Chuck Lorre and I had been talking about doing one of his shows for a while. I said I’d like to do ‘The Big Bang Theory,’ because I think it’s the best written, most intelligent show on television.
The first time I got up in front of an audience was terror, abject terror, which continued for another four or five years. There still is, a little bit.
The best advice I was probably given and the best advice I could give someone who is trying to get into the comedy field is to take advantage of every opportunity you have to work to hone your skills.
Richard Pryor introduced me to the world of the inner city, and the urban world, and did it hysterically. My favorite comedian, even though we work 180 degrees differently, but funny is funny is funny.
I loved ‘Everybody Loves Raymond’ because I like Ray and I thought it was beautifully cast, I thought it was great writing. I thought Patricia Heaton was wonderful.
I left ‘The Bob Newhart Show,’ which was my decision. CBS wanted it to go on. But I could see television changing; I could see the tastes were changing.
I found the most difficult thing when you became successful – when I had the record album, it won Album of the Year – that you were cut off from the source of your material. Your material was everyday people, and you were kind of cut off from that, and you had to work at it.
Jack Benny was, without a doubt, the bravest comedian I have ever seen work. He wasn’t afraid of silence. He would take as long as it took to tell the story.
For some reason, comedians are still children. The social skills somehow never reach us, so we say exactly what we think without weighing the results.
You may have done 20 great shows in a row and come to one, and it doesn’t work. You never presume anything.