Cavett’s talk shows are available in DVD collections. “I have an excellent fellow working on my website, lots of tapes being transferred to usable forms, collected, catalogued and listed…things I’ve forgotten, things I remember with scalding embarrassment… ‘Oh, that was the night I said that awful thing,’ or a little thrill like the night Lester Maddox walked off the show…All kinds of memories take me through the rainbow of emotions.”
Cavett has also written a 2011 book, Talk Show: Confrontations, Pointed Commentary and Off-Screen Secrets, and has appeared on Broadway in Otherwise Engaged, Into the Woods and as narrator in The Rocky Horror Show. And for some time now, he has been writing a column for The New York Times Opinionator blog.
“It’s been several years now,” he says of the newspaper column. “I thought I was through after the third column, thought I had done everything I could think of. But so far it’s become a book, and may become another one. I panic every time I hand one in. So I work at the column; I appear on people’s shows; try to keep up friendships with people who are still alive; enjoy my wife and dog and house – everything but the fact that Dick Cheney is still with us.”
For tickets and more information on the Woodstock Comedy Festival, Sept. 20-22, go to ulsterpub.staging.wpenginecomedyfestival.org.
Bobcat Goldthwait
Inaugural Woodstock Comedy Festival to take place in venues throughout town September 20-22
Three-time Emmy-winner Dick Cavett, comedian, actor, writer and director Bobcat Goldthwait and Mario Cantone, known for his Tony-nominated one-man show Laugh Whore and stint as Anthony in Sex and the City, headline the Woodstock Comedy Festival, which takes place in and around Woodstock from Friday, September 20 through Sunday, September 22. Standup comedians Rick Overton and Eddie Brill and comedy writer Hester Mundis, who wrote for years for Joan Rivers, will also appear. Surprise celebrity guests are promised. The Woodstock Comedy Festival is a not-for-profit corporation with a mission. The weekend of laughter will benefit two charities that are no laughing matter: Family of Woodstock, to combat domestic violence, and the Polaris Project, to fight against human trafficking. The lineup looks like this: Friday, September 20: 7:30 p.m. at the Woodstock Playhouse (103 Mill Hill Road, Woodstock) – “Running Late with Scott Rogowsky,” variety and talk show with Rick Overton, Eddie Brill and other guests. 9 p.m. at the Woodstock Playhouse – “College Humor Live!” standup and sketch featuring Jake and Amir. Tickets cost $50, $45 and $25, and one ticket gets you into both shows. A VIP party will take place at the Playhouse at 10 p.m. Admission to that costs $20. Saturday, September 21: 12:30 p.m. at Woodstock Artists’ Association and Museum (WAAM), 28 Tinker Street – “Comedy Animation,” featuring Dan Meth. Admission costs $10. 2 p.m. at WAAM – “Casting in Comedy,” featuring Katja Blichfeld and Clint Alexander. Admission costs $10. 3:30 p.m. at WAAM – “Late Night Comedy Writing,” with Dick Cavett, Eddie Brill and Rick Overton, moderated by Hester Mundis. Admission is $20. 7 p.m. at Bearsville Theater, 291 Tinker Street, Woodstock – “Stand Up and Sit Down: Comedy and Conversation with Dick Cavett and Bobcat Goldthwait,” hosted by Eddie Brill. Tickets cost $75, $50 and $25. 9:30 p.m. at Bearsville Theater – “An Evening of Comedy and Music” with Mario Cantone and his band. Tickets cost $75, $50 and $25. Sunday, September 22: 12 noon at Upstate Films, Tinker Street in Woodstock – A screening of We Cause Scenes, a feature documentary about the comedy group Improv Everywhere, followed by Q & A with director Matt Adams and Improv Everywhere founder Charlie Todd. Admission costs $12. 2:30 p.m. at Upstate Films, Tinker Street in Woodstock – Willow Creek, directed by Bobcat Goldthwait; Q & A with Bobcat Goldthwait to follow. Admission costs $15. 7 p.m. at the Colony Café, 22 Rock City Road, Woodstock – “Upright Citizens’ Brigade Mega Show,” sketch and improv with Onassis featuring Josh Ruben, the BEATdown with Chris “Shockwave” Sullivan and Victor Varnado and UCB Tour Co. Admission costs $25. 9 p.m. at the Colony Café – “Laughingstock: A Night of Local Stand-up Comedy,” featuring Verna Gillis, James Judd, Adam Mamawala and Audrey Rapoport, hosted by Rich Shultis. Admission costs $25. Note: one ticket gets you into both Sunday night shows at the Colony Café. For tickets and more information, go to ulsterpub.staging.wpenginecomedyfestival.org.
