Standup Comedy w/ Milt Abel Great Interview!

Check out this great interview with one of the best Headliners min the business, star of TV, Stage, Corporate gigs, cruise lines, and more… Milt Abel! Now living in Portland Oregon, Milt shares some great laughs and stories of his career. One of my best Friends in Comedy, don’t miss listening to Milt Abel… and a standup comedy set as well!

Podcast 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 emcee Scott Edwards.

Scott Edwards: 0:22
Hey, welcome to another great show. We got something special for you. It’s one of my best friends in the business, a great headliner. You’ve seen him on TV. He’s one of the cleanest funniest guys out there, ladies and gentlemen, from Portland, Oregon. It’s Milt. Mo. Milled. We’re so excited to have you on the show. It’s exciting to have you here, buddy.

Milt Abel: 0:48
Oh, thank you, Scott. And I love I love your Saturday night crowd there.

Scott Edwards: 0:52
Yeah, yeah, we got to. We got a great crowd going for the podcast. And we’ve been trying to get you on the show for a long time. But you’ve had a lot of stuff going on in your life, we finally tackled you and got you on the show. How are you doing, buddy?

Milt Abel: 1:08
I’m doing great. It’s great to hear you again, Scott. And it’s fun to start organizing my thoughts about what a wonderful time in comedy and our lives that we work together. You know, it was it was a day

Scott Edwards: 1:22
it without a doubt. Yeah. And I met when I said, you’re one of my oldest friends in the business. And I want to get to how you got started. But I’m going to take the audience on a quick side trip. There were hundreds of comics that I got a chance to work with over the decades I was in the industry. But only a few rose to the top. And Milt, you’re one of them. I mean, we’ve got great stories that we can share. We’ve had a lot of great experiences on stage and off. And not only are you a terrific comic and headliner, but you’re clean. You’re clever. And we can’t see it on the podcast, which is sad, but one of the best facially expressive comics. I mean, I don’t know how else to put it. But when you tell a bit, the way you you share it, acting wise with your face and the expressions is just amazing. But the audience will get a chance to hear some new material after this.

Milt Abel: 2:16
Well, I’m I’m frowning right now about that, Scott?

Scott Edwards: 2:21
Well, let’s let’s get things going here. So how did you I actually I don’t know this story, which is odd as well, as I know you. How did you get started? What took you down the path of stand up comedy?

Milt Abel: 2:35
Well, I was in college, and that was a recruiter that had set up a booth and the banner said want to make fun of people and sleep till noon. I thought wow, I could go for that. You know? That’s that’s my that’s my interview joke right there. No, the reason I I don’t know. I had an experience when I ran into an old high school champ that told me this is in the past 1520 years, but she told me 40 years ago, 50 high school, you know, you told me you were going to be a comic. And it blew me away that I would confide that with anybody because it wasn’t in my mind. But I always had a big respect for comedy. I remember watching the Charlie Chaplin revival series and Art Theater. You know, in my college days, I hadn’t yet decided to become a scam from it. But I was I stopped I pulled away from watching the comedy. It was a circus. Very funny. But I looked at the audience just laughing, rocking back and forth. I said, Boy, would I How would I great what I feel if I was responsible for this murder in the audience. And so I started doing more and more comedy. I, you know, I was in college, I was going to be an engineer, and a friend of mine that I party with, and we would laugh and people would like to come and hang out with us because we were so funny. I was in college, I started taking acting class. And I started thinking of jokes. And then in my calculus class, I was thinking of joke, I was thinking of jokes. I didn’t think of my calculus class, outside of calculus. So it became obvious that this was something I really wanted to do. And I got rewarded, you know, you try something. And if enough people say, you know, you really shouldn’t do this. I’m not I’m not that independent of a spirit to say, show you all that you’re wrong. No, you know, it was more a case of I got encouragement. Yeah, you are funny. He did do this when you’ve done well, and you got some early support. Yes. And I was success. I mean, the very first night I moved from San Jose to San Francisco to start comedy. I had a gig that night. The very first night living in San Francisco, got a gig and I had the MC either comics come into this bar that they tried to make a comedy venue which was struggling and and I brought plays that I’d written in college figured I’d have to fill out the entire two hours that they were planning but turns out comics kept showing up in San Francisco. gotten the early 80s? You could go there were five, almost five full time venues. Right? Yeah. And so if that one Monday night, I did do five sets in one Monday night.

Scott Edwards: 5:14
Wow. Yeah. One club.

Milt Abel: 5:19
Let me let me try it again, folks. Let me try that joke again. There is nothing more pathetic than a Comic Con. Wait a minute, it gets funnier. Hold on.

Scott Edwards: 5:30
Well, it is true. And it’s been mentioned before in the podcast that New York la in really there was a little bit going on in Boston. But San Francisco was definitely one of the early, late 70s, early 80s hubs for comedy. And there was a number of rooms that you could drop in. And if you already had a bit of a reputation, which you you develop very quickly, you could pretty much guarantee getting on stage for at least a short set. Now we’ve we’ve sidetracked a little I want to ask because you’re you have a great memory. Do you remember any of your first bits are first joke,

Milt Abel: 6:09
I remember the first joke I ever wrote. And I used it for a long time in my app. I haven’t used it 20 to 30 years. It’s funny. Anyway, the the joke was I was really Woody Allen asked my very first couple years because I that was my model. I left Woody Allen. Anyway, I my first DEF reverse joke I wrote was we’re writing a book, it’s a sequel to Sybil. It’s a story about a man possessed by five separate personalities that goes on to win the NBA championship single handedly.

Scott Edwards: 6:48
That’s a funny joke.

Milt Abel: 6:50
It’s called pass it to me. I’m open. So I said to me, I’m open. And I cried came a couple a year or two later, but still it’s yeah, it was a good joke. And and now I’m writing jokes about retirement communities, adult communities, you know, you have to be 55 to be in these adult communities. Who never thought you’d be worried about being carted at 54.

Scott Edwards: 7:16
Exactly. Well, we can’t get away from it. It’s the cycle. Oh, that’s so funny. Well, milk now you. So you got your start in San Francisco. You were writing cemetery. Oh, you’re already performing. And I got to ask how did you end up working for me?

Milt Abel: 7:35
Blackmail? No, I just you know, I heard about the loss of women. I heard Sacramento was the place to go. And I remember this. When I auditioned for you. We were still moving chairs back and forth. Paula Poundstone was the headliner. And Larry bubbles Brown and myself drove all the way the two hours for 98 minutes up there. And in you had a 10 minute spot and you wouldn’t give us you had to do five. And so we both did five minutes and went okay, but not great. But I think he started hearing you know, I’m sure you always seem to have a good ear to the ground about comics. You probably heard enough positive feedback that I don’t think I’d never I ever did another audition set for you. He gave me you know, a week and your club was the first road gig I ever did. And now I would go to Tahoe or or Redding and do a one night or instead hotel and come back. But the first time I ever went to another town and stayed for five days or whatever was with you. And the headliner was Royal Dutch. The middle act was Bruce Smirnoff. And I was the opening.

Scott Edwards: 8:45
You know, that would be an amazing show. I mean, if people don’t know it will ders is one of the funniest political satirist ever, when it came to stand up comedy and a legend in the San Francisco Bay Area. And Bruce Smirnoff, who is still knocking them dead in Florida, turned out to be one of the funniest headliners. And then here we are. The opening act of that show. Another tremendous headliner. Milt Abel. What What a genius the booker must have been.

Milt Abel: 9:16
Yeah. Yeah. Don’t Don’t, don’t lose touch with that guy.

Scott Edwards: 9:22
Well, but you got a chance to open for Paula and there was some other big names that came through.

Milt Abel: 9:27
Yeah, you know, I’ll tell you let me tell you. I don’t know how long we’re supposed to do. But I’ll tell you a quick story about the very first set I ever did as a stand up comic. And the headliner was Michael Davis, the juggler. The middle act was Dana Carvey and the opening act was an MC was Kevin Pollak. No. Yeah. Kevin Pollak knew me because we both worked at the same restaurant as busboys are different chain or competing chain anyway, he knew me and he said he give me some time. And I wrote it said, I wrote 10 minutes, I mean word for word. And I had it somewhat memorized. I had the paper there, and I bombed, but you can actually hear I had a record he had lost it, but I had a recording here Kevin Pollak, like I said, Okay, I’ll be done in a minute.

Scott Edwards: 10:19
We should explain that a lot of walk ons only get three to five minutes and for someone to take 10 minutes when you have a power show like that would be criminal in Vegas. But yeah, that’s, I mean, the chance that we had.

Milt Abel: 10:33
Yeah, but Dana, Dana Carvey pulled me aside and saw that Woody Allen you know, influence and said, you know, you kill you do really well at the other Cafe should go the other cafe. And because of Dana Curry’s recommendation, I started going to San Francisco, and going to the cafe and I had a lot of fun. It was funny, I would go and do a set and I would be high from it, not from artificial means. I’d be high some experience and having so much fun for like two or three days afterwards. And so it came to the point where I go, Well, why not? I stay high all the time. You know, I am high on having fun and doing what maybe you were put on the earth to do you know?

Scott Edwards: 11:13
Well, I think that is your friend, I can say that I’ve seen your perform hundreds of times. And you’re one of the I won’t say few. But there there’s certainly a level of enjoyment that certain people find it entertaining. And it’s not that we could probably both think of examples of people that think the stage is their pulpit, and then it’s all about them. And there’s other people like you that really enjoyed sharing in giving to the audience, because you knew you’d get back. And that fulfillment really well. Again, I’m going to go off, I loved it as an MC. And I’ve had a couple comics pointed out that I was more than an MC that I did way too much time. But, but I really you love that interaction and that feedback. The audience, the energy is just it’s a

Milt Abel: 12:13
high. Yeah, definitely is a high, in fact. Yeah. I mean, I know there were you got you got better, too. I mean, it got to the point where some opening acts had trouble following need to do less time, just so they wouldn’t, the crowd wouldn’t be worked into the fever that you could do it.

Scott Edwards: 12:31
Well, I haven’t talked about it on the podcast, but I went through my you know, I wore a suit and a tie. And I was very just straight MC ish, to where I was, you know, kind of enjoying going back and forth to where I actually developed some. I wouldn’t say jokes, but lines of comedy. But it’s funny that you said that because it was getting difficult for opening acts to follow me. And in the later years, I didn’t have opening acts I just opened the show did 1015 minutes and went straight into the feature on the headliner. So that may have been egotistical, but hey, it was my club. Yeah, no, I

Milt Abel: 13:11
don’t egotistical. It’s not selfish would be the more derogatory term. But either one is not accurate. I mean, yeah, it’s a lot of fun. And you have this great toy that you can play with every night. I mean, you you have more stage time than any of us.

Scott Edwards: 13:27
If you think about it, that’s probably true.

Milt Abel: 13:30
Yeah. So yeah, that’s something I realized once the comedy scene kind of crashed. I mean, it isn’t dead. But it’s definitely not what it was. Yeah, no. But once that, and I got I moved back to San Jose to take care of my mom. And I just wasn’t the traveling headliner. It used to be and then it hits you how precious stage time is, that really is a great thing to have. And for you to be in front of hundreds of people every night of the week for years and years and years and years. You were a wealthy man, and another in another coin of the realm, so to speak.

Scott Edwards: 14:07
Oh, well, thank you. I would agree with you. I think that it was a blessing and a curse, but it was it a curse. Well, the word

Milt Abel: 14:19
you gotta let the other guy on. Yeah, in a minute.

Scott Edwards: 14:22
Exactly. I had a few comics. Talk about how they would sit around in LA having a beer talking about that a hole up in Sacramento that took up all their stage.

Milt Abel: 14:32
Yeah, my my joke amongst the comics when you went there was Yeah, I did the show. It’s called Scott Edwards and friends.

Scott Edwards: 14:43
Like I probably could have got away with that. Well, we both had a chance to share in that moment. You’re now a regular comic. You’re working clubs in the Bay Area. You’re starting to travel and do road gigs. You’re now a regular laughs I know that. There’s some Great stories, but what what are your fond memories from working for me? laughs

Milt Abel: 15:05
I think maybe the time I, we went horseback riding.

Scott Edwards: 15:09
You’re one of the few comics I took, I did have a small ranch and I took you horseback riding, why don’t you tell the audience how that went?

Milt Abel: 15:18
Well, you know, comics sleep, and they stay up late, and they have a different lifestyle. And I think you invited us to come over at 11 or something. And this is how I remember then you can correct me at the end. But you know, so you invited us to come over and you saddled up the horses at 11. And I don’t think we showed up to like one me and the other comics will take the some car three comics live together and apartment or whatever. And so the horse that I was waiting for, or you had from the saddle on for a couple hours and horses aren’t stupid, they go some days late and I’m irritated and I’d rather not have a saddle on me. So when I got on this horse, the second I got on this horse it but it said there’s that shithead that waited so long to teach him some. So he he threw me off. You know, I literally got but it’s the only time I’ve ever been bucked off a course and I was six feet above the ground. I could see my feet between me and the ground. But we know when you’re losing your balance you hold on to every account your hands so I held on to the reins, and I got jerked from vertical to horizontal and I did a six foot belly flop off the ground. What really hurt was an erection at the time. I held on to the range and I plowed 40 acres

Scott Edwards: 16:35
Wait a minute I got

Milt Abel: 16:37
rose rocks really hurt ladies. But at least we struck oil. Alright. I used to tell the true story except that exaggerations. That Yeah.

Scott Edwards: 16:49
You know, it’s so funny. It was scary as all heck to us because the bulk of the story is true. We had saddled up the horses, you guys were late. We’re going to go for a little ride around the neighborhood. You got on to Bucky. And and when you got off you said thanks for putting me on. Widowmaker and but as a producer, it scared the crap out of us because you could have gotten hurt. I

Milt Abel: 17:17
was hurt. I was hurt. I you know I sprained an ankle. I bruised my face and I you know I get the show that night but I yeah, I was I hadn’t maybe a slight limp and

Scott Edwards: 17:28
I don’t remember you actually getting hurt. I feel horrible now, but it was funny. That’s very funny. You know what? You got five minutes of material at it for the next 10 years?

Milt Abel: 17:37
Yeah, it was. Well, it was the only you you were the CO creator the only dick joke I ever wrote.

Scott Edwards: 17:45
That is you know, I never thought about it. You’re totally clean. comic and yet you plowing 40 acres with a boner is probably the the only dick joke you ever did.

Milt Abel: 17:56
Yeah, I can’t think of any others. Although,

Scott Edwards: 17:58
although also going back to the history, you might want to share a couple minutes of your magical date

Milt Abel: 18:08
in Mexico. No,

Scott Edwards: 18:09
no, no, no. laughs unlimited.

Milt Abel: 18:11
Oh, that’s right. Oh my goodness.

Scott Edwards: 18:14
We so everybody in the podcast world we had a special rule. That was a big joke amongst everybody called rule number eight were trying to keep a upstanding business. Don’t take the waitresses don’t date the waitresses and in order to protect my almost all female staff and also protect the comics from what they might get in trouble with rule number eight was meant to separate everybody. Well, let’s be honest sexually. However, my good friend Milt able.

Milt Abel: 18:48
I get date, date. I won’t say the name. But I know you’re talking about and we did go out and she was really a charming girl. But it was funny. We went through this entire day. Without I mean, I went took her out. And then I think I’m not sure about embellishments from the for the joke or from memory. But we ended up at her place. And I’d made a move. And she goes, Wait, I like someone else. And I thought, oh my god Did someone just walked by the window. I’ve been with you all night. And I used to be a bit about waving my arms around about singles bars, closing time, like reminded me of amoeba with their tentacles waving around. I’ve got to get laid, you know, what is another species that I can contact with? I would tag that observation with what if somebody just walked by the window because I’ve got to get laid and then the arms will be playing without? Well, yeah, yeah, I forgot about that. I didn’t get to talk about that. That experience I had in LA Paso and Juarez.

Scott Edwards: 20:02
No, I thought I was talking about the phone call. Oh. That was based in Sacramento. I thought,

Milt Abel: 20:13
now well, I don’t know what I think I just I think I just made that. I don’t know, I may have been a contract. Most of my stuff actually was true based on true events and you know, then you embellish and,

Scott Edwards: 20:24
well, the way the way the story goes is you’re out with a waitress from a club. I assumed it was mine. And you guys had had a pleasant physical evening. And in the morning, she gets a phone call. And what happens is

Milt Abel: 20:40
a call in the middle and I took all the money just Hylas I can’t talk to it now. busy now. I’m not gonna say who it is guess. Now? No, no, no, not that. I’m keep going now. Right initial keep going now, now. Oh, I wish no. I gave I gave her a gift certificate to Planned Parenthood.

Scott Edwards: 21:03
Well, that’s always been one of the funniest bits. Obviously on stage with more time you you do you would drag it out a little bit. But that was always a funny story. I don’t not sure if I know the war has been what was your? What happened to you in Mexico at

Milt Abel: 21:20
the time? I got my watch stolen in Mexico.

Scott Edwards: 21:24
Oh, the lack. Oh, yeah. Do you want to you? Well,

Milt Abel: 21:28
I don’t want to eat up all your time. So no, no, we’re out of time. Maybe we’ll do another time.

Scott Edwards: 21:33
All right. We’ll save that one. But the point is Milt Abel is one of the funniest people. And he has great stories. But what we’re sharing right now is we had some amazing memories of you working. We call him uncle,

Milt Abel: 21:48
thank you for having me, having me there. I was I was rewarded in many ways. Well, we certainly experience and personally as

Scott Edwards: 21:56
well. And we did a lot of things. offstage. I know you went to bowling night, and we took your horseback riding or horseback death, and other things, but we always refer to as Uncle Miltie. And you were one of the crowd favorites. But not just a crowd favorite. But you were a staff favorite. That is something that not many comics can say in you know, that’s why we’re so appreciative to get you on the podcast, but also to have had you in our life. As a entertainer. You brought it all to the stage, not only for the club, but also for the audiences. Now I know that you did do some television you did an evening at the improv. Yeah, you’re on my TV show.

Milt Abel: 22:41
I was on your TV show. I didn’t certainly need to improv. So I did. I just recently taped something that before the pandemic, something called dry bar comedy. Oh, yeah, right, right. Yeah. I think they’re doing well with it. I don’t know. I don’t even know if it ever edited my code. I took it about a year ago now.

Scott Edwards: 23:00
But you were on Comedy Central.

Milt Abel: 23:02
Yeah, that’s right. With Jake Johansen show out of New York. It was a cool drink minimum to drink minimum, I think it was. John Ross wrote for him. And Jake was the host and

Scott Edwards: 23:13
Jake Johansens. Funny, funny guy. And John Ross was a great writer. Now, didn’t you also do the Bob and Tom radio show?

Milt Abel: 23:20
Oh, yes. Several times. Yeah. Yeah. I never toured with them, though, that I did. I did their show. I didn’t know I evenly pass to Indianapolis, when they were just getting started. And I didn’t realize, you know, business wise, Bob and Tom was just as impactful as a letterman or Tonight Show.

Scott Edwards: 23:40
Oh, yeah. They’re, they’re huge in the Midwest and east. Not as big on the west coast because we have some other big shows. But Tim Vidor is a regular on the Bob and Tom radio show in it helped his career quite a bit.

Milt Abel: 23:54
Yeah. Can I best buddies? And yeah, he was irregular on that show, giving kind of like, oh, you know, 60 minutes. Who was that curmudgeon an old guy at the end? Andy? Oh, he would he would give a commentary every week.

Scott Edwards: 24:12
Right. Right. Right. And not only that, but you’ve had now I’m trying to let the audience know how experienced you are. Because you have been a professional entertainer now for over 30 years.

Milt Abel: 24:25
And well, 38 Yeah. 39 Yeah. All right. We’ll just

Scott Edwards: 24:29
we’ll just push it to 40 men for 40 years. And you’ve you’ve done all these clubs, including mine, which we had great experience. You did some TV shows some radio, but you are really tackled every aspect because I’ve known you did a lot of work in the cruise industry on cruise ships. Yeah. You aren’t casinos. You’ve done a lot of college shows at universities. And you’re kind of the king of the corporate. You’ve done a lot of corporate work.

Milt Abel: 24:56
Yeah, yeah. Yeah. So I was lucky because I could do a couple of cuz I was clean, you know, there was never I never had to. I mean, I started loosening up actually, in my last 10 or 15 years, but I was always clean. And so it was never hard for me to do a bit and go, Oh, wait, I got to edit it, I got to do this. No, I would just tell whatever I was, was in my show to whatever audience I was in front of, you know, it’s funny, we’re talking about little bits we don’t remember. And, you know, like, the Mexico story is definitely not corporate that. But yeah, I had a good chance I because I was clean. You know, and that’s something I tell if people that are listening this podcast, if they’re young comics, thinking about how they’re going to, you know, you got to think about what you want to be good at. If you want to be good at entertaining drunks at bars, then go ahead. But if you want to be good at entertaining 1000 people in a theater, work toward that, you know, don’t work toward killing at a bar work toward killing in a venue where people have come to see comedy, right? You

Scott Edwards: 26:00
can make a small living maybe cracking them up at the local strip club, but if you’re going to be a professional and you want to do television at all, you have to be clean.

Milt Abel: 26:11
True. It’s cable with HBO. Yeah. But on but still, I mean, the people that are sensationalist. You know don’t. It’s hard. I remember. Remember, you know, there was some really good dirty comics Bob. Got what’s his name? Anyway, he’s passed away, haven’t read I’m here I’d like but he had trouble falling themselves. Some comics have trouble following themselves if they’re a sensationalist, you know, because they started saying this and that. And then, you know, after a while it wears off. And what do you do for the rest of your 30 minutes? You obliged to set to do you know,

Scott Edwards: 26:51
right. Jack Marion was one of the few people that could be really dirty, and yet not come off. Like he wasn’t dirty, like he was using the F bomb every other word. I mean, those guys to me are funny, I went to the freakin store to get some frickin bread. I mean, to me, you might get a shock reaction out of the audience. But it doesn’t go anywhere. It doesn’t last Jack Marion. He had an album called Real balls, volume two. That was genius, totally filthy. But it really wasn’t swearing that much. It was just the content of the material. But he was genius at it. And I’m really good at it. But he had to have the right audience. And it’s funny as he was he couldn’t do cruise ships or TV at the time.

Milt Abel: 27:39
Now Yeah, I had a good crew ship career. I you know, I’ve been all over the world. I was an article for five weeks, I saw a rookery you know, right collection of penguins a recovery of 300,000 Penguins, the the nature naturalist standing by my side. So this is roughly 300,000 tickets and you look and they don’t do much. They just stand around, dressed to the nines. And they just stand around. You know, it looks like the world’s largest junior high school dance.

Scott Edwards: 28:12
Just stand around look at each other. No exact nobody wants to make that first step. That’s a great analogy. Well, you know, that’s one of the benefits of being able to do cruises as Steve Bruner is another comic that is always stayed clean. Very good with corporate very good with cruises. But there’s not a ton of you there. There’s you know, less than 10 Really good, solid headliners that were totally clean. There were some that could adapt. Bruce Smirnoff is one that could go either way. A few others Tom McTigue. But in general, there’s not that many that are really funny. Totally clean, very clever. And then, as I alluded to in the beginning of the podcast, and I don’t know if there’s a way to share this with the listeners, but you also had the added benefit of expression. When you would tell a story, one of my favorites. I sold cars for a while. And you had this. You had a great story bit, it was really a story because it lasted about 10 minutes, but it was all on going in to buy a car and you would to the thing about the manager’s watching it with your eyes shifting back and forth through a painting, right. Wait, that’s right, just waiting to sweat you on the price. But when you did it on stage and that expressive, it took what was already really funny material and took it to another level.

Milt Abel: 29:45
Yeah, yeah, it wasn’t good that people remember it. It doesn’t work so much anymore because the dynamics have changed. You know, people can do so much research and they’re not so much at the you know, without their own Escape. But you know, there was a time before the internet that you had you were once you went into the buy a car you were, you were there as baby.

Scott Edwards: 30:10
Definitely that we all know about The Sweatbox and used to describe it as this tile floor with a drain in the middle.

Milt Abel: 30:19
Little smaller round summit for grand the bottom, they were still holding down the last guy that came in there.

Scott Edwards: 30:27
Well, I think everybody’s got that image and that fear of going to buy a car from some guy off the line. But you were able to touch one of the things that made you such a great headliner was in a lot of like the classic headliners, Jay Leno, Seinfeld, all these guys, you were able to pick normal life experiences that everybody could relate to, and find the funny in it. And that’s a real tribute. We were just talking about the value of being a good writer. And some people think that you have to be ultra creative in come up with something totally unique, when I think the real trick to stand up comedy is being able to take the every day and tweak it so that it’s funny. Yeah,

Milt Abel: 31:14
no, I, my, my experience over the years has told me that if you’re honest, if you’re honest, 99% of the time, you’ll be rewarded. I mean, you know, you can of course be some sort of pervert. Yeah, I like to do this to women. Well get him off the stage. You know. But, but if you’re honest about how you feel about getting in trouble, as I’m getting older, it’s it’s tougher to get dressed. I, you know, I worry about well, it’s not my job, but it’s a great joke, right? So in the top of my mind is dancing Paul’s joke as he’s getting older, putting on his pants, he needs a spotter. You know? What, yeah, yeah,

Scott Edwards: 31:56
no, but I mean, and all that’s true, but I was just trying to pay you a compliment that one of the things that I always appreciated as a producer, was knowing that the audience was going to be really engaged and entertained. And that is really, the goal of a producer is we want our you know, it’s all about the audience. We care about the entertainers, but really, you’re there to entertain our audience, so that they have such a good time they come back and tell their friends, and you are one of the acts that we never had any qualms we always knew that we were getting what we’re paying for. Now, you’ve had this amazing career, any road experiences, or anything that stand out that were real highlights?

Milt Abel: 32:45
No, I mean, seeing the world on a cruise ship was fun, you know, on not one cruise ship is all we do sometimes went down, I went to Korea for three days just to do a show. And then they sent me back. And then and then again. Well, despite weeks in Santa, in South, in Antarctica, nothing I don’t think of any particular story. I mean, it was just nice to see the world. You know, it’s funny. I travel with my kids through Northern California, and I drive and I’ll want to ascribe to the show there, you know,

Scott Edwards: 33:22
out of there,

Milt Abel: 33:23
yeah. So it was a chance to see the world and, and it also made me a better person, because I had to develop some funny thoughts in the comments. I had developed people skills, you know, every week I it was a whole different group of people that I would see and work with for three or four nights. You know, I’ve got stay at that club for that week. So and even worse with cruise ships. So it became it was a good place to learn to be a decent person, if that makes any sense. I mean, there’s some comics that were real, real reclusive, and brilliant on stage. But I I, I take pride in being a similar grounded person.

Scott Edwards: 34:09
Well, and mill, let me just say you’re quite decent. Well, tell you what, it’s been great catching up. Now. I know that you’ve been going through a lot of transition. And you’re now you moved out of Northern California living in Portland. But is there anything? Yes, I moved up to join my kids, which is always a worthy place to be. And you have amazing kids. So that’s wonderful. But is there anything that we’re looking forward to in the next year or so any projects you’re going to? Are you done? Are you retire?

Milt Abel: 34:43
I’m almost I’m almost retired. I mean, I’ll tell you a funny story about someone who does very well for herself and she, you know, came up through the ranks with me and the people.

Scott Edwards: 34:53
Laurie was a regular at the club and very, very funny. Yeah,

Milt Abel: 34:57
and she’s not clean. Now she’s writing in the American. Anyway, we saw each other three or four years ago. And she goes, What are you doing now? I go, Well, I guess I’m semi retired because what does that mean? semi retired? I said, Well, I’m not getting all the goodies I want. Hell, we’re all semi retired.

Scott Edwards: 35:17
Well, that’s true. It isn’t always up to us. Is it? Now that you are dry comedy bar so people can hear you? They’re

Milt Abel: 35:26
dry bar comedy, comedy. Yeah. But no, I’m not working very much. The pandemic, of course, put the kibosh on not just me. So, I will see, I mean, my understanding timber door and I talked about this, that, you know, club owners nowadays don’t want to see a 60 year old man out there because it’s gonna, you know, people walking by are gonna go, what is he selling something with? Yeah, it’s tough, but it isn’t impossible. And I did enjoy it. I look forward to the pandemic getting behind us, and I will do more shows. But I’m getting booked. And I’ll probably go back on the ships, you know, but not like I used to.

Scott Edwards: 36:08
Well, there’s nothing wrong with slowing down. I mean, you’ve you’ve really had a an amazing career, and you’ve done so many things, and done them. Well, there’s nothing wrong with semi retiring, whether it’s the cause record,

Milt Abel: 36:23
I should record that and play that every morning.

Scott Edwards: 36:27
Well, one more piece. Yes, yes, well, but whether it’s the cause of the the social environment because of recent COVID issues, or it’s the fact that it’s true that gentlemen and women of our age are not going to get booked in the local hoppin Scotch club down the street. The point is, you still have something to share when you’re ready and when you want to. And going back to the 80s and 90s. I just want to end this by saying it’s been such a pleasure to not only become your friend but also to have you share the stage so many years and so many times and just have such a great time. Thank you so much.

Milt Abel: 37:10
Well, thank you Scott. It was a pleasure as well. It was rewarding.

Scott Edwards: 37:14
And ladies and gentlemen, this isn’t the end of the show because milk being one of the funniest guys ever to hit my stage. We have a great stand up comedy set coming up for you to enjoy milk you’ve been a great interview guests thanks so much for sharing the mic with me and ladies and gentlemen sit back and enjoy some great stand up comedy by the one of the best headliners Milt Abel Hey, thanks a lot buddy.

Milt Abel: 37:40
Another cool gift beanbag chairs the grandparents they never come out I’m going to be noticed or like Venus flytraps or grandparent grandma looks like our turn over turtle in there just somebody rolled her over her belly she’ll fall asleep beanbag chairs oh you know my favorite piece of furniture is and it has been even since I was a kid I love this piece of furniture the sofa bed that bed inside of a couch I thought that was cute. I thought that was neat 901 It’s transformed my furniture I’m a bad I’m a couch you know I get something that only kids do and I felt so stupid about it I left my jacket a couple weeks ago is up and can I left my jacket during the course that they just forgot to abandon quickly forgot about numbers can you do this major article clothing just left somewhere come home Billy where’s your jacket and we don’t do this as adults do we got that sales presentation once you get your jacket you can the off the jacket they did

Scott Edwards: 38:56
I want to go right now

Milt Abel: 38:59
there’s something we do as adults we didn’t do as kids we grind more as we get older we notice that you run on more occasions anyway Sure. You’d never see a six year old kid run to pick something up but I lose my marbles I’ve never gotten those she I think I bought the muscle blink tag Alright, I’m gonna warm up I’m not five anymore Hi, you know after breakfast I just want to take a nap No, leave those cartoons on I’m watching them Listen, my mouth almost fell asleep there. I’ve been having trouble sleeping. The rooster and my wife told me recently that I yelled out in the middle of my sleep was a scary thought that your vocal cords of betrayal when you’re unconscious. The money is buried underneath the birdbath. What was that again? I’m worried about it because my dad has tremendous sleep disorders, narcolepsy, that disease we policy for no apparent reason. Yeah, I had a professor in college as a carrier so my dad went to a dream Research Center at least he thinks he did. My dad are gonna be better friends. I did not get along with my dad because he thought a disciplining wasn’t fair. You know, I hope you parents out there split it up. Because it wasn’t fair. I get in trouble. My mom would say wait until your father gets home. I’d rather not. And it wasn’t fair. My dad would come home and say hi, so I’m seeing you all day got a beat you used to love it, don’t you? Jerry’s ever visit? Was the logic of this when parents would say you could have hurt yourself. Don’t ever do that again. Well, thanks for taking the chance out of it. What’s the point? What’s the point when you’re running out of gas to lean forward in the car what good does this really do? I’m cutting down the wind resistance. Here this would have been like a knife right now this Superman does this I’m a super saving gas guy now. And maybe you’re thinking I’m this much closer to the gas station. Like a climate hood. I probably make it. Driving is an expensive thing. Auto insurance doesn’t auto insurance tech everybody in this room? You know what the problem is? We look on accident these days as fortune rather than misfortune and we’re all suffering from that attitude. It really ticks me off. These people have these bumper stickers say hit me. I need the money. Take the car away. I’m paying a couple $1,000 a year for auto insurance. I live in LA apparently LA is second only to Beirut in risk. And it gets worse I have $1,000 dogs like me the first $1,000 Fix my own car just gonna cause more accidents. If somebody just dings me I’m gonna say stay right there. Buckle up. I gotta get my money’s right well, that’s my show. Thanks very much,

Scott Edwards: 42:16
you guys. Ladies and gentlemen, that was the very funny Milt able one of the funniest headliners ever had a chance to work with. Hey, that was his interview in comedy. Stay tuned. There’ll be another great show next week. We really appreciate listening. Be sure to tell your friends and share where you can buy.

Announcer: 42:39
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