CAROLE MONTGOMERY – A FUN TALK WITH A FUNNY WOMAN

Carole Montgomery is an American standup comedian, writer, producer and director who is absolutely hysterical. She has spent over 4 decades as a comic. Montgomery has performed at comedy clubs, casinos and even burlesque reviews in Vegas. Sound familiar, Mrs. Maisel. She has created and produced several amazing specials for Showtime. All under the banner “Funny Women Of A Certain Age“. The show showcases women comedians over 50 and they are spectacular. Let me tell you, the ladies carry the day!

Carole also joined forces with Armed Forces Entertainment to perform for the US military all over the world including Iraq and Kuwait. Her resume includes being a co-producer of the NY Underground Comedy Festival and directing and producing solo performance shows for the likes of Jim Florentine and Jim Mendrinos. She is married and both her husband and son, James Layne Montgomery, are musicians.

Montgomery is taking her show on the road. On Saturday, July 29th she will be performing “Funny Women Of A Certain Age” live at the fabulous Wall Street Theater in Norwalk. Carole will be taking the stage with fellow comedians Julia Scotti of America’s Got Talent fame and Leighann Lord who is featured on the Star Talk Radio podcast. The show starts at 8pm.

Carole was gracious enough to sit with AMP to give us this fun interview. She held nothing back.

AMP: How did you get into standup?

CAROLE: My dad was a high school teacher at Lafayette High School in Brooklyn. Since he had the summers off, he bartended at certain bars and some Catskill resorts. So at the time, when I was a little kid, I got to see a bunch of different comics perform. I meet Joe E. Ross and even Rodney Dangerfield when he was still Jack Roy. When I got older I told my dad, “you’re the reason I became a comic. So, you can’t give any crap“. (Laughing) he still did!

I guess that is why I’m so comfortable in bars and clubs. My career started in 1979. My first gig was at a club called Pips in Sheepshead Bay. I’ve been been doing standup for over 40 years and it ended up being a great life. I still love it after all these years.

AMP: How do you come up with such funny material?

CAROLE: So currently, I’ve been teaching standup. I mentor lots of young comics trying to break through. Usually, I tell my students, for me, I just kind of know what’s funny. I can’t explain how I know but I do. When I first started out I was young, single and dating. I used those experiences in my act. When I got married, my husband became another focal point. Same thing when my son was born. I use what’s around me to create the funny.

AMP: Who makes you laugh and why?

CAROLE: My heroes are the Marx Brothers. I’ve always been somebody who loves slapstick. To this day, If someone slips on a banana peel, I’m the first to laugh. Another hero is George Carlin. He was such a wordsmith. To this day, you can watch his specials and marvel at his words. Richard Pryor was also an inspiration to me because everything came from his heart. He was always honest and extremely funny.

AMP: Your routine is quite bawdy. How does that resonate with your audiences?

CAROLE: Well with the show we are promoting, “Funny Women Of A Certain Age” at the Wall Street Theater, July 29th, the entire bill is older women catering to a more mature audience. It gives older female comics a chance to be heard. Let’s be honest, people over 50 have been around the block and nothing really shocks them. What I like about this show is the fact that there are 3 different comics each of whom have 3 separate points of view. There’s something for everyone.

Years ago when I was younger, I was considered a dirty comic. I’m just speaking the truth but being a little salty. After shows, I’ve had people coming up to me and telling me about their sexual antics and making me blush. I don’t blush that easy! Also, what was considered blue when I started seems tame by today’s standards. Even I get a little surprised at some of these younger comics’ routines.

AMP: What was the impetus for your hilarious Showtime comedy specials?

CAROLE: That’s a very good question! As I said before, I have been doing standup since I was 21 years old. When I turned 50, the internet was just starting up. I was working in Vegas for 10 years starring in several productions before I returned to the club scene. I began noticing that the comic headliners around town were ones with large Twitter and Myspace followers. They mostly weren’t funny but packed the house because of their social media status.

I saw the writing on the wall. Even now, in a full 52 week booking year, you’ll only find 5 weeks where there are female performers. Then I started to teach and developing solo performance shows for other comedians. When I turned 50, I was doing a podcast with several other female comics and we were having such a good time. I said to my husband, “There should be a show like this. I know so many awesome female comics that are not working as much as they should“.

Because of that idea, we started a female only residency on the Lower East Side. We did a big network showcase for all the major networks including Showtime, Amazon and HBO. Afterwards, there was a little bit of bidding war but I wanted to go with Showtime since they gave me my first big break. So, we ended up with Showtime and they couldn’t have been a better partner. They got it immediately. That was the first network special featuring 6 older comedians ever. Go figure! I don’t want to sound vain but if I hadn’t created that show, there wouldn’t be series like Hacks on HBO.

AMP: What is the most memorable moment of your career so far?

CAROLE: Another good one! I mentioned Richard Pryor is one of my idols. A year or so before he passed away, I was at The Comedy Store and after my show a large security guard approached me and said: “maam, Mr Pryor would like to speak with you“. I didn’t even know Richard was in the house. Pryor tells me, “I saw your stuff and I think you are very funny“. I had to truly contain myself. This is like my hero giving me a compliment!

At that time there were no cell phones, so I hit a pay phone to call my husband. I was bawling. Immediately he asked if I have been in an accident and I respond, “No, Richard Pryor thinks I’m funny“! He comes back with “isn’t that a good thing“. Still crying I say “Yes“. That is my most memorable moment.

AMP: Continuing in the same vein, what is the most embarrassing moment that has ever happen to you on stage?

CAROLE: Last summer we were doing a kind of outside/inside show at Lincoln Center. It was really really hot and no air conditioning. I eventually got overheated. My husband was there and saw me zone out. I just went blank. You would think that I could pull something out of my extensive repertoire. After 3 or 4 minutes of silence, I started talking to the crowd once again. That was truly embarrassing.

AMP: Do you feel being a native New Yorker enhances your comic flair?

CAROLE: I think so. New Yorkers grow up with so much crap all around us. But remember, even though most of my early career was centered in Manhattan and Brooklyn, I lived in LA for ten years and then spent quite a while in Vegas. I’ve been all over the world but my core remains exclusively New York.

AMP: Both your husband and son happen to be musicians. How do they handle being a major part of your comic observations?

CAROLE: My husband actually helps me write my material. He’s the type of guy who will throw out 100 jokes and 1 would be good. So, he’s used to it. My son is more interesting. He once told me, “Mom, you don’t do jokes, you do faces” and I replied “these faces brought you this house. So shut up“. Several of his friends happen to catch my act and asked him how he handled the notoriety. He answered, “she been doing it her whole life. I’m so used to it“. In addition, we’re a show business family. We all know to roll with the punches.

AMP: How do you deal with hecklers? Have you ever wanted to punch somebody out?

CAROLE: (Laughing) I want to punch someone out every day! Just walking out my door, I meet some annoying tourist. Stop looking Up! They’re only buildings (laughing harder)! I’m very proud of myself when it comes to hecklers. I don’t accept it. I used to go after people but in today’s economy, people are paying a lot of money to see a comedy show. After tickets, parking, babysitters and dinner, it’s expensive.

So now I do either of two things. At first, I start talking in a lower voice, so it’s hard to hear me. Most often, the audience would quiet the talkers and hecklers themselves. Another technique is to confront the heckler but if continues past 5 minutes I stop what I am doing and and ask the audience, “Ladies and gentlemen, you now have a choice. You can see me spend the next 20 minutes dealing with this or you can get what you payed for which is me doing my routine“. 9 and of 10 times, the crowd turns around and tells the heckler to stop. Either way, the crowd does the policing.

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