Worth Staying Home on a Friday Night
"George Lopez," the hit comedy series created by longtime friend of the show and brilliant comedic mind George Lopez, is the lead-in program for ABC's new TGIF lineup. George's show has become such a huge hit with fans in just its first two seasons that it was moved to anchor this legendary night of TV sitcoms. "George Lopez" is a comedy that's not just laugh-out-loud funny, it's also got a "real life" aspect to it... partially because many of the situations are ripped right from George's life. This week, George and a few of his buddies set out to sea to rescue his wife's uncle, who has escaped by raft from Cuba while at the same time his son throws himself a birthday party.

Know Thy Elf
Mary Steenburgen, talented actress of both television and film stars as Emily, the step-mother of Will Ferrell in the new holiday classic, Elf. A lover of art, and wife to Sam Malone and Becker (both of whom are also known as Ted Danson), Steenburgen has made a career out of redefining herself in challenging roles in powerful movies including Philadelphia, What’s Eating Gilbert Grape, I am Sam and Melvin and Howard (for which she won an Academy Award). Though Elf is a bit lighter than many of the other films she’s appeared in, Steenburgen is no stranger to comedy; having played roles in Parenthood, Back to the Future III and others. Elf scored big with audiences at the box-office in its opening weekend, and it looks as though will be doing so throughout the holiday season

The Fat Cat of Christmas
For over 25 years, no animated feline has captured the hearts of Americans like the lasagna loving, Odie hating, fat cat. Garfield. Over the years he’s starred in weekly comic strips, animated cartoons, calendars, posters, windows of cars, and even has an upcoming live action feature film in the works. The man behind this classic character is cartoonist Jim Davis, and though he may not do all the art for the cartoon, he keeps busy running the empire that grew up around the comic. Garfield has branched out into other many mediums, but his roots remain in his strips and books. Recently, many of his adventures were compiled into a huge 25th anniversary collection called In Dog Years I’d Be Dead. But don't think he’s not ready to retire yet. Our favorite feline has got a brand new holiday book entitled Season’s Eatings: A Very Merry Garfield Christmas available in bookstores now. Comic strip Courtesy of Paws, Inc. and Universal Press Syndicate

You Think You Hate Him Now, But Just Wait Till He Calls In
Comedian Jimmy Pardo commands respect, and maybe some day he’ll get it. Even though he’s a well-accomplished standup comic with a number of impressive credentials on his resume, Jimmy still feels like we don’t always give him the love he deserves. Perhaps all that will change now that Jimmy’s joined the ranks of game show legends Bob Barker, Dick Clark, and Bob Eubanks by hosting the hilarious game show, National Lampoon’s Funny Money. Pardo was a natural selection to host this standup comedy themed program due to his unmatched razor-sharp wit, crowd control abilities and most importantly, rugged good looks. It's his job to keep the guest comedians in line, and help them earn money for contestants by making people laugh. Funny Money airs on the Game Show Network.

Always Looking Out of Place
Gary Owen has had a history of looking out of place. From his time in the Navy, to his hosting gigs on Black Entertainment Television, Owen’s image never fit well with his surroundings, but he has always managed to make it work. As a Naval Officer, Owen was selected for the Presidential Honor Guard but often got in trouble for smiling too often. As a cop he was too much of a pushover, so much so that he only managed two arrests in three years (nowhere close to quota). And when he finally found his calling in standup comedy, the only place he could get any gigs was in “urban” nightclubs. So how did a suburban white guy become the highest rated host on BET’s “Comic View”? Owen says it’s by being honest with his comedy, and not being afraid to tackle issues, black or white.

His Name is Kiiiiiiiiid, Kid Rock
Kid Rock is a man you can’t easily put a label on. He doesn’t fit nicely into any specific music genre, which may be why he’s been able to stay on top of the music scene since his debut album in 1998. In the beginning his sounds ranged from rock to hip hop and even a little bit of rap, but with each successive radio and album release his sound would change. While the fans of his music were always guessing what type of tune he’d put out next, they never stopped buying his music. Mr. Rock’s repertoire has expanded over the past few years to include a more classic rock sound, and even a little bit of country which is very evident in his big smash hit duet with Sheryl Crow, Picture. On his new self-titled album Kid Rock, Kid covers a few of his old time favorites including "Against the Wind" and "Feel Like Makin’ Love," and displays his best and most emotional songwriting to date. But don’t let that fool you, the American Badass still rocks hard on every track.

Emo Philips
Has a Screw Loose
To call Emo Philips odd would be a huge understatement. He's traded in his dutch-boy haircut for one that's a bit taller, but his skills in joke telling hasn't changed a bit... neither has that voice. A master of misdirection, you never quite know where Emo is going until he gets there. When he starts spouting off one liners like “I woke up with a bloody nose this morning, and I wondered how it got into bed with me,” you begin to wonder just how messed up his mind really is. You can find Emo's CDs at www.laugh.com!

FACTOID – The Original screenplay for "Meet The Parents" was written by Emo Philips.

FACTOID – Emo Philips was in the movie "UHF" with "Weird" Al Yankovic.

Triumph the Insult
Comic Dog
Any Fan of "Late Night with Conan O’Brien" or "Saturday Night Live" is already familiar with Robert Smigel’s work, though you may not know it. He’s usually one for staying behind the scenes in his role as a writer. Smigel has been a writer for SNL since 1985 (their longest running writer), and during his tenure there created memorable characters like the Bears' Superfans and the very popular TV Funhouse animated features. However, it was on Late Night where his most famous creation was born, Triumph the Insult Comic Dog. Triumph was notorious for his extremely quick wit and relentless wisecracks on celebrities and pop culture. Triumph has appeared on Hollywood Squares, MTV’s Video Music Awards and was even sued at by pets.com for insulting their sock-puppet spokesman. Much of Triumph’s best work was compiled for the closer on Conan’s 10 year special a few weeks back. If you weren’t able to catch it, or you just can’t get enough of the cigar chomping, hat wearing, poop-loving dog, check out his brand new CD Come Poop With Me.

The Business of Comedy
While trying to put himself through Colgate University, a young Mark Klein decided the best way to pick up some extra cash was to perform a little standup comedy on the side. Little did he know it would turn into a full-fledged career… putting that English major to good use. To earn a living, Mark knew he was going to have to use his business sense and work ethic to make it work as a career. In doing so, he felt his fast speaking, easy to follow, pro business comedy would be best suited to those folks who could most appreciate it, business people. Though Klein now spends the majority of his time working large company functions and performing for CEO's he still finds time in his busy schedule to hit up the occasional comedy club or nationally syndicated morning show.

The NFL Song - Week 10
We're now into the double digit weeks of this 2003 NFL season which means the Super Bowl is in site. Even though there's still plenty of football left to be played, many teams can smell the playoffs which means the action is about to heat up. Week 10 was full of underdog surprises as many of the favorites fell to teams playing for nothing more than pride. The Colts and Packers we're beat on last minute drives by the Jags and Eagles. Chick's 'Skins finally got another W against the first place Seahawks, and the Vikings lost their third straight against the Flutie led Chargers. If you weren't able to catch all the games, you're in luck. There's no better way to rewind all the action of the weekend than with Duke Tumatoe's popular, bluesy musical review, The NFL Song. So don't you dare miss it, or else we might replay the entire Bears vs. Lions game.

Nothing Better
Than a Little Willie
in The Morning
Country singer and professional hippie Willie Nelson has had a career that stretches back over 40 years. During that span he’s been a popular singer and songwriter, actor, elder statesman of country music and of course, pop-culture icon. Though he began writing songs professionally in the early sixties, scoring hits for Patsy Cline and Bill Walker like “Crazy” and “Funny How Time Slips Away” it wasn’t until his Red Headed Stranger album was released that his unique sound and talent as a singer made him a star. Along with Waylon Jennings, Willie found himself at the forefront of what was called “the outlaw movement,” but he wasn’t content to remain in that genre. Nelson became the king of the concept albums; releasing projects containing blues, jazz, gospel, live, Christmas, as well as country tunes. Since his early days in music, Nelson’s released albums at a phenomenal rate. Now well into his sixties, Willie’s pace hasn’t slowed a bit. Click here to order his two newest releases Willie Nelson's Classic Country Christmas and Farther Along.

Illustration by Jordan Ward

John Favreau
Directs the New
Christmas Classic
Actor/director John Favreau first made a name for himself with the hipster comedy Swingers, where he and Vince Vaughn were on a constant hunt for beautiful babies (AKA women.) In his newest feature film there is also a search, but this time it’s the hysterically funny Will Ferrell searching for his parents in the holiday comedy Elf. Along with his directing credits, Favreau has been adding his resume as well including roles in Daredevil, Deep Impact, The Replacements and the extremely dark comedy Very Bad Things. Elf scored big at the box-office in it’s opening weekend, and promises to do even better in the weeks ahead.

FACTOID – John Favreau once played himself in an episode of the hit HBO mob series “The Sopranos.”

Zany: Not Just a Name,
It's a Lifestyle
The legendary Bob Zany is set to deliver his eagerly anticipated Zany Report once again and we can barely contain our excitement. After what seems like an eternity off, Bob will once again present what he thinks is A-material in hopes of creating the biggest, funniest, most spectacular Zany Report of all time. However, if for some reason you aren’t exhausted from laughing when it’s all said and done, there's always BobZany.com where you can test your hand at punch line writing by playing Fix The Joke Baby. Pick up one of those "Papa Eat Now" T-shirts while you're at it.

Oh Henry
Singer/songwriter/loveable loser Henry Phillips is one of the most clever comedians on the planet. Though his songs are often a tad out of the ordinary, and focus on the darker twisted side of life, we find his soft spoken self-depreciating personality quite adorable, which makes him a lot of fun to be around. Henry got his start in comedy as a folk singer, turning the depressing headlines from the newspaper into a tune called “What Do You Want Me to Do About It.” From those humble beginnings, Henry is now a top draw in clubs across the country and he's put out two stellar comedy albums containing such classics as "On the Shoulders of Freaks," "She’s Talkin' Again," and "When We Were Young." VIP Members, check out the Henry Phillips audio page.

Side Note – Phillips is going on the road with our very own Chick McGee to the Belterra Casino on Friday, November 14th. Also in attendance will be good friends Jimmy Pardo & John Bizarre.

The Man Behind the Mask
Actor David Prowse is the man behind the mask of the most famous villain in cinema history, Darth Vader. Prowse was asked by Star Wars creator George Lucas to play the part of the Dark Lord of the Sith during Christmas of 1975. Lucas offered him the choice of playing Chewbacca, the goodie-two shoes wookie, or the evil yet tragic Vader. That choice took all of about five seconds. Prowse portrayed Vader in all three of the original Star Wars has worked with famous directors Russ Meyer, and Staley Kubrick (A Clockwork Orange) and played a variety of monsters in a number of Hammer Horror pictures. Now Prowse is working on the independent feature film Saving Star Wars.

FACTOID – David Prowse is a former British weightlifting champion.