Remembering The Time I Embarrassed Myself In Front Of Theo Von

A mishap with comedian Theo Von has left a lasting embarrassment, leaving me cringing 12 years later. Have you ever embarrassed yourself in front of a celebrity?

They say, "Never meet your heroes" because, sometimes, they may not live up to your expectations. Or they may just be a jerk to you. But sometimes it's because you might do something embarrassing in front of them! That's what happened to me when I met comedian Theo Von. Now, he's everywhere and I'm constantly reminded of my mistake.

The incident in question happened 12 years ago, in 2012, and I'm still reminded of my mess up just about every day. It happened on the very first day of my internship with Comedy Central in Santa Monica, California. I thought my dream internship was going to be over after the very first day.

One of our responsibilities as interns was to meet comedians and guests downstairs in the lobby to escort them upstairs via the elevator and take them to a conference room or office for their scheduled meeting. Naturally, you don't want to look like a fan boy during these walks, so you have to play your cool. Chit-chat is fine, but you don't want to act like a fan and ask for a picture or anything like that. Certainly, that would be a good way to end your internship. Thankfully, that's not what happened! I was able to keep my cool. However, the first comedian I brought up was Theo Von. He was the very first, and I feared he may be my last.

At the time, I was familiar with Theo Von but he wasn't the massive figure he is today in the comedy world back then. Today, his podcast "This Past Weekend w/ Theo Von" is one of the more successful podcasts out there and he's constantly booking big guests. One thing about Theo, he has a little bit of a Louisiana accent and it threw me off a little. Once we got up stairs, he asked me for "a copy." So, I'm like, "sure, man. Give me the paper and I'm happy to make a copy for you." He then responded, "no, a copy." Confused, I reiterated that I'm happy to go get him one. This back and forth went on a little longer than it should have before he finally had to say, "no, I'd like a coffee. Like, the thing you drink." *Gulp* He wasn't talking about copies, he was talking about coffee! I was mortified. I kept talking about the copy machine and had no idea that's not what he was talking about. He had to have been so confused, and hopefully not offended!

I was just nervous! You know how sometimes when you're nervous and want to do well, you might be overthinking and miss some important details? Yeah, that's what happened here. You can hear more about this awkward story in the video below. Have you ever embarrassed yourself in front of a celebrity?

There's something about radio attracting funny people. I suppose it all comes back to the proverbial "face for radio." TV hosts are beautiful. Radio hosts, traditionally, have had to overcome the lack of beauty, thus learning how to get attention another way--through humor.

However, just because you start somewhere doesn't mean that's where you'll end up. In fact, some of the funniest people on TV and in the comedy world got their start in radio.

For me, radio has always been my favorite medium for humorous entertainment. There's nothing like listening to a group of funny people share their stories and thoughts on the world around us. Sure, TV is funny but they're actors reading from scripts that were written by someone funny. They can do take after take until they get it right. That's not how it goes with radio! You have one chance to make your joke land, or it's out the window (or you become the punchline because of your failed attempt at a joke).

It's that pressure of the red light being on that brings the best out of funny people. There are no rehearsals, no table reads, you're live. Radio gives performers a chance to incorporate all the different comedy subgenres. It's like stand-up, only you're sitting down and you don't have a routine that you're performing. Since there's no routine, there's the extra addition of improv in radio. You never know what might get brought up next, so you always have to be ready. It's the ultimate primer for someone who wants to be funny.

Given these characteristics, it's no wonder why so many funny people started in radio. It's like having some street cred. You rose through the ranks and cut your teeth doing things the hard way. Some of my favorite comedians got their start in radio. Other funny people, who may have got their starts in other ways, now have turned to radio or podcasting as their go-to medium. Why? Because it works. It gives comedians and humorists a medium to talk and share their thoughts on the spot.

Radio is such an excellent medium to start your career, that it's not only funny people who got their starts there. Some of the biggest names in entertainment, comedy aside, got their start in radio. According to TheThings.com, before becoming a news anchor, Oprah Winfrey worked as a newsreader for a radio station at age 16. Likewise, TheThings points out that Weird Al got his start in entertainment working at his college radio station. Carson Daly and Ludacris also got their feet wet working in radio before establishing their own lanes in entertainment.

As I previously mentioned, some of the funniest people in show business got their starts in radio. Let's get to the list of funny people!

Ricky Gervais is one of the funniest people on earth...and he got his start in radio. Before creating The Office and several other successful movies and shows, he worked as an assistant events manager (or was it assistant to the events manager?) for the University of London Union.

While working there, he was looking for an assistant and interviewed the first individual whose resume he came across. That person happened to be Stephen Merchant. We'll have more information on him below. I think Ricky's genius and radio background really came out during An Idiot Abroad. He played conductor and was able to bring the absolute best out of his co-worker Karl Pilkington in a way that only an experienced radio host can do.

Stephen Merchant is likely best known for his work with Ricky Gervais. Merchant co-wrote and co-directed The Office (UK) with Gervais. He also starred alongside him in Extras, and he was phenomenal in that. My favorite project of Stephen's, however, is Hello Ladies on HBO. He is so funny in that.

As you may have read above, Merchant worked with Gervais in radio starting out together at XFM London. After being let go, they later returned to the station to start The Ricky Gervais Show. It was there were the pair met their producer Karl Pilkington. The rest is history.

Inspired by a comedian, who we'll discuss later, Kimmel pursued radio while he was still in high school. He worked weekends on UNLV's college station. Then, while attending Arizona State University, he became a popular caller at a local station in the Phoenix area. Before long, he landed a job on a radio show in Seattle where he performed a lot of stunts.

He eventually went on to host shows in Palm Springs and Tucson before landing in Los Angeles as "Jimmy The Sports Guy" for a popular show. It's great to see his career arch because it's very similar to my own. He went through the ranks and cut his teeth just like a lot of us who chose a career in radio. The hustle paid off for Jimmy. My story is still largely to be determined. That's probably putting it nicely.

David Letterman was the funny person who inspired Jimmy Kimmel to go into radio. That's right! David Letterman got his start working in radio before going on to host late-night shows. Letterman graduated from Ball State University where he studied Radio & Television.

Letterman began as an announcer and newscaster at Ball State's student-run station. He was fired from there before going to a different station. From there, he worked as a weatherman at a local TV station where people really started to notice his unique sense of humor. Little did they know the guy updating them on coming storms would go on to become one of the funniest entertainers of all-time.

You read that correctly! The one and only Lucille Ball started her legendary career with a job in radio. Before she made it big, TheThings says she could only get jobs in the entertainment industry as a support player on radio shows. It didn't take long for audiences to notice her and she went from being support to the star of her own show.