Nov 21, 2006 6:04 pm US/Central
Chicago Comics Say Richards' Stand-Up Career Over
Seinfeld Actor's Racist Comments Chalked Up To Inexperience
by Sylvia Gomez
CHICAGO (CBS) ―
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Michael Richards apologized Monday night for his recent racist remarks.
CBS
Seinfeld's "Kramer" apologized Monday night on "Late Show with David Letterman" for racist comments he made.
Comedian Michael Richards shocked his audience, and the nation, when he launched into a racist rant because hecklers interrupted his stand-up routine.
"For me to be at a comedy club and flip out and say this crap I'm deeply, deeply sorry," Richards said.
CBS 2's Sylvia Gomez talked to comedians in Chicago who call the rant evidence that Richards is a comic actor, but not a comedian.
He was beloved as Kosmo Kramer, but Richards is a long way from there these days.
Richards' racial meltdown at the Laugh Factory in Los Angeles has all but ended his career, some local comedians believe.
"I think Michael Richards is going to go back to acting because he'll never be a standup comedian again. He's done. Put a fork in him. It's all over," said comedian Dobie Maxwell.
Maxwell, a comedian since 1983, said he not only knows the terror that comes with the stage, he also teaches comedy wannabes at Zanies comedy club in Old Town.
He said Michael Richards let a heckler take control of his show, and he graphically exposed his inexperience.
"He's used to working on a set with lines that have been written and a studio audience that is there ready to laugh. The stand-up comedy world is a jungle out there," Maxwell said.
"I've worked with all black audiences, white audiences, mixed audiences, Jewish audiences, young audiences, senior citizens. Those years of experience teach you how to handle those situations," said comedian Tom Dreesen.
WGCI radio host Tony Scofield his voice like silk while talking about an issue that's more like fingernails on a chalkboard, is also a comedian. He noted Richards is an actor, not a standup.
4040 tony scofield.
"Once the crowd sees the heckler being defeated to the point he's laughing, then the whole thing is diffused..." said Scofield.
Each comedian felt Richards' inexperience is what sunk him. His racism, well, WGCI callers feel it's in Richard's heart, and that he said what he did in a moment of panic is not an excuse. Most seem to accept the apology, but no one believes Richards can bounce back as a standup comedian.
The golden rule is never talk about a group you are not a member of, and never, never go racial.
(© MMVI, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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