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How To Silence Your Biggest Critic And Become Stupidly Brilliant
In September of 1996, I was 10 months into a super cushy staff gig at Game Show Network. Days were spent writing and producing silly promos for vintage game shows such as Password, The Dating Game and What’s My Line. On paper, this was my dream job.
One night, I was invited to my first big-time “Celebrity Party” in the Hollywood Hills. I remember standing there, happily chatting with some folks about a goofy new Kitty Carlisle jingle I had just produced. Janeane Garofalo, who was standing a few feet away, reeled around and yelled, “If I have to hear your fucking Kitty Carlisle story one more time, I’m going to throw up all over the fucking floor!”
She’s nice.
The truth is, I had grown as bored with making vintage game show promos as Janeane Garofalo was with eavesdropping on my story. As luck would have it, a few weeks later, I learned that NBC was searching for a staff writer/producer to join their innovative new creative services department called NBC2000. This was a relatively new department that produced unique, bonus content running on a split-screen during the end credits for Seinfeld, ER, Mad About You, etc. NBC2000 created original comedy material, TV show parodies, trivia questions, and all sorts of innovative content designed to retain viewers during the end credits and…
