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I Killed: True Stories of the Road

I Killed:True Stories of the Road from America's Top Comics

About Me

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Click here to pre-order I Killed on Amazon.com.
Available October 3, 2006

ENDORSEMENTS: “Back in the day, in the dingy ratskellers in which we learned our craft, Ritch Shydner was always the comic the other comics came into the room to watch, because he was the funniest. That hasnt changed, and Im afraid neither have the ratskellers.“
--Bill Maher
“Mark and Ritch are two of the funniest comedians to ever live and I KILLED is one of the funniest books I've ever read. I laughed, I cried, I had an abortion.”
--Chris Rock
“Schiff and Shydner have done it. They've not only written a great book, but have managed to accomplish it without actually doing any writing. The last person to pull that off was Moses when he received the Ten Commandments. As a comedian and former holder of 'The Laziest Man in the World' title, I salute them.”
--Larry David
“If this book proves nothing else, it’s that comics are sick, disgusting, and often in need of some sort of mental-health treatment. That said, there’s laugh-out-loud stuff here, and the laugh, as this book shows, is all that really matters.”
--Jeff Foxworthy
“Absolutely nothing funny happened to me on the road.”
-- Steve Martin

My Interests

Comic Profiling
By David Attell
About 2 weeks after 9/11, I arrived at Ronald Reagan Airport in D.C., blurry eyed from a night of partying, to take a plane to Sacramento for a week at the "Punchline." I made my flight, which was very surprising because of traffic and everything being blocked off due to heightened security. I kind of appear Middle Eastern, and with a hangover, I appear Terrorist Middle Eastern. I asked the stewardess, "How long is the flight?" Then I asked, "Are there any open rows or seats?" Then I took my seat, drank coffee, and ate a banana. No big deal. I was sitting in the back, and noticed the stewardess kept looking at me. I continued to glance up front to see if there were any more people boarding because once they would close the door, I could move up to the empty rows. This was one morning I was really hoping I would be able to move to an empty row and "pass out." But we were waiting and waiting. I was thinking, Wow, this is taking a long time! I guess they're waiting for some other people.
Anyway, I decided to move forward, because I didn't see any other people coming on. I moved and sat in an empty row. After all, no one had boarded for about a half an hour.
About 10 minutes later the stewardess said, "They'd like to see you up front." Maybe the airport x-ray found a tumor in my head.
To be Continued…

My Blog

Michael Richards Lost the Funny

Michael Richards Lost the Funny By Ritch Shydner   In defense of Michael Richards, he just wasn't a very good standup comedian. I  use the past tense because other than performing at biker r...
Posted by I Killed: True Stories of the Road on Wed, 06 Dec 2006 09:00:00 PST

The Bump Record Holder Meets His Fate

The Bump Record Holder Meets His Fate Written By Ritch Shydner   When I first moved to LA in 1982 I became a regular "B" guest on the Merv Griffin show.  If an A level guest ran long, I was ...
Posted by I Killed: True Stories of the Road on Thu, 28 Sep 2006 12:44:00 PST

Fighting for a Laugh by Ritch Shydner

Fighting for a Laugh by Ritch Shydner In 1982, the comedy club mushroom cloud from the explosion of stand-up comedy was still rising. New clubs outstripped the supply of comedians. Sometimes while you...
Posted by I Killed: True Stories of the Road on Tue, 19 Sep 2006 10:44:00 PST

In Defense of Dane

A few years ago a friend of mine was preparing to do a half hour HBO stand-up special when he answered a call from a fellow comedian and got this blast, How did you get that? Im funnier than you. Im s...
Posted by I Killed: True Stories of the Road on Wed, 23 Aug 2006 09:26:00 PST

Comedy Crack House

Comedy Crack House By Ritch Shydner   In 1989 I worked at a West Palm Beach comedy club. The bloom was off the comedy boom and club owners looking to save money, housed the comics as you might a ...
Posted by I Killed: True Stories of the Road on Tue, 08 Aug 2006 09:42:00 PST