IrReverend
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Rev. Bob Levy staying in the news...I thought the quote from Artie was great. Click the picture (which is not at Circles)...
| Quote: | By CHUCK DARROW
Courier-Post Staff
Who says Reverend Bob Levy is a jerk?
Reverend Bob Levy, that's who.
"I was always abrasive. To me, that's funny," said Levy before a recent stand-up comedy gig at Circles West Supper & Comedy Club in Staten Island, N.Y. "If you can make everybody happy, you're not that good. I'm an act that if you don't like me, you really hate me. I really don't mind."
Indeed, Levy's act is a highly ad-libbed, X-rated barrage of racial and sexual insults aimed squarely at audience members.
But rather than get him sued for harassment (not to mention the stuffing kicked out of him), Levy's act has put him on a vitriol-fueled rocket to comedy stardom.
Thanks in large part to the patronage of radio superstar Howard Stern, the 44-year-old Westville resident -- who despite his title is definitely not a member of the clergy -- is making a name for himself these days. In addition to being an increasingly in-demand stand-up artist, Levy is co-host of the weekly program Miserable Men, a comedy-advice show on Sirius satellite radio that looks at divorce from the male perspective, as well as an always-welcome guest on Stern's daily program.
He's also a regular guest on, and writer for, the daily program hosted by Kidd Chris on WYSP-FM (94.1).
Not bad for a guy who didn't even think about being a comedian until he was in his late 20s.
Until then, Levy, a Staten Island native who moved to Westville because it's his ex-wife's hometown, was the walking, breathing definition of the word "slacker."
A pot-smoking high school dropout, he worked odd jobs chosen mostly for the opportunities to goof off they presented ("I did landscaping so I could go in the backyard and sleep"). And, he admitted, he wasn't even much of a comedy fan before his life would be changed forever in 1990 when he first heard Stern's program.
"I was just amazed when I heard Howard," he recalled. "I thought, "This is what I want to do: just make people laugh.' When I first heard Howard I thought, this is the best thing ever."
Totally ignorant about the comedy realm, Levy decided to start his career by sending unsolicited material to the Stern show. He also began attending the weekly "open mic" nights hosted by former Stern sidekick Jackie "The Jokeman" Martling at a North Jersey comedy club.
The jokes and song parodies never made it on the air, but Levy ultimately found his calling at the amateur night events.
"It took me about a year before I started getting paid," he said. "Shortly after that, I was headlining."
Insults flow on Stern show
Levy's big break came in 2002, when the Stern show sponsored a "Meanest Listener" contest. He submitted "roast" routines about the program's cast members, including Robin Quivers and Stern. He made the top-three cut and was invited to a broadcast.
"It's like meeting God," he said of his first visit to Stern's studio. "Now, it's very comfortable, like you're in someone's living room talking. But it was nerve racking."
Despite his jitters, Levy impressed Stern, who welcomed the up-and-coming comic into his "family" of mirthful misfits -- a blessing that is priceless to those looking to make it in show business.
Despite Stern's life-or-death (professionally speaking) power over his minions, Levy is quick to point out the self-proclaimed "King of All Media" has been nothing but gracious toward him.
"The great thing about Howard is that he cares about how we're all doing," he said. "He's one of the nicest people in the world. All he wants is for us to do well. To him, it's a family. We all look out for each other."
Levy also impressed comic Artie Lange, who replaced Martling on the program.
"I've been doing stand-up for like 15 years, and I've never seen a guy kill more on stage than Bob," said Lange, star and co-writer of the upcoming film comedy Beer League.
"He's got a master technique. He can insult somebody and make everybody laugh and the (subject of the jokes) doesn't even get mad. That's something you cannot teach.
"It's hard to follow Bob (onstage), even with the friendly crowds I get."
"We'll see what happens'
Levy's fans are equally vociferous in their praise.
"I think he's hysterical," said Elise Chan, a 28-year-old from Staten Island who works in advertising production, as she waited for the Circles show to begin. "He's raunchy, but it's funny-raunchy."
Staten Island's Chris Ferrante, 29, a Ph.D candidate in physiology and biophysics at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, told of a previous Levy performance he attended: "I laughed so hard I had to wait to drive home," he said, grinning at the memory.
"I like his bluntness. He doesn't hold it in. He hits you with a joke."
Despite the jaundiced attitude he brings to his act, these are sweet times for Levy, whose next local engagement is Sept. 15 and 16 at the Comedy Cabaret in Cherry Hill.
In addition to his radio work and a regular schedule of comedy club dates, he and a group of fellow Stern supporting players, including Sal "The Stockbroker" Governale and the mono-monickered Shuli, will soon embark on a national tour they've dubbed Killers of Comedy.
And, he's in discussions with a production company about developing a sitcom based on his domestic life (he lives in the basement of the house he shares with his ex-wife and their 7-year-old son, Domenic).
Beyond that, Levy is ready for anything that will make his star shine even brighter.
"We'll see what happens," he said. "It's all up to the Big Man."
Would that be God or Howard Stern?
"Both," he said.
Reach Chuck Darrow at (856) 486-2442 or cdarrow@courierpostonline.com
Published: August 31. 2006 3:10AM |
Reverend Bob has a hard working publicist who posts over at the Miserable Men forum.
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