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Comedian Tony
Tripoli
Have
You 'Sh*t' Your Pants Lately?
By Troy Maillis
Mark's List VIP
Offer
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Saturday evening's 9 PM
performance - mention
Mark's List VIP when
ordering tickets and
anyone who pre-books
the show will receive a
complementary glass of
wine or a beer and Tony
will be available for a
meet and greet in the
theater immediately
following the show.
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Buy Tickets Now |
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Price: $20 |
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(954) 647-2409 |
23 NW 5th St.
Fort Lauderdale, Fl. |
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Show Times |
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Friday, Dec. 17th - 8 p.m. |
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Saturday, Dec. 18th - 7 & 9 p.m. |
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Sunday, Dec. 19th - 7 p.m. |
Comedian/Actor Tony Tripoli, who has
shared on-screen laughs with household firecrackers such
as Kathy Griffin, Charlie Sheen and Bo Derek, is
everything you want in a comedian and more. And he will
make sure you know it! Andrews Living Arts and
4 The Sea Productions present “Tony Tripoli: I Sh*t
My Pants!” (An Evening of Sophisticated Stand-Up) from
December 17-19 in
Fort Lauderdale. In addition to stand up he
currently writes jokes for “Fashion Police” with Joan
Rivers. Tony joked with Mark Magazine about his upcoming
show and why you will ‘sh*t’ your pants.
MARK: You have a show coming up in Fort Lauderdale next
week. Can you talk about the show and what we can
expect?
TONY: I am very excited. It’s going to be a really fun
time. The show is called “Tony Tripoli: I Sh*t My
Pants!” It’s practically and operetta. It’s just
embarrassing, true tales of disasters happening in my
life. I will say things that are so shocking and so
‘inside’ Hollywood. It’s my story of a single 40 year
old gay guy living in West Hollywood.
When did you know that comedy was your thing? Was it
something that you always knew you wanted to do or did
it just happen?
I think it happened in a way similar to a lot of other
comics. I was always a pain in the ass and I just found
a way to make money off of it. One of the things that’s
wonderful about me is I have opinions about everything
regardless of whether I know anything about that topic.
Since I was little, I have always been a mouthy person.
I was that kid in the grocery store who would see a
handicapped person and yell, “Hey look at that retarded
person.” Basically I’m still doing that. Now it’s just
my job.
 Have
you always been an openly gay comedian & actor? Were
there any obstacles as a result?
I’ve always been completely openly gay and out of the
closet. Let’s be honest, I didn’t have a lot of other
choices. From across the room no one is going to think
I’m a lumberjack. My television agents know not to
submit me for any commercials or sitcoms unless the role
is a gay role. With straight roles, I spend the whole
time trying not to “walk that way” or “talk that way”
and it takes all the fun out of it. There is a lot of
bullshit you have to go through to actually get to
perform, but once you are finally performing that’s the
good part. So to do something that will take the fun out
of it— why would you do that to yourself?
Do you think that it is possible for gay actors to pull
of straight roles believably?
Of course. You just have to be different than me— you
have to be talented. If the actor is actually good, then
that’s the job to pretend to be things that you are not.
Whether it’s a murderer or a straight married person [to
me those are one in the same]; A sociopath or a
heterosexual [same damn difference]. I’m not going be
able to convincingly play either; I’m not very good at.
I stick to what I know best—complaining.
 What
has it been like working with Kathy Griffin and Joan
Rivers? Have they taught you a lot in your own career?
Kathy Griffin and I worked together and were best
friends for about 10 years. There were times we would
sit around and watch television and throw jokes around.
I would eventually hear some of the jokes when she would
perform, and I would remember back to when that funny
joke or story was created in the room. It was thrilling.
That was enough for me, and I never thought I would do
stand-up myself; but my mom kept insisting that I should
do it. I eventually did one night of stand-up at a
benefit just so I could call my mother and say, “Look,
I’m finally going to do stand-up.” My whole family flew
in to watch me tell my story, and I thought that would
be it. But when I walked off stage that night, I thought
that it was the most fun I’d ever had. When you are
doing stand-up, an editor, director, writer or producer
can’t come in a change anything and take out the parts
you like. You as the stand-up comedian becomes all of
those roles. That kind of control is thrilling for
someone who is pushy like me. It was the greatest thing.
I hate to admit it, but my mother was right. I’ve been
doing stand-up ever since.
How does it work on a show like “Fashion Police,” and
what other projects are you working on moving into 2011?
With “Fashion Police” it’s a conversation between four
people: Giuliana Rancic, George Kotsiopoulos, Kelly
Osbourne and comedy legend Joan Rivers. It’s like Joan
is hosting a little cocktail party. There are a few of
us who write jokes for Joan the night before the show.
We all sit around and laugh and laugh and laugh; and
Joan laughs harder than anyone. Joan and I eventually go
through the jokes and rank them based on what that show
has time for. While the show is happening, I help guide
her on how many jokes she can tell. One of the most
amazing things I can tell you about Joan is that she is
one the most generous audience members. She absolutely
wants to be knocked off of her chair with laughter. She
loves when someone else is on a roll and being
hilarious. She’s a delight in every possible way. I have
big plans with Joan for 2011 and will be opening for her
on the road.
You can check out
tonytripoli.com for all
of the details. |
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