Comedy Saved Me Classic Replay with Paul Mercurio

Summary

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takin' a walk: Comedy Saved Me Classic Replay with Paul Mercurio

Podcast Overview

This episode of "takin' a walk"—part of the Comedy Saved Me Classic Replay series—features comedian and writer Paul Mercurio in a lively conversation with host Lynne Hoffman (on behalf of Buzz Knight Media). The central theme explores the healing and connective power of comedy, drawing on Mercurio's journey from law to stand-up, his unique Broadway show "Permission to Speak," and the critical role laughter plays in personal and collective wellness.

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Main Topics & Key Discussion Points

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1. Paul Mercurio's Unlikely Path to Comedy (05:40–09:25)

• Origins & Early Comedy Connection

  • Paul recounted his childhood fascination with watching comedians late at night and retelling their jokes at school, as well as class clown antics.
  • "I would get in the locker and I'd pull my pants down, and my friends would open the bottom locker, and people would see my scrawny, you know, hairless, chinchilla, Italian legs..." (05:32)

• Career Switch: From Law to Jokes

  • Despite practicing mergers & acquisitions law on Wall Street, Mercurio felt drawn to writing jokes as a creative hobby.
  • The chance encounter and joke sale to Jay Leno sparked his transition.
    • "A couple days later, my phone rings, and it’s Jay Leno… I want to hire you to send the jokes for the Tonight Show monologue, and I’ll pay you 50 bucks a joke.” (08:01)

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2. Comedy Influences & Formative Moments (09:25–11:38)

• Comedic Idols & Styles

  • Mercurio's influences included Rodney Dangerfield, Steve Martin, George Carlin, Robin Williams, Jonathan Winters, and Don Rickles, each appreciated for unique approaches.

• Insights on Stand-up Evolution

  • Stand-up as genuine human connection:
    • “You wouldn’t walk into a cocktail party and just launch into material.” (10:44)
    • Prefers to engage the audience conversationally rather than sticking to rigid routines.

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3. Comedy as a Coping Mechanism & Family Dynamics (12:21–16:07)

• Family Background—The Dominant Mother

  • Stories of his mother’s entrepreneurial spirit, quirks, and the tumultuous family furniture business in Providence, RI.
  • “My mother wore the pants in the family. My father… He just took a backseat.” (12:56)
  • Anecdote about customers being locked in the store while his mom went shopping (14:10).

• Creative Drive from Upbringing

  • Comedy as a channel to assert individuality and create outside his mother’s shadow and the constraints of corporate law.

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4. The True Reward: Audience Connection (18:18–20:08)

• Describing the Comedic "Zone"

  • “It’s like having this really intimate conversation with a bunch of people you don’t know, but you’re on the same wavelength.” (18:22)

• Memorable Bit—Vaseline Observations

  • “How do the people who make Vaseline make any money?... Have you ever heard anybody say, ‘Hey, honey, I’m gonna go get more Vaseline’?” (18:49)

• Comparison to Corporate Life

  • Contrasts the dry affirmation a lawyer gets with the visceral validation comedians receive from laughter and emotional resonance.

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5. Comedy & Therapy: The Power to Heal (20:23–22:23)

• Mutual Therapy for Audience and Performer

  • “There’s been studies… even in cancer, laughter helps cure people... I needed to come out. Lost my father. I needed to come out. Things are so crazy in the world. I needed to forget about it.” (20:47)

• His Broadway Show: “Permission to Speak”

  • Described as “group therapy,” where audience members share authentic stories—sometimes hilarious, sometimes touching—without judgment.
  • The show’s unique interactivity offers a rare communal experience.

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6. Notable Show Interactions: Breaking Stereotypes and Finding Common Ground (22:43–29:14)

• Audience Surprises & Vulnerability

  • Example: Conversation with a stereotypical hunter who turns out to be deeply introspective about parenting mistakes.
    • “At first look… he’s a hunter. But when you listen, he says stuff you didn’t expect him to say.” (24:24)
    • Humorous highlight: The hunter’s son confirming, “Yeah, at least one,” regarding parental mistakes.

• Outrageous True Stories

  • Man confesses shoplifting as a profession, coaching his girlfriend—who then gets arrested for shoplifting at CVS.
    • “He’s not saying don’t shoplift. He’s saying, if you’re gonna do it, do it at the right place.” (27:28)

• Multi-generational Voices

  • A 95-year-old woman shares her cheeky story about meeting her husband, defying ageist expectations.
  • “She had a lot of spunk... There was like a sauciness to her.” (29:49)

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7. Why Comedy Matters for Society (30:43–32:45)

• A World Without Comedy?

  • “It would sort of definitely be a more depressing world… The mental health crisis that we’re in would be much worse without it.” (31:19)

• Community & Emotional Solidarity

  • Comedy as a tool to realize we’re not alone in facing hardships.
  • “If I’m talking about my crazy mother and somebody’s dealing with their crazy mother, maybe they feel a little bit better because they’re not alone.” (31:46)

• Comedy as “Safe Therapy”

  • Positioning comedy as an accessible alternative to traditional therapy, giving people permission to be vulnerable.

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Notable Quotes & Moments

• On Permission to Speak:

  • “People, I think, out there feel nameless and faceless and disconnected. But if you get together and you share stories, you realize we have more in common than we think.” (25:19)

• On Comedy's Universal Power:

  • “We’re more connected than we think, and you sit down with somebody you don’t know and within 10 minutes you’re gonna find some commonality somewhere.” (34:24)

• On Self-Deprecation and Success:

  • “Are you doing gay porn?” [joking about being confused with the Australian dancer Paul Mercurio] (33:11)
  • “I’m an idiot, so...” (33:55)

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• 05:40–09:25 — Mercurio’s comedic awakening & Leno story
• 09:25–11:38 — Early influences & stand-up philosophy
• 12:21–16:07 — Family tales & how they shape comedic voice
• 18:18–20:08 — What true audience connection feels like
• 20:43–22:23 — Comedy’s therapeutic impact
• 22:43–29:14 — Unpredictable audience moments from “Permission to Speak”
• 30:43–32:45 — The world without comedy: reflections on society and mental health
• 34:09–34:47 — On human commonality and comedy as connection

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Episode Tone & Final Takeaway

Mercurio and Hoffman keep the mood buoyant, quick-witted, and heartfelt. Paul’s stories mix self-deprecation, sharp observations, and affection for human frailty. Their banter delivers both laughter and insight, underscoring the central message: comedy is a lifeline—for audiences, for comics, and for society at large. By sharing our stories and finding humor in our struggles, we realize we aren’t alone, and perhaps, become a little more connected.

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Transcript

[Paul Mercurio]

This is an iHeart podcast.

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[Paul Mercurio]

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[Lynne Hoffman]

Comedy Saved Me Part.

[Paul Mercurio]

Of what the show does is get people to see people in different lights and the way they. You don't have to think of a 95 year old woman as like this doddering old whatever. Like I asked her about a colonoscopy, she had one recently. She's feeling good by the way, in case you're curious.

[Lynne Hoffman]

I'm Lynne Hoffman and welcome to Comedy Saved Me, a brand new podcast from Buzz Night Media Productions. The creator of Taking a Walk and Music Save Me podcasts. Comedy Save Me is a podcast showcasing the incredible healing power of comedy and laughter. Today we are so excited to welcome the amazingly funny Paul Mercurio with one R. Paul Mercurio is an Emmy and Peabody Award winning comedian who currently works and appears regularly on the Late show with Stephen Colbert, that little show there. And he's also worked on Daily show, the Colbert Report, had his own series on hbo. Yeah, hbo and his own Comedy Central specials. And if he's not crazy busy enough. Paul has also created a successful Broadway show called Permission to Speak and it's directed by the legendary director Frank Oz. You know, from movies like Little Shop of Horrors, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, the Score. He's the voice of Yoda and a puppeteer and creator of the Muppets. It's amazing that you have all this going on. Paul Mercurio, so excited to welcome you to to the very first edition of Comedy Saved Me.

[Paul Mercurio]

I am honored to be here. This is awesome. Thank you so much. This is better than, better than working with Frank Oz. That guy.

[Lynne Hoffman]

Oh really?

[Paul Mercurio]

That guy just hangs, you know, he just hangs on. He just wants. He's so needy. Please can I work with you? I'm like, frank, I'm busy. I can't take it. No, he's the best. He's the best. He's like the best.

[Lynne Hoffman]

Does he ever break into Yoda?

[Paul Mercurio]

He does. And I slap him when he does that really hard, and it knocks the pointy ears off. His real ears, because he always wears the pointy ears. Because he's got to let everybody know he's Yoda. It's like, Frank. People notice that. Sometimes they think he's a balding spock. And I'm like, no, that's Yoda. No, he. He's. He's the coolest guy ever. And so down there and. And crazy artist, creative, like, mind, like. And so to have the ability to work with him has been, like, really cool. Really? Really.

[Lynne Hoffman]

I can imagine.

[Paul Mercurio]

Yeah. Yeah.

[Lynne Hoffman]

Well, I want to talk about that, but first, I want to start a little bit back in the beginning. Well, not too far in the beginning, but what was the first moment that you connected with comedy? Can you remember that? You know, the time that it really just cemented. That was going to be your ultimate pursuit in a career.

[Paul Mercurio]

Well, it's funny because there's two different answers to that. One is like, I first connected with comedy as a kid watching it. There's something about, like, I would ask to stay up late to watch the comedians. And then I go into school. I grew up in Providence, Rhode island, and I go into school and, like, tell the jokes that I saw on TV doing Rodney or whatever. But I was like a class clown. Like, we had lockers. You know, those lockers, one's on top of the other. So we broke the floor of the. Which would be the floor of the one. The upper locker, the ceiling of the lower locker. So it was like one locker. And then I would get in the locker and I'd pull my pants down, and my friends would open the bottom locker, and people would see my scrawny, you know, hairless, chinchilla, Italian legs look like. Like a little hairless boy. Anyway, don't throw up in your mouth. And so I was. There was something about comedy going on with me, but never thinking I was going to do it. I didn't grow up in a performing family. And then I started, right? And it was in law school, and I ended up practicing law on Wall street doing Merchant Acquisition. I started writing jokes to hobby. And. And I didn't know what was happening, like, but these jokes were coming out of me. And then I. I met Jay Leno at a private function, and I gave him my jokes. And I said, I don't know if you need jokes, but I'm never going to use these. And he was like, okay. He really. His head moves around like it's a Macy's Day balloon in the wind. Like, you just want to grab his head and go, just sit still for a minute. And it's like. And it sounds like the helium's like helium. And so a couple of days later, my phone rings, and it's this. On the other Len, it's Jay Leno. Is Paul there? And I'm like, there's no way Jay Leno's calling me. So I thought it was my friend David pulling a prank. He goes, not really. It's Jay Leno. I go, david, I know I'm in the middle of a merger deal. I don't have time. He goes, no, it's Jay Leno. I go, david, stop. He goes, it's Jay Leno. And I actually said to Jay Leno, you do a lousy Jay Leno. And. Yeah, what do you say? He said, it's really me. And I'm like, oh, crap. And then he goes, I want to hire you to send the jokes for the Tonight show monologue, and I'll pay you 50 bucks a joke. Wow. And he did the joke about a week later. He calls me James Paul there. I'm like, what? What do you want, Jay? I don't have time. I'm busy. I have a lot of friends. I don't. Don't you have friends in Hollywood? I got stuff. I got Buzz Knight on line one. I got Hoffman on line two. I got stuff going on. No. He said, I'm going to do your joke on the Tonight show tonight. And I got together at our apartment in New York with a bottle of champagne. He did this joke for 50 bucks, and it blew my head off my shoulders. And so that was the point where I'm like, oh, maybe I could do this for real. But again, I didn't plan it. People asked me, when you look back, were you funny? I'm like, yeah, they were like, I was funny as a kid. Were you? I go, yeah, I was the funniest lawyer in the law firm. Which, you know, I know it's not saying much. It's like saying you're the sexiest IT guy. You know what I mean? It's like, you know, it's not a. It's like engineer. You like my. You like my pocket protector? Hey, you know, like. So that's kind of the moment. I. I think it was a combination of something going on with me as a kid, but never thinking I would do it, but clearly. And then being the class clown and then that joke, it all kind of came together, melted.

[Lynne Hoffman]

Who are some of your early influences? Who do you watch in Say, television shows or.

[Paul Mercurio]

Well, I love, like, I. I like different communities for different reasons. So I don't have, like, one particular favorite, but, like, Rodney Dangerfield for his timing and just how defined that character was. Steve Martin for his inventiveness, George Carlin for, like, he could be edgy, but also just goofy. Like, those are just some. I mean, Robin Williams because of. And Jonathan Winters because of their, like, complete improvisation. Like, just grab a stick and, like, be funny with it for five minutes. So I never really discriminated. It wasn't Like, I never liked. Like. Like, even Rickles I liked because he was so outrageous, the stuff he would say. Like, I was working on the Daily show at the time as one of the writers, and Rickles came on our show, and we were all like, oh, my God, it's Don Rickles. And he was performing in Atlantic City. We take the show in New York. So we're like. We said to his manager, Tony. Of course his manager's Tony, right? And he go, like a Vegas guy with the whole thing. And we go, we want to see him. So he set us up, like, 15 of US tickets, and he sat us right down front, and he comes out on stage, Rickles with, like, a tumbler, scotch and a tuxedo. And he's like a. He's like a. Like a cougar prowling looking, right? And he stops, and one of the guys and one of the writers, his name was Jim Row, really skinny guy, scrawny, always sickly looking, and he stops, and he looks at him, and he goes, hey, you, You. I'm a friend. Get a mask. And he was like, yes, Don Rickles assaulted one of us. We've arrived. It's. It's. It's all of those things. But for me, like, you know, stand up is, like, about connecting with the Pete. Like, people. Like, it's always, you know, you start out, you do stand up, you come out, you do your jokes. But I started to find that it was weird for me to just come out and launch into jokes. Like, when you had all these people, it was like, you wouldn't walk into a cocktail party and just launch into material. Like, so I started talking to the audiences, and then that led to, like, a whole bunch of other kind of stuff that I like to do, because I. I just. It just felt weird to me to go up and just go. So I was at Target the other day, and whatever, right? Like, so I started going, hey, whatever. And then my brain goes all over the place.

[Lynne Hoffman]

Oh, wow. So then you Then you can understand women, because my brain's always all over the place, but somehow I always come back to everything. So, you know.

[Paul Mercurio]

Yes. Yeah. But you can connect that. I can. I go like, whatever. And my wife is like, you're in a. Like, she's very calm, and I'm all over the place. Multitask. I multitask in bed. My day, romantic evening is making love to my wife, and I'm on the phone with my broker, eating Chinese food, watching a football game, and having a satellite dish installed. I'm like, I'm a thousand shares. Sound good? That tastes good. Honey. That's so good. Right there is good. It's good. Yeah. There you go.

[Lynne Hoffman]

Ah, you're a multitasker. I love it.

[Paul Mercurio]

I'm a multitasker.

[Lynne Hoffman]

All right. So not to get too serious, but a lot of people that I've ever talked to in the world of comedy usually tells me of these just really tragic or horrible stories that really brought them the yin and yang. It's that whole making lemons out of lemonade story. Was there anything particular that happened to you in your life that may have triggered you to, you know, become.

[Paul Mercurio]

Yes. Being the son of my mother, that's pretty much everything. Being the son of my mother is, like, insane. Not in a bad way, but in a crazy way, because she started this furniture business in 1960 out of a tenement house in Providence, and we all had to work in the business, and my mother wore the pants in the family. My father was like. He just took a backseat. He was like, whatever, Tina. You know, and he was like. So she didn't have a high school education. She. They couldn't afford to send her to college. She felt like she got screwed out of college. So she's a very strong woman. And so it was just like everything was built around the store. And I think that did have some impact. You know, I wasn't, like, abused or anything, but it was just like, you know, just insane stuff, like. Like my mother. You'd go to the store one day, and she. She would lock customers in the store in the middle of the day and think it was okay, like, I'm not making this up. I'll go there one day. The door. Because. Because she has bad hearing, and she's very flighty, and she likes to do what she wants to do when she wants to do it. So the reason she had her own business is she didn't want to be beholden to a boss so she can make her own hours. So in the middle of the day if she wanted to go shopping at, I don't know, TJ Maxx or something, she was just gonna go and lock the store. So one day she decided to do that. And this has happened more than once. And there's a woman in the store, and the door's locked. And I'm like, how'd you get in? And she goes, well, I was looking around the turn. They asked your mother a question. I couldn't get out. I said, how long you been here? She goes, four hours. I said, what have you been doing? She goes, well, I browsed a lot. She said, I took a nap on that sofa. And she goes, your name? Paul? I go, yeah. She goes, well, the phone rang, and I took messages. She took messages from me. Okay, so you can never win with your parents, right? No. So I said to my. I said to my mother, I go, mai, you can't lock people in the store in the middle of the day. She goes, oh, I don't know what you're yelling me about. The woman took on that. On that sofa. She liked it so much, she's going to buy it. I made a sale, and I wasn't even in the store. I'm like, okay, you know what? I can't do this anymore. I'm done. She goes through garbage on Sunday nights looking for good garbage. She found her hearing aids in the garbage because they're cheap and she's grew up in the Depression. And they whistle. Is that me? You take her for a walk. Like, within 10 minutes, you have a pack of dogs following you down the street. Just. It's like, so. So I think what happened in all joking aside from it is my mother was so dominant that you kind of needed to break out on your own. And I think maybe comedy was a way for me to kind of step out of the shadows a bit.

[Lynne Hoffman]

You know, that makes a lot of sense. I. I'm. She left to go to lunch and lock the customers in the store, is what you're saying.

[Paul Mercurio]

Yes. Yes. Okay. On a regular basis. I love.

[Lynne Hoffman]

I love her.

[Paul Mercurio]

Oh, you. You would love her. Oh, you. You would love her. Oh, she. Yeah, she keeps. Yeah, she's just. Just. So. Wow.

[Lynne Hoffman]

Okay.

[Paul Mercurio]

And then the other thing was. Yeah, so she. So I do think that there was kind of this. That thing of, like, she very much takes over the room. And, like, I think if you're brought up like that, then one of two things happen. You either kind of shrink or you try to break out of the room yourself. And I think maybe I went in that direction. And that's why maybe comedy was one of the things. And creatively, I think it was more fulfilling for me than being on Wall street and doing merger deals.

[Lynne Hoffman]

Yeah.

[Paul Mercurio]

Because now I was creating.

[Lynne Hoffman]

That's fascinating.

[Paul Mercurio]

Yeah. Cause I was creating something like when Leno did that joke and all those people reacted to it, I think what. And I took time to figure this out and millions of dollars worth of therapy to figure out. Like they la. I created this thing out of thin air and then they laughed. And that didn't happen with me as a lawyer. A lawyer, you know, you're executing deals and you're doing, you know, contracts and it's more dry. And I think there was something missing in that for me. And plus, you know, I mean, look, the drugs on Wall street were great, but not as good as comedy clubs. Let me be honest with you.

[Lynne Hoffman]

Did they tell you that, you know, you were, they thought you were funny while you were at the law firm?

[Paul Mercurio]

I really was funny at the law firm. But I also was like one of the few young associates that wanted to do mergers and acquisitions, which is a very, like, intense, time consuming all nighters. And a lot of the young associates didn't want to do it because they didn't want to stay late or work weekends. And I didn't care. I kind of liked, I like the frenetic pace of things and that's what that kind of work is. And that's what kind of comedy is like. Especially when you're starting out, you're running around, you're doing sets, you try to get bookings and this and that, you're acting and it's like, so there's something about me that likes that craziness, you know.

[Lynne Hoffman]

Well, you, you have to. There is not one comedian I've ever met that doesn't work their ass off all day, all night, but don't call them in the morning because they're up late.

[Paul Mercurio]

Yes, yes. My friends would say, well, how come you're sleeping late? Because I, your, your 9 to 5 is 9 to 5. My 9 to 5 is 9 at night to 5 in the morning doing shows. And then I'm going out and I'm, you know, I'm, you know, breaking into cars and stealing money now.

[Lynne Hoffman]

No, but really, you really.

[Paul Mercurio]

Just a side thing, Lynn, don't judge me.

[Lynne Hoffman]

That's fine. I understand. Catalytic converters are very, you know.

[Paul Mercurio]

Exactly.

[Lynne Hoffman]

They're, they're sought after.

[Paul Mercurio]

They're very valuable. Yeah.

[Lynne Hoffman]

What does it feel like when you're really connecting with an audience? You know, I can't ask you about me because obviously I'm an easy audience. I love anything funny. I laugh until I cry. As you can see, I have a tissue because my. My. Tearing up your fan communities out there laughing, you bring so much joy to them. What. What does that feel like when you're really connecting?

[Paul Mercurio]

There is, like, a zone you get into, like, where you're just. It's like having this really intimate conversation with a bunch of people you don't know, but you're on the same wavelength that you can even hear and feel them, like, reacting. And it can be about. It doesn't have to be about anything heavy that you're talking about. Like, I mean, the other night, I was just thinking, and I was. I just said, like, out of the blue. I'm like, how do the people who make Vaseline make any money? Like. And people started laughing, and then I just went. I mean, I've had the same tub of Vaseline for, like, ever. My Vaseline was handed down to me by my grandfather in a will. Okay. Have you ever heard anybody say this? Lynn. Hey, honey, I'm gonna go to get more Vaseline. Yeah.

[Lynne Hoffman]

We're running low on Vaseline.

[Paul Mercurio]

No. You could go through every bag of garbage in your town, you're not going to find one empty container of Vaseline. No. No. So I don't know what that company's doing. So I thought of that and I said it, and it just went over really well. And then that feeling, it's like you connected with them on an emotional level, and it's not like connecting on an intellectual level. In a meeting or whatever, you do a pitch and there's a thing. It definitely. And then when you're really in a groove, you can feel it, like, it just doesn't matter. You're completely. Your guard is down, and you're just like this. You're just. It's like you're having a conversation with them even though they're not speaking, but they're speaking through laughter or their attentiveness. And so that. It's a re. It's. It's a place you get to, and when you get there, it's, like, really special and different than, like, being at a. In a meeting, a law firm, like I was. And. Yeah, you know, people like the document you drafted, you know, but it's like, you know, people aren't breaking out champagne or whatever. You know what I mean?

[Lynne Hoffman]

But, like, I love that font that you. You made that document. It was the perfect font.

[Paul Mercurio]

Oh, My God. That you just. You chose Times New Roman, I would have gone, ariel, good for you, Mercurio, you're going to be a partner. You are going to be a partner. No, there's a lot of guts going with the Times New Roman. And you went with the 12 point. I would have gone 14 point. Good for you.

[Lynne Hoffman]

Good for you. Do you think that it's. There's something about. Do you think there's something about it in terms of a therapeutic power, you know, not just for the audience, but for yourself? When you're connecting at that high of a level where you're just like. You're in the zone. Do you think that's like, almost a therapeutic power?

[Paul Mercurio]

Yeah, I think it's for both. I mean, I. I think, you know, they talk about. There's been studies and even in cancer, like, laughter helps cure people. Or, you know, there. There's definitely. You get the sentence. People come up to me and say, I needed to come out. Lost my father. I needed to come out. Things are so crazy in the world. I needed to forget about it. So they need it as a. As a sort of a safe haven to just get away from things, to be reminded that. Not to take things too seriously. And then that helps me as a performer, too. And, you know, like, in the. In my standup. But then in this Broadway show I'm doing called Permission to Speak, which is about people connecting with each other through shared stories. People have described it as like group therapy, because that's fun, because I'm talking to audience members and getting their stories that have been absolutely, like, incredible, because everybody has a story over the age of six, and if you give them a chance to tell it, they'll tell it. And they're not being judged. They can say whatever they want. They don't have to worry about being overly politically correct, whatever. We don't talk politics. But it's just this. And it turned into. It started out as just this idea to. Just another way to do comedy, but it's really therapeutic for people. I got these. A couple amazing recent testimonials from people about one from a therapist who saw me in Florida and made a video testimonial that said, this is really important, what you're doing in terms of being able to give people a place to kind of say what they want to say and get things out. And you should keep doing it. It's therapeutic and whatever. And so, yeah, it's been a pretty cool, like, offshoot of what I'm doing, you know?

[Lynne Hoffman]

Yes. Permission to speak perfect. That you are gonna help me segue right into that. Because I understand you have a couple of clips that you have from the show, which I think is amazing, because really, wouldn't you agree that comedy could heal similarly as music does the same type of thing?

[Paul Mercurio]

And I felt that, like, before I started doing this show. But I'm having people come up to me and say, keep doing the show. We need a show like this now. That's why Frank Oz got involved. Cause he feels like this important show. People are making connections with each other because they're going up to each other after the show and talking about they saw somebody on stage and they connected with what they said. And so we're all in our silos. And sometimes it's good to kind of lift our heads out and kind of see how other people live their lives. You don't have to agree with it, but like, oh, okay, that's how he lives. I get it. Okay. It's not what I would do, but I get it. And so. And the cool thing is, in this clip will show this. You can never judge a book by its cover. So there's this guy on stage, and you see. I mean, he's a hunter, and he looks like a hunter, okay? But when you listen to this conversation, he says stuff that you didn't expect him to say. And he's funny, too. And people are very funny, by the way, because I think they're comfortable up there, so they know they're not going to be made fun of. And everybody's naturally funny. So here we're just talking about. He has a kid, I have a kid, and we talk about, you know, raising a kid. And if you worry about making mistakes and this is what he says. You're very funny, by the way. My wife doesn't agree with you. Is your wife here? No. What's the hardest thing about being a parent? Always thinking you made mistakes, probably. I know, right? You have to make mistakes. I think. You think so that's how you become a better person. That's great. I've made mistakes. We all make mistakes. That's literally the definition. My son's here. Alex. Did I make mistakes? Yeah, at least one. Right. Oh, so that's great. First look at that. When you first look at the guy, you're like, he's not going to be that introspective.

[Lynne Hoffman]

Yeah.

[Paul Mercurio]

And. And then he ends up being really introspective and then tops me at the end because my son's in the audience in the back, and I Yelled at my son, Alex, as you saw, did I, did I make mistakes? My son goes, yeah. And then the guy goes, yeah, as you saw, yeah, at least one. Right. Pointing at my son. So he had the moment and so everybody talked about him afterwards and people went up to him and, and I think a lot of people were surprised at how introspective he was and in tune with the important things about raising a kid and stuff. And so I'm finding that people, I think out there feel nameless and faceless and disconnected. But if you get together and you share stories, you realize we have more in common than we think and we don't have to be so disconnected because I'm never going to change your views politically, that doesn't happen anymore. But if you're at the opposite end of the spectrum politically, but I can get you to see that you have something in common with the person that's at the other end of the spectrum, maybe you'll start listening to their politics because you realize, oh, he has a dog that craps on the rug. I have a dog that craps on the rug. He's got a brother who's got a brother in law who's, who's an alcoholic or whatever. And I like. Then you go, okay, well maybe that person's not the devil. And I'll listen to their politics. So there's something happening in the room because it ends up turning into like, like a giant hang. Like, you know, where we're just, you know, kind of exchanging stories.

[Lynne Hoffman]

Where did you come up with the idea? Where did you get the idea to do.

[Paul Mercurio]

It was from. It was from my stand up and talking to the audiences in like very short bursts. But then I started asking more and more questions and the more questions I asked, the crazier the answers because you were digging deep. You know, you interview people, you peel back the onion and then you get these amazing stories. And, and that's when some producers saw me doing it and they thought that people were plants. And I'm like, no. They go, how did it work out? It's like, well, wow, you know, I just. Whatever. Yeah. And then we have a set designed by the set designer for the Late show animation by J.J. settlemeyer, who did Beavis and Butt Head and all the NSL TV Funhouse and Frank and I. So to collectively the team, the creative team has 33 Emmy awards and it's pretty powerful team. And so we ended up creating this thing that's got stand up in it. It's got my stand up and Stuff and stories for me, but. But it's about this one night where we'll never be together again. The show can't repeat because every show is different. And people are like, kind of letting their hair down and taking a breath, not worrying about what's going on in the outside world and just going like, oh, okay, this is. That guy's cool. That's interesting. Oh, my God. I wouldn't think to think about raising a kid that way, but whatever.

[Lynne Hoffman]

You know, I'm so reclusive now, but that's something that I would want to go to. I mean, to get me to go to a show. That would be. If we're gonna be interactive like that and you're gonna bring people into the fold, that's even more fun than just coming to see a show, because you become a part of the show. But you're also, like, you said, find out how much we all have in common, which is really the most important.

[Paul Mercurio]

Yeah. And you know, and then you. And then you hear things like, I had a guy go, what's the matter? He goes, I mean, I just broke up with my girlfriend. Why? What happened? He goes, well, I told her not to shoplift at cvs. I go, what? He goes, yeah. I go, did you say at cvs? He goes, yeah, yeah. She wouldn't listen to me. He goes, I taught her how to shoplift. And I go, what? He goes, yeah, that's how I make my money. I shoplift, but I shoplift at night. Places like Saks and Bloomingdale's. Now the audience is like, what is going on? People's heads are exploding. He's not trying to be funny. He's not self aware. He thinks this is normal because that's how I make a living. I shoplift. But nice places like Saks and Bloomingdale's and Neiman Marcus and whatever. And he goes, so my girlfriend's nagging me because she wants nice stuff. And I said, I'm not going to teach you how to shoplift because you're just going to shoplift at stupid places like cvs. He's not saying, don't shoplift. He's saying, if you're gonna do it, do it at the right place. This is. So now everybody in the audience is like, what is going on? You can't write this. You couldn't write this. So I go, what happened? He goes, well, she wore me down. I finally taught her. What does she do? First place she goes, she goes to cvs. She gets arrested for lipstick and a hand Mirror calls me up. She's in the back of the squad car. I go, what happened? He goes, I broke up with her. I go, where? He goes, in the back of the squad car. He goes, I don't need this aggravation.

[Lynne Hoffman]

Oh my God.

[Paul Mercurio]

He goes, just crazy. And so, so it's just been that kind of ride.

[Lynne Hoffman]

No wonder why they thought there was a plant in the room there. No wonder why. How you can't, you can't pay someone to have that kind of story for real.

[Paul Mercurio]

Like that's exactly, exactly. And then, and, and then I try to give a voice to kind of people that maybe don't get hurt a lot. Like there's. We have a clip and this is a woman, 95, her name is Lee. She's from Florida. And I like to talk to somebody that, because they've lived life, they also don't give a crap. And they say whatever's on their mind at that point. And she was really great and was exactly what I hoped she would because she had a lot of spunk. And you can see, I just asked her about how she met her husband and all that.

[Lynne Hoffman]

All right, let's listen.

[Paul Mercurio]

How did you meet your husband? We were in the same homeroom in high school. That's where I met my wife in high school. And you saw him, you thought he was cute? No, we hated each other at first. Why? Why? No, it's just, you know, just, you know. Yeah, yeah. It grows on you. Yeah. He was going with, really dating my best friend and then they broke up and he, I was there and he took me home.

[Lynne Hoffman]

How do you, how do you handle this? That's crazy.

[Paul Mercurio]

I just let it, I just let it go. So my favorite part of that clip is when, you know, she's saying, you know, the girl, you know, obviously her friend, you know, broke up and the two of them got together after her friend broke up with this guy and she ended up marrying me. And she goes like that at the end. Like, like, because she. There was like a sauciness to her, like that was kind of cool. Like she wasn't an old fuddy duddy. And so part of what the show does is get people to see people in different lights than the way they think. You don't have to think of a 95 year old woman as like this doddering old whatever. Like she had it together. I asked her about a colonoscopy. She had one recently. She's feeling good, by the way, in case you're curious. Good, good. I asked. I asked.

[Lynne Hoffman]

Oh, My gosh. Curious. Mercurio. I love that.

[Paul Mercurio]

Yeah.

[Lynne Hoffman]

Permission to speak. It sounds like one of the most awesome shows that you would ever want to go to, comedy wise, because it's not your typical comedy show.

[Paul Mercurio]

Yeah.

[Lynne Hoffman]

Let's wrap things up here, first of all by asking you a question that I'm not sure you'd be able to answer, but I'm going to try anyway. Where do you the world would be without comedy, without the joy of comedy?

[Paul Mercurio]

Wow. I think it would have a lot of unemployed alcoholics who were supposed to be comedians and are just hanging out because they don't. They can't figure out. It's like. I think it would be. It would be. You know, we got a lot of.

[Lynne Hoffman]

I was like, wow, this is going somewhere. I wasn't expecting. No.

[Paul Mercurio]

You know, I think it would sort of definitely a more depressing world in the sense of, like, I think. I think it's a therapeutic thing and I'm glad you're doing a show like this. And I don't think it gets credit for that. And I think the mental health crisis that we're in would be much worse without it, because if we can get serious for a minute, I think people need to find solace through comedy that others are going through the same thing they're going through. So, like, if I'm talking about my crazy mother and somebody's dealing with their crazy mother, maybe they feel a little bit better because they're not alone. And I think we don't want to be alone. And so I think comedy allows people to feel like they're not alone in their life through the form of jokes and funny stories and like that. And what my show is doing, but also with stand up does in general, like, I think that would be. It would be a much different place. I think there would be many more problems for people at a much deeper level, and it would be systemic without it. And I think we take it for granted because it's just always there. But I can't tell you how many people say to me, like, not even necessarily seeing my show, like, I go to comedy sometimes because I just need a release. I just need a break. I need to whatever. And it recharges me, you know, so there's a lot. A lot of good that comes from it. And I think without it, it would be sort of, I think, a much darker place, I think. And so.

[Lynne Hoffman]

Yeah, I agree. I agree. And thankfully, we have permission to speak, to go see and enjoy. And Also check out paulmicurio.com I believe that's there's another gentleman by the same name with two Rs, so don't make that mistake.

[Paul Mercurio]

Yeah, Paul Mercurio from Australia. He's an actor. He's dead to me. Listening. I had to change the spelling of my name because of him. He got in the actors union before I did. But like, yeah, it's Paul Mercurio.com. he did. And he. And he was a dancer and he like really tight clothes and people saw a picture of him and he had like a water bottle and they saw a picture of him and they thought it was me. They're like, are you doing gay porn?

[Lynne Hoffman]

You're doing like, oh my gosh.

[Paul Mercurio]

And so, yeah, so people can go to paulmicurio.com 1r and my last name, M E C U R I O. And I got tour dates out there.

[Lynne Hoffman]

Excellent.

[Paul Mercurio]

And it comes to permission to speak or my stand up. But it's a great question about where would comedy be without. You know, we'd be without comedy, you know, and like, of course there wouldn't be nearly as many comedy T shirts out there. And those are always hilarious. Like a funny banana. Like something coming out of the banana's mouth. Come on, what's better than that? Like a funny banana T shirt. Who doesn't love that? Thank you so much. I'm an idiot, so.

[Lynne Hoffman]

No, you're not. No, I just. I love what you're doing because you're melding things together that you wouldn't find typically. And so it makes total sense why you would be having the success you're having with the show and.

[Paul Mercurio]

Thank you.

[Lynne Hoffman]

And why it's such a wonderful, wonderful thing that you get to feed off each other and feel so good and realize, like you said, really. I think what it all comes down to is we're all much more the same than we are different and.

[Paul Mercurio]

Yeah.

[Lynne Hoffman]

And we gotta laugh at ourselves.

[Paul Mercurio]

More connected than we think. And we're more connected than we think.

[Lynne Hoffman]

Yeah.

[Paul Mercurio]

And you know, I guarantee you, you know, you sit down with somebody you don't know and within 10 minutes you're gonna find some commonality somewhere. You know, like, I've been in prison, you've been in prison. We both know that a lot of people don't know that you're an ex con and don't tell anybod. I'm not supposed to. Oh, I wasn't supposed to say that. No, no, no. Damn it. Yeah.

[Lynne Hoffman]

That's our little secret.

[Paul Mercurio]

Yeah, I, I think that's exactly right. So. And sometimes I think people like want to put on a brave face and not admit that they need emotional support and help and, you know, so you can reach out to comedy in a way where it's not little literal therapy, but it's in a way of therapy for somebody who maybe wouldn't go to therapy, you know. No, I think it's a great thing that you're doing with your show. This is a really smart idea for a show. So I'm glad you're doing it.

[Lynne Hoffman]

Well, thanks so much. Maybe I'll need a co host or something down the road. You think you'd be interested?

[Paul Mercurio]

Yeah. Oh, absolutely. I put a lot of baby powder on, so don't be freaked out by that because I'll smell like a little baby next to you.

[Lynne Hoffman]

That's all right.

[Paul Mercurio]

I love the baby powder. I don't know why I brought that.

[Lynne Hoffman]

Up, but I was just gonna say, like, did. How did I. I don't know. Do we want to go there now or do we.

[Paul Mercurio]

This is, this is where my brain goes. No, I love it.

[Lynne Hoffman]

Thank you so much, Paul Mercurio, for being on Comedy Save me. And also the very, very first episode ever, which is really cool.

[Paul Mercurio]

I'm honored. I'm honored. Seriously. Thank you.

[Lynne Hoffman]

Thanks for being our guinea pig. I appreciate it.

[Paul Mercurio]

Absolutely.

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