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THAT’S RICH!
Comedian Rich Hall, whose interview with Phillip Adams was earlier mentioned here, sends a friendly note:
Stumbled across your site while I was reading about the Melbourne International Comedy Festival. Lo and behold there’s my name plastered all over it. Seems you’ve got a hard-on for a guy named Phillip Adams. He’s a decent, informed fellow. Reads a lot of books. Have you ever heard of books? You can read them without logging on!
I was a guest on his radio show and apparently stirred up quite a few of your ass licking sycophant following. Do me a favor. Write me and tell me who you are and just what it is you do. In fact, tell what you did before weblogs made it possible for every five and dime gasbag with an axe to grind could spout their bile into the ether. Let’s meet up and have a chat, you dumb cunt.
And don’t try to dissect comedy when you don’t have a sense of humor.
It’s cute being lectured about axe-grinding by someone whose own axe was long ago ground down to the handle; Hall has spent the last five years trying to sharpen a lump of wood, while spouting bile into the ether via the likes of Adams’ show. Odd, isn’t it, that an alternative-comedy type should demand qualifications (“who are you ... what do you do”) for commentary ...
Is there a sniglet for “unpleasant ‘80s comedian who has difficulty dealing with criticism and mockery?” Is it “Rich Hall?”
Well, maybe it was just a drunken e-mail or something. There but for the grace of God and all that.
Posted by Jim Treacher on 2005 04 16 at 03:18 PM • permalinkI thought Rich Hall was dead. I’m still not sure he isn’t dead.
Posted by wronwright on 2005 04 16 at 03:30 PM • permalinkAnother Comic that thinks he’s an intellectual power house. It’s almost a badge of honor to be called out by such a high density crackpot.
I wonder if your original blog entry caused him to dent his little tin foil beany.
Posted by Nylarthotep on 2005 04 16 at 03:33 PM • permalinkClearly Tim must repent in dust and ashes, as peals of delighted laughter erupt from an audience awestruck in the presenece of a master wordsmith. Observe the bold use of profanity in lieu of wit! Lose yourself in the Master’s majestically awkward turn of phrase! Let the graceless ebb-and-flow of His vapid droning wipe the tears of eccstacy from your rapt eyes. Worship His tenuous grasp of elementary grammar!
Repent, all you five-and-dime gasbags! For it is written: “Weblogs made it possible…to grind could spout.” Therefore cast off your idolatrous axe-handles and return to the traditional media outlets of your forefathers, lest your hearts lose their love of senseless invective. Then you would be cast out forever from the Presense of the One Who Is Rich Hall.
As an American I apologise for Mr. Halls actions and words.
Apparently he hasn’t realized that being a dick is politically incorrect.Say Rich, (assuming it’s really him)
You do believe in Freedom of Speech right? I guess it kind of sucks to be heckled (although it must bring back some fond memories of your career eh?)I realized after seeing someone point out the “Sniglets” reference that I *do* recall who Rich Hall is. He sucked. There ya go Rich, call me a “dumb cunt” or a “ass-licking syncophat five and dime gasbag with an axe to grind” What axe could I possibly have to grind with a has-been standup who probably can’t even book open-mic night at Rooster T. Feathers
Posted by Secret Agent X-9 on 2005 04 16 at 03:52 PM • permalinkDear Rich:
Boy, have I got some exciting career news for you! T.J. McChuckleberry’s Laffatorium (Pritkinville, Montana) called. They’re having a big Open Mike Nite, and said they might need some temporary bus staff.
By the way - when those monster royalty checks from “Sniglets” start drying up, gimme a call. I know some Japanese retro fans who’d pay probably $20-$30 for all those cool vintage skinny ties and Chess King jackets from your 1983 glory weeks.
Well, if anyone needed clarification why Rich Hall’s career went south long ago, this pretty much did it, I suspect.
Hey Rich, if you’re reading this thread, as I’m almost certain you are, sign up and mingle a bit with us ass licking sycophants. Maybe a few of us can even teach you some things about humour that will help you revive your career!
Have you ever heard of books? ... what a savage put down, although Tim has suggested that Shelly on the Telly hasn’t got any books either. The last book Tim read was Rogues, Villains, & Eccentrics: an A-Z of Roguish Britons Through the Ages according to Tim where he refers to the lovable Sydney Carlton and Badger ...
Tim, we don’t think you’re dumb. Excuse me, I’ve got to go. I have some dingleberries stuck between my teeth. By the way, if anybody wants to see Rich, he’s playing at the Vaseline Lounge tonight.
Posted by Mystery Meat on 2005 04 16 at 05:21 PM • permalinkGood on ya, Tim. You must have hit the bullseye with your original post. I vaguely remember Hall, I think he was on the Weekend Update desk at SNL when that program started to swirl down the toilet. What never fails to amaze me is how these people have convinced themselves of their intellectual superiority. At the same time they are spouting all kinds of idiotic bullshit and when called on it, they resort to this kind of name calling and stomping of feet. It’s just childish and indicitive of how vacant they really are.
Keep up the good work Tim, you da man.jvk
Hall effect,n. the potential difference which develops across a thread of RWDB which is longitudinally conducting a current topic, and is subjected to an obtuse blast of unadulterated crap.
Phillip Adams. He’s a decent, informed fellow. Reads a lot of books.
Unfortunately he is also the indefatigable purveyor of learned writings like this:
So there he is, John Howard, as much in control of this country as Causcescu was in Romania. And far, far less likely to be toppled. Not for John is the destiny of the Shah of Iran, Haile Selassie, Marcos or any of a long list of tinpot tyrants who ran away as soon as the crowds went boo. In any case, our crowds won’t say boo. Oh, they’ve tried a few times to get their views heard.
But Rich probably hasn’t read Adams, or could care less whether he writes absolute drivel like that: as long as Adams likes likes Rich, Rich will be his sycophant.If the BBC is anything to go by, Rich Hall is the best American comic in the world, becauses he’s ALWAYS ON THE BBC.
(The alternative reading of this is that he’s an old unfunny has-been who’s found the place where old has-been ranting left-wing comedians go to retire on a nice tax-payer funded salary, ie. the BBC, along with all those other humour-challenged economic ignoramuses like Jeremy Hardy, Linda Smith, Mark Thomas and Paul Merton - names that mean might not mean much to non-Brits, but to anyone living in Britain they’re hard to avoid).
Posted by Blithering Bunny on 2005 04 16 at 06:27 PM • permalinkDear Rich Hall — Some of us here have heard of books. Some of us have even written books…without pictures.
Of course he thinks we must be asslickers. He can’t remember anyplace else he might have met us (“How’s that, Lorne?”)
Posted by richard mcenroe on 2005 04 16 at 06:28 PM • permalinkWho is this idiot? Never heard of him.
Tin Blair, now, HIM I’ve heard of.
Phatty Adams, HIM I’ve heard of, he is an obsolete man with outdated ideas.
So this Hall character hangs out with ancient, creaking socialists who only allow sycophants with the same archaic worldview to his interviews.
That, and his abjectly pathetic, ill-chosen and poorly structured words, tell me all I need to know about this clown. His intellect is so shallow as to make a carpark puddle look like the abyss.
MarkL
CanberraActually it’s rather sad once I think about it. If Rich Hall had used a mature tone, tried to reach out with a “we have our differences, please hear me out” type of comment, many of us would have a better opinion of him. At this point he has only confirmed his pathetic state of decline.
One other thing. I think many if not most of the readers of Tim Blair’s blog read other blogs as well. We especially read the newspaper and magazine articles cited by the bloggers. As an example, I print off pages after pages of articles and read them in the evenings. Actually some of the most informative readings have come right from the comments of this web site. Mark L’s comments are one of many examples.
Indeed I’ve learned a great deal about Australia since I’ve been reading this web site. Like the fact that Australia evidently isn’t located beside Germany like I always thought.
Posted by wronwright on 2005 04 16 at 07:13 PM • permalinkRich Hall,
“The funniest stand-up comedian since Sheilds and Yarnell”
Posted by joe bagadonuts on 2005 04 16 at 07:20 PM • permalinkjoe bagadonuts — Hey! Hey! Hey! Elaine Yarnell was a hottie, buddy!
Posted by richard mcenroe on 2005 04 16 at 07:32 PM • permalinkDear Rich,
Let’s see, SNL is a show that hasn’t been funny for a couple of decades. And you’re a reject from it.
There is nothing less funny and more pathetic than a comedian whose career is on the skids to try to revive it by going political and getting serious. It couldn’t be that the left is just using you, could it? And of course, if nobody likes your schtick, you now have the excuse that it must be that they’re just rejecting your politics (which are unquestionably true), the right is trying to deny your freedom of speech, they don’t want to admit the truth of your bullshit, etc., etc., ad nauseam.
In other words, get back to us when you have something worth listening to.
Sheesh, Rich Hall. He was marginally famous for 5 minutes in the mid-80’s and now he’s the headliner at the lounges in the best truckstops across America.
Posted by Cracker Barrel Philosopher on 2005 04 16 at 07:53 PM • permalinkCracker Barrel Philosopher — sumbitch keeps blocking the my view of the strippers, too…
Posted by richard mcenroe on 2005 04 16 at 07:56 PM • permalink“Have you ever heard of books? You can read them without logging on!” Oh, har de har HAR har. No need to dissect THIS guy’s comedy; it obviously died of a self-inflicted wound years ago.
As a “nickel and dime gas bag” - Whoa! REALLY dating yourself there, aren’t you Richard? - I’m grateful to Tim and other bloggers for giving me an ether into which to spout my bile. What do you do with your bile, Richard? I mean, with the bile left over after you do one of your “bits”?
I’m willing to go out on a limb here and guess that Mr Hall is a lousy comedian given his complete inability to cope with criticism.
Posted by Astonished on 2005 04 16 at 08:34 PM • permalinkUnder the heading of any publicity is better than no publicity at all, the fact is Mr. Hall was pretty much getting no publicity, until Tim dredged his name up from some “Lost in the 80s” VH-1 retrospective. Now this second response adds to his 15 minutes of cyberspace fame.
If Rich plays his cards right, he could work this frothing and foaming schtick into a guest-hosting gig for fellow SNL alums Al Franken or Jeanine Garafalo on Air America Radio. Then it’s back to the big time, baby!
Well I don’t know about Tim (our Tim, not the other one) or anyone else but I’ve read a few books. The Killing of History; The Fabrication of Aboriginal History; The White Australia Policy, all by Windschuttle. Then there is Washout by Dawson and The Death of Right and Wrong by Tammy Bruce.
All bloody good books but I doubt that either Hall or the other Tim would enjoy them.
Posted by DropDeadUgly on 2005 04 16 at 09:37 PM • permalinkJohn57 — You mean the crusdaing lefty radio station that’s only on the air because the evil broadcast hegemon Clear Channel decided to carry them? If they meant a single word they said, that must gall them…
Posted by richard mcenroe on 2005 04 16 at 09:55 PM • permalinkGoogling for names?
Results 1 - 10 of about 54,300 for “rich hall”
Results 1 - 10 of about 351,000 for “tim blair”
Explains a lot, really.
Posted by Evil Pundit on 2005 04 16 at 10:02 PM • permalinkDeo:
Is that really a picture of Rich Hall, and if so, what’s the penalty for grave robbing these days? The guy looks like what P.G. Wodehouse would call “a slab of damnation”, and what I would call the Creature from the Black Lagoon’s ugly sister. Man, it would be cruel to laugh at THAT guy, even if he is a comedian.
Cracker Barrel Philosopher-
Sheesh, Rich Hall. He was marginally famous for 5 minutes in the mid-80’s and now he’s the headliner at the lounges in the best truckstops across America.
As a frequent patron of American truckstops, I can assure you that Mr. Hall would not go over well. Looking around here at my fellow travelers, I can safely say that the little sh*t wouldn’t stand a chance!
Tim-Please, please, please post his email address!!!
Posted by nofixedabode on 2005 04 16 at 11:27 PM • permalinkElaine Yarnell was a hottie, buddy!
Actually her name was Lorene. And you’re right. She was hot. Nice rack. I still remember them.
Believe me, if anyone watched that show from the seventies, it was because of Lorene’s bosom. Not the stupid mime stuff, that’s for sure.
Posted by wronwright on 2005 04 16 at 11:47 PM • permalinkThis person’s reliance on vulgar language undermines his message.
Similarly, many contributors here rely on personal attack and vulgarity, apparently in the absence of an articulate response.
Also, attacking this man for his obvious inability to take criticism is really the pot call the kettle black.
Posted by mushtaq_omar on 2005 04 16 at 11:55 PM • permalinkwronwright — Plus IIRC, she had a killer laugh and smile.
Posted by richard mcenroe on 2005 04 17 at 12:08 AM • permalinkIf the BBC is anything to go by, Rich Hall is the best American comic in the world, becauses he’s ALWAYS ON THE BBC [...] along with all those other humour-challenged economic ignoramuses like Jeremy Hardy, Linda Smith, Mark Thomas and Paul Merton - names that mean might not mean much to non-Brits, but to anyone living in Britain they’re hard to avoid
It may just be that I’ve gotten better at ignoring what’s on the BBC, but are these people really that ubiquitous? I haven’t seen Jeremy Hardy, Linda Smith or Mark Thomas in anything in years; Paul Merton seems to be semi-retired, only appearing regularly on Have I Got News For You (which is what, one day’s work a week for three months of the year?), and Rich Hall hasn’t been in anything since a special just before the Presidential elections last year (with Mike Wilmot, the Canadian anti-comedian (he actually sucks funny out of the room)). I think that even the BBC and Channel 4 have finally worked out just how unfunny and generally tedious these people are. Paul Merton’s had his moments, though.
Yeesh. I can smell the stank of flop sweat even from here. Mr. Hall surely must now realize that being a joke and being funny are two very different things.
Posted by Andrea Harris, Administrator on 2005 04 17 at 12:40 AM • permalinkI don’t pay much attention to BBCAmerica, but I’m under the impression that it survives only by endlessly repeating the ‘70s era “Britcoms”. (Same as PBS)
Is the broadcast fare on that side of the Atlantic as bad as that which we see in the US?
Posted by nofixedabode on 2005 04 17 at 12:42 AM • permalinkIs there any actual evidence that Phatty actually reads books? I vaguely recall him mentioning ages ago in one of his columns that he lacks time to read. I can sympathise, considering his exhausting four hours per week schedule. Given his general ignorance, intellectual laziness and gullibility, I would have thought his bookreading is done by his researchers.
Posted by Jim Geones on 2005 04 17 at 12:50 AM • permalinkMushtaq - you’re not running for Pope, are you?
Posted by James Waterton on 2005 04 17 at 12:57 AM • permalink“Ms Fits reckons he’s ‘brilliant, just brilliant - with Politics so good you touch yourself’.”
A confession that is best left unexplored. She also calls him “the Bill Hicks of today,” which means he should see a doctor immediately.
Posted by Jim Treacher on 2005 04 17 at 01:14 AM • permalinkA little googling using the info from blithering bubby regarding Rich being firmly on the BBC publically funded teat, reveals he is a recipient of a french fizzy water award,(i presume that is whet the perrier award bestows on its winners).
His fishing show appears to entail waiting for hours for non biting fish, and therefore the time is spent discussing American politics and knocking Bush et al with his “BUddies”.
Well, i’ve certainly met loads of comedians on Australian fishing trips(where the fish really bite) but few of the leftist moonbat persuasion.
No doubt if he were a real RICH bush basher like the corpulent MR Moore the french would have bestowed a far more impressive “prize” on him. Perhaps the Mouton cadet or Dom Perignon , in which case he would have proved useful on a trip out to the reef but fizzy water bah! even the fish give it a wide berth.Is this Rich Hall of 1980s shilling for Pizza Hut non-fame?
Franken, Checy Chase, Jeanine GaROFLMAO, Rich what’s-his-name: What is it with these Angry Middle-Aged Fart “Comedians”? Where does their witless venom come from?
Tim, save your wit from someone worthy of it. Ripping this pathetic little washout ain’t worth the bandwidth.
Rich should know not to go near a computer when he’s coming down off a coke binge…
Posted by Lucky Nutsacks on 2005 04 17 at 03:24 AM • permalinkAh, it’s nice to see that the older America intelligentsia have sharpened their wits and tongues through world travel, INTERNET access, and charming discourse with opposing views. No doubt the excessive drug use helped as well.
It’s also interesting to note that I lost interest in Saturday Night Live about the same time this loser went on it. And I was a near-basket case liberal back then, being in college and all. And SNL was a Saturday night staple for all college students back then. Either that or a wild party with hot chicks.
Mushtaq—- I hesitate to point this out, but you sound almost as peevish as Rich Hall. The only real difference I can see between your post and his e-mail is that you are far more polite and to the point. If you feel some sympathy for this dude, reconsider, please. Because Rich Hall is a dried out hack reliving his glory days by pretending to be an intelligent person.
Posted by The_Real_JeffS on 2005 04 17 at 04:01 AM • permalinkI think we need to analyze his language, “hard-on, ass licking, cunt”, Rich isn’t a bad guy, he’s just needs to get laid.
Posted by Aging Gamer on 2005 04 17 at 04:34 AM • permalinkjic wrote:
>I haven’t seen Jeremy Hardy, Linda Smith or Mark Thomas in anything in yearsYou’ve become good at ignoring them. They’re on a lot, not just the TV but Radio 4 (and they’re all over BBC TV 3 and 4)- I saw Mark Thomas on the Beeb a week or two ago ranting on about all the countries that America has supposedly screwed over (and this was supposed to be a comedy show).
>Paul Merton seems to be semi-retired, only appearing regularly on Have I Got News For You (which is what, one day’s work a week for three months of the year?)
By TV comedian standards, this is not semi-retired, this is being overloaded with work!
>and Rich Hall hasn’t been in anything since a special just before the Presidential elections last year (with Mike Wilmot, the Canadian anti-comedian (he actually sucks funny out of the room)).
I’ve seen Hall on quite a few times since then. (Mike Wilmot, on the other hand, I quite like, but perhaps that’s just because he’s so anti-PC).
Posted by Blithering Bunny on 2005 04 17 at 06:23 AM • permalinkBeing on Radio 4, BBC3, and BBC4 hardly count as being “hard to avoid”.
By TV comedian standards, this is not semi-retired, this is being overloaded with work!
True in general, but I remember a time Paul Merton was in everything. And if he wasn’t in it, he was writing or producing it.
Thank you for telling me that Rich Hall has been on a lot recently, I’m proud of myself for not noticing.
Never heard of the dunce.
But, if he is keen on the Phatty, I don’t want to hear of him anyway.
Posted by Pedro the Ignorant on 2005 04 17 at 09:42 AM • permalinkI think the problem for many of these anti-American or anti-coalition comedians and actors is that they’re used to having the last say. With the emergence of blogs, that’s no longer the case.
Posted by wronwright on 2005 04 17 at 09:52 AM • permalink>Being on Radio 4, BBC3, and BBC4 hardly count as being “hard to avoid�.
If you like new comedy, you get much of your BBC fix from BBC 3 and 4 and Radio 4. Most of the new interesting comedy comes from these three places (most BBC comedy hits, like Little Britain for example, are trialled in one of these venues first).
Yet much of it has a leftist bias. Any political element is usually leftist. Take, for example, that new political comedy show looking at the past week’s events - can’t remember it’s name, but it’s mostly self-professed left-wing comedians in it.
>>By TV comedian standards, this is not semi-retired, this is being overloaded with work!
>
>True in general, but I remember a time Paul Merton was in everything. And if he wasn’t in it, he was writing or producing it.He was a given a lot of opportunities to do his own shows (plus an absurd remake of Hancock’s Half Hour), which were generally recognized as incredibly unfunny. That’s why they don’t let him do that any more. But he’s still got one of the plum comedy gigs on the BBC, with some of the best script-writers backing him up (they’re listed as something like “programme consultants” in the credits).
Posted by Blithering Bunny on 2005 04 17 at 10:59 AM • permalinkThey use BBC3 & 4 for trialing new comedy precisely because not many people watch them. The channels are treated like a focus group: If a show does well on them, it is moved up to the ‘real’ channels, i.e. BBC1 & 2. If it fails, nobody much notices. Anyway, our disagreement is basically on whether it’s “hard to avoid” these people. A significant number of households still don’t have digital TV, and I doubt Radio 4 has enough listeners to have the slightest chance of surviving (at least as a national network) as a commercial station. A few years ago, I would have agreed with you completely; you couldn’t turn on the TV without seeing these people. Now, if you see them at all, it’s because you went to a minor digital channel, looking for the kind of programme you would expect to find them in.
We agree completely about the leftist bias of BBC comedy, but almost everything on the BBC has a leftist bias. They recruit mainly through ads in The Guardian, don’t they? I think we probably also agree about the cronyism that causes the same few irritating little tools to constantly be given shows in prime viewing time. I just disagree that the specific irritating little tools you mentioned are anywhere near as hard to avoid as they used to be. Thank god.
I suppose you are right about Paul Merton. His huge overexposure in the past just made him look underemployed to me by comparison. I forgot that he also has Room 101, so he does get better exposure than most comedians.
>They use BBC3 & 4 for trialing new comedy precisely because not many people watch them. The channels are treated like a focus group: If a show does well on them, it is moved up to the ‘real’ channels, i.e. BBC1 & 2. If it fails, nobody much notices. Anyway, our disagreement is basically on whether it’s “hard to avoid� these people. A significant number of households still don’t have digital TV, and I doubt Radio 4 has enough listeners to have the slightest chance of surviving (at least as a national network) as a commercial station. A few years ago, I would have agreed with you completely; you couldn’t turn on the TV without seeing these people. Now, if you see them at all, it’s because you went to a minor digital channel, looking for the kind of programme you would expect to find them in.
I couldn’t say that I’ve noticed a diminution in their appearances, although neither of us can claim to have studied this with any rigour. And clearly they’re not hard to avoid if you’re someone who only watches sport and game shows on BBC1. But the New Class—civil servants, columnists, academics, regulators, etc.—watch BBC 2, 3 and 4, and many of them listen to Radio 4. These people have considerable power. And the shows they watch and listen to on these channels tend to be left-wing, including the comedies.
Posted by Blithering Bunny on 2005 04 17 at 04:53 PM • permalinkI agree with you. People in professions which have a general left/liberal bias are more likely to seek out Marxist comedians on BBC3, BBC4, and Radio 4 than the rest of us.
As for whether or not the specific comedians we were talking about are more of less prevalent then they used to be, you are right that neither of us can claim to be experts. It is just my impression that these people seem less pushed into your face then they used to be. Maybe the BBC promotes these programmes less aggressively than they used to, at least on their more mainstream channels.
... ass licking sycophant following ... you dumb cunt….
... you don’t have a sense of humor.
And you over-water your begonias!
Wow. I liked Rich Hall back in the Fridays days. His lisping, deadpan delivery made him my favorite kid-down-the-street, misfit comedian.
Now I see he was using humor just to get people to like him. What’s under that veneer would drive away maggots.
Posted by Rittenhouse on 2005 04 19 at 02:02 PM • permalink
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dear rich,
SOD OFF SWAMPY !
your pal,
~ ass-licking syncophat five and dime gasbag with an axe to grind ~
(i’m gonna put that on my business card.)