Succotash Epi302: A Very Special Episode

Saluton, estas mi Tyson Saner and I will be you host for this, I don't know that there is a better way to put this, "Very Special Episode" of Succotash, The Comedy Soundcast Soundcast that numbers #302. Before I get into what I mean I'd like to take a moment to remind you that Succotash celebrated 11 years of showcasing other soundcasters via clips of their efforts. That coincided with our 300th episode, which executive producer and show creator Marc Hershon and I co-hosted simultaneously - which might sound like an odd way to put it, but it shouldn't be odd to regular listeners who know that Mr. Hershon and I have been hosting weekly episodes more-or-less every-other-episode for the last 2 years, and it is really only on special occasions that we might both be bringing you the same episode, at the same time.
There's a great recap of Epi300 IN Epi301 in which Marc brought you a quartet of clips from the soundcasts Aristotle Full Throttle, Brilliant Observations, The Jann Arden Podcast, and TheKnuckleheadsPodcast. That episode can still be found over at SuccotashShow.com and wherever soundcasts can be streamed and/or downloaded…except Spotify for the time being and the foreseeable future.
Now, if you wouldn't mind my attempting to explain what I mean by this being a "Very Special Episode" I will begin that now. This is a memorial episode. We have lost a great many comedians in the last year or so. I have chosen to feature three of the recently departed, and  I based my selection process on my personal preference for starters, but mostly on the fact that there's a pretty remarkable photograph that Gilbert Gottfried, who passed away after "a long illness" on April 12, 2022, posted to his Twitter account. It was of him, Louie Anderson, who succumbed to cancer on January 21st of 2022, and Bob Saget, who died due to head trauma earlier that same January on the 9th.There's an article on the Huffington Post about the photo that you can find here.
I was, as many people were, shocked and saddened by the passings of Mr. Anderson and Mr. Saget, but Mr. Gottfried's passing really bummed me the fuck out, and it is still pretty fresh as I write this on the 23rd of April, less than 2 weeks later. When I saw this photograph, along with how understandably eerie it seemed, it inspired me to revisit Mr. Gottfried's podcast which, in turn, inspired me to create this episode that attempts to both celebrate the humor and humanity of these folks, and memorialize them in some fashion.

So, in this episode, I've got clips from The Louie Anderson Podcast, Bob Saget's Here For You, and Gilbert Gottfried's Amazing Colossal Podcast.
I will be including a classic "Henderson's Pants" spot about something called PC Jeans because it seems like it could the most appropriate choice of the fake ads for our fake sponsor that I have available to me.

I need to point out that I will still be including social media account information after each clip. (Quite a few folks have died with Twitter accounts, many of whom I still follow, and the accounts are usually maintained by people who keep the legacy alive with information about events such as additional materials like unpublished memoirs, final stand-up specials, charities supported, etc.) I will also be providing info to the various charities as I find them. If you know of any additional charities supported by the comedians featured in this episode, feel free to contact the show via the emails which will be mentioned at the end of the program.

Ok, let's get to it and cope with our grief together…

CLIPS

The Louie Anderson Podcast
The Louie Anderson Podcast is a conversation with comedians, entertainers and others about their journey. My featured clips comes from the February 13th, 2015 episode in which The Amazing Johnathan talks magic, Letterman, drugs and his current health situation. (If you'd care to, you can go back into the archives of Succotash to find Episode 95, called "Interfacin' with The Amazing Johnathan" from 2014. Johnathan Szeles and Mr. Hershon had worked on a Merv Griffin game show project in the past called Ruckus which you can definitely find clips of on YouTube.

One charity I found that was supported by Louie with a search on Look To The Stars was Comic Relief, which you can learn more about by visiting https://www.comicrelief.com/

Bob Saget's Here For You
Bob Saget's Here For You is a podcast that is like no other— For one, this podcast has guests who are friends of Bob’s, or just really interesting people who many of you know and love. Secondly, this podcast is unique because it goes inside Bob Saget’s mind, and then quickly filters out through his mouth. Bob has a way of calming people he has conversations with as well as being entertaining and often informative. Bob talks with his guests with genuine empathy and humor, while reaching his unusually diverse audience that he talks to as a friend, Bob is the dad with great advice, the irreverent funny guy who’s always there when you need a laugh, and the free-associative Bob who goes off on crazy tangents then returns to the subject at hand, as serious or as comedic as it may be, to wrap up each episode in a way only Bob can do. Because he really does believe, “He’s here for you." Our clip is from the last episode to post, on Jan 31, 2022, appropriately titled "Final Episode: Dane Cook"

Comedian, actor, and long-time friend Dane Cook joins the podcast for its final episode. Dane shares his journey to the stage, opening up about his battle with social anxiety as a child and how his parents' personalities influenced his acts. Bob and Dane tackle a share of serious subjects, including their memories of the late Robin Williams and Louis Anderson, how pain can develop into great comedy, and Dane's experience having to put his older half-brother in jail. (With a foreword from Bill Burr that was included in the episode posted previous to this with Margaret Cho).

Bob Saget had also been a Board Member of the Sceleroderma Research Foundation since 2003.You can find more information about it at www.srfcure.org

Gilbert Gottfried's Amazing Colossal Podcast
Comedian and actor Gilbert Gottfried, a man Stephen King once called “a national treasure,” talks with the show business legends, icons and behind-the-scenes talents who shaped his childhood and influenced his comedy. Along with co-host and fellow pop culture fanatic Frank Santopadre, Gilbert is joined by comics, actors, musicians, talk show hosts, writers and other eyewitnesses to Hollywood history, including Bruce Dern, Chevy Chase, “Weird Al” Yankovic, Adam West, Steve Buscemi, Micky Dolenz, Jim Gaffigan, Judd Apatow and DOZENS more, for a funny, frenetic, fly-on-the-wall look at showbiz then and now (but mostly then.)

I snipped this clip from the show that posted April 11th, 2022 - Bob Costas Encore. The GGACP ushers in the start of the 2022 baseball season with this encore of a 2015 interview with Emmy-winning sportscaster, journalist and Baseball Hall of Famer Bob Costas, recorded at the New York Friars Club. Also in this episode: Bob analyzes “Top Cat," imitates Howard Cosell, “interviews” Jack Palance and recites Babe Ruth’s farewell speech. PLUS: "The Million Dollar Movie"! Crazy Guggenheim returns! Rod Steiger emotes! Shirley MacLaine clams up! Gilbert sings the theme from “Underdog”! And the boys praise the under-appreciated genius of Bud Abbott!

In Honor/Memory of Gilbert Gottfried who passed "Too Soon" of Myotonic Dystrophy Type Two: Please consider a donation to the research of this debilitating disease. Donate here: http://giveto.urmc.edu/DM2Research

By show's end I do hope that you find something to enjoy.There are so many soundcasts out there, and none of us could possibly listen to them all. I wonder what the percentage is of comedians that have podcasts? I imagine it is a large percentage. Personally, comedians and musicians are among my favorite classes of people. Aside from loved ones or people that I know well in my actual life, comedians and musicians seem to leave the biggest gaps in the world when they leave us behind. Thankfully, they have a body of work that we can revisit if we were to desire to do so. We can laugh and sing with them until we literally cannot laugh and/or sing anymore for one reason or another, including our own deaths. Most importantly, if you love people or otherwise hold them in high regard, don't miss an opportunity to express the way you feel about them to them. You never know when it will be too late. I don't really have anything new to add as far as those sorts of sentiments go. I just keep on keepin' on because that's what we do. We carry on because we must.

So, tune in next week for Marc Hershon's episode 303 and I will hopefully talk at you in two weeks for Epi304. Until then, be decent to each other, try to stay safe, and if someone asks you if you have heard anything worth listening to lately and we come to mind, don't forget to pass the Succotash…

— Tyson Saner

jrrAtLJReh8z0vYxPXMA