Mick Unplugged - From Emerson to Letterman: Eddie Brill's Insights on Comedy

Episode Date: February 13, 2025

Eddie Brill is an American comedian, writer, and actor who started his career in Boston, Massachusetts. He was previously the warm-up comedian and comedy talent coordinator of Late Show with David Letterman. Brill tours frequently, performing in the US as well as England, Ireland, France, Australia, Amsterdam, and Hong Kong. At one time, he was a humor consultant for Reader's Digest. During the episode, Eddie peels back the layers of his career with Mick, unveiling his philosophy on comedy's foundation: the truth. Through candid storytelling, he reveals the wisdom imparted by legends like George Carlin and Joan Rivers, all while maintaining a grounded sense of authenticity. Eddie's workshops, deeply rooted in the art of comedic timing and the power of pauses, have molded countless comedians into authentic storytellers. Takeaways: Comedy is rooted in truth, which resonates with audiences The gut instinct is crucial for authenticity Support fellow comedians and workshops Sound Bites: "I remember the first laugh I got in the comedy workshop on stage, and it feels so good that it's... like heroin. You chase it for the rest of your life." "If you're funny, the audience will laugh. You could have all the credits in the world... there are a lot of people who are not that talented, who get big TV shows or work in theaters.”  Connect and Discover  Instagram:  https://www.instagram.com/eddiecomic Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/eddiebrill143 Website:  https://www.eddiebrill.com/ Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@eddiecomic   𝗙𝗢𝗟𝗟𝗢𝗪 𝗠𝗘 𝗢𝗡: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mickunplugged/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mickunplugged/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCIPaMel-Fb4zQmCSZDPHu4A LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mickhunt/ Website: https://www.mickhuntofficial.com Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/mick-unplugged/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Welcome to Mick Unplugged, where we ignite potential and fuel purpose. Get ready for raw insights, bold moves, and game-changing conversations. Buckle up, here's Mick. Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to another exciting episode of Mick Unplugged, and today we have a legend. From his early days at Emerson College where he co-founded the renowned Emerson College Comedy Workshop,

along with legends like Dennis Leary, to a 17-year tenure as the warmup comedian and comedy talent coordinator at The Late Show with David Letterman. He has been the cornerstone of the comedy landscape. With a reputation for discovering and nurturing comedic talent, he continues to inspire audiences around the world.

Get ready to deep dive into the art of humor with the insightful, the dynamic, the trailblazing, New York's old Mr. Eddie Brill. Eddie, how you doing today, brother? All right, you know, long intros are fun because you have to get through them, you know what I mean? They're lovely. You know, I'll tell you an interesting story

right off the bat. In America, we do intros and it's very important. When I first went to London the very first time to do standup, I think it was 89, that era. And I told the MC my intro, gave it to him. And they looked at me like real, not very happy. And he brought me up without saying anything, just Eddie Brill and luckily it went well, it was good. I got to be friendly with him and I said,

why were you so mean to me that first night? He said, because you came up to me, I never met you and you bragged to me about your career. I wasn't bragging about my career, I was giving you my intro. He said, intro, why would you do an intro? If you're funny, the audience will laugh. You could have all the credits in the world.

He said, you know just as well as I, there are a lot of people who are not that talented, who get big TV shows or work in theaters. So your intro doesn't mean anything. It's who you are on stage that really makes a difference. And I really like that a lot. Yeah. No, that's actually honest, right?

Because you're exactly right. I mean, I get pitches. I'm sure you receive pitches, right? Of all these people. It's like, I've never heard of them. And then, I get pitches, I'm sure you receive pitches, right, of all these people. It's like, I've never heard of them. And then you go research them because it's 2025. Now, when information is an abundant and there's nothing there. So it's like all this stuff you just wrote, how come I don't see this anywhere else? And it doesn't mean you didn't do it. Like, you know, people will say have said to me, Hey, you know, I have this comedian, it's another Chris Rock. I said, well, you know what you're saying,

I should book Chris Rock. Because why would I want another Chris Rock? I want each person to be their authentic self. It's interesting. One of the things I realized at the time also was how much we pander to the crowds in America. Give yourselves a round of applause for coming out tonight. And why would I applaud going out tonight? I've done it before.

I'm very good at it. It's just you're BSing the audience into making noise for you instead of creating it yourself with your talent. It's very interesting. And I love that about you, right? Because again, I've been a huge fan of yours, forever. I love the joke about, you know, your mom. I forget. Oh my God, if we were not here, I could repeat the joke verbatim. But it was one that you did on Letterman and you were talking

about your mom always being honest, but she's in prison now. Right? Oh, no, that's my grandmother. You know, your grandmother, when you do a right? Oh, no, that's my grandmother, you know. Your grandmother, yeah. When you do a five-minute set for television, you need to get a laugh in the first five, ten seconds. So the audience, you know, if you're famous, it's different. You're going to get a laugh even if you suck, you know, because the audience is already based on what you've done before. But a comic who's not well known, you know, needs to get a laugh in the first five, ten

seconds. So the joke was, you was, my grandmother told me the truth will set you free. And then she went to prison for perjury. And then I said, oh, I lied. It's just taking it to that level. Setting it up for the deal. So I love, Eddie, man, to go back to when you got started,

like to be the co-founder of the Emerson workshop, the comedy workshop, right? Like it had to be in you. When did you know that not only this is what I wanna do because anybody can have the dream, the idea, right? But Doggona, you're good at this. When did you know that, man, I'm gonna do that? You know, there's so many ways to answer that.

I remember the first laugh I got in the comedy workshop on stage, and it feels so good that there's very few things like getting a laugh. And when you get a laugh, because you can write Patch Adams and make people cry. There's nothing wrong with the movie. It's just, you know's just formulaic crying.

But laughter is a very difficult art form to create. So when I got that very first laugh and the very first Emerson Comedy Workshop bit, it's like heroin. You chase it for the rest of your life. It's really great. But your question was more about how did I know? How did I feel?

I grew up in a house where my mom was very funny. We had comedy albums around the house. For Christmas I would get a, I remember I got a comedy book and the great thing about the comedy book was a joke in it and it said, what did Tennessee, and the answer was the same thing Arkansas. And I'm five and it's the funniest thing I've ever heard in my life. And you know, then I saw George Carlin on television and he did wordplay. And so in between that birthday book and Carlin,

I was doing my own wordplay. Like I draw a picture of a salt shaker and a knife, a salt with a deadly weapon, and I would just love wordplay. So I was a very shy kid growing up and when I'd get laughs it was my way of you know letting go and it felt really great. So the more I would make people laugh the more I felt strong about who I was. And then the biggest change was finding out that the bottom line is the foundation for all comedy is the truth.

So, I mean you could be silly and you could be and do comedy whatever way you want. But the kind of comedy that I've always loved is the foundation is the truth. And once I connected to that, I'll give another example. Not long ago, Rick Rubin, I heard him talking, I'll give you another example. Not long ago, Rick Rubin, I heard him talking to the music producer. He said, I don't write my music for the audience. I write it for myself and I do what I love. I went to college with Steven Wright,

the comedian and he started back then with us. He said, yeah, I don't write my jokes, you know, for the audience. I mean, I want them to enjoy themselves. I have, I love when they love it, but I write what makes me laugh. And that was the, another step for me to tell my truth. Like there's, when you start out as a comedian, you act like another comedian because you don't know yourself. Plus we can go deeper.

Society says that we're pieces. I don't know, what's the language on this podcast? Whatever Eddie Brill wants it to be. Oh, okay, I was gonna say. Advertising, politics, and many forms of religion teach us that we're sinners and pieces of shit. And the only way we could be good is if we're consumers. And it's a very smart way to, you know, it's a very smart way to make money.

If you're a smart business person, that's how you make money. So when you start out as a human being in society, you go on a date, you don't feel comfortable to be yourself. You have to create a character you think the other person wants. And, uh, what I've learned is to, you know, like people with like all the, like when I was starting out, I sounded like George Carlin, my rhythms. When Jerry Seinfeld started out, he sounded like Robert Klein

because we're acting like comedians. Once I've, you know, I found out who I was, or at least had some idea, that's when things the burst, the damn burst open, you know? So in reality, it was a very long winded answer. You know what's interesting about that? When I was like one and a half, two, I didn't talk. They took me to the doctor and to figure out

what was wrong and they said, nothing's wrong. Some kids, now I don't shut up. Probably would have been. You were a big thinker at two, huh? Big stinker. So Eddie, one of the things on on Mick unplugged that we talk about is your because that thing that's deeper than your why right? Like for me, it's your purpose. And you know, my because started out as a promise that I made to my mom

and then it became you know, promises that I made to my brother my sister my kids So my because is always around a promise and I know that you are so philanthropic and you you do more Unseen than people will ever know it. What is Eddie's because? when when I was very little we you know, we didn't have any money and we Parents eventually got divorced and you know, there was, we were living very poorly, but love, love, love and all, all through the house, love, laughter, a lot of laughter. And that really carried us. You know, we didn't, we,

once a week we'd get ice cream and it was the greatest night of our lives, you know. And my stepfather, who was incredibly great, got very sick and died of cancer. You know, I was 15 and we were five of us and I raised the kids. And I got such a joy in being, you know, the, like, the leader, the teacher, the... It just gave me such a joy. And I think I've carried that all the way through in my life. Not to everyone's happiness, but I love doing that.

That's why if you book comedians for television, or you book comedians for anything, you have to say no to 99 percent of the people who audition. You're not loved because of it because people want. You think you're a jerk for not doing that, but you learn to live with what you can do. My purpose has been just be the best. There's a great book called The Four Agreements.

I don't know if you're familiar with it, my Bible. One of the things is to just be impeccable with your word. Don't make assumptions, don't take things personally and do the best you possibly can. And that's how I live my life. I follow that pattern. Now, I don't know if I answered the question or just,

you know, stuff all over. No, that was truly, truly, truly amazing. And, you know, again, been a huge fan of yours forever. And this is something I wanted to ask you. You know, I hear, and I've heard a lot of comedians, whether it was Robin Williams,

Dion Cole, talk about, you know, the dark side of comedy. When people expect you to always be funny and to always love and to always be humorous, they forget a lot of times that you're going through the same things that they're going through. And you just have 30 minutes, an hour to go be funny. But as soon as you come off the stage, you're dealing with that same monster, whatever it is that everyone else is dealing with. How hard either for you or people that you've been around, or even just for the the industry of comedy, how hard is that for people to really understand that you

you really are funny for an hour. Right. But but outside of that, we're going through the same stuff and probably right before you're supposed to be funny, you just received some horrible news. Right. That's an Eddie to be funny as soon as Eddie grabs the mic. That's happened to me. You know, I've gone just before I went on stage, you know, get some really horrible news.

It was one of the biggest comedy nights of my life where I ended up performing at Carnegie Hall and Carolines and at The Letterman Show and one other venue. And I, it was a misdiagnosis. But I had heard that one of my brothers had a pancreatic cancer. And knowing that Bill Hicks the great genius comedian

had just recently died of that very quickly it I had to go on stage and do these shows and I took all the energy that I had and put it together and had some of the best shows of my life and then collapsed when it was over only to find out a couple days later it was pancreatitis and it was misdiagnosed and he lived and wow. But you know, you find out this news, you gotta go, you gotta do the work. And it's actually beautiful. My sister had a lot of loss and, and I'm gulping because I have, you know, my

sister died in 1997 and it just hurt so bad that she did. And it was, it was very interesting because when she had, you know, when she had passed away, it, uh, it, you know, took a lot out of me. So I learned after a while to celebrate the life and as instead of mourning the loss, I, um, you know, it's, it's funny because in this conversation about this, I was actually going somewhere else but my brain took me over here. Yeah, it's just, it's an interesting life because you never know what's around the corner. You can't really plan.

You could, I mean you can, but it's not always gonna work out. So to be able to ad lib, to be able to play in the moment, and to never take things so seriously, you know, like some jokes that I write are not politically correct, not mean, not mean spirited, it's just funny. And I can't spend my life trying to please everybody. Like people will say to me, hey, you know, I saw Chappelle's special and I didn't like it.

And I say to them, he's not here to please you. If you don't like Chappelle, who is one of the most talented comedians on the planet, if you don't like him, change the channel or go watch somebody else or complain about something else. There's lights too short. Right. Yeah, boy did I go all over the place on that one. I'll watch this later and go what did I mean? Why did I bring my sister up?

This is raw and authentic with Eddie Brill. I love it. I love it. So you know you get your stint with Letterman. You earn it and here's what again just being a huge fan of you. And here's what, again, just being a huge fan of you, you're in New York. There's, and I mean this as lovingly as I can, there's 200,000 Eddie Brills in New York trying to get that same job, right? Same thing in Chicago, Toronto, like all these big cities that are just comedy houses.

Everyone's vying for and applying for and auditioning for what you got. How the heck did Eddie Brill get that? You know, it's the weirdly enough, it's as simple as it's who you know. When I was in, I lived in LA and New York for a while. And one of the guys that went to college with contacted me out there was broke. And he said, I'm working at the show called Sav by the bell and they need a warm-up comedian and You'll make a thousand bucks or something and I had like 35 cents in my pocket and I said I yes I'm a warm-up comedian. I never had done it before and I had done it and it was babysitting

It was just babysitting the only the great thing about it was the money of course But so I can afford to live. But across the hall, literally, a couple of feet across all was The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson. That was great. But anyway, I did the warmup, and it was a very hard job to do, but I did it, and it was OK. And then I moved to New York, and I

got an offer to work at the Dana Carvey Show to warm up the audience. Now, the Dana Carvey Show was a really smart and funny show. It was too smart for American television. It was taken off after only a couple of episodes. Steve Carell and Robert Smygle and Louis CK, and it was just all the best of the best. The show only lasted a few

episodes. So now Louis CK went over to Letterman show to do some writing. Everyone dispersed into different shows and Letterman approached the writers and said you know a comedian who we need a warm-up comic. So Louis said yeah I worked with Eddie Brill at the Dana Carvey show and and so I met Letterman and had a six-week trial period and it lasted 17 years. You know, you have to be able to do the job when you get there and you have to work hard, like I would average between five and 600 stand-up shows a year, just running around working sets and because you got to love it, you got to marry it,

you got to love it and you got to hold it and you got to squeeze it and you got to nurture it. And that's what I did. And I still love it. I love it more. I'm now doing it 40 plus years and I just, I can't get enough of that funky stuff. Yes, sir. You know what else I love about you, Eddie, is that you are genuinely who you are.

And you, you hone in your craft even 40 years later, like you're still, you know, honing in your craft. And these are the words of Mick and Mick only and are only part of the Mick Unplugged podcast. So I don't want anybody coming at me, but you know, over the last, what, seven, eight years, the YouTube and the Instagram comic has gone craze, right? To me, they're not that funny, Eddie. Like to me, they can't go on stage and work or cry. YouTube and the Instagram comic has gone craze, right?

To me, they're not that funny, Eddie. Like to me, they can't go on stage and work or cry. Like it is, I respect what they do. So I don't want anyone to come at me and say, I'm not respecting you. I totally respect what you do. But when you can hold your phone and edit and do whatever, it's a little bit different than when you're in a room. I don't care if it's 50 people in a room.

Right. It's different than you gotta work this out in the room. And this is what a lot of people don't know. I love live comedy. I go to comedy shows monthly, right? Always going somewhere. There is always 15 to 20% of the room that paid to go see this comic

that's sitting there saying, yeah, but I'm not gonna laugh. I bet you he's not that funny or she's not that funny. Right, like people don't understand that. So for that Instagram or YouTube comic, man, like what does Eddie feel about that? I had to get that off my chest, I'm sorry. No, it's okay.

And it's understandable. The comics, we talk about it all the time. You know, the whole idea of writing comedy and performing it and trying it out, you know, there was very few people who were amazing at it. You know, like Richard Pryor, George Carlin, Louise Hamlin, Jonathan Winters from that era. And then before them, Jack Benny,

and then before that, Charlie Chaplin, and it's just Mark Twain before that. And comedy consistently goes through time. What's happening now the pandemic hit and you're at home and you can't really do stand-up in front of a crowd which is the way it's supposed to be done. So what someone does is they they use their brains to create this internet comedy and it's different from stand up comedy, because you're just using the internet. So nothing for me to be jealous of. But what a smart person would do who has popularity, who has 2 million followers or whatever, they take five of their friends who are good standups

and go on the road. And the MC who's popular and brings in the crowd goes up on stage and just chats. It's not that funny. Might be a funny person, might have jokes, but mostly they don't. They're mostly like, hey, I'm the clown, clown, clown, and that's okay. Nothing wrong with being a clown. Many comics are clowns and many clowns are comics.

Then they'll bring on their friends who are are talented so the audience gets a show. That's the smartest way to use the internet. But I think that I wanna stay away from being the comic or like when I was a kid, you know, there are comics we used to go off and we didn't have two legs, you know, we would go out there. And you know, so I don't appreciate the, I appreciate the art of stand-up. I love the writing the joke and trying it out, and then rewriting the joke, and then trying it out, and getting into a place, and then

writing a new joke, and then trying that out. That part to me is the art form. But it doesn't mean that these people who are playing on the internet are, you know, are that talented at standup, they're talented at creating a phenomenon. There are comics who work the Madison Square Garden who are not funny to me. It doesn't mean I don't like them or hate them or, you know, wish them poorly. It's just that, you know, that they've learned to use the internet.

I think it's a very smart ploy on their part. Doesn't mean I have to enjoy it or love it. But I respect the people who said, for instance, when you had TV shows like The Lucy Show or Mr. Ed or Green Acres, and you had these sitcom shows, they were written by some of the greatest writers in the business.

You never saw them. You only saw the names on the credits and they never got the exposure, but you watch Mr. Ed now, it's still hilarious. You watch Lucy, it is a great, well-written show. So nowadays you have just a really good performer at the head of the show, and then you have a bunch of comics in there. So I don't hate it.

At the beginning, I was like, darn those kids. But I actually respect a lot of them. No, I mean, I respect the work. Don't get me wrong, I respect the work. It's just when they start talking about comedy and stand-up, I'm like, wait, it's a little bit different. Yeah. It's not, those two talking about comedy and stand up, I'm like, wait, it's a little bit different. Those two are not the same thing, right?

But it's okay, work hard. I appreciate it. You got to follow it. Yeah, if you work hard, I respect it. I work with a bunch of younger comics and I don't believe you could teach someone to be funny. You either have it or you don't. And I tell that to the people I work with, but you can't I don't believe you could teach someone to be funny either have it or you don't and I tell that to the people I work with ice, but you can workshop it you can say okay

Here's a joke and I don't know how to Finish it or the middle is a little bit weak or whatever and you can actually Workshop it and get the joke to be the way it is but it's not but and the process of working out a joke or working out a Scene or working out a movie that's funny, that's really an incredible process. You watch a famous comedy movie like Being There. It might not be like Laugh Out Loud like if you watch Blazing Saddles,

but they're both brilliantly great comedy films written by two, like Jersey Kozinski is one and then Mel Brooks and Richard Pryor is the other one. And they're completely different writers, but they have created, you know, really brilliant comedy. And I, I, that's what I respect the people who put the work in, you know, shortcuts. It's eventually going to burn you out. Absolutely. Absolutely. Absolutely. So, you know, you said workshop several times in that segment.

Let's talk about it. Eddie Brill and his workshop. So not only are you the world renowned writer, the world renowned comedy, I'm going to say expert guru, right? Like you are the king of funny to me. Talk to us about these workshops that you do. expert guru, right? Like you are the king of funny to me. Talk to us about these workshops that you do. Yeah, I, um, I, I've been doing it for like 25 years around the world.

And what it really is, is bringing a whole bunch of people together and working out your material and hearing the other people's perceptions. Like if I go on stage and I do my set and then I have the whole group sort of give me their perceptions I don't have to agree with any of it I don't the person that might be a never had done stand-up or the person has been doing it for 20 years But it's great to hear their perception because we don't know what we're like as much as the other people so if someone says hey, you're always touching your chin or when you say you say, you know all the time and So if someone says, hey, you're always touching your chin or when you say, you say, you know, all the time. And when a lot of time we're afraid of the silence and the silence is one of our most.

Cherished partners in comedy. Jack Benny got all his laughs on pauses. So in the workshop, a lot of time, a lot of workshops I'll do, you'll hear people say, you know, and, uh, and I used to say that all the time. But now I've learned to just use, because words are only one form of communication. You use your body. Like if I said to you, I was walking down the street and I saw this beautiful car. You got it. But if I said, I was walking down the street and I saw this beautiful car, that little face that I made is just as much writing as the words that I wrote.

And it's all part of it. So the more I do it, the better I enjoy it. And I've learned and have grown myself from doing these. Like I recently got a really great compliment. There was that movie, Everywhere, Everything, Every Place. I forgot the name of the film. And there were two guys who had written it named Daniel, the two Daniels. And they, uh, they were being interviewed and they said,

yeah, we took Eddie Brill's workshop a million years ago. They won the Academy Award and they said, he did this thing where he made us listen. And I learned a lot about pausing and listening and how powerful that is. Pretty good. First time I did Letterman as a guest, Joan Rivers, and I was on the plane that I was coming back home on.

And I introduced myself at the gate and she came and switched places with the woman next to me. And I told her I was doing Letterman as a guest for the very first time. And she had me go over my set with her on the plane and then gave me great advice, including the pausing and using the silence as your friend. And when I was on stage that night doing the Letterman show, Joan Rivers was right here.

She was right in the, you know, she was right there the whole time. And I'll never forget what she did. And then years later, I was doing this thing at the studio 6B, which is where they film Saturday Night Live, I think it's 6B. And I was hosting an event and it was all celebrities and a lot of them are coming in late and doing, why are you late? Would you forget your watch?

You know, stupid, you know, little thing. There was laughing and all of it. And then Joan Rivers walked in and the audience was like, all right, here we go. And I said, I'm not going to make fun of her. And I explained to her how good she was to me. And they gave her a standing ovation. And she like, you know, had tears, and you know. Comics will help comics, you know.

I got help from David Brenner, I got help from Joan Rivers, I got help from, you know, just people, you know, so many wonderful people took very good care of me, and I vowed to do the same for young comics along the way. I love it. So, speaking of comics, if I were to ask Eddie Brill, of all time, who was your favorite comic of all time?

I would mix, I would say there's one in 1A, 1A, 1B is Carlin and Pryor. And I would say that Jonathan Winters is right up there too, but it was different. He did, you know, there's a clip of him on the Jack Parr show and it's called The Stick and he just takes a stick and for six minutes, he just, it's just brilliant genius. Yeah. I love it.

How about you? Who's your favorite comic of all time? So my one A is Prior and then I probably am going to say Red Fox. Ah, yes. Right, like Red Fox, again, people don't, they remember Sanford and Assine. Right.

But you know, I still have the old 45s. I've got a 45 player right there. That's fantastic. And I will, and most of the records that I have, believe it or not, are comedy. I have comedy and jazz, like literally that's it. Oh, that's great. Comedy and jazz. It's the same thing.

It's the same thing. You know, jazz and comedy, they're very mathematical. Yeah, but Red Fox. Red Fox was very good to comedians. One of my heroes is Flip Wilson, and Flip Wilson had Red Fox on the show the night before Sanford and Son was gonna air, and he was plugging the show,

and it was one of the funniest episodes ever. Clip Wilson was doing stand-up and Red Fox was heckling him from the audience. It was just brilliant. When I was I went to Viva Las Vegas once with my friend Robert Schimel and Robert Schimel was a brilliant comic who helped me a lot and he, Red Fox loved him and put him on all these things and he was playing poker at the tables. And so I joined the table, Robert and I, and I got down to, I got in a hand with me and Red Fox.

And we're the only two people left. I have a Queen's boat and I'm ready to kick his ass. And we're laughing and we're taunting and we're having fun. And all of a sudden I lay down my Queen's boat and he has a King's boat and wins and goes, kid, you gotta be doing comedy a lot longer than that for me to beat me and poker, you know, it was such a thrill. Man, those are the good old days, man. Like I'll tell you a great George Carlin story.

Let's go again. At the beginning of my career, I was acting like George Carlin and my jokes are very word play-ish and still are. And I wrote a joke that I liked that was you know how can you have a word like nonchalant when there's no such word as chalant? And then I acted oh my god I'm late for work I can't find a thing to wear god am I chalant today? And I was like calm down Ray be like me nonchal. Right? And it would always get big laughs. So I did the joke on Star Search in October of 86. It aired in January of 87 and I got a call from a comedian friend who said, you know,

why did you do George Carlin's joke on TV? And I went, he's my hero. I know all this material. I would not never do George Carlin's joke. I wouldn't do anybody's joke, not on purpose. So I took the joke out of my act because I don't want people thinking I stole the thing. And I was ashamed because I loved the joke

and it was crushing with the audiences. So years later, I was at the Bally's in Las Vegas and working with Robert Chimel in this, the comedy room, Catch Rising Star, and Carlin was in the big room. I'm in the lobby, I see Carlin. I go up to him and I introduced myself. He couldn't have been nicer.

And I told him the story and he goes, well, first of all, you're smart to get rid of the joke because people are gonna think you stole it and they're gonna not think well of you. But secondly, someone told me that joke and I thought it was so funny. I didn't know it belonged to a comedian. So it turns out I'm the son of a bitch who took your joke. You know, which was such a thrill, which started our friendship and my relationship with his

daughter and his brother and family. And then when George had passed away in 2008, his daughter called me up and said, you you know now that my dad has passed away I'd love you to do that joke again to keep that joke alive and it was like okay but I said to myself I would never do it like the joke I would explain it so that I people understand if they remembered Karl and doing it they wouldn't think I that I took it because that's the worst thing you could do. Yeah so question for you and this is totally kind of off topic but you went there. How serious is

joke-stealing in the comedy world? Like you thought some viral moments last year. It does happen because there's a lot of insecurity and people can't write and they need material and people will do what it takes whatever it it takes, not always with integrity to get far. And I know very good friends of mine who've stolen material a lot and they don't care because they've had wild success because they were noticed. To us, to most comedians, it's like stealing your baby. No one is allowed to steal your baby. But a lot of people don't care because there's one life they live and they have, they don't live in

integrity and they, you know, they'll steal material. And I, you know, like I've been in shows where friends of mine have done material. I've had friends do it on the Tonight Show. I've seen some of my jokes and they did very well. They did, but not with me saying it. And I've had a few people admit over the years later, I took your joke, I'm sorry, you know, this and it's just, it's really evil. It's an evil thing to do, but a lot of people don't care because they'll do what it takes to be famous

or to have money or their values are low and their greediness or again, lack of integrity is more powerful. Yeah. You know, I was telling my wife, cause last year we were talking about it. And you know, I was like, babe, it's a little bit different than like leadership, right? Cause I do leadership consulting and advising and I can say, Hey, you know,

Abraham Lincoln, a great leader once said, and it's cool. A comedian can't go on stage to say, Hey, I got this from Eddie Brill. Let me tell you this joke, right? It never come across the same. It doesn't. Now, a situation might come up where something happens, you're chatting with the audience, and someone goes, you know, it's funny.

You said that, and my friend John Mendoza has this great joke he does in his act. Not that I've ever done that, and John and I are friends. But I was, you know, you could say that and it's still some audience member might go, hey, I heard a here's an Eddie Brill joke. So you don't do that. But if you're gonna ever do it,

there's a, that's the situation you do it in. What kind of leadership stuff do you do? So I'm all about the modern leader and modern practices, right? Because it's 2025, humans have changed, right? Humans have gotten younger, but humans have also changed. We buy differently now, you know, 20 years ago, Eddie, you wouldn't have your credit card or checking account

stored on a computer somewhere. Yeah, right. But now that's kind of the way it is. We don't go into places. And so if people have changed who we are in our habits, leadership kind of has to change too. We have a lot of, I'm gonna say mandates. We have a lot of doctrines from the 1800s, the 1900s.

And while a lot of those are true to the core, how we communicate is much different now, right? Again, these are the words of Mick and Mick Onley, people a little bit softer than they were when Eddie and I would grow up, right? Yeah, right. We'd walk on from school and Mick only, people a little bit softer than they were when 80 and I would grow up. Right? We'd walk home from school and 15 people, 15 adults could yell at us and we'd have to accept it

and say, yes, ma'am, yes, sir, whatever. Now you can do something and it's like, oh my God, like the police will come to your house if you look at somebody the wrong way. Right. So it's just, I feel like leadership and more importantly, emotional intelligence is different now.

And I think we need to lead with emotional intelligence and we need to, again, a lot of the core of leadership is the same, but how do we communicate? How do we get people to no longer be motivated, but to be inspired? And that's what I really think. Yeah, I think that there's a, you know,

the gut is the brain of the body and the gut never lies. Now you can rationalize anything in your head, but your gut, if you trust it and learn to trust it, you will know the truth and you will know your truth and you'll be able to do that. And I think it's important. A lot of people, you know, it's funny. I use, you know, Nina Simone and what's her face, Celine Dion as an example. Celine Dion gets all the notes right.

She has an incredible voice, but she's in her head. She's painting by numbers. I'm doing an A and then a G and then a C and all this stuff. Nina sings from the gut. The camera is not low enough, but from the gut. She might make a mistake, it might not be perfect, but it's real,

and it's human, and it's soulful. So people say to me when I want to book a comedian, what do you do? And I say, I look for Nina Simone. Nothing wrong with Celine Dion. You know, she has a beautiful voice. But the soul that's missing for me is so important. So when I look at people, I look at them from the gut,

and I realize, you know, this is, again, the brain of the body. We should do something together, where you, you know, we do a leadership program and we talk about how people laugh and teach them why comedy is so important and inherent in the history of our world. And how you can laugh at the most horrible things

and, you know, just to relieve, to have a relief or a release. Eddie, I would be honored. Consider that done. We will... If you really want to do that, Eddie, that is going to happen this year. Very cool. I love that. I'm serious. I, you know... I am too year. Very cool. I love that. I'm serious. I am too. Yeah, good.

I am too. Well, Eddie, I know you're very, very, very, very, very busy human being. You always have things going on. Last moments, like what do you want people to know about Eddie Brill? What do you have going on now? What's upcoming?

What's new out there? There's so many things. There's a club that I don't know if it's going to happen, but they want to change their, what they've been doing. And, uh, they've asked me to help them kind of, uh, do that. That's kind of the newest project. You know, I'm doing standup all the time. I'm, you know, uh, you can find me on Instagram at Eddie comic.

It's very easy. The, um, you know, I produced 12 comedy videos last year. You know, it's nonstop. Whatever I can do, I do. You know, you can, you know, but my favorite thing of all of them is doing standup. The other night I was supposed to do 45 minutes. I looked at my watch, figuring I'd done about 25,

and I had done an hour and five. It's just, I can't get enough of that. You know, it's so good. You are the man, Eddie. You are the man. So for all the listeners and viewers, I'll make sure we have everything associated with Eddie on the show notes and the descriptions. Make sure you are following. It is going to be definitely worth your time because you're going to get the funny. And when he talks about to the gut,

I like to do what I call gut laughing when when Eddie is blessing us with this time. So Eddie, brother, thank you so much. My pleasure. I'm gonna make this happen. You made my day by making that comment. So we're gonna do it. Okay, wonderful. It was such a pleasure.

I had no idea what to expect. I like to go in without an idea and I'm richer for it. No, you blessed the millions of downloads and listeners and viewers that we have. So thank you, Eddie Brooke. Wonderful. Be well. Have a beautiful day and be in touch. You have my info. You got it. For all the listeners and viewers, remember your because is your superpower. Go unleash it. Thank you for tuning in to Make Unplugged. Keep pushing your limits, and unleash it.