Jimmy Kimmel:
One Man Show?

By Roggie McFadden

HOLLYWOOD -- January 20, 2003 -- Few are surprised by the meteoric rise of Cable TV Megastar Jimmy Kimmel, and there is pleasant buzz 'zizzing about' over his new program Jimmy Kimmel Live where Kimmel is now busting out on a solo tip and into network TV.

The program will appear on weeknights on ABC late in the evening and is to be broadcast from a building along Hollywood Boulevard, the first show to be beamed out regularly from the famous strip in many moons. The El Capitan, a classy Hollywood establishment purchased and refurbished by the Disney Corporation a few years back, will serve as backdrop for the new Disney-produced venture.

"Every tourist in L.A. is going to want to stop here and see the show," said LA City Councilman Eric Garcetti, a politician apparently well known for his exaggerations. The nightly taping will, however, throw fuel on the already roiling fire of noise and traffic congestion at Hollywood & Highland.

Jimmy Kimmel's true Hollywood story has been one of successive successes without cessation. He first made a splash as "The Sports Guy" on the KROQ morning show in the 1990s.

Kimmel soon moved onto the little screen. He honed his skills and earned his Cable TV stripes while suckling at the teat of Ben Stein as co-host (or sidekick) on Comedy Central's Win Ben Stein's Money. Jimmy's commentary and timing played well off the stunningly astute and good-natured Stein, who has a surprisingly quick wit and knowledge of Greek and Latin Classics.

Kimmel's star was rising and Win Ben Stein's Money would serve as but a stepping-stone. The comedian struck out upon his own to co-create and host the much-admired The Man Show with another famous face from radio, Adam Carolla. With a clever combination of unapologetic humor about 'Man Stuff' and the juggular motions of leaping ladies with little to hide, The Man Show was an instant success.

Jimmy Kimmel Live won't be a 100% non-stop Jimmy as celebrity interviews and rotating weekly co-hosts will also spice up the episodes. Co-hosts for the first episodes have not yet been announced but famous friends are being rumored about, such as Carolla (though not at first), David Lee Roth, and even comedienne Sarah Silverman, a shooting star in her own right.

Silverman has appeared on TV many times and has a refreshing stand-up comedy routine that shows utter intolerance for PC speech codes that are coming to dominate America. In her act, Silverman uses her razor tongue to hurl the peaceful goddess of Sensitivity over the wayside with jokes that can only leave an audience in horror, and in stitches. But would Jimmy Kimmel really deserve to share the screen with this sweet little Jewish tart who's setting comedy clubs ablaze? That's what I wonder.

Kimmel's show debuts after the Super Bowl on January 26 and will appear in the slot previously filled by Bill Maher's Politically Incorrect.

From Wilshire Gazette (February 2003)

----

Reader Comments

No Comments.

Citizine Home