Judd: The Tonight Show was taking a major chance with you, because you’re not really in the public eye. It’s a big chance to put someone like you on there, as far as ratings go. Someone turns the TV on and sees you behind the desk—
Garry: They were smart. Ratings-wise, they know I’m not going to get any ratings. But they were smart because they slipped me in when Albert Brooks had dropped out. The night before, they didn’t even mention that I was going to be guest-hosting, so everybody who tuned in assumed it was Albert Brooks. And then I’m sure, out of curiosity, they watched for a while. I think, in their minds, they were taking a risk putting me in there. But I had pretty much proven that I was strong and in control of what I do. I think they felt that I could do it, and I think they were more than satisfied with how I did. It was exciting. It was very emotional.
Judd: So you’re working bigger rooms these days. You’re in Tahoe right now, right?
Garry: I’m in Tahoe, opening for Tony Orlando. But I’ve been doing big rooms for about two years.
Judd: And how does that compare to, you know, playing clubs in Los Angeles?
Garry: It’s very different. For one thing, it depends who you’re opening for and what kind of crowd they draw. Sometimes in these big rooms—like Reno, or Tahoe, or Vegas—they draw an older audience that’s totally unlike what you find in a comedy club, which is generally younger, and a little hipper. So you work it differently. You have to work it in a broader, more commercial way. I have to take out most of my hip material. And some of my singles material has to go because it’s been so long since some of these people have been single, they just don’t relate to it.
Judd: How would you describe your type of humor?
Garry: Oh man, I can’t see it objectively.
Judd: It’s not that conventional. It’s ideas and thoughts with observation. Some comedians now, they’re just doing straight observational humor. But your act has a whole new dimension to it.
Garry: You should tell me what you think it is, because I’m always curious how people see it from the outside.
Judd: That’s how I see it from the outside—you know, it’s like your ideas on things, and I think it’s great, just—
Garry: The most important thing a comic can do is write from his insides. As cliché as that sounds, a lot of comics start out thinking that they just should write something funny. Which is not the answer. You have to write from personal experience. What you see on the stage is really how I am when I’m funny.
Judd: Like with your friends?
Garry: I can’t see how it’s different. All I know is when I watch, I go, Yeah, that’s Garry. I write about my life, and then I exaggerate it because I do like to write jokes. You know, I was a comedy writer before I was a comedian.
Judd: Who did you write for?
Garry: I wrote for Sanford and Son; Welcome Back, Kotter; and The Harvey Korman Show. I wrote for about six sitcoms before I decided to do stand-up. So I have an ability to write jokes, which I like to do. Every now and then, I’ll be writing about my life and I’ll just think about a joke, and it’s really just purely a joke.
Judd: What would be an example of how a piece of material developed?
Garry: I’ll tell you an interesting story—I mean, this is unlike other material of mine. I do this joke in my act: I say, “I’ve heard every excuse for a woman not going to bed with me. I think I’ve heard them all. I remember this one girl actually said to me, ‘Look, not with this Falkland Islands thing.’ ”
Judd: (Laughs)
Garry: “And I said, ‘That was over a year ago!’ And she said, ‘I still haven’t gotten over it yet.’ And I said, ‘Well, I can understand that, Mrs. Thatcher.’ ”
Judd: (Laughs)
Garry: I could tell you about the derivation of so many jokes. Because some of them take a year—literally—from the time I get an idea to the time I get the line exactly right. With the Falkland Islands joke, I originally wrote a joke where I would come out and say, “Boy, I’m just not meeting any women. I don’t know if it’s this Falkland Islands thing or what.”
Judd: (Laughs)
Garry: And then, as time went by, I changed it to “I’ve heard every excuse for a woman not going to bed with me. I remember this one girl said, ‘Not with this Falkland Islands thing.’ ” Which is a little more hip, and gets a laugh. And I was telling David Brenner that joke, and he said, “At that point, you oughta say, ‘That was over a year ago,’ because that’s funnier.” And then I added, “Well, she still hasn’t gotten over it yet.” The Thatcher line came later. So it just kind of kept going, you know.
Judd: Can you tell me about another one?
Garry: Okay, there’s one I’m working on now. I actually did this joke on The Tonight Show, but in a different way. It’s just a stupid joke, really. But I said, “I went to a health food store recently and I’ve been taking bee pollen. Bumble bee pollen. It’s supposed to increase your lovemaking stamina. So I’ve been taking about two thousand milligrams of bee pollen a day and, ah, the other night I woke up in the middle of the night and started to fling myself against the screen door.”
Judd: (Laughs)
Garry: “And I started to shout: ‘Someone turn off the porch light!’ ” And it’s interesting, because I don’t know yet how this joke is ultimately going to evolve. I actually did this joke on The Tonight Show where I just said, “I took two thousand milligrams of bee pollen, and now I’m afraid that when I make love, I’m going to die right afterward.”
Judd: Yeah.
Garry: Because that’s what bees do. And then I said, “Or I’ll wake up the next morning, and I’ll be flinging myself against the screen door.” And then I added the part about “turn off the porch light,” which I think paints the picture of what bees do—which is go for the light, you know.
Judd: That is really great. When did this all begin, this interest in comedy?
Garry: When I was a kid. I had a total interest in comedians when I was ten years old.
Judd: Who were the comedians that you idolized?
Garry: Woody Allen is my idol, period. I mean, I think he’s as funny as you can get. Others? I like a lot of people. Mort Sahl. He is hip and funny. Dick Shawn, Johnny Carson. I think he’s underrated in a way. I think he’s a really funny man.
Judd: Did you ever see Woody Allen work live in a club?
Garry: No. I grew up in Tucson, Arizona, where there’s just nothing. I’d only seen comedians on TV. But my folks started going to Vegas when I was like thirteen, fourteen, fifteen, and I saw Joey Bishop and people like that there. And I actually remember knowing some of his jokes before he delivered them, and thinking, Oh man, he’s doing old jokes. So it was always an instinct for me. But to answer your question there, I didn’t see a real comedian in a club until I was like twenty. I went to see George Carlin, who I’m just a major fan of.
Judd: Who isn’t?
Garry: And it’s really a wonderful story. The first time I ever wrote any comedy material, I was nineteen. George Carlin was working in a club in Phoenix. This is when he had just let his hair grow long and he was starting to do honest material about his life and stuff. And I met him and I asked him to read my material, and to tell me what he thought. And he read my material. He was so supportive. He said, “I don’t buy material, I write all my own material.” But he gave me a lot of feedback and encouragement. Then, ten years later, I met George again and was able to thank him for that moment. He’s a wonderful guy.