Brooklyn-born, controversy-rich comic Tracy Morgan brings his Excuse My French standup tour to the Neptune Theater Friday, June 14. Before we spoke, his PR agent came on the line:
âTracy is almost ready, thanks for holding. Can we just not talk about 30 Rock, Alec Baldwin, or Tina Fey? He really does not want to talk about that. Heâll probably say something if you ask. So can we take that off and just focus on the Excuse My French tour?â
Okay. Can I ask him why he said heâd stab his son to death if his son were gay? And can I ask him about his stance on same-sex marriage?
Why? Whatâs the same-sex marriage question in relation to?
Whatâs it in relation to? To gay people being able to have equality. And since Tracy was under fire for his remarks before, I thought it would be interesting to hear his thoughts on it. I know he apologized and all, but I still think it would be interesting to hear. And my editor will flog me with a yardstick if I donât ask.
Actually, letâs not do that. Letâs focus on talking about the tour.
Can I talk about my editorâs yardstick?
Letâs keep it to the tour.
[Tracy comes on, with a deep and gleeful âHello!â]
How do you put your brain into the flow when youâre doing standup?
Thereâs things happening every day that influence my show. I mean, I have material that I do, but then again, a lot of it is based on my observationsâstuff that I see while walking through the airport, or going to a Subway sandwich shop. I keep my antennae up. I like my audience to identify every night with me.
Thinking of some of the pure standup artists, who are some of your favorites?
My father. My father was very funny. I donât get inspired just by people who do what I do. To me, thereâs no inspiration in show business, inspiring things come from the everyday Joeâthe funny mechanic, the funny fire-person, the funny ambulance driver. Real people inspire me, man.
As far as standups, the standups that inspire me are no longer here. And they kept it real. They werenât just funny, they made senseâthey were making a point. George Carlin didnât go up there just to be funnyâhe was beyond that. The great artist doesnât keep adding clay; they strip away until they get to the bare essentials. Some people come to my shows, and theyâre lookinâ for Tracy Jordan [the character he plays on 30 Rock], but if you want to see Tracy Jordan, you can tune in to NBC on Thursdays and see him all night. Onstage, Iâm doing me. If you think Tracy Jordanâs interesting, wait âtil you get a load of me.
What angers you?
The same thing that frustrates you frustrates me, but I just have a sense of humor about it. I got Verizon! Iâm pissed off about that today. What about that! They lookinâ at our stuff! You know whatâs on my record?
Stuff about Tina Fey? No, whatâs on your record?
You think Tiger Woods had problems? You donât wanna read about the stuff me and my girlfriends used to talk about.
Letâs talk about your imitation of Oprah Winfrey. What runs through the mind of Tracy Morgan as he puts himself in the mind of Oprah Winfrey?
That wasnât my real talent. All those impressions and that on SNL wasnât the real genius of Tracy Morgan. Iâm more about creating characters. Astronaut Jones, Brian FellowsâI created those. Those are from inside of me. I went to high school with a guy named Brian FellowsâI was inspired just by that name.
What was your favorite SNL character to play?
The closest one to me is Woodrow, the guy from the sewer. That was tragedy. He came from the sewer, and we laughed at him. Thatâs sad. That was a happy face/sad face. It was genius.
Who was your favorite SNL guest host?
I thought all of them were spectacular to work with. You gotta understand, that was my first big show. I was excited. I didnât really sit around thinking, âWhoâs my favorite guest host?â I didnât think like that, I was THERE!
But of all those people, there had to have been someone that made more of an impression on you.
My very first show on SNL was hosted by Tom Hanks. Iâm cominâ out of the ghetto, and now Iâm there with Tom Hanks. Imagine that. Imagine that! I was scared to death.
You were selling crack, doing comedy on the streetâwhat was your very first break? Where did someone see you and say, âThis guyâs gonna be huge?â
My very first break was in 1969 at 10:30 in the morning, when my motherâs water broke, and thatâs when the shit started. Excuse my French. Thatâs when it all started.
If I had known we were going to be talking about your motherâs water breaking, I would have prepared totally differently. Letâs fast-forward. What does the current, out-of-the-womb Tracy Morgan talk about in his standup routine now?
I talk about Michael Douglas now. He said he got throat cancer from having oral sex with women! Thatâs strange. Then he recanted on it. You donât think thatâs strange?
Does Michael Douglas know youâre talking about him in your show?
I donât know, and I donât care. Thatâs not a question you would ask Richard Pryor.
No, Iâd ask Richard Pryor that question.
You think heâd care? No, Iâm gonna say what I say. I donât care about none of that. Iâm doing standup, man. Iâm doing it in the spirit of Lucille Ball, and Richard Pryor, and George Carlin. Iâm not a mean-spirited personâIâm just talking about whatâs going on in front of me.
When youâre up there, deep into a show, and youâre in a mental flow, is it like a trance? When my editor flogs me across the ass, I go into a trance.
When people are laughing at one joke, Iâm 10 jokes down. Sometimes, I donât even see the people there. Comedians think at the speed of lightâthatâs why weâre able to do two hours. Let me tell you something about comedy: Humor is the highest form of intelligence. Ask a woman what it is that she loves about a man. Sheâll say, âHis sense of humor.â The guy thatâs funny gets all the girls. Somebodyâs flogging you?