TWITTERVIEW: Greg Fitzsimmons
Greg Fitzsimmons has been a writer for such acts as Cedric the Entertainer, the Wanda Sykes Show & the Ellen Degeneres Show to name but a few. He has been touring on the road for 20 years & has one of the more successful podcasts on i-Tunes. This fall he’ll make his first foray into the world of authorship as his book Dear Mrs. Fitzsimmons is already burning up the Amazon pre-sales.
I have been a frequent critic of Fitzsimmons, while remaining a huge fan, mainly because I have felt he’s sat on his talent. It’s rare that people as funny as Greg come along & yet he still isn’t a household name like he should be. Perhaps, that is by design as it is extremely difficult to have any kind of normal life & still be recognizable. He’s like a great Indie band that plays together forever & still not everyone knows them, see: The Pixies, Sonic Youth, Ryan Adams.
He has been outspoken about his past addiction to alcohol & his current use of prescription medication to deal with ADD & Depression. His life is an open book to all that listen to the Fitz Dog Radio Podcast & that is an indication of the style that he, like fellow comedian Louis C.K., convey. Perhaps, he isn’t as famous as many others, but as you will come to find out he is much more relevant than just about any other comedian out there.
It was my privilege to have Greg agree to the Twitterview & while his answers were a bit snarky & succinct they still convey a seriousness behind the comedian.
Me: You seem to have the only show/podcast out there that talks about the actual craft of comedy in a serious way. Are you trying to convey a realistic view of what it is actually like to be an “On the road constantly” comedian?
Greg: I’m on the road about 25 weekends a yr. Any less I don’t grow. Any more I start believing I am Henny Youngman.
Me: You’re the guy that makes people funny, having written for Louis CK, Cedric the Entertainer, Ellen Degeneres & Wanda Sykes to name a few, yet super stardom has eluded you. Is that by design so that you can have some semblance of a normal life or is there an uncomfortability that comes with being in front of a camera that makes you more inclined to write?
Greg: I wasn’t aware that stardom was my goal. I was just trying to be a good comedian. Stardom seems kind of lame.
Me: You speak quite frankly about your past addiction to alcohol. Being an Irish/Catholic, New Yorker do you feel that it is just a way of life there or do u feel people have their own choices? Kind of a nature vs. nurture ques. It seems like many comedians suffer from substance abuse is that a product of the road.
Greg: There’s never been a strategy; just mindlessly scrambling in an Irish rage. So far so good.
Again check out Greg’s website here & presales of his book are here. Follow me on Twitter & Facebook for regular updates & lively discussion.
