Foxworthy aims to find new group of comedy stars

ATLANTA — Jeff Foxworthy recently delved into his first judging job ever on NBC’S "Bring the Funny," a reality competition show covering all sorts of comedy — sketch comedy, comedy singers, magicians and stand-up comics all share the same stage.

Foxworthy, the wellknown comic, said he approached judging to be helpful, not mean.

"I want to help prepare (them) to get to the next step," he said. "Most of them have never been on TV. There’s a lot of nerves and just three minutes. Three minutes is hard."

Foxworthy appreciates the pressure, recalling his efforts to get on "Star Search" in the 1980s and failing six times. It wasn’t until he performed six minutes on "The Tonight Show" that he got his break. Johnny Carson liked him so much, he waved him over to the couch.

In the first episode of the new NBC series, Foxworthy raved over some funny acts, including a sketch group that mocked an upbeat kids’ group acts such as the Wiggles. The twist: One of the members was a conspiracy theorist.

But when a man who had a funny concept — a robot stand-up comic — wasn’t all that funny, Foxworthy called him out. "You’d win ’Bring the Robots,’ but not ’Bring the Funny,’" he said.

Writing matters, he said, as much if not more than the idea. He recalled telling Ron White and Larry the Cable Guy when they started the Blue Collar Comedy Tour to keep writing their tails off. They had only a short period of time to make a good impression, and when they went out on multiple tours, they had to come up with more material. It worked.

Now both White and Larry the Cable Guy are stand-up stars.

Fellow "Bring the Funny" judge and "Saturday Night Live" veteran Kenan Thompson was the toughest on contestants in the initial episode. But he and Foxworthy both focused on constructive critiques.

Chrissy Teigen, a social-media influencer with 24.9 million Instagram followers who entertains her fans with comedy online, was by far the easiest judge. She liked almost everything — even the robot guy. "She’s the voice of the people," Foxworthy said.

Along with host Amanda Seales, Foxworthy said "Bring the Funny" threw four disparate people together.

"But from day one, even though we are as diverse as can be," he said, "it just worked."

He said he picked acts that he felt could come back and improve and most did, he said.

Foxworthy, while on "The Tonight Show," got some advice from a fellow comic: "If you think you’re going too slow, go slower." This gives the audience a sense you’re in control, he explained. If they think you’re nervous, you’re more likely to die and less likely to kill.

Still, Foxworthy said he cringes when he watches himself from the 1980s. "My voice was even higher pitched," he said.

Now 60, Foxworthy realized while doing "Bring the Funny" that he was by far the elder statesman.

"Dang, I have gray hair!" he said. "I’m the old guy! I’m supposed to be the new guy!"