Street Roots • May 29-June 4, 2015
News
Page 8
BY SUE ZALOKAR
"T" on Lovitz was part of an iconic “Saturday
I Night Live Cast” in the late ’80s that
I included Phil Hartman, Jan Hooks, Dana
T^rvey, Mike Myers, Dennis Miller and
Kevin Nealon. He created what might be
some of the most memorable skits and
characters in the show’s 40-year history
(think: pathological liar Tommy Flanagan,
“Yeah ... that’s the ticket”).
After leaving the “SNL” cast, Lovitz went
on to work in most every aspect of writing
and performing over the past 25 years.
The young comedian who spent time
poring over the work of Woody Allen and
Neil Simon would one day work with both
idols; star in film, television and Broadway
plays; and sing at Carnegie Hall — more
than once. If there are six degrees of Kevin
Bacon, I think there are five degrees of
separation from Jon Lovitz.
These days, Lovitz is doing what he loves
most: standup. He will be at the Helium
Comedy Club in Portland this weekend,
playing shows Thursday through Saturday
night, June 4-6.
Sue Zalokar: How did you get to be so
funny?
Jon Lovitz: (laughter) My first thought
about it was I slept over at my friend
Michael’s house — I was like 5 . 1 couldn’t go
to sleep, and I was just lying there, staring,
trying to go to sleep. And all of a sudden,
my friend sat up in bed and made this face
and laid back down. I said, “What was that?”
And then he did it again, and I just started
laughing.
He kept doing it, and I was crying,
laughing. I remember then thinking, “I want
to be funny like Michael.”
My parents also have a great sense of
humor; they’re very funny. My grandfather,
whom I was very close to, he was very
funny. I just always liked being around funny
people.
S.Z.: In your opinion, what makes a good
comedian?
J.L.: There are people who have funrty
material, but they are also funny people.
They can make you laugh with a look. They
don’t have to say anything, you know. It’s
not what they say; it’s how they say it.
S.Z.: You were a part of the “Saturday
Night Live” cast for five years (1985-1990),
and during that time, you created some of the
most memorable and inventive characters in
the show’s history. What was that time like for
you?
J.L.: Oh, thank you. It was amazing. I
never could believe I was on the show, and
it was very exciting. At the same time, it
was very competitive, and it was very hard
work — like 80 hours a week.
It’s a tough show to do. The writers are
writing sketches and you’re writing sketches
and you have maybe 30 to 40 sketches; they
pick 14, and eight make it on the air.
I loved the job, I didn’t want to leave the
show, but I got a chance to do a movie. I
would have had to miss the first two shows
of my sixth season, and they couldn’t work
around it. But I would be in New York and
(“SNL”) would call me and say, “Oh you’re
in New York? Come do a show.”
would say that was her style.
She was a great comedic actress. Often,
if you look at the lines, they’re not really
funny, but it’s the way you play i t You have
to make a believable character and be funny
at the same time.
But then when you do it like that, people
think you are just naturally funny. I’m funny,
but there is a lot of work that goes into it.
It’s like learning a classical piece on
the piano; you have to break it down.
S.Z.: Was the movie “A League of Their
Own”?
S.Z.: You’re a music lover... you play
and sing. Did you take piano lessons
as a kid?
J.L.: No. It was “Mom and Dad Save the
World.” It ended up (not going much of
anywhere). You just never know.
I was in the movie “Big,” and nobody
thought it would be a hit: I remember Penny
Marshall showed me 45 minutes of footage.
I told her I thought the film would be really
successful.
She asked why, and I told her the stories
are unimportant It was the idea of what
would logically happen if a kid became 30
years old. You just never know.
Jon Lovitz,
who will play
Portland in
June, discusses
comedy, mental
health and the
J.L.: Yes. I did from when I
was 8 to 1 3 .1 just kept
playing. I was a much
better player when I
was 13.
— J.L.: Millions of people suffer from being
bipolar. It is a human condition that a lot of
people have. Almost every drug addict, they all
say that they are self-medicating. Self-
medicating what? Usually it is from dealing
with (past) traumas or they are bipolar. And
then someone tries a drug and they become
addicted, not because they are weak, but
drugs, like heroin, it physically alters your
brain chemistry and you are addicted to it no
matter who you are.
J.L.: I didn’t realize he had Parkinson’s or
any of that. I knew him, and I was very upset,
very sad. He was a really great guy.
I met him when I was in college, before
he was famous. I did this sketch for this
solar energy day- He was next, , and he
told me to introduce him —in a specific,
quirky way — and I did. He was
hilarious! And I was like, “Who is this
guy?”
I talked to him after the show, and
I asked him, “Do people come up to
you and ask, why aren’t you ever
serious?” He said, “Yes.” I asked
him, “What do you say to them?”
And he said, “Why aren’t you
ever funny?”
I’ve known him since, over
the years. It was very tragic.
The thing about
comedians all being
miserable? Really, it’s not
true. People have issues.
■ He was on medication for
stuff. I don’t know the facts. He
was just getting worse and
worse. It’s a real tragedy. He
was such a nice guy. A very warm
human being.
He was so huge because there was
no one like him. He was magical — like
a leprechaun alm ost...
J.L.: I wasn’t saying that as a compliment
to myself. I was saying, “I don’t do
characters because I tried it, and it didn’t
Work.” It’s just me being funny as myself.
S.Z.: fr’s OK. You can compliment yourself.
It must get old — people walking up to you and
saying, “That’s the ticket. ”
J.L.: No. It’s flattering. It still blows me
away that people remember it and do it.
S.Z.: A morbid joke, part of “Saturday
Night Live’s ” 40th anniversary show in
February was the implication that you, who
are very much alive, had passed away...
J.L.: I was thrilled to be there. When I
heard the joke, I started laughing. They
always do these dark, edgy jokes, and this
time I was the butt of the joke. I didn’t
mind. I have no problem laughing at myself.
That is the kind of humor the show is
known for.
J.L.: I was shocked. I didn’t know she was
siGk. It was very sad.
I worked with Jan on a show a year before
“SNL” called “Twenty-Nine Minutes,” a
sketch show on the Playboy Channel.
Jan came on to “SNL” in my second year,
and that group for the next four years, we
all decided to be really funny — not be broad
and do characters, play them really well and
be funny, not just do caricatures. And I
S.Z.: A common saying is “Laughter is the
best medicine.” In my experience, this is so true.
B ut many of the greatest comedians have suffered
with their own mental health issues or that of
those around them, including addiction ...
S.Z.: What did you think when you heard that
Robin Williams had taken his life?
S.Z.: You’ve said: “Id o n ’t do characters
from ‘S NL.’ I ’m just funny as myself”...
S.Z.: Sadly, Jan Hooks did pass away in
October of last year. Do you have a particular
memory of Jan that would best emulate her
comedy style?
and it was just awful. They just waste away into a
skeleton, and it is a horrible thing. What’s the
point?
I don’t see anything wrong with i t I mean, we
put our pets to sleep so they aren’t tortured in
their last days. Why wouldn’t we do the same
thing for ourselves? It’s humane. It’s not
inhumane.
S.Z.: It’s closely regulated too. You can’t just
walk into a doctor’s office and say, “Well, this is it. ”
J.L.: If somebody is terminally ill, and they
choose to skip the deteriorate-into-nothing phase,
I think they have that right.
S.Z.: What were you doing working in a
hospital?
J.L.: Oh. My father was a doctor so I had a job
when I was 19 in the summer.
Dr. Jack Kevorkian. They called him Dr. Death,
but that was wrong. What he was doing was kind,
and they turned him into some crazy evil doctor.
He just brought it out in the open — what other
doctors were doing (and not talking about). No
doctor could come out and support him because
they would lose their license.
S.Z.: You’ve starred on Broadway and sung at
Carnegie Hall. You’ve done standup, voice, radio,
theater, film. Then there is the performance side and
the writing side. Is there a genre you would like to
explore that you haven’t yet?
J.L.: No, I have kind of done all of them. But I
would like to do more of each. I’m not like, “Oh
I’m done, I’m satisfied.” .
I like writing and performing my own material.
I’m into singing. I’d like to keep just getting
better at everything.
I did Broadway. I found that after two months,
that was enough.
I like variety. It’s exciting, but then, this
woman — they give you a makeup and hair person
— we did a matinee and then again at night; I
looked at her and I said, “Didn’t we just do this?”
Like I was kidding and she said, “Yep. That’s the
great secret of Broadway — every day is like
Groundhog Day.
S.Z.: I f you had your druthers, which of the lot
would you say is the most rewarding or fulfilling for
you?
S.Z.: (busts out laughing) I think he’d like that.
"I'm funny, but there is a lot of
work that goes into it. It's like
learning a classical piece on
the piano; yon have to break it
down."
•• tsii 8HI P O N LOVITZ
&
r
Page 9
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to showbiz Renaissance perform er
From ‘SNL’ Annoying Man
STAFF WRITER
Street Roots • May 29-June 4, 2015
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J.L.: He’d laugh at that probably. He was a
wonderful, magical human being and very
lovable. And of course (his death) is so tragic
because he made everybody so happy ... and you
find out he was obviously so miserable that he
took his own life.
S.Z.: I live in a Death with Dignity state
(Oregon), and here, if you have a terminal illness,
you can petition your doctor to end your own life
clinically.
J.L.: I think that’s a good thing. I worked at a-
hospital, and I would see people dying of cancer,
J.L.: I like doing standup because when I get
bored, I can just change it. It’s up to me. Standup
kind of combines everything.
S.Z.: You’re Jewish. What did you think o f .
Benjamin Netanyahu’s speech to US. Congress in
March?
J.L.: I’ll tell you, when Obama said go back to
the ’67 border, I was watching that.
I was also in Israel in 1978, visiting my cousin,
and he told me, if we give up the West Bank,
Israel’s 9 miles wide, they can cut it in half and
then drive us into the sea — literally — you can’t
defend it.
So when President Obama says we should go
back to those borders — by the way, I voted for
President Obama — I said, “What are you talking
about? Israel would be cut in half.” So the next
day, Netanyahu went on TV and said the same
thing.
So I’m thinking, how do I know this and
President Obama doesn’t? I know it cause my
cousin told me. Over 35 years ago. How does he
not know this?
I don’t care how you feel about Jewish people.
The fact is we give (Israel) money because they
are a democracy in the Middle East where all the
oil is. It’s an army based in the Middle East.
Whether you like Jews or not, that’s what that is.
S.Z.: Can you like Jews and not support Israel?
J.L.: Yeah, you can. But then I would say, Do
you know how it came into existence?
People think Israel just took the land. No.
They bought the land. The land they bought was
sand. There was nothing there. They had to buy
it from Arab landowners. Golda Meir was an
American teacher, and she raised all this money
to buy a homeland because the Jews had just
been almost completely massacred in Europe —
almost into nonexistence. Three million Polish
Jews were all gone. The (remaining folks) need a
homeland, so they bought it.
Now, did they take the last bank of the Gaza?
Yeah. They did. They were in a war, and they
fought back.
Then those countries are saying, we want that
land back. And Israel says, “Do you recognize our
right to exist?” And they’re like, “No. No, we do
not recognize your right to exist.” They want to
get rid of them completely.
When they left Gaza, they said if we leave,
you’ll come in and bomb us, and they say, “No,
we won’t.” And they left and Hamas came in and
they bombed them. Do I think Palestinians are
people and they should have a country? Well,
yeah. But they want the exact same land that
Israel has.
Is Israel 100 percent correct? No. I’m sure
they have done stuff that’s not good. You have to
look at all sides. One of my good friends is from
Israel and she said, “Yeah. It is bad for the
Palestinians there.” They are treated as second-
class citizens.
I’ve met Israelis who think that Israel is
wrong. They don’t like Netanyahu ....
I think Netanyahu is great, but when he said,
“No, I don’t want a Palestinian state,” do I think
he meant it? No. I don’t think he meant it. He
was trying to get votes. To win (the election).
Politicians only bring up the things that they
have points to win the argument, like in a debate.
The main problem is called narcissistic
personality disorder. That’s the problem: people
who want to have power over other people.
S.Z.: It is disturbing...
. J.L.: I’ve never been that way, ever. I talk
about it in my act. To me, there is nice people,
and there’s jerks.