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By his fifteenth birthday, Judd Apatow was obsessed with comedy.
He studied comedians on television, became a busboy at a comedy club to observe them perform live, and felt an urge to spend time with them – he wanted to learn their secrets. But, he thought, what famous comedian is going to talk to a teenager? Judd soon got his answer while working at his high school’s radio station. One of his friends produced the music show for the radio and regularly took the train to the city to interview bands. In Judd’s book Sick in the Head, he remembered thinking, “Wait, we could actually interview people we admired? They’ll talk to you if you ask nicely? It suddenly occurred to me that maybe I could do this with comedians.” Judd’s first mentor, Jack DeMasi, was the radio station’s supervisor and the school’s film teacher. He treated the students like professionals, permitting them to produce their own shows. Judd recalled, “Mr. DeMasi encouraged my voice and originality.” When Judd approached him with the idea of starting his own show interviewing comedians, he agreed, and Judd recalls, “This moment changed my life.” To get comedians to agree to an interview, Judd brazenly called their agents and said, “I’m from WKWZ radio on Long Island and I want to interview your client,” neglecting to share his age. When Judd arrived with his AV squad tape recorder, the comedians were surprised but never turned him away. “They were gracious and generous with their time, knowledge, insights, and advice.” His first interview? Jerry Seinfeld. Judd walked in and asked him pointedly, “How do you write a joke?” By the time he graduated two years later, Judd had interviewed over 40 comedic heroes, including: Lorne Michaels, Howard Stern, Al Franken, Sandra Bernahard, Jay Leno, Weird Al Yankovic, John Candy, Paul Reiser, Rodney Dangerfield, Rosanne Barr, Garry Shandling, and Jim Carrey. He asked each of them for their perspective and advice: what they studied in college, how they got stage time, where they work out new material, how to keep momentum, what’s next in their career. Reflecting on this experience, Judd wrote: “These interviews informed the rest of my life – they contained the advice that helped me attain my dreams.” Judd discovered the power of the informational interview, one of the easiest ways to get mentoring.
The world is bursting with advice just waiting for our fascination, courage, and initiative to collide. © 2025. Ann Tardy and MentorLead. www.mentorlead.com. All Rights Reserved. |