Robert Klein
Robert Klein
Robert Kleinis an American stand-up comedian, singer and actor. He had several popular and influential comedy albums in the 1970s, was nominated for a Best Actor in a Musical Tony Award for 1979's They're Playing Our Song, and has made a variety of TV and movie appearances, including hosting Saturday Night Live twice...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionComedian
Date of Birth8 February 1942
CityBronx, NY
CountryUnited States of America
The '50s were terrifying with nuclear bomb stuff but boring in a social way, and then the '60s were happening, and remember, there was no AIDS.
I did the first HBO special ever in 1975 at Haverford College. Cable was new then: HBO was a Time-Life entity, with maybe 400,000 or 500,000 subscribers and maybe 50 employees.
But to do it professionally is a quantum leap difference and my father had to be persuaded by these kind of Ivy League professors that I should go to the Yale Drama School, another one of the stories in there.
There are certain families who absolutely incorporate their nanny as part of the family, and there are other people, and there are codes for this, when they call in, they say, 'I am really not looking for a friend.' It is clear they will not be members of the family.
When I started, there was no comedy community, no comedy industry; there were comedians.
Regis and I were inducted into the original Bronx Walk of Fame.
My 1974 album 'Mind Over Matter' was a detailed thing about Watergate. I always had some righteous indignation.
In some articles written about me, writers have said I'm a link between the old and the new, and I think, in a certain sense, that's legitimate.
I'm not against profanity. It's an important part of the language when used properly.
I was brought up at 3525 Decatur Avenue, in the north Bronx, right next to Woodlawn Cemetery.
I have what we call a 'symphony act.' I'm the only comedian, I think, in the country that does it.
I was a class clown. My father was a class clown. My son has been a class clown, and it sort of ran in the family.
One of my greatest inspirations for stand-up was Jonathan Winters. He was a genius. One thing about him, and also Lenny Bruce, is that they were in the tradition of the one-man show. That's why Richard Pryor was so great, and George Carlin, too. They prowled the stage, they used voices, they were really talents.
What makes a good nanny? A good nanny is someone who really wants to do the job. Someone who loves children, who really values what she does and, of course, is valued by her employer.