TV Jots

Comedy Vet Talks Up His Latest TV Gig

Yale graduate, In Living Color alum, and Chocolate News creator David Alan Grier is heading back to the tube tonight, June 28, to host a TBS standup-comedy special called David Alan Grier: Comedy You Can Believe In.

The program is part of the cable network’s A “Very Funny” Festival: Just for Laughs, a series of comedy events that were filmed around Chicago from June 17 to 21 and that are currently airing in hourlong presentations hosted by well-known comedy veterans.

Former Saturday Night Live player Martin Short got things off to a rousing start on Friday, followed by daytime talker Ellen DeGeneres on Saturday, and now, tonight, Grier. Like the others, the third presentation features a number of talented comics doing their thing to make viewers laugh, such as Grier’s old friend Mark Curry from the 1992–1997 ABC sitcom Hangin’ with Mr. Cooper and former Last Comic Standing competitor Ralph Harris.

I had the chance to throw a few questions Grier’s way during an interview in support of the special. The bulk of the Q&A is live at the comedy-TV website Comedy Centric, with a teaser below to whet your appetite and motivate you to click on over for the rest of the goods. And don’t forget to check out David Alan Grier: Comedy You Can Believe In on TBS at 10pm ET tonight when you’re all done.

Did training in Shakespeare at Yale in any way help you prepare for the type of comedy you do now?

DAVID ALAN GRIER: I’m going to say yes and no. Probably yes when I’m having a really bad night where you just have to persevere and keep going. Did it help me? Yeah. I think so. I never imagined my career would go through the travails that it has.

I mean, there was a point where my goal was to be like in the chorus of a Bus Set truck production of a play because I thought, “Wow, what fun.” You ride in a bus across the country with other actors and you act every night. So, thankfully my goals were a lot higher than that, but I feel like I’ve had a great career.

Well, you are classically trained. You went to Yale. And I know that you want to do more drama, so I’m curious about The Nation.

DAVID ALAN GRIER: Okay, look. People ask me about that, the Wikipedia thing [Wikipedia states without citing a source that Grier is set to play controversial Nation of Islam figure Louis Farrakhan in a musical, then quotes the following remark attributed to Grier: "It has always been a dream of mine to take the controversy filled life of Minister Farrakhan and incorporate song and intricate dance routines. I really feel this could be my career defining role"]. The best I can gather is I was making a joke that someone put in there as verbatim.

That’s hilarious.

DAVID ALAN GRIER: Read it. It is material. Come on. Everybody tells me about The Nation, the Louis Farrakhan musical, because I was trying to think of something bizarre that would never actually happen, and now by way of the Internet, people actually think I am doing it.

It might need to happen now.

DAVID ALAN GRIER: Yes. Yes it might. Yes. Exactly. I’m backed into yet another interesting project.