The Hollywood Reporter (Weekly)
‘The World Changes, But the Comedian’s Purpose Doesn’t’
Nominated for best podcast host, J.B. Smoove explains how Funny My Way connected him to the legacy of past generations’ Black comedy titans
If J.B Smoove had it his way, he’d cast himself as the lead in a biopic about the late comedian Dick Gregory. “In another world, another life, if I was 20 years younger, I would love to play that man,” says the Emmywinning actor and stand-up comic. “He really had an amazing, fascinating life.”
Smoove (né Jerry Brooks) did a deep dive on Gregory’s life when he narrated the six-part Audible Originals podcast Funny My Way, uncovering the lives of six Black comedy legends: Gregory, Flip Wilson, Paul Mooney, Moms Mabley, Rudy Ray Moore and Redd Foxx. His performance has earned the Curb Your Enthusiasm star an Ambie nomination for best podcast host.
When Conan O’Brien — whose podcast production juggernaut, Team Coco, developed the show — approached him with the idea, the veteran comedian was intrigued primarily as a fan of the series’ legendary subjects. “It’s like what Mike Tyson once said: He was a fan of boxing. You’ve got to be a fan of boxing to box,” Smoove says, wearing an off-white fedora during the video call from his Los Angeles-area home. “To me, you’ve got to be a big fan [of comedy] to understand the sweet science of it.” With 25 years’ experience behind a mic, Smoove might as well have a doctorate in funny.
As do many comics, Smoove found the podcast studio a natural extension of the stage. On his other audio show, May I Elaborate, also produced by Team Coco, he riffs with abandon on whatever topic crosses his quick-fire mind. But hosting Funny My Way required Smoove to keep his improvisatory genius in check and stick to a script. “I have to attach my sensibilities, my timing, my cadence — and cadence is what keeps people interested,” says Smoove, who will next appear in Mel Brooks’ starstudded History of the World: Part II on Hulu.
To recount the lives and careers of the six comics chronicled in Funny My Way, Smoove drew on memories of seeing several of them live. “I’ve seen Dick Gregory and Paul Mooney perform on the same night at B.B. King [Blues Club & Grill] in New York City,” he recalls. “It
was actually enlightening, funny, powerful. There was so much strength in what they were talking about. It made you think, it made you laugh. It made you damn near cry sometimes because it really set into perspective the struggles that we’ve all had.”
Today, the former Saturday Night Live writer stays connected with fellow comedians largely through podcasting. (His favorites include Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend, on which he’s appeared several times; Scam Goddess, with Laci Mosley; and Top Billin’ with Bill Bellamy.) Listening at home reminds Smoove of the days when his parents went to work and he played their albums — ones by the likes of Richard Pryor, Bill Cosby and Foxx.
The throughline he sees between his family’s well-worn stand-up albums and modern podcasts makes one thing clear for Smoove when it comes to comedy’s staying power: “The world changes, but the actual comedian’s purpose doesn’t,” he says. “You’ve just got to find a perfect place for storytelling.”