Robin Williams Thief? Bitter Comedian Rivalries Bared In New Book

In the upcoming book "Comedy at the Edge," which chronicles the rise of stand-up in the 1970s, David Brenner tells author Richard Zoglin he once threatened to attack Robin Williams for stealing his material and using it on HBO. Calling up Williams' agent, Brenner warned, "Tell Robin if he ever takes one more line from me, I'll rip his leg off and shove it up his [bleep]!" Williams tells Zoglin he was simply "sampling" material from others.

Richard Belzer, who plays Det. John Munch on "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit," was perceived as lazy and full of himself by other comics when he would play at Catch a Rising Star. Paul Reiser told the author, "There were nights people would feel very entitled - I'm a big shot and [bleep] you. A lot of near-fistfights. Belzer was one of those guys who was very indulged. He was given the run of the house, whether high or drunk." Added Bill Maher: "I never once saw [Belzer] do a set sober."

Read more book details here

Comments

[Observer1]

Clean jokes..Red Skeleton.

Robin Williams in the old days was onc of the fastest thinking improv artists. I think many people didn't understand his comedy because of this quick pace.

[Comedyjc]

"Everybody steals" is a lousy copout excuse. Who did Richard Pryor steal from? How about Bill Hicks? Mort Sahl? George Carlin? Jerry Seinfeld? I could go on. The answer, by the way, is no one. They all wrte their own material, and all were fierce proponents of originality, no matter what you thoguht of their comedy. Just because Robin Williams is a good actor doesn't excuse him robbing someone else's material and claiming it as his own. I write material about my life and my thoughts. You don't have a right to take that and pretend it's yours. Stealing someone's identity electronically is against the law. Well, my material is my identity too. Doing someone else's material is NOT flattery, it's plagarism. When something is wrong, it's wrong for everyone, not by degrees.

[Whistleblower]

As a comedy consumer, it doesn't matter to me whether the material is original, only whether the performance is entertaining. I've seen or heard almost all the comedians mentioned here and I've laughed (though I admit my bar is low). Robin Williams is about as funny as it gets. Others I have enjoyed include Jack E. Leonard, Redd Foxx, Rodney Dangerfield, Steve Martin, George Carlin, Jonathan Winters, Garry Shandling, Sam Kinison, Alan KIng and Jackie Mason. And, yes, I am old.

[Ilvfredum]

What would be funny is to tax the shit out of these bums. They get millions for being Stupid. I think 85% would be a fair rate.

[JaneaneTheAcerbicGoblin]

Robin Williams has a quality to him that Belzer and Brenner simply don't have. True, Robin can be obnoxious, overbearing (especially during his coke days), but he also has dramatic range, giving great performances in Good Will Hunting and One Hour Photo.

Belzer has appeared on Law and Order, but essentially is playing himself. This could be just good old fashioned professional jealousy.

[deedrdo]

well, the more things change the more they stay the same. we're still waiting for bill maher to come up with an original idea.

[MadxAsxHell]

But is it FUNNY?

David Brenner isn't funny if Bill O'Reilly thinks he is a treasure. I remember how Carson would have him on in the 70's and he would deliver his bad lines, poorly time, Carson would laugh and 1/3 of the audience would join in feebly.

But when Robin Williams is there, the audience is in hysterics, you are falling off the couch and even Leno can't keep a straight face.

Is it funny or it NOT funny.

David Brenner is NOT funny. Robin Williams IS funny.

[LanceThruster]

Though in many ways there is nothing new under the sun as far as comedy goes, I do think there are clear intellectual property rights issues here. Just because a comic CAN get away with lifting another's material, doesn't mean they are justified in doing it. Milton Berle would still be funny even if he had acknowledged where a lot of his material came from (someone else).

[WriterGuy]

Good artists borrow. Great artists steal.

Ironically enough, a line stolen by enough people that the true author (Picasso) isn't always credited. And Pablo, no doubt, heard the line from someone else...

Everybody steals ideas, bits and lines. It's how you make it your own that decides whether it's funny or not.

[scottarino]

You should say, good artists steal, but Great artists write the stuff first.

[DEFuning]

I know all these guys and worked with them at the Comedy Store in the late 70's and early 80's. This is all PR. EVERYBODY steals good bits and especially if you are an improv sponge. Howie Mandal lifted Bruce Mahler's chicken gig and I don't hear anybody squawking. Belzer had a great stand up act back then so shut up about him. Robin was brilliant and upstaged nearly everybody but he made us all better improvisers. We would not have had an audience without him. So shut up about him too. I was there every night. EVERY NIGHT. David trolled Sunset in his fancy car and did not show up much at the club because, brilliant as he had been in his own time, he was done by the time Robin and Belzer and Argus and Binder were getting going. It was a new kind of comedy. While Paul Mooney could still hang, and Letterman and Leno were working out the kinks(and being brilliant!), Andy Kaufman was taking comedy in a whole new direction. And so was Robin. Yeah-he lifted lines. That's what improvisers do. Get a grip.

He was brilliant to be on stage with even if his star shone brighter and louder and faster and wilder than any of ours did. But I will repeat myself--the club would have been half full without him. I was the communications director there during this period and I had hundreds of people calling everyday to ask "Is Robin gonna be there tonight?" He was golden. Whether you love his comedy or not he has a divine spark and is a wonderful, loving, flawed human. Comedy comes from pain--not from Happy Chocolate. Sour grapes stink no matter how many years old they are.

[sureofit]

The 70's belonged to Richard Pryor and George Carlin. Pryor Might have been the greatest American story teller since Mark Twain. Carlin a master with the English language. No one was close to those two. Stand ups like Eddie Murphy who think it's was all about profanity don't get it, nor do those "white people be like, black people be like" types like D.L. Hughley. Robin Williams hasn't been funny for decades, and always comes off like the annoying 7 year old your friends have who doesn't give you a minute's peace when you visit. Just watch any awards show.

[JaneaneTheAcerbicGoblin]

This is so surprising! Comics are bitter, angry people? I never would have guessed. When I see them on stage, they're full of joy, laughter, and are there to put a smile on people's faces. So why would they be backbiting, two faced, bitter, eternally pissed off people?

Oh, wait, never mind. On stage they're funny. Off stage, not so much. I don't know what it is, but it seems a prerequisite to being a comic is being a bastard, prick, bitch, cunt, asshole, all rolled into one. They are some of the angriest people on earth, and they LOATHE themselves so much. Personally, I have never understood how one can feed off self hatred for creative purposes.

[cowboyjerkface]

Wow...sounds like a republican christian to me! Who knew comics were closeted christians!

[JaneaneTheAcerbicGoblin]

Hehehehe...interesting comparison...

[MissTerry]

When Robin Williams is known for his improvisation and imagination, though. If you use other people's material, that's not improvisation. That's why this is a different issue than other comedians stealing.

[SouthernYankeeBelle]

I alway thought it was flattering form to use someoneelses jokes. On the view today they even talked about this issue. I think everyone should take a deep breath and forgetaboutit.

[rpence]

I heard about Williams's questionable habits at least 20 years ago. This is news?

"The Belz" does great stand up, and sober or not, is much, much better than Bill Maher.

[SouthernYankeeBelle]

Gosh you must be drunk along with your buddy Belz. Maher is truly funny.

[loghyr]

The US "stole" major portions of the Constitution from European documents. Plus, many of the authors of the Constitution had alcohol to drink when they worked on it.
Ben Franklin told Zoglin "Gouverneur Morris was usually in a big hurry to get to his mistress' place, so half the stuff attributed to him was really written by Jake Shallus."

[wsblake]

A lot have said it but it is true- there is nothing new under the sun. Robin Williams could make reading the phone book sound funny while Brenner's bitterness stems from his lack of talent. It's called jealousy- Williams is an A-List star while Brenner has to kiss ass for a minute on Howard's satellite radio show-