A Taste of Phil

Category: So Laugh Already

Monday, May 15, 2006

Photo of Phil Hendrie by Debra DiPaolo for LA Weekly

Since most of you probably have never heard the Phil Hendrie Show, of which I waxed so rhapsodically last week, I have after considerable time and effort managed to put together a taste for you.

This is a segment from the show that aired in the spring of 2003. It's a great illustration of the kind of dark wit that is Hendrie's specialty. In it, he interviews "Don Parsley", a character whose son supposedly died during the invasion of Iraq.

Some things to remember as you listen:

1. Both the host of the show and the guest are the same person.
2. The callers have no idea that this is the case.
3. The first few minutes are not going to seem very funny. That's the gag. The show has to sound plausible at first, to lure people into becoming outraged callers. The spiral into weirdness begins after the callers start venting their spleens. So don't tune out if you're not laughing after 30 seconds.
4. See how long it takes you to figure out the "hook" that Hendrie uses to get people riled up enough to call. It's subtle at first.

OK, in the immortal words of Marty DiBergi, "Enuffa my yakkin'. Whaddaya say, let's boogie!" Without further ado, here's the audio:

(I wonder how long it's going to be until this post earns me a C&D letter?)

If you like what you hear, you can buy "best-of" CDs of the show from My Friend's Place, a shelter for runaway and homeless kids in Hollywood. Hendrie donates 100% of the profits from CD sales to the center -- a policy that has raised more than a million dollars for them over the years.