Toronto Mike'd: The Official Toronto Mike Podcast - Jeremy Hotz: Toronto Mike'd #980

Episode Date: January 6, 2022

Mike chats with Jeremy Hotz about working Yuk-Yuk's, his role on The Newsroom, Just For Laughs, his move to the USA, Speed 2 and more. Toronto Mike'd is proudly brought to you by Great Lakes Brewery, Palma Pasta, StickerYou, Ridley Funeral Home and Patrons like you.

Welcome to episode 980 of Toronto Mic'd. Proudly brought to you by Great Lakes Brewery. A fiercely independent craft brewery who believes in supporting communities, good times and brewing amazing beer. Order online for free local home delivery in the GTA. StickerU.com. Create custom stickers, labels, tattoos, and decals for your home and your business. Palma Pasta.

Enjoy the taste of fresh homemade Italian pasta and entrees from Palma Pasta in Mississauga and Oakville. Ridley Funeral Home. Pillars of the community since 1921. And patrons like you. Become a Toronto Mike patron today at patreon.com slash Toronto Mike. I'm Mike from torontomike.com and joining me this week

is Jeremy Hotz if you're Irish and the oh I always wondered this the oh apostrophe does that mean like son of or something yeah it means of that's what it means

I knew it you're Irish right what's Hotz that's an irish name right hot is a german last name i believe as i goose step away uh here's a question i just mentioned kurt cobain and passing and now it's gonna sound like i'm taking you back again to the 90s but i gotta ask you this because you're the first jeremy i've ever had on toronto mic like when pearl jams jeremy was everywhere it was fucking everywhere uh was that like the best of times for you or was that like the worst of times for you they would yell jeremy spoken all the fucking time i hated it i hated it all the time you know i would see that and yeah that song still every now and again whenever i do i make a comment on social media, someone will write Jeremy Spoken and I will write fuck off.

Well, now I'm glad I almost opened with that. So I'm glad I reframed. I'm never a Pearl Jam fan. Is that right? I think they got a big fucking great catalog. I think they're great live too. I'm a big Pearl Jam guy. A lot of people are great Pearl Jam fans.

I found the sound of the music too depressing. The way the guy sang. You know what I mean when I say that? You had a depressing feel to the music and I like to listen to music that brings you up because I'm naturally a down character. That makes sense to me. You can't have the music bringing you further down because you'll slit your wrists. Then I'm Henry from Er eraser head at that point right it's a great reference uh lots of ground to cover man we have a mutual friend i'm going to bring up in a moment but the first fun fact that i did not know is that you're actually born in south africa so like how do you how do you end

up here don't tell me that story quickly well when i was one i told my parents i don't agree with this apartheid shit. We should move. And then we did. They said the kid's on to something. No, my dad was a professor at the university and didn't want to live in South Africa anymore because of the situation and just left, essentially, with the family and was allowed to take nothing.

That's what they did back in those days to people. You can go, but we're keeping all your shit. So then he left. But did he, he chose Canada or was he from Canada? No, he tried to get into the States, but they didn't want him because of their racial situation in the United States at the time. So he came to Canada, who was much more open to immigration. Okay, well, we're glad to have you here, buddy.

But you're not, you're not here anymore, right? Like you flew the coop a long time ago. Oh, I left. Yeah. I left Canada to come to the States years ago when I broke out of Montreal.

You know? Well, let's go back. Like ever since let's go back. So the mutual friend is, uh, I produce humble and Fred's podcast. And,

uh, classy. Right. So tell me a bit. So I, like, I produce Humble and Fred's podcast. Glassie! Right. So, okay, tell me a bit. So I literally had a Zoom with Glassie this morning. What can you tell me about the Humble Howard Glassman stand-up days? Oh, God, Glassie was like out of his mind. Glassie was like, he was a good friend of mine, Glassie.

Back in the days, we were both Yuck Yucks comedians. That's where I started at Yuck Yucks in Toronto. And so did he. And then he came up and he was just, he drank. Oh, by Glassman. Is that right? Oh, yeah. Glassie could put.

I got him on videotape. He was staying at my place. I've got him drunk out of his mind, going through the fridge, looking for water in his underpants. How long ago are we going back here? This is a long time ago. Yeah, 20, 20, 20 years ago, 25 years ago. Yeah, Glassman.

What an idiot. A whole bit about his nipples. I don't know why. I don't know. I think he's got a thing bit about his nipples. I don't know why. I don't know. I think he's got a thing about men's nipples. Who does that? Even women don't have that. My God.

He's been proudly sober for six years now, so the drinking is behind him. Oh, really? Yeah, that's true. Oh, did he stop drinking completely? Completely. I don't trust people like that. There's something wrong with them.

I'll never have another drink again. And then you look at their eyes and they're weird. That's all I'm saying. People who stop drinking are like, they're from another planet, the planet of no alcohol. Well, listen, I know he's listening to this, but you've only said good things, so I think he'll be quite pleased. I love Glassman. I love Glassman.

But I've seen him in his underpants. He has a really bad ass. Yeah, he tells me, I haven't examined him, but he tells me he has no ass. He's got no ass. He's a Jewish man with no ass. I always say, how do you sit on that fucking thing? See, I think I have a great ass

because I bike like a crazy man. That's all you got to do. Or if you walk around a little bit, you have a decent ass. I think he does nothing. I think Glassman just wakes up in the morning and stands there. And that's how you get an ass like that. So Breslin's been on the show, and we've talked about, and you're a bit young for this,

but he'll talk about thinking Jim Carrey wasn't particularly good. But who are the comics, like when you were coming up with Yuck Yucks, can you name check some of the comics that would kind of cross paths with you back then? Who were the guys that were in charge of the Yuck Yucks that were the best comics at the time? Yeah, I want to know. You'd be surprised. You'd be surprised. You'd be surprised. Yeah, they were. Mike McDonald was the best in the city at the time in Toronto.

Well, before you advance that, yeah, tell me what you can about the late, great Mike McDonald because every comic I have on, be it Ralph Ben-Murray or Larry Fedorik and all these guys, they say he was the best. Tell me why he was the best. He was the best because he he had his own style and he stuck to it. And he was a very manic comedian that had movements like he was a very like he was an extremely good physical comedian. He was better physically than everybody else at the time.

And that's why Mike was better. And he was noticeably better. Like he was, you know, leaps and bounds ahead of everybody else. So he was the king. And then there were people like Pat Bullard. Right. Brother of, yeah. Not Mike, his older brother, Pat.

Right. Who was a really good comic. He of, yeah. Not Mike, his older brother, Pat. Right. Who was a really good comic. He was very sharp, but he kind of, and a really good looking guy, completely different than Mike, you know? And he would go out there and he would talk to the crowd and he was really funny and clever and very good at it. And then there was Larry Horowitz.

Right. Who was, the, every comedy club has this. He was the fat guy. And let me tell you about comedy. For some reason, audiences love the fat guy.

Cause they're jolly. It's like, like look at American sitcoms. Every, at every time in the history of the American sitcom, one of the networks is running a show starring the fat guy. It's amazing to me. And the fat guy's always got a hot chick, and the hot chick is always fit.

Yeah, always. But there should be a sitcom simply called The Fat Guy. And it would, I swear, that would be the number one show in America. Because everyone will look at the title, and Americans are dumb. They'll look at the title and go, oh, fat guys are always funny because they're fat. And that's all that is. You realize that, right? Shout out to Jake and the Fat Man.

It's amazing. I mean, you know, if a fat guy's after you, how do you get away from him? Walk through a revolving door. It's over. I know you're not done this list. I love this list, by the way, but I recently had John Wing Jr. on the show. Was he part of this crew or is he before this crew? Wing was good.

Wing was really good. I'll tell you a really funny story about Wing because John was a smug bastard, eh? John was a lot funnier before people knew it. Like, John was coming up. He was just underneath those guys that I mentioned at the time. He was coming up, eh? And they didn't like him because he played guitar. And for some reason, the comics, some of them are like,

they adopt this weird, if you don't just go out and do stand-up, you're a prop actor, you're scum, you're garbage. Like Carrot Top. Yeah, and then Carrot Top gets huge in Vegas and everybody goes, oh, he's okay. That's the way that works. So don't listen to anybody or anything. Just do what you want and they can all shut up because they don't know. They just hate you because they're trying to do the same thing you are and they're not getting on as quickly.

You know, that's what really happens. So anyway, the thing about it is Wing was just behind him and Pat Bullard was on stage. And I'll never forget this because I was just a kid, you know, just coming up like second year comedy. And he was talking about his dick on stage. And then John Wing was in the crowd and he heckled him because it was the old days of comedy. And then Bullard said

no big deal to John Wing. And then john said right after the dick joke no big thing and the whole place went fucking crazy and i'll never forget that moment and ever since that time i noticed his stature went up in the club wow wow like stuff like that went down like you understand back in the day we used to sit in the club after after the show was over and this is at the beginning of comedy on in Yorkville on Bay Street and the owner the the owner of the club was never there Breslin and we would just be there all the comics after the show on Saturday night and it was run by a guy named Kent Armstrong who

didn't care he was my roommate at the time. And we used to just drink beer all night long. They would just leave the bar open to the point where we, on stage, we set up a field goal. Yeah, uprights. Uprights, yeah. But we took two microphone stands

and we ran the wire from the cord across the top of the two stands. So we had the uprights and then we teed up the beer cans and we were kicking them over the thing into the wall. And the next day, the wall had all these marks on it. So we weren't allowed to do that anymore. But that's the way things worked in comedy. We would do something and then if it caused damage, they would say you can't do that anymore. That that's the way things worked in comedy. We would do something and then if it caused damage, they would say you can't do that anymore. That's all it was.

That's all it was. It was like children running the mental asylum. It was insane. It was great. I'll never forget those years. Okay, here's a memory. My brothers and I recorded to VHS back in the VHS days. I want to say it was on Global, but you'll correct me in a minute.

But there was this young comic named Jeremy Hotz. You might have heard of him. And he did this bit. I've been dropping lines from this with my brothers for decades now. But I guess you got some shit in the mail and you were talking about it. So Mr. Christie sent you some free samples. And you go, Mr. Christie makes good cookies. just don't mail it you asshole that's it chocolate chips don't fold that's right oh and one more like okay because you talk about getting uh i think you

get like uh maxi pads or something like a free sample maxi pads and you use it as a coffee filter and you go the garbage man thinks i have a terrible disease that's right garbage man's going through my garbage he deserves it okay so all this is to say we thought we still think that's it was fucking hilarious like the first time we kind of saw you on tv we're like this guy is funny so there you go i bring that i bring the whole you know the negativity and then i have that anxiety thing and then it goes to that place that's insane and only exists in my head. But when did you start that delivery? I'm not doing it justice, of course.

Maybe you should bug me. That's how I get when I have GAD bad. I can't leave that. So that's all that is. I become this thing and then, you know. So what was I watching, man? Like, do you know what I was watching? Was it some kind of, is it just for laughs or something?

Probably just for laughs thing. Yeah, probably just for laughs. Yeah, that's what I would say. Like that special that I did in the, that's from that special that I did in the 90s. That really defined an era in that country. And I've learned that over the years i sort of hit all the nails there on that one yeah well you talk about going to chinatown and it's i can't

remember it smells like shit or something i can't remember it does still to this day yeah it does people just let that go that's toronto right let it go spadina that's right it was chinatown and like i came from Ottawa, man. I'd never been to a place that hung dead ducks in the windows and then sold them to people to eat. I'm sorry. I just, you know, so I had to mention that. That's in a time when you could, when you could,

when people found humor in things as opposed to taking offense to everything because they actually had no sense of humor. Well, that's a great point there. Like, could you do that today on television? Yeah. I'm just wondering now, are you making fun of any groups of people by saying it smells in Chinatown?

Like is that with terrestrial television? Is that a word? Yeah, you can say take your stuff out of the ice and put your stuff in the fridge. Yes, you can. I'm sure you can. Because that's what they're doing. Yeah. I'm just trying to save people from salmonella right hey i uh throughout this chat here i will have a few like notes i got from fotms that's friends of toronto miked and there's one named beck who says she has a great story about arriving late

to jeremy hotz's show at yucky ups in mississa Mississauga. And I guess this is early 90s she said. And she said she made a point never to be late to a comedy show again. So I guess you gave her the gears. Yeah. You gotta understand when I'm on and someone comes

like everything is open for me. Game on, right? So when the thing starts, like i i don't know if comics do this but i always do like like when i'm on stage at the very beginning the first thing i'm doing is looking around at my environment i'm thinking about things that i can say about it right away right away because what are people seeing they're seeing what you're seeing at the same time they don't go to the theater every day, do they? No. So they're seeing it all for the first

time too. So they're thinking about it. So if you hit some things that they're thinking about, you're going to fucking kill. It's that simple. I had little babies with the wings. What are those called? Cherubs, I think? Yeah, cherub.

Cherubs. And they go with the lady who plays the harp or some shit like anyway so they it was in an old theater and they had them on the on the as a around the ceiling as a i guess it was arch at some point in time but at this in this age it's pedophilia these kids were naked right and they're flying around with wing it's pedophilia. Kids were naked, right? And they're flying around with wing. It's naked babies flying around. That's pedophilia. And I, I brought that up.

Okay. Cause times have changed. Haven't they Mike? You cannot just show up and not mention something like that because it's irresponsible. Oh, it'd be irresponsible if I don't ask you if you ever shared a stage with Norm MacDonald.

I did. Yeah. I have a great story with Norm. Oh, please. We had the worst story we talked about in our whole lives. I did the worst gig. We did the worst gig of our lives together in Ottawa, set up by Howie Wagman. He ran the Ottawa Yuck Yucks, and he sent us to the hotel. It was called the Chateau Laurier. Do you know it? And he sent us to the hotel.

It was called the Chateau Laurier. Do you know it? No, I was there once. It's more expensive than I could ever afford, but someone else was paying. It's the most famous hotel. It's joined onto the Parliament buildings. It's one of those fucking places that they think are really great because they're old, but they're just small, shitty rooms that smell like dead people anyway so we're there so we're there and and we got to

do this surprise show for this rich guy who wants to do a show for his friends and we've been doing we've been each doing stand-up for about i don't know a year i don't even think it was that long it was inside a year so he's hired us and he wants us to hide in his hotel room behind the curtains. And then he's going to open up the curtains and go surprise to his friends. And then we're going to do a show. So we're standing behind a curtain and he opens up the curtains and he goes surprise. And there's three of his friends and two children sitting on the floor looking up at us. Yeah.

This guy. He said to do 30 minutes. He's an Ottawa guy. That's a hometown for Norm. Yeah. We always talked about that. And we always go, have you beaten it yet? Have you done a worse gig?

Never. That was it for both of us. We wouldn't even have to tell the story. One of us would just have to go to the other guy, hey, remember, yes. Every single time. The word remember, yes. Off the top

of this chat, I said you were the first Jeremy on the show. I owe a great apology to the drummer of Our Lady Peace, Jeremy Taggart. So you're actually, I'm sorry to break your heart here, Jeremy, but you're the second Jeremy on the program. And you know what?

Drummers always get forgotten because they're the first to die in the band, aren't they? Oh, well, they're replaced. They do die in a lot of bands, now that I think about it. Well, it's a Spinal Tap joke, right? I guess you burned... The guy just blows up, right? Yeah, right.

That was the great joke where he just blew up. Yeah, I remember that. And then, of course, all my stereos go to 11 now because it's louder. Oh, that was the great joke up to 11. I got a... Oh, my God. I'm going to... Quick, quick question from a guy who calls himself hey it's

o-town hey it's o-town says has there been a comedian that jeremy hotz hated to follow in a show me yeah oh um yeah i don't like to follow uh the guy that the the uh filth where the guy says uh motherfucker every second word and just swears and it's all attitude and there's no jokes. I hate that guy. Doesn't matter who he is or what it is. That type of comedian, I don't like to follow. The guy that's just all about dirt

and there's nothing clever in his act whatsoever. I have a clip I pulled. You're going to have to be patient while I play a bit of this, but maybe we listen together for a few... I don't know. Give me a minute or so here. This is worth the time, and then we'll

talk about this on the other side. Cool? Yeah. We just got the CNN feed out of Kinshasa on that train that plunged into the Congo River. Dead? 200. On the nose? A guesstimate. It's CNN in Africa. Give or take 20 bodies either way.

Are there piranha in the Congo? I wouldn't swim there. Make it piranha-ridden Congo. How about piranha-infested Congo? Better. George, your mother on four. Oh, tell her I'm in a meeting. No, no, no, no, no. Tell her I'm busy. Tell her I'm away for no, no, no. Tell her I'm busy.

Tell her I'm away for a week. Two weeks. Tell her I'm away for two weeks. So do we go with the fight in city council about rezoning the waterfront, which is a big local story, or do we go with the train wreck halfway across the world? We go with the train in the Congo. We're supposed to be doing the local news here.

Yes. We're looking for a local hook. He's on the phone with this guy. Okay, my guy says there may have been a Canadian on board. There. Okay. Is that local enough? Did he go into the river?

Is he dead? I don't know. I'm on hold. We'll find out. Okay, hold on. Piranha-infested Congo. Who said there's piranha in the Congo River? Jeremy.

No, I never said that. I never said there were piranha there. He said there were fleshy fish there. I'm saying let's use the word piranha. It's a higher concept. People identify with it. And we'll use something like piranha there. She said there were fleshy fish there. I'm saying, let's use the word piranha. It's a higher concept. People identify with it, and we'll use something like piranha-like. How's that? Piranha-like fish. We still haven't even confirmed it's Canadian. Well, we're hoping that there's a Canadian

dead. I mean, that's... We're hoping he's dead. Okay, how about this? Perhaps one Canadian was eaten by piranha-like fish. I have a problem with that. I mean, how do we know he was eaten? Perhaps one Canadian may have been eaten by piranha-like fish. Or, perhaps one Canadian

may have been eaten by flesh-eating fish. I can live with flesh-eating. Yeah, your mother's on four. Okay, okay. Tell her I'm busy. Tell her I'm going to leave. Actually, tell her I'm going to I'll bring it down only because I could actually listen to the whole damn thing, but please Jeremy

tell me everything you remember about how you got the gig in the newsroom and being on the newsroom the newsroom was that happened when every and the newsroom happened sort of deal for me

everything was working at that time and I was breaking and then the newsroom happens sort of deal for me. Everything was working at that time and I was breaking. And then the newsroom came up. It was, I did a thing for Ken Finkelman a couple of years before called married life, which was a series. He did four episodes of it. And it ran on comedy Central and fucking City TV, I think, in Toronto. Okay. In Canada, I think it was City TV.

And it got all this notice, and I think it was nominated for shit. And then the CBC was all over him, and he said he was thinking about doing this show, The Newsroom. And would I like to be in it? And I said, yeah, sure, Ken. And then like, I don't know, a year went by. Like a year, you know. And I hadn't heard from, I didn't hear from fucking year and

then all of a sudden I get a call going okay let's do it I'd forgotten all about the whole thing and then sure enough we we went and we shot six episodes of that thing and then um it had such a free form and he was Ken was such a great guy and we'd already worked with him on married life and we knew that he just sort of talked about stuff not not ever hitting it on the head so we just said you know we would just shoot these scenes where we would talk and he'd hired us on married life as these writers and we wrote stuff for him and we were writing a reality show that was really happening at the same time. And he liked that concept.

And he brought us on as me and Mark Farrell as two news producers on his show who were sort of little versions of him, but not as good as him at the evality yet. That's what we were. Honestly, I watched them as they aired on CBC and they were fantastic. It was the best comedy show that that country ever produced. Period. Period. The best sitcom

for sure. Absolutely. And how much of it was it fully scripted or sounds improvised? It hit things. It was very conversational and I never worked off of script because I hit things, you know, it was very conversational and, you know, this, but I never worked off of script because I couldn't remember it anyway. So I kind of just, you know, you know,

hit the stuff and sort of, and I would work with Farrell so many times that I knew what he was going to say before it came out of his mouth. I knew what was in his head. I knew that I knew the inflection he was going to do it with everything. Like I, I got to know how he was going to do it with. Everything. I got to know how to work with that guy really well. And we're still friends to this day. Okay, good news. Now, there's a gentleman who helped me 10 years ago when I was thinking of starting a podcast. He helped me with the audio setup. And he's a great FOTM. His name is Andrew Stokely. And I have a really neat note I'm going to read to you from Andrew Stokely when I told him that you were coming on the program.

He said, please say hello for me. Such good times and memories shooting the newsroom. Our craft services table was stellar. And the ease of watching Jeremy and Mark Farrell interact with Ken was always amazing. Laughed way too hard too many times. So I'll let you react to that and then I have another interesting fun fact that he shared with me but it sounds like it was a good crew and uh Andrew worked on that show I'll never forget like we were shooting a

scene me Farrell and uh Finkelman was there and uh we were we had been up too late in the show, and we'd been looking for something, and we couldn't find it, and we were exhausted, and we were shooting a scene in the kitchen of this guy's place, and we were pretending that we were half asleep and shit, and I just thought the scene was moving too slowly, I remember, and we were acting there, and I looked over

and the sound guy was holding the microphone, you know, the big boom mic? Sure. And he was like this. He was trying to not ruin the scene by laughing his fucking head off. So then I realized I should relax

and the scene's going quite well. Well, you know what I discovered by accident? You kind of get a taste of it when I played that minute or so. It actually makes a very good audio broadcast. You actually don't need the visuals for the way it's written and the way it's performed. It's a really good audio program. Ken Finkelman is a great writer. And say what you will about him or whatever, that show was a genius piece

of business and he's fully responsible for it I'm curious where your Gemini award is right now I use it to keep the door of the guest room open because the wind keeps, yes I do

I do, it's a really good doorstop is that true will you tweet me a photo at some point because that's great okay so to tell the listenership uh you won you did win the gemini award for your role in the newsroom you were great in the news i'll never forget that because that was when this hour had 22 minutes or whatever it's called that show yeah of course and uh it won every year and i remember that when they announced the newsroom i'd won there was a gasp in the theater like something something horrible had happened oh my god get over yourself people it's canadian television it's too hip for the gemini Awards, I think was the concern. Wow.

So Andrew goes on to tell me that you're a good dude. So there you go. And not that I doubted it. And that you had lots of laughs. And he said, you used to do audience warm-ups on other CBC shows. I did. You and Mark Farrell, right? He mentioned Rita and Friends.

What can you share with us about that? No, I didn't do Rita and Friends, although I did meet Rita. She's very nice. I was. Also, I did Mike McDonald's sitcom called Mosquito Lake. Sure. Do you remember it? I remember it.

I don't remember watching it, but I remember it. It was Mike McDonald and Dan Redican. Okay. He was a funny McDonald and Dan Redican. Okay. He was a funny guy, Dan Redican. And that was the sitcom. And the other one was, because it was Canada, it was something political. It was about the government in some,

it was about the government in like some political figure figure I think he was like a I don't remember it was and it had a really shitty title and I think it was on for one season and it wasn't very good and I warmed up for that but I remember the crew not being very good and it taking

six or seven hours to shoot a 30 minute episode and I had to keep going back in between over and over and over again. I remember that. But it lets you workshop new material, right? No, it was just annoying. It just went on and on and on. And you weren't paid for the amount of hours you've had to do it.

Shit, it was shit. It's totally shit. But, you know, I guess you learned to be a better comedian from it but i didn't ask to it's okay so you have this uh like a lot of people i mean not myself because i had the vhs of this stand-up that made me laugh out loud but a lot of people kind of discover you like become aware of you of the newsroom and you get this gemini award is it sort of post newsroom when you decide you're going to head to the States for greener pastures?

No, what happened was, um, uh, just for laughs came around. Okay. And that was the year that I, I,

you know, it's embarrassing to talk about, but I went to the just for laughs festival and I was the best act that everyone was talking about. And then I broke, I broke out and destroyed and then I went back the following year and I fucking did it again. And then that was the end of that. I was in America. You needed a bigger, you needed a bigger aquarium. Like you were in this little fish bowl, but you needed to.

Bud Friedman said said anytime you come i'll put you on that the improv and then i got a deal with disney and a deal with cbs and then they just give you money and go don't sign with anyone else we don't want you but just here's some money you know so i just took that money that they gave me, and I moved on it. Good for you. Legend has it that Seinfeld, when it was called the Seinfeld Chronicles, it was poorly, like not a lot of viewers. It was poorly rated in the rating system there. And it got renewed.

And the rumor, I mean, the legend has it that they wanted Jerry to be happy with NBC because they wanted him to take over for Johnny Carson on The Tonight Show. This is what I read. So they sort of kept the Seinfeld going when maybe otherwise it would have been cancelled. I never heard that. I never heard that that's what that was about.

I knew that Jerry... I know the story about jerry being on benson he was supposed to be on the show remember benson of course they do yeah uh he was supposed to be on that show as a guy and then he wasn't a good enough actor they felt at the last second and they didn't tell him so he went to the table read and they told him at the table read he was no longer on the show. Oh.

And that was before Seinfeld or anything. Right. So the fact that Jerry ended up becoming a really big stand-up star and then becoming a really big sitcom star makes me extremely happy because the shit that they threw on his plate that they had no right doing before.

But that legend about they wanted him to take over The Tonight Show, basically that kind of would explain this rather long leash that Seinfeld was given for the first few years before it, you know, caught it, found its audience and then became... Well, that comedy always takes time for people to figure out what the sense of humor is. Well, that comedy always takes time for people to figure out what the sense of humor is. So, I mean, you know, comedies don't really come out and they're not really hits right away. The last, the one that, the only one that was really a hit right away that I could think of was the one that starred that trailer trash woman. What was her name?

Oh, Roseanne. No, the other one. Oh, Grace Under Fire. Yeah, that's the one. Yeah,, Roseanne. No, the other one. Oh, Grace Under Fire. Yeah, that's the one. Yeah, Dave Thomas is in that. The other one. Yeah, Dave Thomas is my... The woman that, yeah, the woman that he pretended that he was in love with on that show, but he secretly hated her guts. That one.

Yes. Shout out to Dave Thomas. I love Dave. Because no one does a better Bob Hope than Dave Thomas. Dave tells you the real stuff, and he doesn't care, and he's hysterical. And I love Dave Thomas. I really do. And his brother's a great singer, too, Ian Thomas.

Ian Thomas, Painted Ladies, and a bottle of wine, Mama. Shout out to Wacko Macko. Okay, so now you're in the States. So just for laughs, you were the best in show. I know you're humble, no pun intended, glassy, but you don't like bragging,

but you were the best in show and you went to the States and this is when you'll find Jeremy Hodson. Bragging thing is Canadian. You realize that, right? Yeah, because Americans are good at it, but we're sort of embarrassed by it. I'm fully embarrassed by it.

For some reason, any success that I have, like when I'm around other comedians, I don't talk because I feel shame. I feel that I'm worthy. Definitely an insecurity complex due to your Canadian. It's generalized anxiety. It's now generalized anxiety disorder is what that is. But a lot of Canadians just have this disposition anyway.

They don't talk about, Americans love to tell you how great they are, you know? Like, you know the comedian that walks off the stage he has an average set and then he walks off and goes oh i crushed i killed and you're thinking what fucking show were you watching in your head you know what i mean that's an american that guy that's an american thing you don't see a lot of canadians doing that we're the other way we kill and go that wasn't that good that's what we do that's what we do you know but i mean you were you were good enough you were booked on uh late show of david letterman the

tonight show of jay leno uh like tell you about the late show please um at the time because comedy is a tough game right so like i was coming up and coming up and they always said that i was like uh oh he's just all personality he doesn't have any good material. He's just got a great character and he hides behind that. And then I got Letterman and they shut the fuck up. That's what happens in comedy. That's what happens right there. Soon as you hit something, they go,

oh, I was always your best friend, you know, always. That's what happens. It's such a cheap high school business. You have no idea. It's just so cheap you know my god and everyone glamorizes it like oh they figured it out no no no no no no you have no idea you have no idea the people you're not seeing that are really good you have no idea just because of politics yeah i feel like waited long enough here i've warmed you up long enough i need to play an actual movie trailer so this is actually two whole minutes you're gonna have just because of politics. I feel I've waited long enough here. I've warmed you up long enough.

I need to play an actual movie trailer. So this is actually two whole minutes you're going to have to sit there wondering what to do with yourself. But we got to play this trailer and we have to talk about it. Got to get the real talk. Here we go. Why ain't it?

Oh, you're back again. Yeah. Yeah, I wanted to make up for last week. Ha! Oh! Sorry, Mr. Kent, but that bus was going way too fast. Your boyfriend drive like this. Oh, Alex, no.

Alex is so completely different. You are officially on vacation. I was gonna surprise you tonight, but, uh, it's cringe. Cribby. Since we last saw Annie, some things have changed. This almost seems too perfect, doesn't it? Some things... Want me to step on your feet?

...haven't. He's in our place! Can't be, we're in C! Swear I am never leaving the house again. Now, they can't change course. Seems odd. Yes, it is odd. They're abandoning ship in the middle of the night.

They can't stop. Milly, Petey, you're what? Somebody find the captain! And they can't. The captain is dead. Get off. Who is running't. The captain is dead. Get off. Who is running the ship? Oh, yeah.

I am. A position charges throughout the ship. Where is he? He's everywhere. Hi. I've been in worse situations than this, and panicking does not help. Trust me. I know who you are.

I know you too are you gonna stop me now my friend that was odd what kind of cop are you you're gonna get us all killed this summer he's taking us right into an oil tanker. Man! If you didn't catch the bus... Oh, oh! Let's bust the transmission like a car, cause I've done that. You won't want to miss... Annie! ...the boat. We're gonna crash!

You gotta stop the ship! You're gonna slow it down. But you're not gonna stop the boat. Speed 2. Cruise Control. How do you like your vacation so far? Man, I just bought a condo here. Jesus. Talk to me, brother.

I've never heard that, and that was the trailer for Speed 2. Is that what it was? That's exactly. Speed 2 Cruise Control. The whole thing, that whole movie was so stupid. I mean, the boat was moving about three miles an hour towards the island, and nobody thought about just jumping off the boat. End of movie. No movie.

They don't go fast. It's shit. It's not speed. Speed. You know, they go about three knots, which is about, I don't know, how much is a knot? No fucking clue.

No. Jeremy, listen, I got so many questions about Speed 2, but the first one is, when you... Why? Why does that not go away, that movie? Jesus, go away.

Because, of course, now we look back and we, you know, oh, that's a bomb, or a box office, of course, now we look back and we, you know, that's a bomb or a box office poison, as Norm Macdonald would say, but you must have been happy as all hell when you got the gig, because Speed was such a

monster. Well, that's the thing. I still get money from them. That was not a bomb. It was a bomb in the sense that it was a really shitty movie. No question about that. I mean, it was a bomb in the sense that it was a really shitty movie. No question about that. But financially, oh, no. No, it wasn't. They made money off of that movie because I know from the royalty checks,

for sure. I did also My Favorite Martian, I think a month after that, and the residual checks for that movie were significantly less than for Speed 2 and still are today. You're absolutely right. I may be confusing critical response to commercial success. Oh, critically, it was the only guy

that liked it was Roger Ebert. Remember him? The guy that would give it a thumbs up or a thumbs down? Do you want to know how many hours? He's dead. How many hours I spent watching Roger, sorry,

uh, Siskel and Ebert, uh, two. Oh, that was the name of the show back before the other guy died and he went solo. Yeah.

Yeah. Remember he died. The other guy had died by the time and he was solo, but he still gave it a big thumbs up. And I remember them putting it on the poster. Ebert gives it a thumbs up or some shit like that. Like it meant something, you know what I mean?

But that was the first sign though. That was the first indication that Roger Ebert was unwell. And let me tell you this too. You could say critically it bombed. Yes, but it was the number one in America, number one movie in America for two weeks. And that is a hit.

Sorry. When that happens, you make your money back and more, you know, you perspective is everything i think uh it's only a bomb when you compare it to the first uh speed and on which was great which was a great action movie and the second one it was a little more tongue-in-cheek and it wasn't as realistic as the first one. And it was on a boat and that. And it was missing somebody. I mean, we had Jeremy Hotz, but we were missing another guy who spent a lot of time here in Canada, which was whom I know. Okay. I did. Yes.

Keanu Reeves, who you're going to love this. You're going to love this. I did the tonight show. One of the times I did the Tonight Show, I did it about five times. And one of the times it was Keanu Reeves, and he bummed a Canadian smoke off me in the dressing room before the show. Well, as a teenager, he lived in Toronto. And actually, he recently shared some stories about the high schools he was going to and stuff. But yeah, I would call him an honorary Canadian.

He makes me laugh. I remember he bums the smoke off. He's a good guy, right? I mean, I don't know how much interaction you had, but I hear he's a sweetheart. I go, one of the biggest stars in the world, he's got to bum a smoke off the comic. And he goes, they're Canadian.

What was it like like Demorier? What were we talking about here? They were players light. It was many years ago when I smoked, yeah. Yeah, yeah, Keanu. Okay, so for the listenership who haven't seen Speed 2, what was your role in this movie? I played like, remember the love boat,

that shitty show, The Love Boat? Of course. Remember the character Gopher, the purser? Yep. I was the purser on the ship. I had to wear a white Nehru jacket, which made you look in film, this big white, made me look like I was like 50 pounds heavier, for Christ's sake. People call me the fat guy in that movie.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. I wasn't even fat. It was just a fucking jacket. But how did you get the gig? Was it just simply you're funny? I went in and I came to LA and I went in and I read this is the story

of my career, man. I went in and I read for the movie. I read once. I didn't hear anything. And then like two months later, I get a phone call and they go go they want to see you again for that speed 2 movie and i'm like that's fucking two months ago anyway yeah they want to see you again you got to go tomorrow so so i'm new to la right so i head the wrong way on santa monica

boulevard and i end up like way the fuck away like like way so i phone the agent and he tells me no no you're going the wrong way you got to go back i'll call him so i end up getting to the audition thing the the call back uh two two two and a half hours late like i went way the fuck away you don't understand right i kept thinking i was gone and then the guy's still there and they read me anyway and i'm driving home from the thing by the time i got home on my telephone answering machine i'd gotten a call from my manager saying they gave me the role oh good well you got me because you're still getting residual checks like you said so this was a was a good thing for Jeremy.

Well, it was a positive thing. And there's not a lot, as you know, there's not a lot of good things for Jeremy because he's very miserable. But how much of that is shtick? Because, I mean, from where I sit here, you're living a charmed life. Here's the thing, what it is. Okay. So, yeah. You know, you go, I'm living a charmed life and this, a, you're in here. Here's the thing of what it is. And it's, there's, okay. So yeah, I,

you know, you go, I'm living a charmed life and this, that, and the other, but when you have this ailment that I have, this generalized anxiety disorder, which is no joke, it isn't just regular anxiety, right? Like I'm on medication or else I can't, I can't function in society. Essentially I would be, you know, if they didn't have these, these, this medication, I would be in a mental institution because you can't turn it off. Right. So what that, what that is. And, and, and, and the whole thing is, is I go on stage and I do

myself and the way that I feel right all the time. And that's what this is okay so when you see me on stage how do I okay you see a lot of comics on stage and they're telling jokes and then here comes another one and here comes another one and here comes another one with me the joke is the whole thing you know what I'm saying it's not always it's not always a line with me it's a reaction it's a facial expression it's the way I move in the moment it's the guy you know that's what it is the whole thing is it's funny not just the jokes right and that's why even though I don't have a guitar, some comics despise me because I really work from a different area that has not

really been explored before. That's all. Very interesting. You mentioned the guitar. That's a John Wing Jr. callback there. And I just want to let the listenership know that John Wing Jr. is returning to Toronto Mike to deliver the standup routine that a young Ralph Ben Mergey would do on stage. Cause Ralph hasn't been in the standup game for quite some time, but John wing tells me he has the whole shtick,

the whole set. He's got it memorized. So he's coming on here to deliver what he would have heard from Ralph Ben Mergey back in whatever that was early. That's hilarious. Cause that was the first... Ralph Ben-Murgy's show was the first TV show that I did my stand-up act on. Friday night.

Friday nights with Ralph Ben-Murgy. And Ralph was my friend. And I've always... I don't know what happened to Ralph. He had his own show on the CBC under the stairs for a while. And I did that with him because Ralph, when I was a young comic, Ralph was already much more established and he worked at the CBC and he was always really kind to me. He always included me in all the stuff that he got. And I never forgot that. You ready for me to blow your mind?

Okay. I hope that's a yes. Is that a yes? Yep. Okay. So I already mentioned I produce Humble and Fred's podcast. I also produce Ralph Ben-Murgy's podcast. Oh, do you?

Not that kind of rabbi. Ralph and I are very tight. We talk all the time. Every week we drop a new episode, and I can tell you he just put out a book, like a memoir about his life. Please say hello to Ralphie for me because I haven't seen him in a minute.

Well, I could do better than that. You want to be a guest on Ralph's podcast? Not that kind of rabbi? I'll do it. I'll do Ralphie's podcast. Right after this, I'll set that up. It's a slam dunk. Okay, well, let's do that.

But that show, Friday Night, which he gets a hard time for that show because people use it as a punchline. What do you mean? In this country, Friday Night with Ralph Ben-Murgy is a punchline for, like, failed show. Like, it's sort of a shorthand for, like, big disappointment show. Okay, let me tell you something.

Yeah. Let me tell you something, okay? Tell me. You can say that about Ralph's show. When they, when I was on that show, and it was my very first stand-up thing. Yep. I heard the music because he had a band play. James B. And I got, music because he had a band play. James B.

And I got a chill and that's when I decided I really want to fucking do this. Oh my god. This is all coming full circle. You can say what you want. The very famous... It created some really fine Canadian talent. Oh, I agree.

By the way, I'm just quoting the Zeitgeist. I actually don't have this opinion. I think it was fantastic. But I just want to shout out James B. real quick because he was the musical director. James B. and the look people and the drummer was naked and he was, you know, a guy that you should never see naked. Ever.

That guy was like, he looked like a naked, like if a lawn ornament was naked, it would be that guy. What was his name again? That guy that was nude. I'll tell you. I remember Kevin Hearn was in the band. He was now in the bare naked ladies, but what is that? He was a good kid. He, he was, um, what's his name's cousin, right? Uh, well, okay. So, Oh God, this, uh, great Bob Scott. Great Bob Scott. That's the guy who was nude all the time.

He wasn't great at all. Great Bob Scott. How do we forget a guy whose name is Great Bob Scott? Yeah, it should have been the off-putting. I love it. I love the James B. But also, Breslin was part of that Friday night show too, right? He was the booker guy?

Like, wasn't Mark Breslin was involved in the Friday night show? Fuck, I don't remember. It's so many years ago, man. I really don't know. I know. He was the Booker guy? Like, wasn't Mark Breslin was involved in the Friday night show? Fuck, I don't remember. It's so many years ago, man. I really don't know. I know. Was Yuck Yucks really involved? Like, did they have that much cachet at the time?

Wow. I believe Mark. Because they were always, the TV people in Toronto were always really mean to Breslin, eh? I don't know. Did you not know that? They didn't want to include him in, like, they didn't let him. No, I didn't let him. No, yeah. Canada's really weird when it comes to stuff like that. But he went to do

Roseanne, right? Didn't he, do I have the right guy? Breslin was doing Roseanne or was writing? No, he was doing, he was booking Joan Rivers, the Joan Rivers show. You're right. It was, Norm Macdonald was doing Roseanne. Okay, I got it all fucked up here. Yeah. Oh, yeah. No. Yeah. Well, I think Norm Macdonald was doing Roseanne. I got it all fucked up here. Yeah. Oh, yeah.

I think Norm Macdonald was writing on Roseanne. It's Pat Bullard who was writing on Roseanne and then she was firing everyone because she went nuts and he hid under the desk. Right. So he didn't get fired. It was Pat. Right. The Joan Rivers show is where Breslin was working. Right. By the way, Breslin's got a young kid now.

Similar to Ben Mergey. They both have younger kids, like for old farts. Oh, do they have children? No. I wish I had a kid. I got a dog, though, which is fine. Well, careful what you wish for, man. Yeah, I know, because kids, you know, snot comes out of their nose all the time.

They just leave it. Well, yeah. I only have four of them. I could write a book about... You have four kids? Yeah, man. Yeah. Jesus Christ.

You like children, eh? They're from 20 to five. So it's like I got one guy, he's off to Waterloo again to go back to, he's got a place there because he's at Laurier University. And then the five-year-old is like, Daddy, can you help me wipe my bum? I had some diarrhea. Like it's all over. See?

Like that's where I fall out of the parenting thing because I go, no, you got to do that yourself. And until you learn how to do that, you're going to stink. You see, I would not be a good parent because I use, you know, logic to solve problems and it doesn't work. It doesn't work at all. Speaking of not working, I need some real talk for you. I'm going to quote a release I received about you, man. So I'm going to quote this and then we got to find out if Omicron

is fucking with all of this. But let me read what I got. It said Canada's favorite curmudgeon Jeremy Haught. I hate when they use that word because nobody knows what the fucking means and they use it all the time. Like I'm not a curmudgeon. It's like Ebenezer

Scrooge is a curmudgeon. I'm not. I'm not. You know, you're right. Maybe Mr. Burns. I don't know. Okay, so Canada's favorite curmudgeon, Jeremy Hotz,

is hitting the road again with his brand new Marquis de Sade. Notice it's spelled, it's S-A-D. Marquis de Sade Tour. Yeah, they don't get it, eh? Like, a lot of people don't know that they're in Marquis de Sade. No, I know. Because people are stupid, Jeremy.

People are stupid. Nobody's going to know what that's a reference to. It's so weird to me. Like to me, it's so obvious. And yet, like, you know, they don't. But those who get it, that's the audience you want. Those who get it go, that's brilliant. But those who don't, what?

The tour will have the lovely, miserable comedian. Sorry, the lovably miserable comedian. I'm lovably miserable. There you go. Brave the cold once again to entertain audiences nationally from New Brunswick to British Columbia. They did miss some stuff to the east of New Brunswick. Well, they missed a lot of stuff because of the COVID, right?

And now I know I'm going to Sherwood Park. Oh, it's in Edmonton. That's outside of Edmonton, right? Yeah, Edmonton. And then we're moving a lot of dates because of the COVID. A lot of theaters are not going to be open.

I need you to tell me what's going on now because I know that you can get, I know some shows, like there's an auto, I have dates and times, but I have no idea what Omicron has done to all this. So can you give us- Omicron, it looks like Omicron, the flu, what the flu has done this time is now shut down all these theaters.

So we're going to have to make some changes. But what we're doing is, so we took, we knew this ahead of time. So we took backup theaters. We took dates in backup theaters two months after as well. So a lot of these are just going to fall into the date that we took. All the gigs will be honored this year. They probably won't be on the date other than the Sherwood Park and a few others.

they probably won't be on the date other than the Sherwood Park and a few others you'll just have to check with JeremyHotts.com to see what's going on and what dates are everyone will know well in advance your tickets will still count for the new performance you'll still sit in the same seat that you had

nothing will change we'll be going to the same theatres if we cannot do that theatre and we will change it then we will change we'll be going to the same theaters if we cannot do that theater and we will change it uh then we will change it and we will once again the people that got the tickets ahead of time will be we will we will replace those tickets before we go on sale for the people that didn't have an opportunity to get on the first time there it is and it's not it's not a big deal and for the so we're all you know the the good thing about Canada is we're used to shit

like this. Like when bad stuff happens we seem to come together and go anyway. Like the reason why I'm going out to Sherwood Park is because that's sold and they don't want to dump the show. So I'm going. And I feel like Alberta would be the most open, I feel.

Like it's sort of the Texas of Canada. Right? Kind of, but then Alberta goes fuck no more and then they shut down. You know what I mean? Alberta would be the most open. I feel like it's sort of the Texas of Canada, right? Kind of, but then, but then Alberta goes, fuck no more. And then they shut down. You know what I mean? So they,

they still follow the rules. They're just the last to do it. Right. And Saskatchewan, right? Right. Well, it's provincial.

I don't know. But what's Toronto like now? I don't even know. dude, firstly, uh, kids are at home now doing remote learning for two weeks so like today's a school they shut all the schools all

the schools yeah all the schools all the indoor dining done so it's pretty locked down again like i mean oh you can't sit in a restaurant anymore they stopped that they stopped that so it's is that provincial or is that provincial entire country no that's just uh that's ontario you know the thing about can, as you know, is that all these decisions are provincial-based because that's where the healthcare lies with the province. So it's like all our rules are just for Ontario, and then you hear BC has different rules and every province.

Right, well, that's going on like that. But here's the difference between Canada and the state. Canada, they love rules. They follow rules. Here, let me explain something to you. Here's the difference between the United States and Canada. Okay, you go to a swimming pool in Canada, and it'll say no diving, no jumping, no cannonballs.

You go to, it's like the sign will have 80 different things of things you can't do. You go to the States, it has one thing, no lifeguard on duty. That's it. One thing. Okay, so I told you. No lifeguard on duty. That's it. One thing. I told you what it's like in Toronto. You're in LA right now or thereabouts?

Yeah, I live in West Hollywood. What are the rules like there? Are people wearing masks everywhere? Yes. It's WeHo. There's nothing more Canadian than where I live. This is the most leftist area you could live in. But you can still eat in a restaurant there.

Yeah. And you can eat on the patio. They move the patios out onto the sidewalk. So you can sit there and eat right next to the dog shit. That's your advantage. No one wants to eat on a patio in minus 10 degrees or whatever the hell. That's funny. I'm going to do that in my act.

You can sit and eat right next to the the hell. That's funny. I'm going to do that in my act. You can sit and eat right next to the dog. That's funny. That's my anxiety dog. You know about him, right? I got Shaq, the one for you. Hi, buddy. Can you bring him on a flight? Okay, okay.

Yeah, I can bring him on. Let's get him. Hey, buddy. Okay, get him on. Okay, we're going to say hello to Jeremy Hodges' dog here. And then I'm going to get another quote. And then I have, before we say goodbye, I have an update from

Beck, who learned never to arrive late at a stand-up show. This is the Wonder Dog with his horrible breath. Oh, cute. What's the name of the dog? He runs out at the end of my shows.

That's when you hear 1,500 people go, at the same time when he comes running out people at the end of the show because he's been he's been by himself smart smart because then people always leave your show with the warm fuzzies like they're not sure why they have the warm fuzzies but they have them and they remember that so he's also a bit of a poser right so he comes out to the autograph line after the show and he takes pictures. And sometimes he's really into it because he knows what's going on. They're very smart to it.

He's a long hair Chihuahua. One more quote. And then I have a, the resolution to an open question we had from the beginning of this conversation, but one more quote here about you that I received in 2020 as COVID-19 raged on Jeremy Hotz was the only comedian to have crossed the US border to tour Canada. Accompanied

by Shackleton. I did a bunch of shit. I went to play these things. You know the socially distanced things? Ah, this is the thing. I did a theater and we booked a theater somewhere in BC I think and they wanted to do a show because they were all closed down.

The room was, you know when someone think, and they wanted to do a show because they were all closed down. And then the room was, they had, you know those, you know when someone gets married and they have the giant round tables with the white tablecloths that seat about 30 people? You know those big round ones? So they had a whole bunch of those sitting six feet apart from each other, 17 feet from

the stage, at each table, two people. Right. That's how they do it for the Golden Globe Awards. Not necessarily this year, but typically you got those big round tables at the Golden Globe. A plane flew by while the performance was going on,

so we listened to that for a while. Hold on. Shackleton's getting a shout out here. Accompanied by Shackleton, his long-haired chihuahua and emotional support animal that suffers from anxiety, he brought his unique brand of

astute, observational comedy to small clubs across the country at reduced capacity. Jeremy thrived in the intimate setting with his fans. Because I don't get to do that. I don't get to do that anymore. I don't get to do the small. The't get to do that anymore. So I don't get to do like the small,

whether, you know, I love it. Okay. But the funny thing is that's not a third party reviewing the show. Like this is literally like, you know, Jeremy thrived.

Okay. But you know, the source of this is somebody in bed with Jeremy, right? So Jeremy thrived in the intimate setting with his fans, turning their communal pandemic misery into laughs. And thus, the Marquis de Sade tour was born. That's well-written, actually.

I don't know who did that, but they did a decent job on that bullshit. I just assumed you wrote it. So, awesome. People need to go to jHotts.com. I will tell the GTA, because a lot of my listeners are in the GTA, that I see there's a Burlington show

at the Burlington Performing Arts Center. I see Richmond Hills got a gig at Richmond Hills. Ontario dates are, yeah, they got to get those tickets. The Ontario ones go really quickly. So if you wait, you're going to not get it. So do it now. And I will just conclude a story.

So earlier we heard FOTM Beck was late to one of your shows at Yuck Yucks and then learned never be late again. And she has shared some detail right now in real time. He looked at me and my friends as we sat down and he said, somewhere there's an episode of Beverly Hills 90 902 and oh that can't be filmed that's a nice thing to say i was saying they were really hot they should have made a play for me after the show pathetic pathetic you know no i'm good with with more than one person i dated twins i did i did i could by pretending they were the other person,

but I could easily tell them apart because one of them was a guy. Jeremy, what a thrill, man. Don't be a stranger, man. At any time, follow me on social media.

This is the thing. Like I'm pretty good on Facebook and Instagram. You should follow me because I don't have a ton of followers, but I have extremely high engagement. Is it at Jeremy Hotz? Yeah, that's it. That'll get you there. You put that in, you'll find me.

And props to you. You got an Electric Company t-shirt. I love that show. I do. The Electric Company with what was his name? From Shawshank. Yeah, Morgan Freeman. Morgan Freeman was on that show, that's right. And I feel like, hey, you guys, is that from Ratchet Company?

Is that the West Side Story gal? The West Side Story gal who was in Oz, who's a name, I have to actually, I'm so upset the name. The girl, the lady that played Maria? Yeah, she's still with us. She's in her 90s. Oh shit, I didn't know that. She was a singer and a dancer from the 60s, right? Wow. Yeah, Rina

Marino. Famous, famous, famous lady. And she was, I have the right show, right? She would go, hey you guys. She would do that in Electric Company. I think so. I think she was on, I think she did episodes of in electric company i think she was on i think she did episodes of colombo and stuff too right like she was an actor legend and and again yeah and uh i think we had spider-man uh cartoons during electric company like i remember i would tune

in for the spider the spider-man cartoon the real the real good one and uh first Spider-Man, the Ralph Bakshi one, was brilliant, the one that he put together. You're talking in the 60s, right? Oh, yeah. He had no money, and he put it together, and it's really good. Still to this day, my favorite Spider-Man is that old one.

That theme song, this will blow your fucking mind, too. Guess who sang the theme song to Spider-Man? Spider-Man does too uh the guess who sang the theme song uh to spider-man spider-man does whatever spider that theme song from the 60s nash that's a good guess because that's hercules so johnny nash does this you remember hercules by the way great fucking show too remember uh mighty hercules yeah great show okay i was young but johnny nash sang that one yeah johnny nash sang that one I can see clearly now the rain has gone.

That's Johnny Nash. Yes, and he sang the Hercules theme song. I didn't know that. You're telling me that for the first time. That's fantastic. I didn't know that. Well, the Billy Van singers. Billy fucking Van.

Son of a bitch. Billy fucking Van, him and his singers are doing the Spider-Man theme song. Let me tell you something about Billy Van right now. Please. I don't know if you know this, and I haven't really said much about it because I don't like to plug my own ass,

but I'm going to Sirius Radio shortly to do my own radio show once a week called The Hilarious House of Hots. Now, you remember Billy Van was on a children's show called Terrible Children's Show

called The Hilarious House of Frankenstein. Dude, I watched so much of that fucking show and he played all the characters. He was playing all those characters. One more thing about Billy Van, who I think was a fucking legend. I produced a show for

a gentleman named Peter Gross. Peter Gross was on City TV for years. Wasn't he the Mountie? No, that's actually a Paul Gross, I think. Oh, it's another Gross. So Peter Gross, though, for a short period of time, in Toronto we have a radio station called CFNY 102.1

It's kind of a legendary station. So Peter Gross worked there for a little bit and then they let him go and his severance check was delivered by Billy Vann because to make was delivered by Billy Vann because to make ends meet, Billy Vann was fucking delivering shit. That's the Canadian star system, my friend.

You know what? It doesn't have to be like that and shame on the people that work in television and film in Canada for keeping it like that and making sports personalities stars in the country because you don't have any, because you won't promote anybody. It's pathetic.

And that's why people like you end up leaving. Leave. And you know what? After you leave, do you think they're even nicer to you? No, they hate you. No, they're mad at you for leaving. They're mad at you for leaving. They want you to stay there so they can tell you what to do.

No. I've seen what you make. No. That's fucked up. I'll do my own thing and I'll have my own people and you can just stand over there and leave me alone. Actually, you know, dude, there's a

popular sitcom in this country from Brent Butt. I'm sure you cross paths with Brent Butt. I know Brent. Yeah, yeah. So Corner Gas, big deal, right? There's an actress who was on Corner Gas who was unable, right? There's an actress who was on Corner Gas who was unable, she told me, she was sitting here at the table and told me she was unable to get any other gig

after playing this big role on the biggest Canadian sitcom of the past decade. To me, that's like Julia Louise Dreyfuss. It's like, I can't get a job after... You don't understand. With me, it was like household name. Household name. Household name.

And I would go in and pitch shows at CBC and CTV, and they would pass every single time, saying things like, we have to be sure when we do a show. And then you watch what they picked up and did. They weren't sure at all. It's fucked up, Jeremy. Now the problem is that like the problem is, you know, here in America where they've been doing it for years and years and years,

they have really good people who know what they're doing. Canada, they still, it's, it's, they're throwing shit at the wall. But once in a while we get a newsroom, not that we deserve it, but, uh, we had a newsroom. Once in a while, but I mean, look at the show, look at the show that, um, this is how bad the state of television is in Canada. Look at the show that was, uh, that won Emmys in the United States. Schitt's Creek. Yeah. Won Emmys in the United States. Nobody watched it in Canada. Do you know why? Do you know why?

Because they got so tired of watching the Canadian shows that were consistently shitty one after another that they just didn't bother tuning in. And that's on the network. Okay? That's on the network, not the show. Jeremy's spoken. It's true. You know?

How does a show become a major hit in the country? Just over there. Just over there. No one's watching that network. Dude, thanks for doing this, man. Honestly, you've got to come back at some point because I could just do this for hours.

Yeah, I know, but I can't. I'm really tired. Here I go. But, you know, God I can't. I'm really tired. I'm going to go. But, you know, God bless you and best of luck to you and just keep doing what you do, you know. I mean, it's all about, the bottom line is when you go, they didn't do this and they didn't do that, then I always just go out and just do my own stuff anyway. I mean, you know, you don't take no for an answer. I mean, not in show business and certainly not in canada

if they say no there go to another country you know i mean i won't i won't stop doing stand-up comedy until i'm hated on every continent so it'll be another year or two oh my god you'll see the jeremy hot show coming out of north korea if they buy it ian rodman that's right he's in in the united states creek yeah one emmy's in the united states nobody watched it in canada do you know why do you know why because they got so tired of watching the canadian shows that were consistently shitty one after another that they just didn't bother tuning in. And that's on the network. Okay.

That's on the network, not the show. Jeremy's spoken. It's true. You know, how does a show become a major hit in the country? Just over there, just over there.

No one's watching that network. Dude, thanks for doing this, man. Honestly, you got to come back at some point because I could just do this for hours. Yeah, I know, but I can't. I'm really tired. Here I go. But, you know, God bless you and best of luck to you

and just keep doing what you do, you know? I mean, it's all about, the bottom line is when you go, they didn't do this and they didn't do that, then I always just go out and just do my own stuff anyway. I mean, you know, you don't take no for an answer. I mean, not in show business and certainly not in Canada. If they say no there, go to another country, you know. I mean, I won't stop doing

stand-up comedy until I'm hated on every continent. So it'll be another year or two. Oh my God. You'll see the Jeremy Hot Show coming out of North Korea if they buy it. Ian Wadman. That's right.

And that Ian Rodman that's right and that that brings us to the end of our 980th show you can follow me on twitter I'm at Toronto Mike Jeremy is at Jeremy Hotz with a Z not a Z a Z

our friends at Great Lakes Brewery they're at Great Lakes Beer Palma Pasta is at Palma Pasta Sticker U is at Sticker U and Ridley Funeral Home is at Ridley FH see you all

next week. Drink some goodness from a tin. and wander around and drink some Guinness from a tin Cause my UI check has just come in Ah, where you been? Because everything is kind of

rosy and green Yeah, the wind is cold but the sky won't be today And your smile is fine And it's just like mine And it won't go away Cause everything is Rosie and Gray

Well, you've been under my skin For more than eight years It's been eight years. It's been eight years of laughter and eight years of tears. And I don't know what the future can hold or will do for me and you. But I'm a much better man for having known you. Oh, you know that's true because everything is coming up rosy and gray.

Yeah, the wind is cold but the smell of snow won't stay today. And your smile is fine and it's just like mine and it won't go away because everything is rosy and gray

Well, I've been told That there's a sucker born every day But I wonder who Yeah, I wonder who Maybe the one who doesn't realize There's a thousand shades of grey Cause I know that's true Yes I do

I know it's true Yeah I know it's true How about you? Are they picking up trash And they're putting down ropes And they're brokering stocks The class struggle explodes

And I'll play this guitar Just the best that I can Maybe I'm not And maybe I am But who gives a damn Because everything Is coming up Rosy and gray

Yeah, the wind is cold But the smell of snow Warms me today And your smile is fine And it's just like mine And it won't go away Because everything is rosy and gray Well, I've kissed you in France

And I've kissed you in Spain And I've kissed you in places I better not name And I've seen the sun go down On Sacré-Cœur But I like it much better Going down on you Yeah, you know that's true

Because everything Is coming up Rosy and green Yeah, the wind is cold But the smell of snow Warms us today And your smile is fine And it's just like mine

it won't go away cause everything is rosy now everything is rosy yeah everything is rosy and gray yeah guitar solo