Monday
Guest Host: Scott Potasnik
Scott Potasnik’s adventures as a “Sexpert” started early, when, at age 23, he was hired as the fresh-faced young host and senior producer of Playboy TV’s hit series Sexcetera. For the next seven years, Scott traveled the globe reporting on every bizarre aspect of human sexuality known to man. From folks who have sex with balloons (“Looners”), to the underground brothels of Brazil, to the world’s largest outdoor swinger’s campout, “Swingstock,” all the way to Tokyo’s massive fetish party, “Torture Garden,” Scott has seen it all. And today, he is known as the go-to-guy when it comes exploring the comedic side of human sexuality. Scott on Facebook and twitter.
Louie Anderson
Louie Anderson is one of the most versatile and successful comedians working in Hollywood today,
loved by the television audiences who never missed his nightly hit series “Family Feud” or his
appearances on late night chat shows. He is adored by standing-room-only crowds in Las Vegas and respected by readers of his books. He is worshiped by the rising comics he mentors and encourages with his honesty and wisdom.
Sharing the ups and downs of his childhood experiences as one of eleven children in Minnesota, Louie crafted comedy routines that rang true for his early club audiences while reducing them to helpless fits of laughter, routines that led him from his career as a counselor to troubled children to the first-place trophy at the 1981 Midwest Comedy Competition. Henny Youngman, who hosted the competition, recognized the diamond-in-the-rough genius of the young comic and hired him as a writer, providing invaluable experience that soon put Louie in his own spotlight on comedy stages all over the country.Johnny Carson, the comedy icon for generations of rising stars, invited Louie to make his national television debut on the “The Tonight Show” in 1984, and the rest is history. Leno, Letterman, “Comic Relief” and Showtime and HBO specials followed, making Louie a household name and opening doors for him as an actor. He has guest-starred in sitcoms like “Grace Under Fire” and dramas like “Touched by an Angel” and “Chicago Hope,” and he has had memorable featured roles in film comedies like “Coming to America,” opposite of Eddie Murphy, and the classic “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off.” He is also host of the hilarious “Comedy Showcase,” the late-night series that follows “Saturday Night Live.”
In 1995 Louie put his creative energies to work on the Saturday morning animated series “Life with
Louie.” The long-running series based on Louie’s own childhood and his life with his father won three Humanitas Prizes for writing on a childrens’ animated series, making him the only three-time recipient of this award. It also earned a Genesis Award for its depiction of the proper treatment of animals and, most significantly, two Emmy Awards.
His best selling books include Dear Dad – Letters From An Adult Child, a collection of alternately touching and outrageous letters from Louie to his late father, and Good-bye Jumbo…Hello Cruel World, self-help for those who struggle with self-esteem issues, as only an award-winning comedian could write it. Louie recently finished writing his newest installment on family,THE F WORD, HOW TO SURVIVE YOUR FAMILY. Now, Louie is traveling the States doing what Louie loves to do, Stand Up Comedy. Louie again delivers to his fans his inimitable brand of humor and warmth. Visit his website here. Follow him on twitter.
Maury Povich
Maury Povich is the only television personality to have had three consecutive successful syndicated shows, beginning with the groundbreaking Fox tabloid news magazine A Current Affair (1986-1990), Paramount’s The Maury Povich Show (1991-1998), and NBCUniversal’s Maury (1998-present), now entering its 18th season. Maury is the number one syndicated talk show among all women, adults and men, ages 18-34-years-old and women, adults and men, ages 18-49 years old.
Povich began his career in broadcast journalism in radio 50 years ago as a street reporter in his native Washington, D.C. He quickly shifted to covering news, talk and sports shows on WTTG-TV, a local Metromedia station.
During the tumultuous 1960’s and ‘70’s, he hosted a daily two-hour live news talk show titled Panorama, covering events such as the aftermath of the assassination of JFK, the riots in Washington following the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr., anti-war demonstrations during the Vietnam War and the historic events of Watergate. For those working on Capitol Hill and in the White House during that time, Panorama was a television staple, covering all major news events long before the advent of 24-hour cable news networks.
After 15 years, Povich ended his run with Panorama and left D.C. Over the next seven years, he anchored newscasts for ABC, CBS and NBC owned-and-operated television stations in Chicago, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Philadelphia.
While working at the CBS affiliate in Los Angeles, Povich co-anchored the news with his then wife-to-be Connie Chung, whom he married in 1984.
He returned to D.C.’s WTTG-TV in 1983 to again host Panorama, as well as the station’s 10 o’clock news but in 1985, the Metromedia group was sold to Rupert Murdoch, becoming Fox Television.
Murdoch brought Povich to New York to help create and host the news magazine A Current Affair, which launched in 1986, becoming an instant hit, and forever changing the news gathering habits of television news programs.
Povich left A Current Affair in 1991 to host his own nationally syndicated talk show, Paramount’s The Maury Povich Show; when the show transitioned from Paramount to what is now NBCUniversal in 1998, the title was shortened to the more informal Maury, now in its 17th year.
He served two consecutive terms as president of the New York Chapter of the National Television Academy (NTA)–previous presidents of the NTA New York Chapter include such luminaries as Ed Sullivan and Walter Cronkite.
In March 2006, Povich’s wife Connie Chung presented her husband with the prestigious Governor’s Award from the New York Chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (NATAS), for his distinguished service to the Academy and his exceptional contributions to the television industry spanning his 40 year career. The award is given to individuals, companies or organizations that have made a substantial impact and demonstrated the extraordinary use of television.
In 2011, he made a $1 million gift to his alma mater, University of Pennsylvania, specifically to the school’s Kelly Writers House, to establish the Povich Fund for Journalism Programs. The gift supports seminars, workshops, presentations, talks and symposia in journalistic nonfiction writing. The Povich Fund is the second gift he has made in support of journalism at the university–in 2006, he established the Povich Writer-in-Residence, which allowed the school to add advanced journalism classes to their writing curriculum.
He and Chung launched a newspaper in 2007 called the Flathead-Beacon, in Flathead Valley, Montana, where they own a home. The publication is available online daily and 50,000 copies are printed and distributed weekly.
Journalism runs in Povich’s family: his mother was legendary Washington Post sports columnist Shirley Povich who worked at the paper for 75 years. His sister Lynn was a senior editor at Newsweek and also served as editor-in-chief of Working Woman magazine for five years before joining MSNBC. His brother David is a senior law partner at Washington law firm Williams and Connolly.
In his spare time Povich is an avid golfer with a 2.4 handicap and he competes frequently in U.S. Senior amateur golf tournaments.
Povich has been married to broadcast journalist Connie Chung for almost 30 years and resides in Manhattan with their 17-year-old son, Matthew. He also has two grown daughters from an earlier marriage and is the grandfather of four children. Follow him on twitter. Visit his website.
Tuesday
Pat McAfee
Pat McAfee is Number 1 on the field as the punter for the Colts, and he is number one in the hearts of sports fans in Indianapolis. Well, at least he’s in the top 10. Drafted in 2009 out of West Virginia University, McAfee has not only been an important part of the Colts specials teams (and emergency QB if needed), he’s also become one of the faces of the franchise off the field. Follow Pat on twitter. Check out the Pat McAfee Foundation.
Mike Birbiglia
Mike Birbiglia is not only a popular and successful stand-up comedian, he’s also starred in the one-man off-Broadway shows “Sleepwalk With Me” and “My Girlfriend’s Boyfriend,” is the author of the book, “ Sleepwalk With Me And Other Painfully True Stories,” and wrote, starred in and directed the film Sleepwalk with Me (which was based on his one-man-show, which in turn was based on his real life experiences). The film received much critical acclaim and also won the the Best Of NEXT audience award at the Sundance Film Festival. Mike is currently back out on tour. You can follow Mike on twitter and facebook. Visit his website here. (Photo Credit: Brian Friedman)
Wednesday
John Feinstein
He’s a columnist for the Washington Post, Golf World and Golf Digest. He also hosts a daily radio show on the CBS Sports Radio Network, is a contributor to the Golf Channel, and is an essayist for CBS Sports Television. http://feinstein.radio.cbssports.com/
Tim Bedore
For longer than we can remember comedian Tim Bedore has been calling in or stopping by to deliver an editorial in which he talks about whatever happens to be on his mind. These musings can range from his relationship with his daughter, to hot topics in the news, and even updates on how the animal kingdom is waging war on mankind. From the Animal Conspiracy to his daughter Claire, Tim takes us inside his mind, and with the help of a few sound effects, puts together one of our favorite features. Follow Tim on Facebook. Visit his website here.
Josh Kaufman
Josh Kaufman is the season 6 winner of the NBC show The Voice. He grew up in Florida, went to high school in Virginia, and now lives in Indianapolis, Indiana with his wife and three kids. His music is based in soul, funk, rock, and jazz. His musical influences include Stevie Wonder, Prince, D’Angelo, Lenny Kravitz, Jamie Lidell, Marvin Gaye, Take 6, Bill Withers, Miles Davis, Chet Baker, Chris Cornell, and Jeff Buckley. In addition to solo projects he also fronts a band called The New Etiquette. Visit his website. Follow him on twitter.
Thursday
Alli Breen
Alli Breen is a stand up comic who is originally from Boston and now lives in Los Angeles. Alli started comedy in NYC, and then eventually moved out west where she quickly integrated into the comedy scene, became obsessed with surfing, and decided to stay.
Alli has appeared on the Kate Flannery’s “Stand Up in Stilettos” on the TV Guide network, and been a part of comedy festivals all across the US. In 2011 she won the Laughing Stock Comedy Festival in Salt Lake City. Alli has also performed abroad in place such as London, Canada and Hong Kong, as well as a tour of Japan where she visited five different bases entertaining our troops. Follow Alli on twitter, and visit her website here.
Josh Sneed
Out of college Josh went to work in his hometown of Cincinnati for Procter & Gamble as a Systems Analyst. After 3.5 years of doing a little bit of actual work and a lot of holding court at the water cooler, Josh decided to pursue his passion of standup comedy. His first time on stage was at his local club Go Bananas and he never looked back.
In 2004, Josh performed at the prestigious “Just For Laughs” Comedy Festival in Montreal and made his television debut on Comedy Central’s “Premium Blend”. In 2007, Josh was chosen by Comedy Central to perform in their inaugural South Beach Comedy Festival. Later that year, Josh filmed his 30- minute stand-up special, “Comedy Central Presents: Josh Sneed”. In 2008, Josh finished 2nd out of 100 of Comedy Central’s top comedians in the Annual Stand-up Showdown Competition, and released an album on Comedy Central Records called “Unacceptable”, which iTunes selected as one of the Top 10 comedy albums released. In 2009, Josh garnered praise from Punchline Magazine for his performance at the Aspen Comedy Festival. He is a favorite of the nationally syndicated “The Bob & Tom Show”, and receives regular airplay on Sirius/XM radio. Follow him on twitter. Visit his website here.
Johnny Beehner
Johnny Beehner puts on a very funny show. That’s all there is to it. He has been performing stand up comedy since 1999. He can be heard on XM/ Sirius Satellite radio, he’s been on the Bob and Tom nationally syndicated radio show multiple times, and he is constantly traveling from city to city across the country making people laugh.
Johnny started his comedy career putting on his own shows in Milwaukee during his college years. He spent the summers between school years pounding the pavement in the comedy world of New York City, then Los Angeles.
With a strong background in improvisational theater throughout all of college, including training at Chicago’s prestigious Second City, Johnny brings a very unique show to the stage. His shows have been described as “silly,” “smart,” “fun,” and “hilarious.” Johnny centers himself as the butt of most of his jokes with tales of growing up an awkward, tall, skinny middle child in a huge family. Whether it’s at a college, a private event, or a comedy club, Johnny’s clean and clever style of comedy is sure to keep the audience laughing. Follow him on twitter. Visit his website here.
Friday
Adam Newman
Adam Newman is a New Hampshire-born, Georgia-schooled, Brooklyn-based comedian who has appeared on the Late Show with David Letterman, John Oliver’s New York Stand-Up Show, and his own Half Hour special on Comedy Central. He was among Comedy Central’s first class of “Comics to Watch” to perform at the New York Comedy Festival, and was invited to the prestigious Just for Laughs Comedy Festival in Montreal as a “New Face,” then again to perform on HBO Canada’s “Funny as Hell.” Adam’s debut stand-up CD,Not for Horses, was released by Rooftop Comedy to critical acclaim, and his TV appearances include MTV’s The CollegeHumor Show, HBO’s Last Week Tonight, various talking head shows, and the Tyra Banks Show (weird!). Follow him on twitter. Visit his website here.
