In a season one episode of Louis C.K.'s "Louie," he shuts down a heckler at the Comedy Cellar by calling her the c-word after she interrupts his set. It turns out the real life Louis isn't quite as brash.
Hypervocal writer Cooper Fleishman was at an October 25 performance in New York City when an audience member screamed, "SHUT THE F*CK UP!" out of the blue, forcing C.K. to take a minute out of his set to address her. It turns out she had been yelling at another audience member.
Fleishman writes:
Calmly, patiently, he addressed both parties and learned what had happened. The yelling lady was upset that a woman next to her wouldn't stop talking. The loud party threatened to "fuck up" the annoyed party. There was a scream.
A cheery C.K. settled the dispute with the patience of a father of two: "So she said she'd fuck you up? No, I'd be upset too... So are you both okay? Please don't chat during my show. People come here to see me talk, and you are kind of interfering with that, when you are talking at the same time."
C.K. reportedly added a few minutes on to the end of his performance to make sure the audience got their full money's worth, but as far as stand-up heckler management goes, his approach was remarkably tame.
Read the full account at Hypervocal.