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| Nu Magazine |
| Jeffrey with Charles Grodin at the Time Warner Center. |
| COMEDY MATTERS by JEFFREY GURIAN |
| The first time I remember meeting Jerry Seinfeld was at the old, original Caroline's Comedy Club on 26th and 8th, probably back in the early 80’s. It’s funny how that night sticks in my mind, because people often ask me what I did last night, and I come up with a blank. That particular night is etched in my mind forever, and I can almost see Jerry up there performing on stage. |
| Jeffrey Gurian with Jerry Seinfeld at the Time Warner Center. |
As I recall, I also met Paul Reiser there that night as well. Both of them were outstanding, and I knew right away
that they were both destined to be big stars. They both did very clean material, and had amazing stage presence and
great confidence.
Most importantly, they were very funny, and for some reason I recall Jerry doing a bit, … something to do with an
African tribe and spears as I recall, but considering that I have a hard time remembering my own act, I’m surprised I
remember that at all.
To tell you how long ago it really was, I offered to introduce both Jerry and Paul to a man who was guiding me as a
manager at the time, since neither of them had representation. His name was David Jonas, and he was handling
people like Alan Zweibel, Freddie Roman, Dick Capri, and had made Freddie Prinze a big star by getting him Chico
and the Man.
that they were both destined to be big stars. They both did very clean material, and had amazing stage presence and
great confidence.
Most importantly, they were very funny, and for some reason I recall Jerry doing a bit, … something to do with an
African tribe and spears as I recall, but considering that I have a hard time remembering my own act, I’m surprised I
remember that at all.
To tell you how long ago it really was, I offered to introduce both Jerry and Paul to a man who was guiding me as a
manager at the time, since neither of them had representation. His name was David Jonas, and he was handling
people like Alan Zweibel, Freddie Roman, Dick Capri, and had made Freddie Prinze a big star by getting him Chico
and the Man.
| Jeffrey and comedy icon Rick Newman |
Neither Seinfeld nor Reiser took me up on it, but we exchanged
numbers and kept in touch periodically. Then I didn’t see
Jerry again for many, many years, until recently when I saw
him at the Time Warner Center party for Richard Zoglin’s new
book “Comedy At The Edge – How Stand-Up In the 70’s
Changed America. I actually brought Jerry the old Roladex
card with his phone number on it from 25 years ago.
First I showed him my own card and asked if my name was
familiar to him. Maybe he was just being polite, but he said it
was. Then I asked him if he remembered having the number
(212) 595-5588, and he was shocked to see the card.
I thought it might have been funny to ask him what he had
been doing all these years, … kind of like when I wanted to
palm Donald Trump a buck, … but then I thought better of it,
and just told him it was great to see him again
numbers and kept in touch periodically. Then I didn’t see
Jerry again for many, many years, until recently when I saw
him at the Time Warner Center party for Richard Zoglin’s new
book “Comedy At The Edge – How Stand-Up In the 70’s
Changed America. I actually brought Jerry the old Roladex
card with his phone number on it from 25 years ago.
First I showed him my own card and asked if my name was
familiar to him. Maybe he was just being polite, but he said it
was. Then I asked him if he remembered having the number
(212) 595-5588, and he was shocked to see the card.
I thought it might have been funny to ask him what he had
been doing all these years, … kind of like when I wanted to
palm Donald Trump a buck, … but then I thought better of it,
and just told him it was great to see him again
I didn’t want to come off like a stalker, trying to convince a big star that you used to be good friends!!!
Comedy’s reigning Queen, Caroline Hirsch and comedy legend Rick (Catch a Rising Star) Newman, who really are
old friends of mine, both sponsored the party, and Belzer was there along with Robert Klein, and Charles Grodin.
Comedy’s reigning Queen, Caroline Hirsch and comedy legend Rick (Catch a Rising Star) Newman, who really are
old friends of mine, both sponsored the party, and Belzer was there along with Robert Klein, and Charles Grodin.
| Now I had been a fan of Charles Grodin for so long, and had always wanted to meet him, but up until that night, I never got the chance. Just because everything in life is about the timing, as I walked into the Time Warner building that evening, right there in the lobby, standing directly in front of me was my good friend, Marion Grodin with her father, Charles. Marion saw me first, and before I even tried to figure out what to say to meet her Dad, she yelled out , “ Dad, you MUST meet Jeffrey Gurian, a dear friend of mine.” The next thing I knew I was meeting Charles Grodin in the most comfortable, and natural way possible. He had just been told that he HAD to meet me by his own sweet daughter. The two of them have such a great relationship. Anyway, we got to be fast friends, and after he expressed some good-natured jealousy about both my hair, and the girl I was with, I got to hang out with him, and joke around for a while. |
| Comedy legend Charles Grodin and Jeffrey at the party |
| We actually got to have a conversation about beards, one of my favorite party topics, and when I told him I was doing a film about beards, because I tend to write about facial hair, he one-upped me with some strangeness of his own. And he did it easily, with no effort on his part at all! We also took some cool photos, and then he told me the great story of how he met Marion’s Mom in an acting class, and what an amazingly beautiful relationship they had. He even promised to send me something that he wanted me to read. Whether he does or not doesn’t matter, ‘cause I got to hang out with Charles Grodin, and how cool is that? In the packed room, I also ran into my buddy Adam Ferrara who was very excited about his new film “Definitely,Maybe” with Kevin Kline, Rachel Weisz, and Isla Fisher, Sasha Baron Cohen’s other half. |
| Jeffrey with comedy star Adam Ferrara, and his new pink tie. |
| Re-Connecting With Seinfeld |
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