Funny you mention Hardwick. I don’t really know him but I was exposed to him on Marc Maron’s IFC show “Maron”. A couple of seasons ago Marc went on “Talking Dead” and the joke was he wasn’t really a WD fan and was simply trying to get some air time. Hardwick busted him pretty badly on the air. Smash cut to this week’s episode of “Maron”. Marc is in rehab and meets a gal who tells her story in group therapy. One of the things she mentions is she was such an alcoholic that she would regularly throw up on party hosts. She mentioned that she once vomited in Chris Hardwick’s hair. Marc was in the background and he just smiled. Didn’t say a word but he was satisfied.
Maron’s been on @midnight half a dozen times. No idea if they’re friends but they’re probably not enemies. Comedians love inside jokes at each other’s expense.
They’re definitely friends. There’s a Nerdist podcast where Hardwick talks about sobering up, and Maron was the first guy he went to when he realized he had a problem, and needed help.
I used to be a stand-up comedian, for about six years. I toured here and there, but I was just not good enough or lucky enough to succeed at it as an entire career.
Comedians DO love to dig at each other. Watch a Comedy Central roast, and you can see that in action. Generally, there are no sacred cows (within reason; you wouldn’t really make a crack about someone’s kid dying, but Jeff Ross can ask how Courtney Love looks worse than Kurt Cobain. There’s a distinction, and only part of it is time passed), but it was my observation that, if the recipient of the dig had joked about it, it was fair game.
All this naturally leads to replaying the past through hindsight. Was behavior involved with the abrupt cancellation of @midnight? Why in the world would he have left Nerdist a short time later? What does the statement that he “no operational involvement with Nerdist for the two years preceding the expiration of his contract in December 2017” mean? He talked about it all the time on @midnight, which didn’t end until August.
I have a feeling a lot more is going to surface before this is over.
I never saw the original poll, but I had always seen him as very interesting, and a very good host - but not necessarily “funny” in the sense I see Gaffigan, Kimmel, or Birbiglia as funny.
Also, these allegations gross me out - but I’m waiting for them to shake out before I get too invested in the outcome.
He was slightly less funny than Jenny McCarthy 20-22 years ago, and that’s all I know him for (and for dating one of the Real World cast members who became an actress). I am aware of his more recent career but have not consumed it.
Zombie thread, but figured I’d weigh in anyway. I’ve been a huge fan of his since @midnight. I love his dirty humor and his conversations with celebs are always fun and insightful. I’m still a fan of his (like I’m still a fan of Louis C.K.), but heartbroken over these domestic allegations and how quickly it’s affected his work (I liked watching his ComicCon panels on YouTube). I’m really missing him now, especially since Talking has been “postponed” (or whatever) and there wasn’t a Talking Preacher last night. Really curious what the process is for this “investigation” and whether he will make it out unscathed or fade away like everyone else.
This doesn’t really have to do with anything, but just found out Comic Book Men got cancelled today, too. That sucks.
I’ve only heard some of his stand-up on satellite radio. Worth a chuckle here and there, but not what I’d call consistently funny.
plus- based only on what I heard- he seemed to be one of those guys who can’t stop talking about the shit he did when he was a teenager. I don’t get guys like that.