Rick Corso Interview & Comedy Set Music, Impressions, and More! Show #133

Interesting interview with comic Rick Corso. He went from nuclear engineer to professional comic via TV, clubs, and cruise lines. Rick sings, does impressions, and terrific standup comedy; he brings it all to the stage. this interview tracks his comedy life as well as sharing a set that is sure to entertain!

Hosted by: R. Scott Edwards

Transcript

Announcer: 0:04

This is another episode of stand up comedy, your host and emcee, celebrating 40 plus years on the fringe of show business, stories, interviews and comedy sets from the famous and not so famous. Here's your host and MC. Scott at words.

Scott Edwards: 0:21

Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to another fabulous podcast and we have another terrific interview with a professional entertainer and I mean professional. This guy has been seen on Showtime comedy All Stars Comedy Central's a list evening at the Improv Star Search. MTV is half hour Comedy Hour. He sings he does impressions. He's a terrific stand up comedy, and we used to do some really really fun stuff, including he is the star of Vega Rama, ladies and gentlemen, it's my good friend Rick Corso. Oh wow, Rick great

Rick Corso: 1:02

great to hear your voice guy that that's that couldn't have been a liability and slapping a credit back right? Well,

Scott Edwards: 1:09

we can we can only we can only fit so many people in the studio.

Rick Corso: 1:15

Show business right? You gotta really just put on some fake stuff.

Scott Edwards: 1:19

Yeah, so we haven't actually talked in a long time. But Banco de we were doing a lot of work and a lot of experimental comedy together. And I've always been a huge fan of, for the for the audience that's listening. Not only I mentioned it earlier, he sings he does impressions, but you do one of the best Frank Sinatra, you know, old school lounge, you know, Italian lounge singer act, and always been really impressed with everything. But before we get into comedy, I wanted to kind of explore how you got into comedy. Now is everybody in the listening audience sitting down? Because Rick Corso is an engineer, fully degreed engineer and worked on nuclear plants, right?

Rick Corso: 2:07

That's correct. Wow, you really have my information? Well, that's true. But you when you say how you got into comedy, I think I gotta do the long version. Because you want to give it context, right? Yeah. So it starts out somehow, in your past, somebody gives you the idea that you're exploiting, you need to pull up, something gives you that confidence, right? So there was a couple of businesses, one was, I was like, in seventh grade music class. And before the bell rang, and the class started, I just started doing an Elvis impression. And everybody was laughing, and the teacher walked in. And he made me do it in front of the class. And it just killed it, you know, and I didn't even do a well, or just the fact that I had the nerve to do it. So that kind of plant a little seed in the I did some sketches in the church comedy show. But then in college, I was in a fraternity. And you know, I played the guitar since I was a kid. And I used to just make up these silly comedy songs, paternity. And, you know, I was funny, and they also did impressions. That was an impression. And then one, I went to college for engineering, like you said, and they graduated, you know, when they go the safe route, got a job working in a new field, Washington State. And then another one in Cincinnati after data kept getting like more, moving to a great, better paid job. They really didn't like it. So it was about the money. And then I realized that they don't really build new plants and fun suburban urban areas, you know, you always have the middle of nowhere. Where there was, you know, what I wanted to live where there was people and fun so, so I tried to get a job to shift over from nuclear construction to commercial construction. So I moved in with a friend of mine in Atlanta, who was really wired. And he went to Rutgers with me, and he had a great construction engineering job. So we were I was there auditioning. interviewing for jobs in the Atlanta area, you know, with him his roommate, because he was just going through a breakup with this girl and next room, so I stayed there, and I did some interviewing. And while I was doing that, I got one more nuclear job to pay so much money when we got to California, but in the meantime, while I was living there and unemployed between those new jobs, something came up it was a portrayed best portrayal of a Saturday night live camera contest. Oh, really? Like, oh, let me see. So I said to myself, let me when I do a good father Guido Sarducci questions, let me do that, because there's gonna be a little money. So I worked on this thing like, find out about the curtains. It's not portray, it's not as impressive as the custom curtains. Oh, you didn't get the whole thing. So then somebody told me about the open mic scene in Atlanta. There was a thing called the Great southeastern lamp off that was held at the Comedy Spot that was in Buckhead that was only open ID three threes only for a couple years. So I got into that. And the audition was in the room in front of just like three people. And because I had never done comedy be For I had my stuff so memorized that it didn't throw me that there was no way. It's normally a comic. It's used to performing. No What is this will be weird. But anyway, so me, I passed the audition. So my first time on stage was in front of this packed house that was there and it'd be like, I think, all the Atlanta constant times it was only like James Gregory and, and Paul clay gray, gray, gray attorney, Danny Brown, and they get into comics, you know, but And who's this guy named? I've never done it before first time. And I was doing kind of a similar thing to what I still do it. He's just it's tough guy Jersey character, as as I was, you know, mimicking people from my neighborhood. And I didn't see the edges of the stage. And I fell off the stage. So yeah, I was able to being this. This tough guy, Jersey character. Excuse me. Pardon me, that's a big guys lift me back on stage. That was one of the best shows I've had the whole first year economy. So you had that first good show, you get bitten by the bug. And then you bomb for 20 weeks, you know? You're chasing that dragon. You're trying to get back to where you were that person. And that's what happened. So I did that, you know, bunch of open mics. And then I got the engineering job offer to go to California. It was Diablo Canyon. I worked at a beach. And because my heart wasn't really in it, I was you know, kind of slacking off at work. My boss called me read me wanted that was looking for new car. And they got fired. This time? Yeah. Yeah, to get into comedy, and I moved down to LA and uh, you know, so I moved to LA and tried la de la seen a fairly new company a couple of months. It's very hard. But luckily, I got a job at the company store the doorman. And that made me a lot of connections. Again, a lot of space time. I had he was a tour bus that used to park in front of the Comedy Store. And I used to get up on there, because one day how he may have dealt with it for the tour bus trail. This is great. I could do that. It's based on it, you know. And so I used to go on the bus. And I would do like a set and they would pass the hat around. And if he didn't like if he said you take off the where the company store t shirt. It looks bad, you know? And sometimes, even if I wasn't working the door that night, the girl that were covered was Korean three bosses here. Because he was FaceTime, you know?

Scott Edwards: 7:15

You got him with Mitzi shore early on.

Rick Corso: 7:18

Very early on. I was only doing it about nine or 10 months. And I just, I just got lucky i i Pat, you know, that's a three minute audition. I had a really good set. And she looked at me like a guy that could work the door. So the next day, she didn't say you're a regular she said, No, no job. So the job is a door man. And I never became a paid regular that by the way and even non paid regular. Then I became a doorman, a phone answer and then a personal errand guy so I ran errands there. Sometimes I was there. 16 hours a day. Like I do it at 10 o'clock.

Scott Edwards: 7:54

I had no idea. You have that rich history with Mitzi.

Unknown: 7:58

Oh, yeah, yeah. In fact, I saw Paul he recently because he's, you know, the biggest company I was working with actually back in February. So Mulrooney. They gave during the second show Monday office, Paul, he came to the packing place. And I hadn't seen Paul in like 25 years, but I remember taking him to the airport for his mug, everything, you know, as long as you can. So yeah, it's it has a long history. That is accurate. He was one of the regular guys there at the time. And yeah, back

Scott Edwards: 8:28

to the the connections that you can make a work in the door at a club are amazing. Oh, yeah, definitely. Like I mean,

Unknown: 8:34

guys, well, that's what happened with those guys helped me get on the road. Like Jeff says, Dario was Billy Anderson. And actually Bob Saget and Harry bagel they helped me get like, I would just throw drop their name and drop your name, and I dropped the name and I'd get the club booking.

Scott Edwards: 8:49

That's so

Unknown: 8:50

very much that you had another question about, How did I get into less? I don't remember I think laughs came later because I started getting jobs middling and starting to build up my act. And then somebody told me how great your clubs were. You had their Citrus Heights and old sack. And I think what happened was I did rascals Comedy Hour, which was a cable show in New Jersey at the comedy club there. Because I was a teacher there and then that tape I sent to you the VHS tapes. And, and then he booked me to emcee. So I am seated there a couple of times. But you know, what is what I was thinking back about this. I never featured the you emceed, got a lot of TV stuff and started working the road. And then when I got a Showtime special, I came back to you as a headliner ever featured?

Scott Edwards: 9:39

Well, it's interesting, but we've jumped ahead a little bit just to give us a reference. Rick, how old were you when you kind of went from nuclear engineer to comedy? 2323 years. So in the comedy business, that's a little bit of a late start. I mean, a lot of the guys started in their teens and early 20s, but 20 Yeah, And then I think

Rick Corso: 10:01

in about I think 23 If I started when I was 18 I might not miss the wave like I think I missed the wave of getting on the big TV stuff. You know, like the guys did SNL and in living color they had their chops were much stronger. I was, you know, I got came very close to getting them live in color. But the note after three auditions, what they need is men acting experience to be detail,

Scott Edwards: 10:21

you know, yeah, you were you were just You just missed that crest. Now going back to when you were starting, what was one of your first jokes or impressions? Do you remember?

Rick Corso: 10:31

I need Popeye? A long, long time ago, that was my killer closer. They didn't you know, I just didn't plan on that ever since I was a kid.

Scott Edwards: 10:39

I was the closer I did. Where are you? At Vegas?

Unknown: 10:43

I did not Don Bonner has a gig downtown called delirious is the Grand Hotel. And I just finished four nights, Marriott and one night before it. So I was here for five nights.

Scott Edwards: 10:53

Congratulations, that's great that you pick right back up on the work this post COVID stuff is tough.

Unknown: 11:01

Well, the other thing is to ship since November, so I'm still doing that. And Florida didn't really shut down. And I have some gigs in Florida that I was doing throughout 2020 2021. I think there's, there's a variety show that I work in Florida, called the jungle queen. It's been there since the 30s. And that's the longest running variety show in the country. And it's usually a singer, variety, a comedian, and then the dancers at the end, somebody in that third spot and you know, the psyche calling for spots for the month, and then they give you what you can. And if you get a better gig like a ship or something you trade out with somebody else, and it's been working out for me. Oh, that's great. And clean, because there's kids in the audience. But that's no problem you do in 15 minutes. And yes, and I think so that really didn't that I think that'll be shut down for like two months and then opened up at lower capacity and the people were masked, you know, stuff. And now it's back to full, you know, for the people in outdoor amphitheater.

Scott Edwards: 11:58

That's amazing. Well, we've jumped ahead again, but let's take it back to laughs on the Manila you were doing some MC work and then you I obviously recognized your talent. You were getting a lot of TV spots. We were talking about the Showtime comedy All Star Show and evening at the improv. So you were quickly made into a headliner, which is the way I've always thought of you anyway. I mean, not only that would

Rick Corso: 12:23

be exactly exactly at the short term. COVID A couple of things solidified to me as a headwind. And that's when I came back. Like, you know, it wasn't that there was anything wrong with our communication. I was just starting to get workouts where then I get big, probably that was the new tape or you saw it on TV. And when my manager at the time contacted us again, we're having an event, right?

Scott Edwards: 12:46

Yeah, well, you have so much talent, Rick, I mean, you bring as we've already mentioned, you sing you do impressions, you have great material. So I I'm it's hard for me to think of you as anything but a headliner. Do you have any memories of work in those days at Lamson limited?

Unknown: 13:05

Oh, yeah. And you know what? I do remember how I heard about your limited? Magazine? Just freelance. Yeah. And yeah, I would print where the comics were every week and I would see your club you always had these good guys, you know. And that's how I got into personally. That's why I took the gig as the MP because I just wanted to work with a great lineup. What was the last question? I'm sorry?

Scott Edwards: 13:27

No, I was just I was from the club. Yeah, you worked the club quite a bit. And then they were really

Unknown: 13:35

nice to me in that like, I think before and after vague or sometimes you'd let me bring my own middle, which was always fine, because we could drive up together. I don't know if you remember one of the middles was Jimmy Dore. It was very big. There was political podcasts, you know, give me do I remember him? Yeah.

Scott Edwards: 13:50

Oh, yeah. Well, that was one of the things I would offer the headliners. My whole thing was if you take care of the entertainers, they'll take care of you. And so if there was a featured act that somebody wanted to work with, I would trust the headliner. He's not going to put somebody crappy or dirty in front of them. Right. So it was always going to bring somebody he could follow. Yeah, right. Is there a fairly safe show? Yeah, it's a fairly it was

Unknown: 14:16

yet they have a lot of it. The other one I brought with me, and you know, he did Raman and he did that Men of a Certain Age. He's got a lot of acne where he's done very well as well. The other times that was there, I remember being there one time, and you had the winner of your last competition has a feature that was part of the part of the prize for winning where you get to feature at laughs unlimited. But Laurie Kilmartin was the emcee and she was really strong and she became a great complement a great writer. So do you remember this? And then

Scott Edwards: 14:48

I don't remember who we that live we

Unknown: 14:51

write in anyway. And then we're back with like, after like the first or second day I go, Scott, I think maybe you need to switch them and she feature and she was phenomenal. No.

Scott Edwards: 15:00

Yeah, no, Laurie come Martin is is amazing. And you're absolutely right is my job as the producer, it was important to make sure that the show flowed. And if the if the feature I can't follow the opener, you just switch it.

Unknown: 15:16

Yeah, exactly what you did. But like their stories, I do remember one time and they were with John Ancelotti. And you were really good to the accident, you probably didn't want us to worry about getting out of the club or you had a car for us to use that white column event. Oh. Well, the first thing I can think of, it's kind of I think the prayers are a little bit bold, you might want to look into that. The next day he got a flat on the way to pick us up when nowhere.

Scott Edwards: 15:44

Well, that's a whole new tires, right?

Unknown: 15:48

Like I like to do it I like to preemptively but that was that workout or

Scott Edwards: 15:52

Yeah, with it was a great times, and having you come in was always special, because I'm a big fan of the variety acts. And so when you get somebody like you that can kind of combine the comedy with other things like impressions, and singing. Kevin Pollak was amazing with impressions and styles.

Unknown: 16:15

But at the time, pollack was much better at weaving them together. I've since gotten better at it. Because I used to always like to separate things. But now what I do, because I don't know if I told you, I didn't play the guitar since I was a kid than about 15 years ago, 25 years into doing stand up, I finally put it in my head. And it's great. It's like a great last 10 minutes at the end of the show. Oh, you

Scott Edwards: 16:41

got your own guitar for your music. That's awesome.

Unknown: 16:45

I not producing octave stuff. Just like I told you when I was in college, I used to make up stupid songs like, like the stuff Adam Sandler did. But I just never did it. Because one time I bought lunch at the Comedy Store that had the salvation with a plastic bag, and a big tag with a strap goes on punched into the guitar, a guitar sales, ruin my set, and he got the sign from God America, you're the guitar again. That was the thing about you'd like variety accent for good reason, because they gave more to the audience. But the standups all looked down on them. So if you're a young comic in LA, you get out of that pressure of everybody said, Oh, you got to be pure stand up, you know. So that was part of the reason it wasn't in the act. It did less impressions, but it was and then I started working shift and I go Wait, I need this, you know, and it was only it's already like 10 years in the New York and ships with so many finally said to me, was Tom Cotter. I was on a ship with Tom Cotter. And I was in my cabin with the door open plan. I had a strap with me to Karis, Fender Stratocaster, and sometimes dealing with the band's, you know, waiting for him to come and get him to go to lunch. In between, on CNN in between when you're on the ship. They didn't play the commercial, they just played this dumb hold music. I was playing along with the whole music and he wants to make a play that one you don't get your accurate moron. You can have 10 minutes of guitarist kills. You can play around and work on new stuff all you want, because you know, you're always going to close big I don't know, I never thought of it that way. Then like a couple of months later,

Scott Edwards: 18:16

I had it. Oh, that's great. I'm sorry, I haven't seen that. That would be a fantastic addition. And that's a great segue into the fact that you do do a great Frank Sinatra impression you do sing on stage. How did you did you start with the singing and add comedy? Are we doing comedy and added the singing? How did that come about?

Unknown: 18:37

Acquire when I was a kid and I didn't think for a long, long time. And then all I did was you remember that? I did the acapella Sinatra singing the square surprise, which actually evolved at your club. When I was the emcee one time. John Carney was right. No, yeah, he's good. I'm a magician. And I used to literally go to every town. And the premise was to not just think New York, New York, LA has my lady in Chicago, it seems like he has a song for every town. So the premise was, whatever town I went to, I would make up a song for the tariff, but then Django is not a lot of work, why don't just have him doing something silly. And that's where the squareness that came from, not just singing the squareness right? You know, the 10 then I listened to an old Sinatra record. And he actually thinks Old MacDonald, which was very similar to what I was doing over here, you know, kind of funny. So I guess I now that I'm on the ships, I sing with a nine piece orchestra and in my act, I do a song parodies to that slide called ship life, which going back closer, my welcome aboard show. And then we started like some of the musical directors with him. He wanted to sing with the band rockhaven My friend Gary, Gary Morris. They do the big band set, but like they were doing it in the afternoon on one of the big shifts, and nobody was showing up and he doesn't want to come and sings and some of the depending upon Remedios isn't that people hear music coming from a from a lounge and they don't come in but they hear some of the bucket singers and walk in so I started it when the Sinatra songs with the band and then I made like a whole show out of it. And I actually got booked a couple times on Norwegian Cruise Lines to just to be a Sinatra impersonator. Now, they had their Yeah, I didn't, I did it twice. I went to Hawaii for three weeks. And it was great. All I had to do was was a 45 minutes and on your show, but it was tough because I was used to doing it with a nine piece orchestra and I had to re orchestrate the charts do with the five was really hard. The rehearsal was like three hours. And Adam getting new charts and it's there's a lot, there's a lot to music. It's a hard job. Yeah, that's why I don't

Scott Edwards: 20:43

do it full time. No, but that's fascinating that you took something that was kind of a throwaway impression that you you know that you enjoyed you being Italian, you have a great love of the art form and people like Frank Sinatra and to to have

Rick Corso: 21:00

a Jersey where he was like our local heroes. So it was like, you know, that voice was in my head. So like, I didn't accidentally become a Sinatra impersonator. And I don't think I told you this story. I don't know so many people that this is, I don't know if this is you want comedy on the podcast if you want. Oh,

Scott Edwards: 21:16

no, no, this is just your conversation share away. Okay. Well,

Rick Corso: 21:20

whenever you kid, my mother and father, they were born in the 20 day loves her to they were 10 years younger than Sinatra. So he was their idol. They My mother was a Barbie soccer. She went to the shows, you know, and they love them. I'm sure I was probably conceived with Sinatra in the background, right? They loved Frank Sinatra. And then I was seven years old, my father died like suddenly at 41 years old. My mother did nothing, nothing, the place Sinatra and cry for three years. So I always feel I always feel that you learn how to speak by mimicking your parents, right? And so the male voice around my house was similar. So I didn't it wasn't even like I had a consciously learner and did the impression it just use a great impressionist named Craig Gass, you know him. No, I don't. Okay, when he was on America's Got Talent, one of those shows are shown on TV and they were interviewing me. He grew up with a family that was all deaf. And they asked him how he became an apprentice. He was well mimic your parents, your family, but I was able to mimic all these other people because my family was present misquote him, but I and I had that same theory about guys that grew up without fathers like Billy Crystal's father died when he was young, he learned to do impressions because you mimic people that you look up to. And then when you start learning how to mimic all different voices, you become depressed.

Scott Edwards: 22:41

That's fascinating. And that makes so much sense. No, but it's a strong theory. And it makes perfect sense that when there's an empty void, we fill it and and having Sinatra in the house makes perfect sense. And everybody you know, keep an eye out for Rick courses name on the cruise ships and in Vegas, because if you get a chance to see him his Sinatra's is one of the best I've seen. And you have all the humor to add to it. But I think that's a great story. Thanks for sharing that, Rick.

Rick Corso: 23:13

Yeah, well.

Scott Edwards: 23:17

Well, lucky, it's me and my listeners. So one of the things that we have to talk about was that I was always open to variety and experimentation. And

Rick Corso: 23:32

I was really nice.

Scott Edwards: 23:33

I was so excited that we booked a we were building this new club, and we wanted the grand opening to be spectacular. And I booked Rick and his and he had put together kind of a play slash variety show called Vega, Rama. And of course, the construction ran long into kind of blew everything to hell for me. But we had committed to the show. So even though we were in this small banquet room, we brought in this big you know, over the top show called Vega Rama, we had so much fun the audience loved it. But why don't you explain to the audience the creation and in what you did with Vega Rama?

Unknown: 24:15

Well, you were exactly right. It was a play and a variety show was literally a play about a variety show. So the backstory was that there was this singer recall them Ricky See, that was named after but that that sounded too much like Sinatra to ever make it. He always lived in Frank's shadow. And he was at once you know, a decent, this is all backstory that comes out. In we used to have a pre show voiceover where the guys didn't know the mic closer on, they can do the setup. Right? You remember that?

Scott Edwards: 24:48

Oh, yeah. Yeah, let the audience know the premise of the show. Yeah,

Rick Corso: 24:54

well, the premise of the show was, while they're telling you both at the same time, the premise and this this setup To get the backstory out, the the premise was that he was to to sound too much like Sinatra to really ever make it. And at one point, he made it to a certain level, but he kept getting demoted and demoted from you know, having a band and in a decent sized lounge to smaller lounge to the band getting to be smaller band to working to track music, which at the time was audio tapes, cassette tapes, which were in the guy's car and they melted and we had a piano player that kind of covered, but then they try to sing a song. And also the tape would melt. They never really got to a song except for summer when they won. So I got all the way through. But every time I tried to think something would happen, like, you know, I became a planet Moon and the heckler would start and you got to get thrown out. And it was. Yeah, but I hosted a variety show. The premise was the guy that used to have his own show now that the host is variety show and every act had some problem. We had the mind with Tourette Syndrome. We had the Elvis impersonator with a huge ego that was hard to hard to reel in. We had the crazy escape artists with it with his Mazatlan and to the champion it was calling right. And he was he was nuts, too. We had a depressed juggler who was off his medication. And, you know, he's doing the bowling ball trick over juggle a bowling ball over a volunteer on stage and drop it but it was funny because he was depressed. So it wasn't like he was in control. So it made it more dangerous. But yeah, and Todd glass came in tall glass was the Don Rickles that came in to make fun of them. He played Jackie press was the name of the character. And Smirnoff played the club owner. Even though you were the actual club owner, you played somebody else in the show. He played like the bouncer, I think.

Scott Edwards: 26:51

Yeah, I think like gruesome. You know, he kicked me around. I was his puppy. He would abuse Yeah,

Unknown: 26:59

you worked for Bruce as yet. And I'm sure he loved but so. So we had we had seven or eight people that came up from LA, which you know, and then we had moe betterman, who was one of the local comics, and he helped me cast some local actors. And we had rich Murata who was just happened to be a great magician. He just happened to be here on the magic convention in town. So he doubled up and worked for us too. So we never really know palette packed show.

Scott Edwards: 27:28

Oh, it was so rich with talent. And what I loved about it was it touched on so many variety type comedy, you know, rich Murata was an amazing comic magician in Todd glass was really funny and fast paced. You had the singing, we had, I can't remember there was a guy's name that did the amazing impression at the end. Kind of a mime. Bit.

Rick Corso: 27:59

The man with Tourette Syndrome, I forget they must have been Derek I don't remember who came up. I don't have the flyer in front of me. But you gotta you gotta give credit to Ellen Murray. Because not only did he direct it, but he co wrote it with me. And the sidekick piano player, there was a relationship between me and I, that really kind of held that like glued that all the show together. You know,

Scott Edwards: 28:19

it was amazing fun for me, I was just so depressed that we didn't have it in the main new club that we were having built special. And this was gonna be the big breakout grand opening show. But still, we mean,

Rick Corso: 28:32

can't really adjust the timing of like 10 people's schedules, you know, was amazing. That's why we had to do it that way.

Scott Edwards: 28:40

No, and it was the fault of the construction people to be honest, they're always behind. But it's interesting. You mentioned Bruce Smirnoff because in his interview in people should go back and listen to it. He references how much fun it was, but also how ironic it was that he was the comic that normally respects the club owner. And in this particular show, he was a club owner totally verbally abusing me as his underling but I was the club owner I mean it was it was funny that it was

Unknown: 29:12

well you know, we had fun with it and covered his name which freed me we can it's kind of a take off on sidebars and then and yeah, it was

Scott Edwards: 29:20

it was meant to be. Oh, I don't remember but it was the whole thing was hilarious. And what was interesting for me as a producer, was that we did a few play comedy play setups. We did a couple one man shows and a couple things that were that came off like a play but this was the first multi character. We the audience was a part of the show we immersed them

Rick Corso: 29:52

you got a picture you know you get a picture if somebody wants to picture it because they're not really doing it justice because we can't do the hour and a half show for them. You His picture The Larry Sanders Show me, Tony and Tina's wedding. Oh, great example. Yeah. Because we had the backstage stuff from The Larry Sanders Show because he had this voiceover that was overheard. And a lot of times, we leak out stuff that you would normally wouldn't say on stage just to give them exposition. And then the audience's involvement was more like Tony and Tina's wedding.

Scott Edwards: 30:21

Yeah, it was, it was really fun to do the audience's though much smaller than we hoped. Had a great time. And, you know, as they say, the show must go on. We made it work in a smaller venue with a smaller audience. And I took it, I took a huge bath financially, but I had so much fun doing it. You know what I

Unknown: 30:42

did too, because I had to pay all those people. And he paid me and then I paid them so I didn't take a huge bath. But I took a good sized one.

Scott Edwards: 30:48

Yeah, it was it didn't work out the way we planned. And I always hoped at some point we could redo it but it was it was kind of the moment was lost. But speaking of that, now you've done cruises. You've done lots of television we've named dropped several the shows you've been on in your career, Rick, what is there like a moment that really stands out? That was you know, maybe extra fun or good or maybe a huge disaster. What would what would you say your career,

Unknown: 31:18

all of them. The one thing the biggest gut punch was in 1988. I won the San Diego landfall. Right? Right. And I drove right from there had a corporate gig in Palm Springs. You know, most money I've ever made plus the four grand they went for, for winning the landfall. Then I drove straight from there to Vegas. I was working with Rod nice place. Rodney had to trap with where the left vacuum is right now. Same room. It was rod nice. And it was it was it comedy stop with a Trump. Then Bobby Slayton was there. Then Brad Garrett was there, you know, and now it's back to the last second, but that's the room. Okay. That was there. Starting on a Tuesday night or a Monday, no Monday night, on a Monday night. And Ronnie came in with Jeff Schimmel. And I had had all my clothes on a rack in the back of my Volvo. And the rack fell down, everything was wrinkled. And it got to the gig right in time for the show. So I don't think it was unthinkable that's tuxedo ahead. So sorry, tux. It's Vegas, what the hell. But Rodney didn't want Rodney didn't want clean, Vegas style, Vegas that he had a special airing next Friday was the dirty guy. And that's what he wanted to promote. So when Rodney saw me, and I used to work in this club in New York years, but the Sony just hated me. So I get a call the next day, you're fired. Now when your idol fires you, there's not really much in the business that's gonna hurt your feelings after that, you know? Because I've had like a cruise ship call me and cancel a gig and I, you Okay, right. Yeah, to your point. I think I'll be okay. They idle fired me. I I've been, you know, my my skin has gotten sick. Yeah, so that's

Scott Edwards: 32:58

what brought me have Did they have a reason? Or was it just the

Unknown: 33:02

show? It was both me and JJ wall. And his reason was he wanted edgy dirty comics on that week because that was the week. So he replaced us with well deck doesn't matter place with but they were they were dirtier, but not necessarily edgier. But there was Tony camassia was spoken as soon as whoever Tony could find last minute to come in. And jj, jj and I went but the funny thing was Budd Friedman is at the Las Vegas comedy convention couple months later bragging about how two of his comics got fired for being too clean, you know? So it has good bad. Oh, it's

Scott Edwards: 33:38

so funny that you bring that up. Because it's been mentioned a couple of times on the podcast, I really made a big, huge effort to produce clean shows, because I felt Lampson Limited was a stepping stone to like the Tonight Show and stuff. And that if you're gonna make it back in the 80s and early 90s, you had to it benefited you to be clean. Now that doesn't mean we didn't bring in edgier acts or dirty act Jack Marion was irregular. And Bob Saget, who was always filthy on stage, but funny. But still, I preferred and always tried to get everybody to work clean because I thought it benefited them and I think that's why bud Freeman was laughing about it is that how weird would it be and understand the producer having his you know Picadilly and wanting to go a certain way but for Rodney not to use you because you were too wholesome.

Unknown: 34:30

He was absolutely right though he I mean, Rob, you got to keep project credit. He made a lot of comedians careers. And he was just he was going the other way. Because everything you just said about being clean is true. You know, a better chance to make money because you've worked more and you'll be sustaining your sphere living and you have a better chance to get into the next level because you get better because you work more. There's more venues you can work with your cleaner. But Rodney was trying to give the guys that didn't work that way a chance because he thought they were really funny. People tennis and he moved Basically Bob Saget only people, you know, Lenny Clark. I mean, they all because of Rodney have careers, you know? So he was right. And at the time I didn't realize it I was you know, very depressing but not even. Yeah,

Scott Edwards: 35:15

well that's very gracious of you but I'm sure that was like you said a gut punch to you personally in your career just because like you said, Rodney was an idol to a lot of comics for somebody that oh, yeah, you know, struggled for years.

Unknown: 35:31

Here in Vegas in February right Valentine's Day with Jamal Rooney. And Harry, you know, Harry basil books it and Harry and Rodney were very close. And Harry directed a couple of wrote and directed a couple of Robbie's movies. There were good friends. He was on special. And we were in the greenroom that Valentine's Day and just came up. I don't know how it came over, you have already farbrengen And kind of goes yeah, knew about that. That was horribly you ever get over it? Now

Scott Edwards: 36:04

it's funny, though, that he he was able to remember that and bring that up. Well, thanks for sharing that. Now. You've had a really a breadth of career and you do we talked about the Sinatra stuff. And the Dangerfield stuff? Was there somebody positive that you got a chance to work with when you were getting started? That kind of supported you in and that you look to to help you in comedy.

Rick Corso: 36:34

There was so many, you know, when I had that coveted middle spot that everybody loved, because you had no responsibility to emcee just in 30 minutes, the crowds warmed up, but you don't have to close everybody loved the middle. But when I had it, and that was, I guess, late 85. And then 86, when they got Star Search, when they got Star Search, it solidified the middle spot for me and then one of the roads in the middle. And that was the time between when AMC for you and it came back as a headline. And those three or four years in between was middling and starting to headline. I got to work with the Senate get to work with Moose Berg. And I spoke with Dennis wolfberg, like six times when you're with shiner, like six times when you're Larry Miller. I worked with Seinfeld. And they gave such great advice. You know, I mean, I remember when I was play softball out in LA and there was a place in the valley that there was a dog that protect people so they move to a place of Barrington. No more people park Pitbull Park. And so today that Seinfeld's show was going to premiere the week before they had a big article in USA Today, we can section the whole life section was devoted to Seinfeld, you know, Premiere, and I read it and Seinfeld talks about a lot of like life things in it. And I saw him at the softball, and I said, well, thanks for sharing that stuff. Because it really spoke to me. He took me for like, a half an hour about life. And he's just very, very helpful. You know, and get us Miller was very helpful to me. Louie Anderson was very helpful to me just the scenario. It was so many guys. And then, when I worked ships, I got to work with some old timers like I worked with red buttons. Oh, wow, I was just terrible. The comic last night, I did the inaugural cruise of the Dawn Princess, right. And I worked on a ship with red buttons before but he didn't know me didn't see myself. But I'm on the first night. And the big the big labs love to show up at the big lounge. And I get on stage and I would go meet my little friend and one of the dancers to have dinner afterwards. And I'm waiting outside and I gotta tap on the shoulder button. And I mean, for the whole week. I was like his shadow everywhere we went, you know, I would hang out with red because he had great stories and was so helpful. And then I saw him years later at the Friars Club, they're putting records picture up and I get a ticket to go. And I say Mr. Buttons we met a few years ago and we're gonna ship he goes, Oh, yeah, I knew that he didn't remember. But he was old school. So he pretended to be a kid that's ever supposed to act you know? Yeah, no, no, I remember a napkin somewhere.

Scott Edwards: 39:17

Well, I just think I know a lot of our audience may not even remember red buttons, but it is a

Unknown: 39:21

red button has won an Oscar and it is in the 50s for cyanide his first acting role. Yeah, it was in the Brando Yeah. Oh, yeah. It

Scott Edwards: 39:28

was a comic. And,

Unknown: 39:31

like, in the 50s, when when Lucy had a show. And Jack. I mean, it was Milton Berle had a show. And he was they were all competing and he was one of the computer competitors. But he told me that he used to hang on I was at Schwab, the delicatessen in New York, right? With some kid, some kid and then all the time it went really, really nice to the kid, except Red was and then Then one day, the kids the writer of a movie called sign already puts them in the movie and he wins an Oscar. So The same thing happened with that that Brian Koppelman and Alan Haynes, the I heard Koppelman on his podcast. He produces the show billions. And he goes, No, he was like the only comic that was nice to me when I was doing open mics and, and that he put them in the show maybes in the show. Yeah,

Scott Edwards: 40:15

I've heard that story from a couple of different comics that you got it, you know, it's always wiser to be nice and respectful of everybody, whether they're above you or below you on the bill, because you never know what's going to happen down the road. So

Unknown: 40:29

don't even show me this thing. It's just a general life thing. Just be nice.

Scott Edwards: 40:34

It's much easier, actually, it'll take you farther. So we got a chance to work together pretty regularly up into the mid and late 90s. But you and I haven't had a chance to work together the last couple decades. Wanted to share with the audience what's been going on? Have you focused on corporate or cruises? Or was it kind of a mixed mash?

Unknown: 40:54

I did some corporate I didn't really like the I you know, I didn't like the chasing them down. Like, I'm not a I'm kind of a lazy businessman. And when you work the cruises at one point, Royal Caribbean, would give me my entire schedule for like a year and a half. And when you have that you can relax. So what I was doing was I was trying to write screenplays, because I had all this free time on the ships. And I would do in the ship. So I just go let me do ships and write screenplays. I started with VoiceOver stuff going and those were the three things I was focused on. And then, yeah, I got some voiceovers, they did cartoons, a couple things as the commercials and stuff. But, but that was also another thing, you have to chase that chaser guy. So I was spent a lot of time writing scripts. And then once they're finished, oh, chasing again, you got to sell it. But I mean, I, I spent eight hours a day with writing partners. And sometimes I myself writing movie scripts, and I guess I wasn't that good at it. Like, after about 12 years, I couldn't sell any. So I just we're not the one that talked me into moving to Florida and I moved there in 2000. Find. And I just focused on chips, chips, chips. And that's when I started writing more stuff with the guitar and just working on my stand that back again, and not caring about screenplays and whatnot.

Scott Edwards: 42:12

But you're such a huge success. And I know that people take success in different ways. Like you know, we both know people like Leno and Seinfeld that got their own series and ended up being Ray Romano mega stars. And there's a lot of people, you know, Jeff Jenna, Tim Madore, Steve Bruner that had terrific careers that made a living doing comedy, and in corporates, and you've had so much success, because you have had the television exposure, and you've been doing corporates and clubs, but to be a consistent performer on the cruise ships, people need to realize that's a real feather in your cap, because they won't just take anybody you have to be able to be clean or dirty. They want both. And they also, I think it's great that they took advantage and appreciated what you brought musically.

Unknown: 43:07

What's very difficult, because you write about you had to they don't just take anybody they the screening processes is kind of stringent now, because there's so many comments on the work here, because the club scene has kind of dried up if you're not drawing clubs, why do they need you, they're not gonna pay you to hire, you're not putting people in seats. And that's the other attraction about this ship that people are there. You just have to make people from all over the place. The challenge is, you got to make people from all these different backgrounds, country laugh. So that's why guys do a lot of ship numr or whatever. But I tried to avoid that because you want it to be universal, and you know, during the back the land. But the so the screening process was this and I talked to Robin Cahill used to book for our crib, and she was there for years when I first started over there. And she said, Look, I you know, I booked you, you don't kill the first time you're gonna have 10 Other people like to try. And she was right. So I was very fortunate when I got into royal, which was the been my major cruise line for the last 25 years. Gradually, and I got in there. While I was very lucky, because all they tried me out doing was too late night show. So you didn't have to be super clean, but you couldn't say the F word and then deselect the shows at 1245 in the morning. They basically bury the guy until we know he's good, you know, in the background, and I did well. So I got a good report. And this is the unbelievable luck that I had. When that good report came in the same exact week. There was a guy that was double booking himself and Royal Caribbean and celebrity position before 911 where you can get off the ship in the middle and then just go to another ship. And there was no heartbeat history. So you end but he occasionally you've missed the point and he was missing the ship. So by the third time he missed the ship, they fired him. I get those dates. And I went from being a guy that had like a ship date you were there to like having a full calendar, like that and then When you do it is a learning curve. You got a full calendar, you do it every week, you get better at it real fast. And in that year, I became a shipper. And I learned how to do it.

Scott Edwards: 45:11

Well, that's amazing. And ladies and gentlemen, we want to celebrate that 25 years for one cruise line is a is a record, as far as I know. So everybody

Unknown: 45:23

maybe oversight, and I guess I got two more weeks booked. And they'll fix that we'll see what

Scott Edwards: 45:29

25 years later. Yeah, 25 years later, you're on the break? We don't know. But I still think it's amazing. You've had that career? Well, Rick, it's been so great catching up and in what you've done with your career in your life, and comedy, music is just been amazing. I'm going to share a little bit of your material. So what I was going to ask was, is there you've been in comedy now, a long time, you've been very successful. Is there anything that you know, now that you wish you knew in the beginning?

Unknown: 46:02

That's a good question. Let's see, is there anything? Well, I just wish I knew to start earlier, you know, because that would have helped. But then again, you know, the engineering thing that everybody makes fun of me, they say over analyzing, it's important to analyze things like why is this job not working with similar discipline? So maybe I could have started earlier, but maybe not maybe things happened just the way they were supposed to happen? Well, except the things you cannot change. Right?

Scott Edwards: 46:31

Right, right. And I think you make a good point that the anal retentive part of being an engineer the focus that you need to do the job, right, you know, the pipes after work, and go the right way to make sure the nuclear plant works, doing, being able to break down a joke, to understand what works and what doesn't work and the nuances of the timing, and the verbiage is so important.

Rick Corso: 46:56

Sometimes the joke is the premise, the idea of it's very funny, but the way it's structured, they're not all getting in at the same time. So you have to structure the joke so that when the punchline is they all know it, and you don't step on it, you know what I mean? I have some kind of some jokes that they all get at different times. But they're still in the act of their litmus jokes. If I tell the joke, and some people get really late, I go, Well, I might have to bang them on the head a little harder. Because they're at a point now not saying they're stupid. They're at a point now, you're gonna have a long day, and a lot of drinks in the sun. And they don't want to think

Scott Edwards: 47:36

you don't I mean, a Friday night audiences.

Rick Corso: 47:40

That's it. That's exactly what I'm talking about. Such a thing about finding that nature, what it is that land on the ship, it's causing them like you got a midnight show. They've been in the sun all day. It's the same type of thing. You know,

Scott Edwards: 47:51

that's funny. Well, that's interesting. I think the other thing, and I'm going to just throw out this opinion, was that you might have wanted to focus on the business side. More?

Unknown: 48:06

Well, no, but I just didn't like that. Maybe I could have gotten lucky and got, like, if I again, it's all about starting earlier, if I was young guy that was as funny at the age of 20, then I wasn't 30, then every really good manager that could help you would have been you wanted me and would have helped my career. And then you have a good manager, you don't have to worry about the business. That's their job. Yeah. So I mean, you're not saying it's all about starting.

Scott Edwards: 48:34

Right, right. Well, the point is, is it wasn't that you didn't understand the business. You just didn't like doing the

Unknown: 48:40

business. You know, I would be an engineer for one of the business do it do business? I want to be an irresponsible comic and writes Leno thing, right joke? Tell joke, get checked. Oh, that's

Scott Edwards: 48:52

so funny. Well, just to finish things up. This is going to be coming out in late 2022. This year. Is there anything you'd like to plug or do you know where you'll be working? late this year, next year?

Rick Corso: 49:07

Nobody's gonna book it last minute I'm doing a crossing from Fort Lauderdale to Spain and France. And I get off in Rome. So that'll be nice. But what I can plug because I did a drive our comedy specials five months ago. They just sent it to me for a rough cut, edit review when I did that. So who knows how much longer it'll take to come out but I'm thinking later this year so phonics is so cheap guy the other day, he came into the club, and he said it took five years for him to come on tell me how many years but I think five years I guess something happened where he's got, you know, back shelled and they forgot about it, but but they already had the mindset for every year so it's people being on the

Scott Edwards: 49:46

five years. Well, we've had a few comics that have had the opportunity to do dry, dry bar specials dry bar comedy online. So ladies and gentlemen, by the time you hear this, you can go to dry bar comedy look up Rick Corso and you'll be able to see a new version of what Rick is providing entertainment wise, do you do any singing on that show?

Unknown: 50:10

There is some good guitar stuff at the end of the special that I didn't do in the first show. But they they put two shows together. And they found that that was good enough in the second show that because my first show was flawless, second show was a tough crowd, but the music at the end really worked. So they took that and they put that in there. So there's a couple of original tunes.

Scott Edwards: 50:30

I'll be Be sure to check that out. Thanks so much. But right now ladies and gentlemen, sit back we have a little bit of old material.

Unknown: 50:40

I don't have to listen to it. No, no, no, we

Scott Edwards: 50:43

were gonna go But ladies and gentlemen stay tuned you'll enjoy this. Rick it's been so great catching up. You have some great insights on comedy and musical comedy and work in the cruise ships. Thanks so much for sharing your time. I hope you enjoy doing this.

Rick Corso: 50:59

I enjoyed it Scott it's good to talk to you again buddy.

Scott Edwards: 51:01

All right, ladies and gentlemen here we go with some great stand up comedy by Rick Corso

Rick Corso: 51:10

on TV very recently the Wizard of Oz you know I look at the TV guy and then a Wizard of Oz in parentheses it says repeat what you see that returns kind of disappointing I really wanted Joan Rivers to play target the second time I would change the whole movie Woody Allen would be the wizard to expect you to be a wizard. Guys no pilot should stay that way. Great lawyer Dustin Hoffman Thank you Dustin Hoffman todo I don't want the taller one of the dollar the US dollar the John Travolta is the Scarecrow to the wind. I suppose like a little brain. Robert De Niro was the Cowardly Lion if you step on my tail Did you step on my tail Did you set on my pants Well my mother calls me invitations. I don't like that word invitation. It kind of puts me in that category she can explain first. Naugahyde this stuff in the supermarkets imitation crabmeat, you know there's a fish at the bottom of the ocean loaded into a great crab stupid customer for you carry more than $10,000 in US currency. Flying coach on Southwest a bologna sandwich temporary. Airport security supposed to be strictly you know, paying attention you could walk with a metal detector completely naked. It's just flip flops after the shooting the tracer those shoes and I don't like flight attendants I think flight attendants are just a little condescending. You know some of you got on the airplane at any help finding your seat. Yes, I'm a complete moron. I can't count the 14 one two find my fattest guy on the planet as I sit next to him on the waves because you're always that one guy sitting right behind me can't get up in his seat without gagging down the back of a bridge just stretch your legs don't do the jerk but choice of food on the plane needed to have the and always wear long sleeve and you fly if you wear short sleeves. You end up sitting next to the guy with the three arms fall asleep at a caterpillar nightmare. And they sell luggage at the airport who goes to the airport unpacked balancing their personal possession is awfully cumbersome. He gotten a Samsonite back then that comes into wearing all his clothes on top of each other come on I'm sweating my butt off I can't defend this Lexus. I always love French up here. If you seem to have a song for every time he was saying New York, New York LA is my lady she's got what have you worked in Nashville? Saying this right and swearing your partner to and fro We take our chicken those that cuckoo country promenade that brought around

Scott Edwards: 55:16

Well, ladies and gentlemen, that was Rick Corso live on stage from back in the day, we really want to thank Rick for taking the time for doing this interview. I hope you got something enjoyable and interesting out of it. You guys are terrific audience. Thanks for listening. We'll see you next week for another great show. Bye.

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