Art Bell - Founder of Comedy Central - the Mindshift Podcast
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Art Bell - Founder of Comedy Central - the mindshift podcast... Mon, 5/31 8:03AM 51:36 SUMMARY KEYWORDS comedy, people, hbo, economics, channel, point, job, listening, cbs, thought, world, walked, called, years, entertainment, programming, day, michael, business, reasons SPEAKERS Art Bell, Darrell Evans A Art Bell 00:00 And I said, I am going to go make an appointment with the head of programming at HBO. Now you gotta remember I was a very low level employee at that point compared to the ANA program. very formidable woman. Her name was Bridget and I walk in and I say, Bridget, Thanks for seeing me. I really want to pitch this idea to you. I think that HBO should start an all comedy network 24 seven comedy, and she said, Stop right there. That is the worst idea I have ever heard. And let me tell you why. And she proceeded to tell me why. She gave me reasons like no comedian is ever going to want to be on a 24 seven comedy network. Nobody's going to want to watch that much comedy. There's lots of comedy all over the dial. HBO does great comedy, why should we risk our reputation doing something else? And she sent me on my way, I walked out of the out of her office, very discouraged. My discouraged feeling lasted about five minutes. This is the D Darrell Evans 01:00 mind shift podcast where we share real stories, real strategies that will help you find real success. This is the place to hear from people just like you who have taken their ideas, goals and dreams from a point of inspiration to realization or when life knock them down from a point of breakdown to breakthrough. I'm your host Darrell Evans. Let's get started with today's episode. Hey, what's going on my friend and welcome to another episode of Art Bell - Founder of Comedy Central - the Pmagined 1sh oifft 2 p1odcast... Transcribed by https://otter.ai the mind shift podcast. Listen If you have ever found yourself laughing or maybe even crying, laughing while watching shows like The Daily Show with Trevor Noah southpark from the 90s future Rama that Daily Show key unpeeled Dave Chappelle show any of those shows on Comedy Central? Well, you have my guest today to think his name is Art Bell. Now while working at HBO, art pitched the idea of a 24 hour comedy network and helped develop and launch hbos, the comedy channel which eventually became Comedy Central. It's now in its 30th year on cable television. In my conversation with art today, you'll hear him discuss what initially drew him to comedy, in the first place is kind of not so common journey from the world of economics to the world of entertainment. When his belief factor actually kicked in. He shares some insights about what corporate jobs teach you. He'll share the straw that broke the camel's back during one of his roles at CBS that actually took it to HBO. And we'll learn about the breakdown with Bridgette, and the breakthrough with Michael Fuchs. Art is also the writer of a memoir titled constant comedy. How I started in lost my sense of humor, which was recently honored as a finalist in the 2020 best Book Awards for memoir. Before we jump in two quick questions, are you subscribed to the podcast? If not, go ahead and hit subscribe or follow right now, wherever you're listening to this show, so you never miss an episode. And number two, are you a part of the mind shift community. It's our free global community where we gather to share interesting insights and inspirations from the shows and our guests. members of the community also get special access to behind the scenes content, invites to monthly Q and A's and also have an opportunity to network with other like minded people from all across the globe. If you're not a part of the community after the show, visit mind shift community.com that's mind shift community.com to join for free Art Bell. Welcome to the MindScape podcast. How are you sir? I'm good, Darrell. Thanks for having me. Where are you coming in from in United States? A Art Bell 03:42 I am in fabulous Greenwich, Connecticut on the east coast. D Darrell Evans 03:45 Wow. Wow. How's the weather up there? A Art Bell 03:49 Good enough. I guess it's kind of cloudy and rainy. It's not snowing. That's always a good good sign. But I'm not gonna be here for long I'm actually moving out west. Art Bell - Founder of Comedy Central - the Pmagined 2sh oifft 2 p1odcast... Transcribed by https://otter.ai D Darrell Evans 04:00 Oh, really? To where? A Art Bell 04:01 Yeah, we're moving to Park City, Utah. Okay, okay. Yes, we've always loved and now's the time. D Darrell Evans 04:07 So great to have up there in the in the winter. A Art Bell 04:09 Great snow, great summers, great springs, Great Falls. Actually, the spring is kind of the least of it. They're kind of wet there. It's beautiful, beautiful place. D Darrell Evans 04:21 Well, I'm glad to have you here on the show today. I think the listening audience is in for a treat. For me. I'm in I'm, you know, we talk a little bit offline. I thought I was being pumped when I saw the request from your team to come on the show. And I had to do a little research and I'm like, well, I'll be Gosh, darn. He really did start Comedy Central. So I'm super geeked out because you know, I grew up and I'm a huge fan of comedy. I've always believed that comedy is one of the best medicines available on the planet in the area of stress reduction. And so I mean, just you cannot Sit through something comedic and and just not worry about life's stresses. But tell us about what drew you to comedy. A Art Bell 05:10 Well, you know, you and I have that in common. I've always been a big comedy fan. And I think I became a comedy fan very young, like seven, eight years old. I was taken by the power of it the power of people's ability to get other people to laugh. I just marveled at that. No, I, you know, I had a funny family. My brothers were funny. My father was funny. I had uncles who were funny. So my mother wasn't that funny. But anyway, she knows it. But the point is, I was initially drawn to comedy because I was amazed at how powerful it was. I mean, somebody can get me to fall off my chair. Laughing that's, you know, that's, that's a superpower. I started watching Ed Sullivan, which was Friday show on every Sunday night at eight o'clock, because I wanted to see the comedians who around Alan King was Art Bell - Founder of Comedy Central - the Pmagined 3sh oifft 2 p1odcast... Transcribed by https://otter.ai on Richard Pryor. I saw him for the first time. And then Solomon, you know, I was too young to watch. watch late night shows like Johnny Carson, well, was Johnny Carson, essentially. But that's where I got my initial round of professional comedy was on The Ed Sullivan Show. And I went on from there just loving it. I I I grew up listening to George Carlin albums, Bill Cosby albums, Woody Allen albums. And Robert Klein was my hero. When I was in college, he was the hot, hot comedian in college. I wrote comedy too. I wrote satire I got initially attracted to satire. We started an underground newspaper in high school, called the tongue, we gotten a lot of trouble. We're just, you know, doing everything we could to take apart the the administration in the school in an effort to point out what was wrong with things and I thought that was just great. And then college, you know, did a little performing. And that's how I fell in love with comedy. It was just it's basically been my preoccupation since I was a kid. D Darrell Evans 07:07 Wow, that's interesting. That's interesting. Now, I read that you also took an interest early on in college and economics. And I thought there was something humorous that I read, and I think it was what tell us you were in economics, what how did you pivot from what what took you down the path of economics and then this, this 180 shift, and then I'll bring up this other thought that that I came across that that was hilarious. A Art Bell 07:31 Well, I started college, and I signed up for economics, you know, the way everybody starts college like, okay, that fits into my schedule, we'll find out what that's about. Right. And I went, and I had a terrific professor, a very, very smart guy. And he gave us a first economics test, you know, about five weeks into it, and I studied hard, and I got the test back and I'd failed, I got about a 99.