Lake Tahoe comedy scene with Howie Nave: Schneider at MontBleu; Mencarelli at Carson; Morris headlines Improv
Special to Lake Tahoe Action

Provided
The last time I spoke to comedian/actor/director Rob Schneider, he asked if he could get a copy of our chat.
I said “Sure, why?”
He said he was writing a book and that I asked him questions that he felt would be good enough for the book.
So, in other words, I’m apparently a pretty terrific interviewer and I did some heavy lifting for his book, but that’s OK.
Most of the questions involved other Bay Area comedians who started out when he did and what they were doing now.
Schneider, a Bay Area comedian from Pacifica, broke big in 1989 when Saturday Night Live creator Lorne Michaels saw his appearance on HBO’s “13th Annual Young Comedians Special” and hired him as a writer on “Saturday Night Live.”
Schneider quickly became a regular. During his four seasons at SNL, Schneider created characters that people around the country imitated and adored including the “copy machine guy” the “orgasm guy” and the “put your weed in there guy.”
He performed memorable sketches with Charlton Heston, John Malkovich, Macaulay Culkin, Christopher Walken, Jeff Goldblum, Joe Pesci and others.
As part of the SNL writing staff, Schneider was nominated for three Emmys and won a Peabody Award.
Schneider was born and raised in Northern California and has been a lifelong San Francisco Giants fan. In each of their three World Series Championship runs Schneider was asked to come out onto the field and cheer the team and its fans to victory.
I loved his television comedy series, “Real Rob” that was self-financed, independently produced and stars Schneider with his real life wife, Mexican television producer Patricia Azarcoya.
Did I mention that Schneider is also a director? “Real Rob” comes two years after “Rob” the CBS sitcom that Schneider also wrote, produced and starred in.
CBS’s “Rob” premiered to an audience of 13.5 million viewers and averaged 11 million viewers over the run of its eight episodes.
Schneider recently completed filming, “The Ridiculous Six” with Adam Sandler and marks the 18th collaboration between the two. Their longtime friendship has spanned some 25 years and produced comedic hits such as “Grown Ups,” “You Don’t Mess With The Zohan,” “50 First Dates,” “Big Daddy” and “The Waterboy.”
Schneider has appeared in 50 films.
He’s good stuff and been on my radio show a half dozen times and always a great chat. See him over at MontBleu Friday, Oct. 4, for one night only.
Mencarelli at The Carson Comedy Club
I wanna give local comedian Dave Mencarelli some love as he’s performing over at the The Carson Comedy Club inside The Carson Nugget Oct. 4-5.
Mencarelli isn’t your average comedian. Sure, he’s damaged like most of us are but he’s also got an edge having low self esteem, being anxiety prone and has a mild narcissism.
The result is a decidedly twisted view of life that makes him pretty funny. He probably sounds more like someone in your family than a professional comedian.
But professional he is, being a veteran of late night TV and yes, even traffic school. Hey, we all had to start somewhere. He is funny though with topics that range from marriage to divorce (and the sequels that followed), raising kids and dealing with his difficult family members. Well worth seeing. Hey, if anything think how much better you will feel about yourself.
Shows at the Carson Comedy Club inside the Carson Nugget start at 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday.
Morris headlines at The IMprov
Vince Morris headlines The Improv through Sunday and delivers a smooth, charismatic style that is the Columbus, Ohio native’s trademark.
Morris likes to take it to the edge sometimes when he touches on some of the more controversial material.
For example, when asked if black athletes advertising shoes are role models, Morris responds, “I don’t give a damn what kind of shoe an athlete wears. I want to know what kind of shoes do black surgeons or lawyers wear?”
Morris performs all over the country and has called Los Angeles home for some time now.
He has appeared on a number of television programs including shows/specials on Comedy Central, NBC’s Friday Night, BET’s Comic View, HBO’s Sex and the City and HBO’s Def Comedy Jam.
He’s also showcased at the prestigious Montreal Comedy Festival and the U.S. Comedy Arts Festival in Aspen and Lake Tahoe which, I’m betting is his most prestigious credit.
The Improv at Harveys takes place Wednesdays through Sundays at 9 p.m. Learn more at http://www.harveystahoe.com.

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