my best friend.
And I wasn’t sure.
At that point I knew that
he was a good guy and that
he was in love with me
and if I didn’t end up with him
I’d maybe never find a guy like him again.
PETER: Oh.
HARRY: Well, that’s sweet.
-Even though I was truly young.
I still knew that back in that day
at a young age
that I probably would never
find someone like…
-Yeah, but last time you said,
yeah, we’ve been married
so and so many years but…
And I look like I do,
and you look like you do, so there.
-That’s… He gets that sometimes
when he acts like a jerk.
I have to put him in his place a little.
MAN: These guys…
These guys were made for each other.
[all laughing]
HARRY: Let me see
what the house looks like, I don’t know.
Let me take a peek at the audience.
[audience laughing]
Okay.
Not bad for a Monday first crowd.
Small little crowd, ’bout 90.
Penny’s a great comedian
and a wonderful host.
He really gets them going.
God, I used to look in this mirror
when it was The Comedy Stop.
35 years ago looking in this mirror,
this same mirror.
[taps glass]
-Wow.
-If you could just, like…
-Is that a trip or what?
-Yeah.
It’s crazy.
You look at yourself and you go,
“Oh, wait a minute.”
Oh, there we go.
There we go, let’s get an eye job
and a little nose lift.
-Are you gonna be like Rich Little?
-I’m 26 now. I’m 26.
[laughs]
-Are you gonna do a Rich Little
and go into your 80s?
-You know what, I… No.
I can’t do this act forever.
But…I love…
You know, I love being around it,
and booking, and, you know,
shoot some specials and stuff like that
but I can’t be jumping around
like this forever.
You know, doing this kind of act
I’m gonna have to evolve it.
But then you get out there and you have fun
and the crowds are great.
Vegas crowds are always the best.
I’m wearing a bra right now.
[Peter chuckling]
I swear to God I am.
It’s for the show.
And the wire is loose,
and it’s cutting into my boob.
-Oh, here.
-Yeah.
Do you want to feel it?
Look at that.
-That’s going into your boob? Ouch.
-Into my boob, yeah.
So I don’t know how
these women wear these things.
-That’s part of the bra?
-It’s a costume.
-Oh.
-Years ago it was a costume,
now I actually need it.
[Penny performing]
-All right, guys,
here we are, backstage.
[audience laughing ]
PENNY: Get the f*ck out of my house.
[laughter]
If you’re born after 1991,
you’re not gonna get that joke,
it’s a’ight.
[laughter]
Are you all watching the same show
as these people over here?
What’s going on tonight?
This must be, like the rehab section.
-Be confident, and be nice, and cute.
HARRY: Okay.
-Okay.
I have…
-Was that from The Help?
-You are kind, you are wonderful…
-People… you know…
-And everybody likes you.
HARRY: Here we go.
-[claps] Get ready!
Woo.
Have fun…. Love you.
PENNY: We have a very special guest
going to come out to the stage tonight.
This gentleman has directed
many classic Rodney Dangerfield movies
and speaking of movies,
if you’re a fan of movies,
you’re gonna be a fan of this guy.
Please put your hands together for
The Movie Guy, Harry Basil.
HARRY: Here we go.
♪ “Danger Zone” by Kenny Loggins ♪
Let’s hear it one more time
for Penny Prince. Wasn’t he great?
[applause]
I love that guy!
All right, I’m gonna start off
with some movie impressions.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
here’s an exciting scene
from my favorite
Arnold Schwarzenegger action movie.
Here we go… Hit it!
♪ Theme from The Terminator ♪
[whistle]
[As Arnold] All right, boys and girls,
I’m your new kindergarten teacher.
[laughter]
I’m going to read this story now.
So everybody SHUT UP!
SHUT UP!
Once upon a time, there’s three bears.
The mama bear, the papa bear,
and the baby bear.
And they had to go for a walk
’cause is the porridge is too hot.
So they left the house and they said…
We’ll be back.
[groaning and applause]
Then a little girl named Goldilocks
snuck in the house
and she ate their food,
and broke their furniture,
and slept in the beds,
and when the bears came home…
When Maria came home
she caught me f*cking the ugly maid.
[laughter]
That’s a true story by the way.
Oh, so many beautiful couples
we have in the audience tonight.
Look at all these lovely, lovely couples.
How long have you guys been together?
MAN: Two years.
-Two years,
you have any nicknames for her?
-Couple.
[laughter]
-Anything we can hear?
-No.
How bout…
Do you ever call her baby?
‘Cause you know what,
if she was my baby,
nobody puts baby in the corner.
♪ “Time of My Life” from Dirty Dancing ♪
♪ Superman Theme ♪
[To the tune of “Piano Man”]
♪ There’s a f*ckin’ old man ♪
♪ sittin’ next to me ♪
♪ f*ckin’ his tonic and gin ♪
[laughter]
PETER: How’d it feel, Harry?
-It was fun, they were a good crowd.
-Oh yeah.
-Yeah.
-She was so into it.
-Oh, she was great.
You know, a lot of it depends on who I pick
and I don’t know.
Like, I’ll always look and I’ll see.
Like, all right, who’s laughing?
There was a girl on the left
I was gonna pick
but she had a low halter thing
and I thought there’s no way
she’s gonna bend over on the stool.
So then I saw her
and she looked young and fit.
I looked at her foot
to see if she had a broken foot.
‘Cause she had these weird sneakers on
and I thought I saw a cast for a minute.
So I gotta watch out for that kinda stuff.
-And then what if you get
the super jealous husband/boyfriend?
-I had a guy come up
and take her out from under the bed sheet.
You know, ’cause they don’t know
what I’m gonna do.
I’m telling them,
like, stay here until I pull this off you.
-Right, right.
-So they’re standing there.
One time I had a guy come up
and I’m going…
I’m getting changed into my next outfit,
and I’m seeing the guy,
and I’m going,
“Oh, the jerk is taking her out.”
He takes the thing off
and he bends down on his knee,
and he pulls out a ring,
and he proposed to her.
He probably was gonna do it
later on that night
but he thought
this is the perfect time to do it.
-Wow, that’s badass.
-And then we sent him the video.
‘Cause they were recording the show.
So we sent him the video.
So that was pretty cool.
-That was awesome.
-Thank you buddy, I appreciate it.
That was a lot of fun.
And I appreciate you
being here and doing this.
-No, my pleasure.
And guys, if you’re in Vegas,
you gotta go here.
To The Laugh Factory to see Harry.
And the other places?
-We also have a Laugh Factory in Hollywood.
-Okay.
-We have The Laugh Factory in Long Beach,
Chicago…
-Okay.
And Reno at the Silver Legacy.
-Okay.
-And soon to open Covina.
Covina Laugh Factory on Citrus Boulevard.
-Nice… All right.
-I’ll leave your guy’s link down below.
-www.laughfactory.com
-All the clubs
and all the comedians that we have.
-Okay, cool.
Down in the description, guys.
Really good environment here.
MAN: Awesome job.
[clapping]
PETER: Such a cool vibe.
-This is the thing about Harry:
-Okay… No, we’re not finished.
-When you haven’t…
I haven’t seen your act in a long time
and it reminds me of how good you are.
How much people love you
and how unique and funny…
-Geez… Wow.
-No, no, the audience loved you.
PETER: Yeah, it was cool.
-I’ve seen so many shows here
and people laugh at people,
but you just pick up the audience
like no other.
PETER: They were loving it.
There was such an energy out there.
-You still can do that.
-I still got it.
-You still got it. You got the mojo.
[chuckling]
You got the mojo.
♪ upbeat jazz ♪

If you’re interested in more content from around the WORLD visit these links below:

Be the first to see the next video