Yuks

Todd Barry

Stand-up comedian

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Actor

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Podcaster

"I'm particularly proud of my reluctance to share my dreams with anyone."

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Actor

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Alt comedian

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Author

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Born in the 1960s

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Comedians in Cars alum

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Comedy writer

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A little about Todd

Drummer Todd

He was a drummer in the indie rock band The Chant from 1984 to 1985.

Crowd work

He has evolved into being a crowd work comedian. In 2014, he put out a special called Todd Barry: The Crowd Work Tour. He has continued to not prepare material for shows, and even has done crowd work via Zoom during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Todd the video store clerk

He appeared in 16 episodes of Dr. Katz, the first two as himself and the rest as "Todd the video store clerk."

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Todd's posts (10)

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Todd Barry

On finding your voice

Todd Barry

On finding your voice

Todd Barry

I never set out to find my voice. It just happened organically. I’ve been doing comedy 30 years, so it’s hard to pinpoint when my persona developed. I never thought I really had a unique cadence until people started doing impressions of me to my face. As far as advice for comics about finding their voice, I would just say keep going onstage, and it will happen eventually.

Todd Barry

Low vs. high energy comedians

Todd Barry

Low vs. high energy comedians

Todd Barry

It's definitely an advantage to be high energy, but ultimately you want to be yourself. Comedians with forced energy look ridiculous (to me).

Todd Barry

Who makes him laugh

Todd Barry

Who makes him laugh

Todd Barry

Dave Attell, Doug Stanhope, Patrice O'Neal, Maria Bamford, Sarah Silverman, Louis CK (he funded my special), Andy Kindler, many more who I'll think of later.

Todd Barry

Weirdest free stuff ever received

Todd Barry

Weirdest free stuff ever received

Todd Barry

I did the Edinburgh festival years ago. I did a joke about being a germaphobe. After the show a woman approached me and handed me a stack of high-end moist towelettes, the kind that come in scents like Eucalyptus and spearmint, and sell at Whole Foods for $15. I thanked her and made a "joke" about her sending me a case. She sent me 20 bags!

Todd Barry

On doing political comedy

Todd Barry

On doing political comedy

Todd Barry

I have views, but I think if you're going to do political material, you have to know your stuff inside and out, or you look like a dummy.

Todd Barry

Does he still get nervous before shows

Todd Barry

Does he still get nervous before shows

Todd Barry

Definitely. I kind of hate when I hear a performer who says they "never get nervous." I just don't believe that.

Todd Barry

Tips for someone trying to break into comedy

Todd Barry

Tips for someone trying to break into comedy

Todd Barry

Write some jokes, find an open mic night to tell them. Repeat that for many years.

Todd Barry

What it was like working on the Larry Sanders show

Todd Barry

What it was like working on the Larry Sanders show

Todd Barry

Really fun, and kind of surreal. I remember Garry Shandling coming up to me after we filmed a take. He had a note for me, but made a point of saying "only do this if you think it's funny." I was impressed by that.

Todd Barry

How he comes up with ideas

Todd Barry

How he comes up with ideas

Todd Barry

I try to sit down and write, but I don't do that a lot. I tend to think of an idea, then work it out on stage. But I should do more homework.

Todd Barry

On podcasting

Todd Barry

On podcasting

Todd Barry

I decided to do it because it seemed easy enough to start. But it's kind of a grind booking guests. I do enjoy the conversations, though.

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