An Interview with Comedian Lenny Clark – PLAYING AT SALVATORE’S – FRIDAY JULY 27th

clark2

GET YOUR TICKETS HERE

Famed comedian and TV star Lenny Clark was at the Westin Hotel last month to do a fundraiser for U.S. Senate candidate Geoff Diehl. Having known and hung out with Clark in a previous life I was happy to accept an invitation from Lenny to do an interview prior to his performance.

TOM: “Now we knew each other way back when at…”

LENNY: “96.9FM TALK, that’s right! We did radio together, we’re lucky we’re still alive.”

TOM: “Well, you were fat back then. I remember you used to lament that if you could only lose some pounds you could feel better because you used to feel so horrible all the time. I haven’t run into you since then. I didn’t realize you had lost all this weight. How did you do that?”

LENNY: “Look at this,” he said standing up. “I’ve lost 200 pounds. I just got sick and tired of being fat and had lost a lot of weight I lost 180 pounds on my own. Then I lost the rest at New England Fat Loss.com check it out if you are a fatty. I’ve lost the weight and kept if off and I feel great. Look I’m wearing colored pants,” he said remembering when he couldn’t even see his pants. “I’m just really happy to be able to see my junk again.”

TOM: “Do you still see Michele McPhee?”

LENNY: “I love Michele McPhee! I adore her, she’s great and she’s looking fantastic; I really love her and I’d love to do some (work) with her. She’s just awesome.”

TOM: “Why are you here, tonight.”

LENNY: “I’m here to support Geoff Diehl against Elizabeth Warren and I have to tell you, I don’t have anything bad to say about Elizabeth Warren. I don’t have anything good to say about her either,” he said laughing.

“I just really like him I have to tell you I have kind of the same feel as when I was working for Scott Brown. When I worked for Scott Brown he was down 36 points in the polls against Martha Coakley. They said there was no way he could win. This guy (Geoff Diehl) is two points behind to the senior senator from Massachusetts, Mrs. Elizabeth “Oklahoma Girl” Warren. She came from Oklahoma. Geoff’s born and bred around here. He’s a great guy and I think he would be a terrific senator. He’s the type of guy who, if you call his office, if he doesn’t pick up the phone someone who does will get him to get back to you. I don’t know how much success you have with calling (Warren’s) office. I have not.”

TOM: “You are playing Salvatore’s next month on July 27th…

LENNY: “I’m very excited about Salvatore’s and I hope he sells out because that’s a big place. And I’ll tell you what, when you get that place (filled) with the great people of Lawrence and Lowell and Methuen that place is rocking. The guy who owns it (Mike Agricola) is a wonderful guy.”

TOM: “He’s a big fan of yours.”

LENNY: “I’m, a big fan of his. And of course, I’m going up there with “Tumbling” Jack Walsh. He’s a really funny guy and when you get him on stage he’s one of the funniest guys, pound for pound, that I know. And I’m glad to have him with me.”

TOM: “You’ve done a lot of great TV shows, “Rescue Me” and “The Job” what are the ones you miss the most, what were your favorites?”

LENNY: “The Job was one of my all-time favorites, of course ‘Lenny’ was great because it was my first, you never forget your first. The people I worked with were great. The guy who played my father and the woman who played my mother both passed away since then. They were just so good to me. They were so instrumental in me moving up. ‘The Job’ was me playing a New York detective which was just outrageous.”

TOM: “I have to say it was pretty funny watching you in a police uniform.”

LENNY: “Well, I was a cop for four years on the John Laroquette show. Then being a detective was wild. I remember I stole one of those parking (vehicles) the three wheelers, and I got stuck in it. That was in the show and it was huge. I have a few new things I’m doing now, I have a few things that I have looked into like ‘City on the Hill’ and ‘SMILF’ which are both filming here in Boston, and I’m very excited about that.”

TOM: “How do you stay funny? I mean, you’ve been doing this a long time and some comedians have one routine and they go everywhere with their one routine, so if you have seen them once you have seen them a million times. But, every time you go out there it’s like a different show, how do you keep that up?”

LENNY: “Because I’m not funny, I’m nuts! I’m out of my mind, that’s what that’s all about. I never know what I’m gonna say.”

Just then, comedian Dave Russo came in and Lenny had to go out and introduce the first act.
TOM: “Hey Dave long time”

DAVE: “I’m just excited to be working for a guy that’s court ordered,” he said looking at Russo.

LENNY: “That’s one of my old jokes, you know that,” he said to Russo.

DAVE: “I thought it was Kenny Rogers.”

TOM: “Are you performing tonight?”

DAVE: “Yes, but I don’t have any political jokes because I don’t want the government to know where I am. Actually, I played softball at a charity event for The Hug Foundation with Geoff Diehl a couple of years back. I didn’t even know he was a politician. He was just a regular, cool guy, we had a blast. I think we went three and one, so we were winning that day. I’m working at Salvatore’s with Lenny on Friday, July 27th. I lived in the 01844 zip code for a while, I lived in Methuen when I was doing the Comedy Palace in North Andover, so I’m familiar with the Merrimack Valley folks from Methuen, Lawrence, Tewksbury, Andover, North Andover and I’ll have the funny on.”