Don McEnery- Successfully Retired Standup Comic / 2nd Interview Show #296

Don McEnery is a seasoned comedian who has spent decades in the stand-up comedy world, sharing stages with renowned figures like Howie Mandel and Kevin Nealon. His journey in comedy extends beyond performing, as he has also made significant contributions to television and film, including work on a Seinfeld episode and several animated features. McEnery views the evolution of comedy through platforms like Dry Bar Comedy as a positive change, providing comedians with wider reach and unexpected financial benefits, such as the surprising royalty checks he has received. Despite feeling he may not have promoted himself aggressively, McEnery remains passionate about stand-up, valuing the joy and adventure it brings, and he continues to seize opportunities to perform and share his stories.

(00:00:04) Evolution of Comedy in Digital Age

(00:01:50) Comedy Impact: Revenue Boost with Dry Bar

(00:10:42) Adapting Comedy Styles to Various Venues

(00:14:28) Stand-Up Comedy: A Lifelong Laughter Journey

(00:20:07) Don McEnery: Comedy Career and Reflections

Transcript

R. Scott Edwards: 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 emcee, Scott Edwards. Ladies and gentlemen, welcome back to the podcast. We have another fun interview for you. This young man has had a long career in stand up comedy, but he's also a writer. I'm going to get into it, but let's, let's introduce him first. Ladies and gentlemen, the one and only Don McHenry. Don, nice to have you back on the podcast.

Don McEnery: 0:49

Well, tonight, my happiest part of the introduction, you said young man, so. Been a while since I've been a young man.

R. Scott Edwards: 0:58

Well, you did do a really nice interview with me previously and we covered a lot of your early career and stuff and just to catch people up kind of as a foundation. I know that you did a lot of work on stage and open for people like Howie Mandel. You've done tons of television and cable work. You also are a really prolific television and movie script writer. You worked on a Seinfeld episode. You did a couple Disney movies, Bug's Life and Hercules. You did Stuart Little with the Sony company. You are very accomplished. I know you're back doing a lot of standup comedy. In fact, you had a dry bar special come out, I believe just last year, right, Don?

Don McEnery: 1:40

Might have been a little longer than that. But not only that did I have it on. I just got a check finally. Do you know how that works? Do you know how the dry bar works?

R. Scott Edwards: 1:50

Yeah, yeah. And it's funny that it only took two years, but, but it was not a bad check.

Don McEnery: 1:57

It was pretty, you know, pretty good sized check.

R. Scott Edwards: 1:59

Well, that's, I don't know.

Don McEnery: 2:01

I don't know. You know, I was, I was surprised I made any money on it. Then all of a sudden I get a check.

R. Scott Edwards: 2:07

And for those that don't know in the business, dry, dry bar comedy puts together, they try to keep clean comedy and they put together a recorded set and then they put it on their channel, the drybar Comedy Channel, which you can go to and see literally hundreds of comics sets. And if that comic gets a lot of views and listens and downloads, they send you a little like a royalty check. I'll spit it out eventually. And it sounds like it paid off for you, Don.

Don McEnery: 2:37

Yeah. And you don't get start getting any money until you pay off their production. I don't, you know, you get paid to do the gig and it's a great, great gig. It's great fun, great audiences and you know, there's six cameras and great audiences but you know their production job, you know like two grand or something. So once that gets paid off, then you start getting money.

R. Scott Edwards: 3:04

Well, it is still a great way to reach a whole new audience. You know, both of us are old enough to remember that the only way to build a following and audience was to work clubs around the country and if you were lucky enough and talented like you, you could get some TV spots. But even that didn't necessarily get guarantee a following. It takes time. And what's changed is in this day and age, and you might argue with me, but with the Internet and shows like dry bar comedy platform, you can reach a broader audience faster, wouldn't you think?

Don McEnery: 3:41

Yeah, I mean I think at this point a lot of the comics, like I'm in Raleigh now and I see the list of people who work and a lot of them there credits are, they have a big following on whatever, you know, after on or whatever the hell they call it. Oh right, whatever social, social media thing.

R. Scott Edwards: 4:03

Yeah. It's kind of what I meant back in, in my day, in our day you would be saying oh, I did Carson or I did Letterman or I was on Comedy Central, I did a spot or something on hbo. Now it's oh, I'm on this platform or I'm on that platform.

Don McEnery: 4:20

Yeah, and you're getting lots of views. So they're headlining clubs. Very interesting. I wish I knew how to do that or had done it sooner.

R. Scott Edwards: 4:31

It is a little misleading. I've heard a story recently where somebody had made two or three really funny one minute reels and some corporation hired that person but paid him some stupid amount like$10,000 and he came out to the corporate show and he literally tried to recreate, you know, I think five or six one minute pieces, you know and they, they were looking for a one hour show and this idiot could only do 30 second one minute, you know, what he thought was funny. And they don't, they haven't paid their dues as they say in the business.

Don McEnery: 5:11

Yeah, well that, that is the other side of the sword. That's the other double edged sword.

R. Scott Edwards: 5:18

Right, right. And getting a lot of gigs does help hone your material. It hones your timing. You know, there's some benefit to doing a lot of, you know, the only.

Don McEnery: 5:28

Thing that, the only thing that hones you timing stage time is the thing you need. You know, you can't do it to. Can't do it in your room.

R. Scott Edwards: 5:38

Yeah, that's true. Now you were, you were a stand up comic and then you ended up doing some script writing. Now you're kind of back into doing a lot of standup. Are you doing mostly corporate gigs? Are you hitting some of the clubs? What kind of work is Dom McHenry doing these days?

Don McEnery: 5:58

I'm not doing a lot of work on doing corporate gigs, but. And I got an inn now maybe for some ships. But, you know, I moved to Raleigh just in January, so I worked at club here and then I did some guest set. Kevin Nealon was in town, so he let me do some guest sets and then I opened to him in Charlotte two weeks later for a weekend. That was great. I'm gonna do some spots for Dave Attell when he's in town. And then, you know Rocky Laporte.

R. Scott Edwards: 6:29

Yeah. Oh yeah.

Don McEnery: 6:30

So Rocky's gonna be in at the Improv in July, so I'm gonna open to him there. So that's all I really got at the moment.

R. Scott Edwards: 6:38

Well, no, but things are happening. And opening for Kevin Nealon, for those that don't recall, was a regular on Saturday Night Live and a regular at my club's Laughs Unlimited for a number of years. A very funny guy. Good to hear that he's back out doing shows. I know a lot of people from back in the 80s and 90s are getting back out on, you know, like Jerry Seinfeld and Jay Leno are still doing a lot of shows both in concerts and regular clubs.

Don McEnery: 7:06

They never stop.

R. Scott Edwards: 7:07

Yeah, they just love stand up comedy. And what you mentioned just a second ago is you're starting to maybe pick up some cruising work. I just did an interview with Mark Yaffe, who was doing a guy. It was crazy. It was a like four week stint on a Holland America Alaskan cruise, just going back and forth and back and forth and doing a bunch of shows. But cruising shows is another way for guys like you that are really funny and clean can get some extra work out there. Are you doing a fun long run or is it a two nighter?

Don McEnery: 7:46

If I get it, they tell me I'm going to have to go out for three weeks the first time just to do the gig, which I'm not looking forward to, but I am in one sense, you know. But three weeks is a long time. It's the gig, you know, I'm just getting in with them. You know, I had been doing some other ones but with a different manager, booker, but you know, that kind of dried up. So this guy's doing A lot for me, the new guy. And if it works, it works. Yeah, it happens. It happens. It hasn't happened yet.

R. Scott Edwards: 8:18

Keep hoping. And what's interesting about cruise shows is a lot of times you'll meet the boat at a port, go out, maybe do one or two shows and get back off the ship in a couple days. But you're now the third comic I've heard from where a cruise line hired you to stay on the boat. They change audiences every week. You do multiple shows during that week, but you stay on the boat and each week you're getting a different audience. It's a lot of work, but it's a living, right?

Don McEnery: 8:49

Yeah. And I don't mind the work. I was doing. Excuse ships. And I would be on for two weeks and only work one night.

R. Scott Edwards: 8:56

Oh, wow.

Don McEnery: 8:58

I would do an 8 o' clock and a 10 o' clock show and there were different audiences. I could actually just repeat the same show the one I'm getting now, if I get it ever. I'm supposed to do two 45 minute shows, you know, different, you know, separate shows, work every night. I don't care. You know, when you're on a ship, having something to do at the end of the night, like a gig, like a spot, is something to look forward to, you know, it's lonely otherwise. I'd love to go back to Alaska. That's what I was hoping to do with this new one, but I don't think it's going to happen.

R. Scott Edwards: 9:32

Well, you never know, Don. It could. And what for people in the audience? Doing cruise work is like a lot of show business. There's a lot of work waiting around for the showtime. At least on a cruise ship, you're getting some good food and you can see the other shows and get off the boat at the ports once in a while. But it is a lot like this industry where you hopefully you're writing and spending some time on your material during the day, but there's a lot of time to kill before you get that one hour set at the end of the evening. It's an interesting lifestyle, but cruising is not the worst way to go. I mean, I'm sure compared to some of your road games.

Don McEnery: 10:13

Well, not only that, it pays much better too. Yeah, if you're not putting answers in the seats, as they say, and you're not making, you're not getting the door, you're not famous. You're making more money on a ship than you will on land, actually. And everything's paid for. I pay nothing. You know, they pay for airbags, got luggage, I pay for that. Taxes, and everything is covered.

R. Scott Edwards: 10:42

Yeah. And like I said, it's a good way to go. But you've had a lot of experience on the road. I'm sure you've done some regular clubs. I know you're still doing those, but casino work is kind of a different beast. Corporate work can be different. You have to be very versatile to be a comic these days.

Don McEnery: 11:00

Yeah, you do. I guess you're right. You know, I don't know about casinos. I mean, you know, I worked Vegas a lot when I was in la. You know, I'd go to Vegas two, three times a year. And that's, you know, that's the same audience. That's the same as being on the road. You know, the only thing. You can't make fun of a casino. That's the only rule.

R. Scott Edwards: 11:21

Yeah, right, right. Don't bite the hand that feeds you. Right.

Don McEnery: 11:25

Yeah. I know a comic who. There was a murder and somebody was shot. Somebody shot something in a casino and this guy got it on film and sold it to a news station, like the new local news. And they found out and they fired him. They'll never use them again.

R. Scott Edwards: 11:41

Wow. Wow, that's. That's not smart. Now, you could have made.

Don McEnery: 11:44

He could have made a million dollars, but he could have sold that and go, look, I have this thing, but I'm going to give it to you and not sell it. You could have worked forever.

R. Scott Edwards: 11:55

Yeah. That would have endeared you as an entertainer to the casino, and they would have guaranteed you a lot of money and a lot of work. Now you have had a chance to work with a lot of people. Was there anybody that you were kind of awestruck or really excited about working with over the years?

Don McEnery: 12:12

I don't know. I mean, I suspect Kevin Nealon, who I think is one of the all time funniest people the world. I think he was hilariously funny. Like, you know, he makes me laugh out loud. You know, I'm not trying to remember. You know, I worked for a lot of. You know, I did some band stuff. You know, I opened her. Some musicians and stuff, which is always good. But did I ever tell you this story? I opened for Don McLean. I opened the Don McLean in Buffalo years ago. And my name is Don McEnery. And they all. They start the introduction, ladies and gentlemen, this guy coming to the stage, Don Mick. And they hear Dom Mick. And they're yelling and screaming. Yeah. And they end with my name. And I walk out. Oh, great, great. Oh, what?

R. Scott Edwards: 13:09

That puts you in an awkward position. Back in the day there was a lot of comedy used to open musical shows, but those could be rough audiences because as you just explained, they're there for the music really. And sometimes when a comic would come out, it was kind of like, you know, for the unknown opening band, it was always much rougher on them from the audience than the star of the show.

Don McEnery: 13:37

Yeah, but at least if you're in a band, you're making noise and singing, it doesn't matter what they're doing.

R. Scott Edwards: 13:44

You have to have make sure they're listening, right?

Don McEnery: 13:47

Yeah, yeah, but it's a living. I spoke to my wife the other day and I realized that since I was almost 25 years old, I've made all I made a living just being funny. Any other kind of job.

R. Scott Edwards: 14:03

Well, I think that's something to be really proud of because there's literally millions of people have tried to make money in comedy and you could probably count in the few thousands that made an actual lifetime living at it. It's a tough road to haul. All the travel, all the work, you gotta be funny, you gotta be a good writer.

Don McEnery: 14:28

Yes. You know, it's a joy. I don't know, I love doing stand up comedy on all the work I can get. That's what I'm trying to do now is just to get gigs. I don't care really whether they pay exponential big money or not. Just want to drive around the country with my wife and go places I haven't been yet.

R. Scott Edwards: 14:49

Yeah, it would be kind of a leisure, semi retirement. You know, back when you're in your 30s and 40s, you're trying to make a living and pay the bills, you got to make sure you're working every week. But I would imagine at this stage in your life, as you said, you could kind of work for fun where it keeps you busy, you're making a couple bucks, but more importantly, you're doing something you really love and enjoy.

Don McEnery: 15:14

Yeah, exactly. I still am not doing. Hasn't worked out as I thought so far, but we'll see. I'm a lazy guy. I don't promote myself enough. I think that's my problem.

R. Scott Edwards: 15:27

Yeah, you need one of those 12 year old influencers to get you on the Internet.

Don McEnery: 15:34

That would be good, but at my age, I don't think I ought to hang out with 12 year olds, not in this environment.

R. Scott Edwards: 15:43

Yeah, you might be famous for all the wrong reasons.

Don McEnery: 15:47

Right, exactly. I might get canceled before I get started.

R. Scott Edwards: 15:50

Well, one of the things you've always been able to do is write. Now you used to do scripts and you did television, you did television specials, you did movies. Movies. Was there something in particular that moved you away from that? Do you still dabble in it? Have you thought of doing a book or something? Is writing still a part of your life?

Don McEnery: 16:12

Not really, no. I mean, my partner and I broke up, I don't know, 15 years ago or so. And then I did a couple of things people got me do. You know, I did some Internet kind of shows and that went nowhere and this and that on my own. But I kind of like writing with a partner for one thing. Makes you show up and it helps beat out ideas. You know, you just explain what you're trying to get at and go. Once you explain and go. Now I know what I mean. You know, I write jokes and still writing comedy. But I'm not, I'm out of that business. Just angelized too, you know.

R. Scott Edwards: 16:51

Right.

Don McEnery: 16:51

Nobody's looking for a guy my age to write for TV or movies or whatever.

R. Scott Edwards: 16:57

Right. It is generational. But I think you make a good point about working with a partner because bouncing ideas off of somebody and having a human being opposite you to react to your thoughts and ideas really helps perfect the whole method of writing, I would assume.

Don McEnery: 17:16

Oh yeah. And then just having to show up, you know, writers, writers spend all morning not writing. Whereas if you got somebody out to be there, you're going to be there.

R. Scott Edwards: 17:28

It kind of makes it a little bit more of a job as opposed to being self motivated. That's interesting.

Don McEnery: 17:34

And a commitment. I say I'll be there at 10 o' clock. I got to be there at 10 o' clock. If I'm at home by myself, I can go make a cup of tea or play the piano at 10 o' clock. I don't care.

R. Scott Edwards: 17:49

You have had such a successful long career. I'm glad you're still getting on stage as much as you can. You kind of alluded to some, maybe some cruise work coming up and opening up for a couple people in the future. Is there something, any projects you're working on or just kind of semi retired and just waiting for the cool comfortable gigs?

Don McEnery: 18:13

Yeah, that's all I'm doing, semi retired. And any gig that comes along I will take. I'll drive to it. I bought a new car waiting to buy a new house looking for a house in Raleigh and I left la. We left LA the morning the fire started in January.

R. Scott Edwards: 18:34

Oh, so you've recently moved?

Don McEnery: 18:37

Oh yeah, January. Yeah, we moved the day the fire started.

R. Scott Edwards: 18:41

Wow. Well, I'm glad you got out. There's things. There's not much good you can say here in California. I'm still in California, and Governor Nuisance is constantly making things a challenge. I'm glad that you got a chance to get out and have you found an area that you can connect with some clubs and kind of have some fun?

Don McEnery: 19:04

Yeah, that's what you know. So I'm going to do the improv in July. So, I mean, what happened with Jolly Good Nights Comedy Club? I did great there. The person that was booking it loved me and was going to put me in a lot of things, and she got fired two days later.

R. Scott Edwards: 19:24

That's show business, right? You build a relationship. You build a relationship and then it ends. Well, Don, I'm so happy that we had a chance to kind of catch up and excited to hear about some opportunities coming up for you. But also recently, opening up for Kevin Nealon is a cool thing, and moving is such a big change in your life. So I know that there'll be some adjustments over the next year as you find your footing and get back into not only the local clubs, but maybe some cruising gigs and corporates. I have a little bit of material I'd like to share with the audience, if you're okay with that.

Don McEnery: 20:06

No problem.

R. Scott Edwards: 20:07

Don, thanks so much for sharing an update and getting us caught up on what you're doing. And more importantly, thank you for not only sharing some of your history on this podcast, but all the work you did from opening up for Howie Mondale to working on television, to being a co writer in a lot of great movies. You've had such an amazing career. It's nice to know you're still out there hitting the boards of a stage and doing some comedy. Ladies and gentlemen, I want to share a little bit of comedy by Don. And again, Don, thanks for joining us on the show.

Don McEnery: 20:44

My pleasure. Good luck with your endeavors, my friend.

R. Scott Edwards: 20:48

Thank you.

Don McEnery: 20:48

And we'll talk again.

R. Scott Edwards: 20:51

Well, thank you very much, ladies and gentlemen. Here's a little stand up Comedy by Don McHenry.

Don McEnery: 20:58

Everything is extra peanuts. People in this room. Do you remember a day when peanuts were free? They would walk down the aisle throwing. Throwing peanuts at you. You can't even throw peanuts anymore. Cause they'll sue the, you know, the airlines. But they would pit you. Can I have two bags of peanuts? Go ahead. They're peanuts now. That little bag of peanuts that they're about this big. $7.50. I counted them. Turns out comes out to 62 cents a nut. It's too much for me. Everything is extra. I bet you someday you're going to read a story about a plane making an emergency landing. And you know you have to go out. They open the side doors, you got to go down that slide. They're going to charge you $5 entertainment fee. You'll see. You'll see. There'll be some story where you try to go off the plane. That'll be $5.$5? No, sir, we don't take cash. Only credit cards. You don't have a credit card? Well, you have to go back to your seat. Oh, you don't have a seat. They're also easing up on the restrictions that I find weird. And you know that you can bring a knife onto an airplane. Now you can woo to somebody. I don't know why you think that's a good idea. Because you could bring up to a 3 inch blade onto an airplane. What could go wrong? Why do you need a 3 inch bladed knife on an airplane? Are you widdle? You ever get on a plane? Some guy's going, oh, I gotta get this moose done. I promised my boy I'd whittle my moose. I wish I picked a less antlered animal. Even worse, they're talking about letting you talk on phones, on your cell phone while in flight. Now that's the worst idea I've ever heard. That is just not gonna be good because people are annoying on cell phones. There's always that, you know, not everybody, but there's always at least one guy. And when you're somewhere that talks too loud on the phone, you know, and they're always bragging. That's why they're talking to. They want to let you know how great they are. I told him I make more money in a month than he makes in a year. You know, that guy is annoying enough on solid ground, 30,000ft in the air, somebody's going to stab him in the eye with a three inch blade. And that somebody is me. I'm just saying.

R. Scott Edwards: 23:23

We hope you enjoyed this episode of stand up comedy. Your host and emcee. For information on the show merchandise and our sponsors or to send comments to Scott, visit our website at www.standupyourhost and mc.com. look for more episodes soon and enjoy the world of stand up comedy. Visit a comedy showroom near you.