Bruce "Babyman" Baum One of the Best Road Comics Ever Interview Show #91

Really fun interview with an old Friend...Bruce Baum. he worked all the way trough the 80's and 90's at my clubs, all while producing a hit record, appearing on dozens of Game Shows, and being featured as himself on "The Simpsons". He discusses how football brought him to No California where he started a comedy team. Then went solo with one of the most iconic comedy characters ever..."Babyman".  Very funny creation that ended up on TV, his own comic book, and possibly a movie?! You'll enjoy Bruce's story, so full of laughs and stories, we didn't b]need to add a comedy set....Enjoy!

Transcript

Scott Edwards: 0:00

Hi, and welcome to this week's show. Hey, before you start, I have to do a little Christmas gift plug. I have a new book called 20 questions answered about being a stand up comic, it would make a great gift for anybody interested in any form of entertainment, but especially stand up comedy, has lots of great information, and is a good training tool for anybody interested in show business. Hey, if you get a chance, go to Amazon search my name. Our Scott Edwards, or the title of the book. 20 questions answered about being a stand up comic and pick up a copy today makes a great gift. All right, it's time to start this week's show. Enjoy. This is another

Announcer: 0:47

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 emcee Scott and words.

Scott Edwards: 1:05

Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to another exciting episode of Stand Up Comedy hosted emcee. And for a long time, I've been trying to nail this guy down not only one of my oldest friends in the business, but one of the most successful comic entertainers that we've had a chance to have on the podcast. He has done, you know, produced amazing songs that made the hit parade. He's been in movies. He's got an iconic character. He was even on The Simpsons. I mean, this guy's done it all. But it all goes back to friendship that we built back in 1980. Ladies and gentlemen, one of the best in the business. It's Bruce bomb. Bruce, Bruce Bruce, it took about a year and a half. But I got you on the show. Thanks so much for joining us today.

Bruce Baum: 1:57

Well, thank you. I'm blushing right off the bat.

Scott Edwards: 2:02

Well, it's so true that when I opened my club laughs unlimited in 1980, you had already been a successful comic for a couple of years, performing around colleges, you were on make me laugh, several things already going on. And what was a real honor for me, as a club producer was not only getting to book you, but we became pretty good friends. And you worked for years and years and all of my clubs and special events, my TV show you were a huge part of my success at Laos, unlimited. And here in front of everybody. I just want to say thank you, man, you're one of the best.

Bruce Baum: 2:43

Well, let me say thank you right back because you've always been supportive aside from the club you invested in, in my film, The Adventures of baby man. So which is still a classic that's never been seen?

Scott Edwards: 2:57

Well, I was I was really smart about investments. But we're already going off on the future. Let's let's go back a little bit. I know that you played football at UCLA, and you ended up transferring up to UC Davis, my neighborhood. And it was at college, you started doing comedy, is that right?

Bruce Baum: 3:17

Yeah, you might say that football got me into comedy. I, I made it as a walk on at UCLA as a freshman. And I got to play and everything. But I knew I wasn't going to be a pro. So I decided to transfer to UC Davis to play more. So I transferred up there. And oddly enough, I started doing comedy as soon as I got there. So I never went out to the team. I played intramurals. But I ended up starting doing comedy up there. My first cousin can ask, also went up there with me and we kind of formed a comedy team. And what we would do is we would run into the dining commons or the library. And he was from his banjo and I would blow a horn or or or scrape a washboard, everybody would stop. And we would do about two or three minutes of comedy and then run away.

Scott Edwards: 4:17

That's a great I never heard that story. That's awesome.

Bruce Baum: 4:21

Yeah, well, there were no clubs. So we wherever there was a crowd. We made a lot of noise, get some comedy and ran away. And then what we would do is we would write a letter to the school paper the next day, saying there's a couple of guys that are bothering us while we're trying to study for midterms. They're coming in doing comedy and running away.

Scott Edwards: 4:45

Doing your own marketing. That's awesome.

Bruce Baum: 4:47

And then the next day we would write a letter from the Student Health Center saying we've got a rash of students coming in with broken cheeks. And the only common denominator is that they were all laughing in the lie Whatever yesterday.

Scott Edwards: 5:03

That's a great story. What a great way to start, I did not know that your beginnings included a comedy team, you have always been such a strong solo performer. But you know, if you're going to break into comedy, and like you said there was no clubs, in the very few clubs, and none in Northern California in the late 70s. So to kind of create your own environment to entertain in his genius.

Bruce Baum: 5:30

And then we started playing in small bars in that area, for like, $20 a night, I don't know how we did for 45 minutes sets. But we started doing that. And then, you know, we'd make like 20 bucks a night, which was big money back then. But you could go on a date that we we did that the first year in Davis, we would run around, and wherever there was a captive audience, we would perform them between our first and second years after our junior and senior years. We we went there crowded medical buildings in the San Fernando Valley during the summer. And we tried to talk doctors into hiring us to entertain crowded waiting room.

Scott Edwards: 6:18

Well, you got a captive audience and they certainly needed some humor.

Bruce Baum: 6:22

Right? Well, we one doctor came out and said it was a psychiatrist actually said, You guys are crazy. You're going to be spreading disease from office. Ah, so you're going to be in one office with the communicable diseases. And then you're going to go to an office where people in there for like orthopedics. So, but he ended up hiring us to play his daughter and his wife, big birthday party. It was at a big country club.

Scott Edwards: 6:47

And so what are your first paid gigs?

Bruce Baum: 6:50

Exactly was $20. And he said, Can you guys play the it's my wife's favorite songs, you'll cry when you play it? It's called Scarlet ribbon. And as Ken was saying, No, we don't know. And I would say it's in our sets.

Scott Edwards: 7:10

Always the showman Bruce, and I'm sure you didn't know the song from hell, but you were gonna learn it.

Bruce Baum: 7:16

Right? We went straight to the music store and got the record and the sheet music. And when we did it engage you did cry. But it wasn't because it was sentimental.

Scott Edwards: 7:29

It was the poor performance.

Bruce Baum: 7:32

It was bad. But you know, as a team, we did like the Merv Griffin Show. We did American Bandstand. Oh, wow. Oh, yeah, we

Scott Edwards: 7:43

were doing that as a comedy team. See, I knew you did some early TV. But I always thought it was just as Bruce Bohm the soloist. I didn't know that your comedy team was How long were you guys together?

Bruce Baum: 7:56

We were together about two or three years ago. Two years in college, and then we moved down here, because this is where we live. Well, they're done with college. And my, our first real good, we worked out at a little club, in Northridge called Pinocchios. And they had like dinners. We were the only comics. And then we went and auditioned at the Ice House before it was a comedy club. They would have like singers and a comic might open the show. So we were opening for Scatman Crothers know for those. For those of you who don't know, Scatman Crothers? He was the black janitor in The Shining. But in the 40s and 50s. He was a major lead singer was swing bands and scat bands.

Scott Edwards: 8:44

Oh, he was. He was amazing. And what a great start. And you mentioned briefly, you even performed to Busch Gardens as a team.

Bruce Baum: 8:54

Yeah, we got an audition there. And they said, You're hired. But we want a trio, which was odd. It was just two of us. So I call one of my buddies from high school, and said, Can you just stand here, we'll make you a tub bass. And then you just sit here and hit the strings and play the dub bass. That's all you got to do. And then our show got so rowdy. That Did you get

Scott Edwards: 9:24

kicked out of Busch Gardens?

Bruce Baum: 9:26

Well, I'll be booked here when you're sick, you know, you're getting the crowds too rowdy because back then they would give them beer to drink too. And we would have people dancing and doing stuff like on the, on the rails that you know, on the other side of the rails was like water. It was like a little, you know, boat area. So as he's telling us to bring it down at Dad, the guy who was just getting paid to do a tub based so he can't tell us what to do is a free country.

Scott Edwards: 9:59

So He didn't really understand the concept of you're a paid employee at that point or at least right contract labor.

Bruce Baum: 10:08

Right? Hey, we're Joe business. So anyway, we didn't last much longer there. We do. But it was a fun run. Now that's very well. Now we started playing clubs around LA. And then George Miller thought when we opened up for Scatman Crothers and said, Why don't you guys play in the Comedy Store. And he set up an audition with with Mitzi shore, like the following week, and we were regulars right off the bat. So was. And then we were together for about two years at the Comedy Store,

Scott Edwards: 10:43

that this had to be the late 70s. Because when I met you, you were already an established solo act. I know,

Bruce Baum: 10:50

right? We were, we were a team from 76 to 78. At the store, 75, actually, for the middle of 75, in the middle of 78. But we had been doing it in college and a little club at Busch Gardens, you know, before that, but in 78, we broke up, he became a writer, he ended up winning an Emmy, he wrote on tears and vaccine. And we're first cousins, we still see each other. He didn't enjoy performing as much as I did. So he went into writing, and I went so and got seen by make me laugh right away. And ended up doing that. And they're doing again, Merv Griffin on my own and American Bandstand on my own. And then we make me laugh. I'm sorry,

Scott Edwards: 11:42

I was just gonna say this was a right around 1980. When I met you, you were doing make me laugh and The Merv Griffin Show, but we want to explain to the audience if you have not seen Bruce Baum, you got to Google his name, you'll probably recognize him. As I said, he's been on dozens of shows a couple movies, The Simpsons, but what I was going to interrupt and say is that I am not surprised that you went off solo and ended up having such a successful career. Because you as always been one of the nicest high energy, guys. I mean, you You gave it your all, it seemed like every show. And in from a producer's point of view, it was a gift because it was always so much kinetic energy. It was just always fun when Bruce was in the house.

Bruce Baum: 12:30

Gosh, I'm blushing again.

Scott Edwards: 12:32

I'm just saying it's true. Now, when you went solo, do you remember any of your first jokes or bits? Was there something that you could share with the audience that, you know, you probably wouldn't say today, but was a big deal. 40 years ago?

Bruce Baum: 12:48

Wow. So it's hard for me because I didn't take I took just a little bit from our act. And I'm trying, you know, I'm trying to think what my first jokes were. Because there was a time when I probably had more props than I had

Scott Edwards: 13:03

material. Well, you know, I didn't explain that to the audience. For those that didn't know Bruce Bohm was not only a terrific stand up comic, but he was one of the first really popular prop comics. And this was before Gallagher and a few other people that use props but Bruce, you You really made an art out of Prop comedy early on.

Bruce Baum: 13:27

You know, what if I had to say what, it wasn't long after the team broke up that I came up with baby man and did that at the Westwood Comedy Store the first night and it was incredibly successful the first night so I ended up having to have the very first time I did it through the stage chick and Piper Laurie where the crossing was right after Carrie came out. Yeah, it was just that's probably the first major bit that I wrote after we broke up.

Scott Edwards: 14:02

Oh, see, I was saving that for later in the interview because I always thought you know when I mentioned earlier on in your intro, an iconic character, Bruce baby man bomb when you would come out. And for the audience, there's some videos on my video site you can see but he would go into a large orange bag kind of look like a giant stand up carrot and rustle around he's doing a little bit of material. But when it bagged dropped, here's a almost naked Bruce balm and we're not talking you you didn't have like a model type body. You got like a normal, you know, late 20s kind of body and a little on the hairy side and nothing but a diaper. And the crowd would go nuts.

Bruce Baum: 14:55

I still had my shoes on. Yeah.

Scott Edwards: 14:58

Well, the shoes made it But I gotta tell you baby man I thought came along laters What I remember is the prop comedy is you could take very simple things and and turn them into very funny things. You know there's a the rubber album and you would talk to a person. Nobody knows what an album is anymore. But you'd hold it up and say it's a bitch when you leave your record in the car on a hot day, or when you would hold a fly over the globe of the world and go, I'm too high. I'm too high. I mean, these are things that you know, people that saw you would never forget.

Bruce Baum: 15:37

I run into people I was in Yuma, Arizona last week. I ran into the people that saw me 41 years ago with the universal amphitheater with Kenny Loggins. I saw some people from the 80s. And they saw me in Vegas in the 80s. I've run into people say they saw me in Sacramento. So it is amazing how long I guess that lasts in people's memories.

Scott Edwards: 16:03

Well, not only is it the terrific comedy, but again, the reason baby man is iconic is it's an image and it was so funny that it was used on The Simpsons. I mean, it is something that is is a terrific triumph and verification of your creative talents. Bruce, it really was an amazing bit. I did not know it was that old but it carried through your much of your career. In fact, I think you did a comic book about it, right?

Bruce Baum: 16:37

Yes, ventures a baby man or to be raised.

Scott Edwards: 16:42

Well, we've gotten off track a little bit so you were doing some college stuff. You got to do Busch Gardens, you started to hit some TV shows as a solo act. In a I know it was in 1980 when I just opened my club that you came to work for me. You were already an established headliner. We became fast friends and you ended up being one of the big time regulars. I mean, I think you worked one of my clubs every three or four months for years. And we like you said and alluded to, we got to do some side projects together. We did a one man show once we did. We worked on Marty Feldman eyes together. Why don't you tell the audience about Marty Feldman eyes? That was a huge success.

Bruce Baum: 17:25

Yeah, that was again, I wrote that and then Kim Carnes ripped me off with that done Betty Davis sighs

Scott Edwards: 17:35

Exactly. That's how it went.

Bruce Baum: 17:37

It was a novel The sun before you know, I think weird owl had just come out with another one ride the bus. And it was the days when the people who wrote the hit would not let you make fun of their stuff. Kim Carnes hated my son, Marty Feldman eyes. So we they wouldn't give us the right to use it. So we changed the tune a little bit enough. Later on. He said I believe in in People Magazine and Rolling Stone. He called Marty Feldman. I set up our trash.

Scott Edwards: 18:14

That's great press

Bruce Baum: 18:16

was they called me and said, What do you respond to that? I said her standards are a lot higher than mine. I just consider a regular trash.

Scott Edwards: 18:26

Well, Marty Feldman's eyes was a video that I had hooked you up with a production crew here in Sacramento, you brought in some talented people. And I was always behind the scenes, but I got a chance to be there as the music video was produced. And it was just an fact. I just watched it the other day, it's always been part of my history. And everybody if you get a chance, Google Marty Feldman is by Bruce bomb. The video is still out there. And it is so funny. You'll see exactly how creative and talented Bruce is. Now, at that point, you're already starting to work for me at laughs unlimited. Do you have any early memories or good stories about working at laughs?

Bruce Baum: 19:11

Well, there's one thing I remember that there's one story that says the best practical joke that's ever been played on me was played. But one thing I do remember, there was a bar around the corner from you guys in old sack that had two floors. And between the first and second floor, they had one of the very first Pac Man machines. I remember seeing that because this was like the next step up from bonds. I remember seeing that going wow, this is gonna be huge. And sure enough, Pac Man became like a phenomenon. Of course now you look back at that in 10 years, we're gonna be able to strap realities onto our Yes. At birth.

Scott Edwards: 19:55

Yeah, but at the time, and that's about 1981 82 Pac Man. was considered a huge jump from Pong. And this was long before first player shooters or any sort of intrical. Gaming. But yeah, Pac Man and Miss Pac Man was very popular at the time.

Bruce Baum: 20:15

I remember that because it was the first time I'd ever seen it. Now as far as a story, but my favorite stories for people that don't know the layout, the comedy club, laughs Limited was on the bottom floor. And for a while you had a magic club slash door, above it on the second floor. And that's where the the bathrooms were. So after the show, we would go hang out up in the magic club. And so one night I'm hanging out there. And unbeknownst to me, James Wesley Jackson, who's another comedian, known as the environ, media, he's in town, unbeknownst to me someplace else. I walk out of the comedy club out of the magic club, and start walking to the bathroom and I hear footsteps behind me. I don't turn around and look who it is. But I go into the bathroom. And I hear whatever footsteps those who are following me into the bathroom, and I still don't turn around. I open up the door to the stall and walk inside. And whoever is behind me, I still don't turn around. Whoever's behind me walked into the stall with me and shuts the door lock. At that point. I think someone's either trying to rob me, or rape me. So either way, I'm about ready to fight. So I looked out and I see two hands behind me. And after I say what I said, and I'll tell you that in a minute, neither one of us could stop laughing for about 10 minutes. You know, like when you laugh, then you stop and then you start laughing again. Okay, so I'm in the stall. With somebody behind me. I have no idea who it is. And without turning around, I say, You know what? You can use it first.

Scott Edwards: 22:14

That's a great line.

Bruce Baum: 22:16

And then I turn around and see a game. And we both could not stop laughing. And then we both worried that somebody might walk in and hear two guys laughing and the song.

Scott Edwards: 22:29

That would have been a pretty picture heard there was

Bruce Baum: 22:31

somebody in the stall with me. And, and I didn't know who it was or why I you know, I've never had anybody walk in the stall and lock it.

Scott Edwards: 22:40

So I would have been scared. That's funny. I'm just

Bruce Baum: 22:43

trying to think what can I say to get me out of it. So you know, you use the toilet first?

Scott Edwards: 22:48

Yeah, you go first.

Bruce Baum: 22:51

Yeah, it was. And then for like the next couple hours, every time we looked at each other, we laughed, and we came back into the magic world. But yeah, that was that was the best practical joke that's ever been played on me. Oh, that's

Scott Edwards: 23:05

funny. Thanks for sharing that. I hadn't heard that. One of the other stories, Bruce bomb famous road stories that was not involving laughs but still one of the hallmark road stories that I ever heard where you and two other comics. Were on a road trip to a show to work together and gotten late at night. And you want to tell the story. It's hilarious.

Bruce Baum: 23:32

When I was channeling Gary Shandling and just to heart

Scott Edwards: 23:38

to very funny guys. Right?

Bruce Baum: 23:40

And so we were playing in San Diego at the Comedy Store. And this was like really back in the early days. I don't even know if there was a road that when when we got done with the show Jeff went on fleurs and Gary and myself. We're looking over for Jeff because we're going to drive home. We couldn't find Jeff we decided to go back to the car and drive around looking for we get to the car and Jeff's asleep in the driver's seat. So as he's sleeping in the driver's seat, Gary Shanley gets into the passenger seat and as I throw myself under the hood, Gary hits Jeff real hard pointing to the front of the hood don't look out as Jeff takes the wheel and just starts spitting it all over the place and then you fucking

Scott Edwards: 24:37

scare the crap out of them.

Bruce Baum: 24:39

Yeah, we could stop laughing so

Scott Edwards: 24:41

I you had told that story a couple of times in after show sit downs and little drinking events and in that always remain in always remembered that story because I thought you guys were actually out on the road but that's still so so funny. And Jeff to heart who was a great comic Garry Shandling course, rest his soul was an amazing comic. And to have that experience and that story to share so many years later is in and Jeff just must have crapped his pants. I mean, that's hilarious.

Bruce Baum: 25:16

Yeah. And by the way, when I tell it in my app, I leave their names out and it is, you know, I basically say, we're driving late at night, we get kind of tired, we pull over, we decide to take a break, you know, and as soon as we pull over so yeah, I don't say their names because then it sounds like a name dropping bet, by the way.

Scott Edwards: 25:39

Well, it's a great story. Thanks for retelling it. I was I was gonna tell it I wouldn't have done as good a job. Hey, so you're working at laughs Your regular headliner. You're starting to you continue to do television, you had a hit with Marty Feldman eyes, worked on a couple movies. And you were just a very successful headliner. At what point did things kind of I mean, you were doing for some reason you did a lot of game shows your on Match Game password Hollywood Squares. Was that because of your unique look, we should tell everybody he looks like Dave Crosby. But he's got his own distinct look what what led you to all this TV? Well, they

Bruce Baum: 26:23

just you know, I was doing a lot of TV at the time I was doing make me laugh I was I got a regular part of the stocker chatting show. And the producers of those shows like me enough about it back at one time. They did a pilot for for a show called Yahtzee based on the yatse board game. And on the pilot, I was the middle square. So if that's your got picked up, I would have been like their ball wind guy. You know, I'm a huge fan of Steve ours. It just seems like he's always been the first Merv Griffin I did, he was on. This is a funny story with Hollywood Squares. I walked in one day, and I looked at the lineup because we shoot, you know, I think we should all five in one day, or over two days. We look at the lineup and I go, Wow, I'm the middle square four out of five day. So I go back to my dressing room. When I can my door slightly open. I can see Steve Allen walk by. And he looked at the lineup and knocks on the producers door walks in walks out five minutes later, the new schedule, I'm the middle square one day, and he's the middle square for days.

Scott Edwards: 27:44

So he made sure he made his mark.

Bruce Baum: 27:48

But I have no qualms with that. I mean, the fact that I was even at one day when he was on the show was enough for me know, to

Scott Edwards: 27:56

have to be able to interact with a creative talent like that. And you've had many opportunities, I mean, George Carlin and number of people that you got a chance to work with you were opening for rock concert, so you met a lot of band members in you know, you really have have had and still have an exciting career in life that comedy led you to. And one of the reasons I enjoy doing this podcast, Bruce, is that comedy was a big part of my life. And I'm having trouble letting it go. And so I'm doing this podcast, but it's so great to hear how comedy took somebody's life and where you were not only able to have a successful career and make plenty of money. But you had all these amazing experiences, because you had the balls to get up on stage. I mean, it really I don't know if you've ever looked at it and that kind of capsulated form, but stand up comedy took you down a terrific road.

Bruce Baum: 29:01

It did. And you know the the very first time I went on a stand up, I was at the Comedy Store on a double date. And it might have been with Ken as the. And back then that was a big thing to take a date to was was a comedy store. And the big honcho back then was Gabe Kaplan. And it was before Michiana It was when Sammy shore ran the club. And I just asked on a night when everybody seemed to be bombing. Do you mind if I go on and they let me go on? And I kill? And they said you were? Where are you from? Where do you move from? And I said that was the first time I've ever been on stage. So they invited me back the next night. And I called and I invited all my buddies from high school. I think you're not gonna believe this. I went out at the Comedy Store last night. No, you didn't. Yeah, I did. And there let me go back on tonight. So like seven or eight of my buddies. For my school game, I bombed so bad, you can hear going by.

Scott Edwards: 30:06

That's exactly how it goes.

Bruce Baum: 30:10

You can hear people, you know, taking their straws around their drinks. It was stirring it was it was terrible. And I didn't go on stage again for a couple of years when I was in college, and we started running in and then running out and doing comedy, that I did it again, because it was such a,

Scott Edwards: 30:30

it's a great story because it shows in a very short story, how comedy can be the highest of highs and the lowest of lows. And like a lot of things that people do in their lives, whether it's a sport, a career, a relationship, you have to experience the lows, to really appreciate the highs. And that first time on stage when you got all that accolades and applause from the audience. That's when I think the comedy hook got in you. And the next night reality set in. And you had it took you a couple of years to get over that. But you have been for decades now. A terrific High Energy Act when it comes to comedy. And I think that your personality and your energy and you know, we got to face it, you're damn funny is what led you to all those game shows and in appearances, I mean, you were a character on Simpsons Explain that.

Bruce Baum: 31:36

Well, they did a comedy festival in Springfield. And my agent called and said, you know, they are doing a comedies and Jay Leno and Steven Wright, Kevin Groff, hello a bobcat. And they want to know if you'll be on the show. And I said, Well, where do I go to audition? And they said, it's not an audition, it's an offer. I said, Well, hey, you know what?

Scott Edwards: 32:04

You know, you made it when the symptoms are looking for you.

Bruce Baum: 32:07

Yeah, I said, Well, don't blow it. Don't don't negotiate price. If it's gonna put me out, just get me to get. And it's, you know, I still get residual. But more importantly than that, you know, there's people that are Simpson fans that know every episode. So yeah, and it validated me with my kids. You know, the game shows didn't mean much. And so it was the fact that I was on The Simpsons as myself.

Scott Edwards: 32:34

Yeah. Isn't it funny how our kids don't really appreciate what we've accomplished. I mean, I produced two TV series and, and hosted a one hour special and had all those concerts. And my kids could like, give a crap. They're still I'm still just their dad who thinks he's funny, right? And so doing something is major as being a character featured on The Simpsons. That would have to mean something to the kids. Now a 1991, though you also were in the movie shakes the clown. And there were some pretty big stars in that. I know the movie wasn't a huge financial success, but it's out there. I mean, and you did you produce that as well?

Bruce Baum: 33:18

Oh, no, no, no, that was Bobcat Goldthwait. That was his film. Oh, okay. Yeah, it was. You know, Adam Sandler's first film, really, he was in it. We were all clowns. But yeah, it was nice. It was Gulf way. And Tom Kenny, who is the voice of SpongeBob. And, and Blake Clark, and Robin Williams was in it. And yeah, it was, like I said, Adam Sandler. So it was a blast shooting it. And it's funny, I'll have people come up to me, and they'll go, you know, you're in one of my favorite movies. And I can tell by the way they say it, it shapes the cloud, because it's either everybody's favorite. Or they don't like it.

Scott Edwards: 34:07

Well, it was one of those movies that got a cult following. And in the comedy world, there's only so many films that get a cult following and shakes the clown was one of them. And the fact that all those now celebrities that were weren't quite as famous, I mean, Robin always was, but I mean that, you know, getting those together and having that much fun and shooting that. What a great experience.

Bruce Baum: 34:33

Yeah, when that movie came out, I was playing in Las Vegas, at the Riviera. And I wanted to use it as a credit because the movie was out. And there was a clown convention afterwards. Really, word of God. And the clowns had been on television both nationally and locally. Ripping shakes the clown because they said you know clowns don't use that kind of language. We don't do drugs, we don't use that dirty language. So I didn't really want to use it. I didn't know who was a clown in the audience. But well, it's later later in the week. And it must have been right about the time that their booze and or their booth is closed down. And they were done and they were addressing but I was up in my room and an earthquake yet and the buildings kind of swayed. I opened up my door because I've been in an earthquake so they can southern cow decided am I going to go down the stairs there hang on here. As I opened the door all these clowns that were complaining about the language in the movie are running around the hallway with clown shoes, but their shirts off? Yeah, like, fuck shit. What do we do always

Scott Edwards: 35:53

such a great

Bruce Baum: 35:53

image, big floppy shoes and their red noses on and half their makeup off as they're running up and down. And, you know, there was no cell phones back then. Or Okay, when I recorded it. It was it was extremely I just stood there watching for a couple of minutes.

Scott Edwards: 36:12

That's hilarious. That paints such a great picture, a great image of these, you know, half clad clowns running up and down swearing a pistol. Obviously, they're not Californians.

Bruce Baum: 36:26

Right. And when you got big clown shoes on, you can't run regular. You're running with your legs way up in the air I stepping. So yeah, it was. It was a hell of a sight.

Scott Edwards: 36:37

Oh, that's that's a great story. Thanks for sharing, Bruce. Well, you and I were working in comedy up until about 2000. And then I sold the club and went into other endeavors. Why don't you share with the audience quickly what you've been up to the last 20 years, 1020 years?

Bruce Baum: 36:54

Well, let's see some of the major stuff. If anybody's familiar with the book letters from a nut. It was written under the pen name Ted l Bansi. But it was written by myself and Barry martyr. Even though Jerry Seinfeld and Barry martyr are out saying that Barry wrote the book, and you can see my video, you can actually go to Bruce bob.com. And see the video is just out now. Not true. So I'm the co writer of the first three letters from in that book. I wrote another book on my own under my name called on to hold, which I only wrote when I was on hold on the phone. So I used to get so ticked off. being put on hold it, I gotta turn this into more positive energy. So I wrote short stories. I wrote fairy tales. I wrote tales that have no fairies in them at all. And then I also wrote, just whatever came to my mind, like things like I think the Bible says an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. But what happens if you get beat up by a blind, Toothless guy? So well, that book. Yeah, that's all of that that's on Amazon did that and I've been working I shoot videos, I don't wait for a green light, I paint on the canvas I can I can afford. So I'm doing that in about. Well, by the time this airs, I'll have a show on YouTube, you can probably go to Bruce Bob calm. And that'll have the link. But it'll be catches and talking and guess it'll be a little five to seven minutes. spacestation the place you can take your face. And it'll show that the whole family can enjoy depending on how you raised your family.

Scott Edwards: 38:49

Well, ladies and gentlemen, you've gotten two great offers there. You can go to Amazon and find letters from a nut or the book on hold. Or you can go to YouTube and just a couple. Well right now and Google search, Bruce Bom and find his new YouTube show. So Bruce, as usual, your creative juices are flowing. I'm gonna backstep just a little because I think it's funny. And I don't know if you think it's funny. But letters from the net. It's obvious that you're one of the authors because in the beginning of one of the books in the preface, you actually say you want to thank your children and your bride, Lynn and you mentioned Dylan and your daughter. And that was the big giveaway even though it was a huge secret in Hollywood. My wife Jill, pegged that you are the author right away and said, Well, what's the big mystery? It's obviously it's Bruce. And sadly, and unbeknownst to her knowing that it was a big secret. I'm sure you remember the story. She was chit chatting with one of her friends. Miss Diane Nichols, who happens to be And I don't think this is a secret, one of the biggest gossips in Hollywood. And Jill mentions us to Diane. And literally almost overnight, the the word got out about you and Barry being the mystery authors, Jill felt so bad. She just felt horrible, because she had no idea. You know, we're in Sacramento, we have no idea what's important in LA and to the quote unquote, Hollywood scene that it was this big mystery in Southern California. And Jill's just blabbing about it. Anybody that would listen?

Bruce Baum: 40:34

Oh, that's okay. We still denied the LA Times called us and a lot of other you know, reporters came and asked and, you know, guest on TV, so we didn't know it's gonna backfire and that Jerry was gonna go on and tell everybody that Barry wrote the whole thing. But it was a big part of the book was written here at my house in front. And there were people that saw us do it together. So

Scott Edwards: 40:59

Oh, everybody believes you, Bruce. And I think it was just cute in an innocent way. Jill got the word out kind of ahead of schedule of who tell Nancy was in through the incredible mouth of Diane Nichols. I just wanted to get that story out because I love talking about my bride. And this was one of the things that was a huge mistake slash accident that to this day, she feels guilty about

Bruce Baum: 41:30

him guilty. That never really mattered much then. And now it actually just lends credence to what I'm saying.

Scott Edwards: 41:36

Exactly. Well, and like I said, you mentioned your family right in the cover of the book. So let's get to your latest great success. You have been creating and selling hot sauce. Yes. It's called Hot noggin. Tell me about it's called noggin blast noggin last

Bruce Baum: 41:58

and oh GG I add like noggin and then blast the LSD. And if that noggin blast, calm and I grow my own ghost peppers, topping arrows Serrano's and then I make an organic, they're grown organically. And everything else is organically certified very few ingredients. Those added salt, no sugar. And, you know, I did it originally. Just as I had I don't feel I had cancer in 2012. I had head and neck cancer.

Scott Edwards: 42:33

Yeah, we were aware. And you were in our prayer, sir. Well,

Bruce Baum: 42:37

I was very fortunate. I had like seven and a half weeks of radiation and then one day a week of very light chemo. And it basically cured me the doctor said I'm cured not in remission after five years

Scott Edwards: 42:52

up. Oh, wait, wait, let's get it done. Right.

Bruce Baum: 42:56

Yes. So I bring my own crowd with me wherever I go. The the I lost my date for all you know, the doctor said, you know, you're going to lose your take. And I said, Does that mean I'm going to wear stripes and polka dots. But I did lose my case. They asked me if I wanted a feeding tube. I said no. It's painful. I can handle that. But it was never I never was really that painful. But I couldn't taste anything. I wouldn't my taste came back. I used to not be able to eat hot foods, but I could eat you know spicy foods. And hot peppers are known to have caps. Capsaicin in it. That that help. It's an antioxidant. Some people think it fights cancer. So I started growing my own peppers and making my own sauce. And I would take him to radio shows just in jars. And they would say, Oh, my God is so why don't why aren't you selling that you should be making this? So after about three or four years, I decided okay, I'll give it a shot. And I didn't do it commercially. But I'd made some and I gave some to friends that the response was I was extremely gratified. And so last year, I incorporated, I cook in a commercial kitchen. And and I started so I actually tried to start selling it a year in 2012 March 15. I had a big restaurant Pneuma was going to carry it. There's now a troll decided Zydeco grill, and I had a big launch party to set people but and on the drive home, they closed the country. So I couldn't even go to the commercial kitchen. In December, everything kind of opened up. So I started selling it in December online. And it pretty much sells out pretty quick I make a ghost pepper with extra garlic ghost pepper with pineapple, avocado, mango, a lot of different ones, I usually have two or three available at a time. And everybody likes it. I'm spending all my time growing, and packing and cooking. And it's, it's kind of cool. I'm enjoying it.

Scott Edwards: 45:21

That's great, Bruce, I mean, you obviously have already given of yourself some 40 years of comedy creativity and to is successfully fight cancer and come out of it with something new and creative, something totally different in a culinary nature and doing a hot sauce. And it gives you this kind of joy, both the growing and the creating of the product. And I've seen the label noggin blast. It's hilarious. It's your face, everybody should go out in Google noggin blast. And if you'd like hot sauces, check out bruises. But that's a great story, Bruce, and thanks so much for sharing it. You know, we've had a chance to know each other for over 40 years, we've got a chance to work together on several projects, you allowed me behind the scenes and a few projects. And it's just always been an honor to call you, friend. Thank you so much for doing this podcast. We're all going to keep looking forward for your YouTube show. And everyone's going to go out and check out your book on hold and buy some noggin blast. But for me, the tip of the iceberg is getting an opportunity to chat on this podcast. So thank you.

Bruce Baum: 46:38

Well, first of all, let me say the same thing back I've always considered as good friends. There's very few club owners, I can say that about.

Scott Edwards: 46:49

It were were a certain type.

Bruce Baum: 46:52

But you were always very hands on, you were always concerned about your audience. And, and it was always a pleasure to not only play your clothes, but hang with you. And you were you were always supportive in the projects I had, whether it was lending a hand or investing. So I want to say back and let everybody know how grateful I am. For our friendship. And and that's you know, that's one thing different about the early days than now. You know, back in the 80s when the road was started. You could do a week with somebody. And And even today, you're friends with that because back then you would hang for a week. You do a lot of stuff together, you got to know each other. Nowadays, it's not so much you're at a club, you see each other at the show when you're on the road. But there was a whole different kind of camaraderie that now that everybody did together back then. Those were wonderful days, I don't think they'll ever be recreated because it was fresh and new. The 80s comedy was like rock and roll. The crowds were phenomenal. The comics were friendly, lots of stories. I'm sure you've heard from all the comics, there's a couple that aren't with us anymore. Even have more outrageous stories, guys like John Fox, and

Scott Edwards: 48:24

as a character.

Bruce Baum: 48:25

I just want to say, you know, I've always been appreciative of the relationship we had. And your your niche in the comedy movement that basically blossomed in the early 80s.

Scott Edwards: 48:39

Yeah, I think and I've been mentioned it several times, I was so blessed to catch that comedy wave as it was just starting. And I followed the guidelines. My mentors were other comics like you and Bob Saget and Dave koue. Garry Shandling, I can go on and on that I would go to and say, Hey, what do I need to do to make this club successful and comfortable for the comics. And that's what created such a comfortable creative atmosphere so that we could all go on and succeed in this unique art form. But one of the hallmarks of the history of laughs unlimited, and my time on the fringe of show business is my relationship with Bruce baby man bomb. So Bruce, again, thanks for doing the podcast, ladies and gentlemen, get his hot sauce noggin blast, check out his books, and keep an eye out. Go to YouTube right now. And Google Bruce Baum. You'll see his new show. Bruce? Continued success. I know you always have your creative fingers in some pies, which I won't be eating. And we know that there's great things coming. Thanks again, sir.

Bruce Baum: 49:47

Thank you, Scott, and best to you and Jill and Bobby and everybody. All right,

Scott Edwards: 49:52

everybody. Ladies and gentlemen. Thanks for listening to the show. We'll be back next week with another great show. Bruce, baby man bye Thanks, buddy. Thank you. Bye.

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