Saturday, December 09, 2006

The Second Card Of Christmas

This is a picture of my funny friend Karen Lorshbough with Ringo Starr. She was performing at the 50th birthday party for Barbara Bach, Ringo’s wife, at their home in Beverly Hills. Karen is not only a standup comic and a mime but she is probably the only Silver Friedman impersonator in the free world.

Sidebar: Silver Friedman is the ex-wife of Budd Friedman, the former owner of the L.A. Improv on Melrose. He and Silver owned the Original Improv on West 44th Street in New York City and she got it in the divorce.

Silver has an unusual voice, flat in timbre and somewhat disdainful. Karen was the only comic who ever mastered it, not to mention dared to do it. Silver had a cat named Tits that had free reign of the club. We were discouraged from playing with Tits, which is a line you really don’t want to give a comic.

After Karen moved to L.A., I made her come to my house and record my outgoing message as Silver. During the recording she said, ‘Excuse me, but please don’t touch Tits, leave Tits alone.’ as if she was talking to a comedian across the club. Every comic who called was laughing on the tape and then said, “How in the fuck did you get Silver Friedman to leave your outgoing message? And isn’t that cat dead yet?”

End of chat.

2 comments:

  1. Anonymous12:29 PM

    Your personality jumps right off the page.
    Are writing a newspaper column?
    I don't think it's because i know you; but your blog is the only humorous "column" I've ever read that I understood AND thought was funny....won't mention any names of the columnists I don't think are funny (how about ALLLLLLLL of them).
    Anyway- put this s**t in a book...great f'n stories!

    By the way- if you haven't read it- Robert Klein's book- The Amourous Busboy of Decataur Avenue is a must read- "I laughed...I cried"...seriously. Get it on half.com for... half price (ah-duh).

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  2. Hey Allen, I was writing a column for a website here in LA but quit to do this.

    Sidebar: Allen and I go way back to NY and all the psycho clubs. Click on his name and it will take you to his website. I just ordered a caricature from him since I have always wanted a portrait of me showing my big mouth flapping. He is a man of many talents. (Please leave my clothes on for the portrait, Allen. Allen?)

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