Norm Crosby Quotes

Every city you go to has television and radio talk shows that are dying to give young comics a showcase. They all want to be able to say that so-and-so started here, got his first break on this show.

When I was a comic in the 1980s, I was on the road somewhere every day, and I'd get back to the hotel, and it was Carson and Letterman, and I looked forward to that all day.

January 14, 2000, was my first time on stage, and I've been hooked ever since. I got discovered nationally in Seattle by the now-defunct HBO Comedy Festival, and that led to an appearance on 'Jimmy Kimmel Live' and a path to a professional comedy career.

It used to be that if you got on 'The Tonight Show,' your career was made. Now, if you're on 'The Tonight Show,' maybe 14 more people show up to your gig in Tulsa.

I was on the Johnny Carson show, I believe 114 or 104 times. And aside from those times on the air, I never spoke to him. I never met him.

Try, if you will, to imagine Dwight Eisenhower or JFK or Lyndon Johnson or, for that matter, Ronald Reagan chin-wagging with Jack Paar or Johnny Carson. Richard Nixon did, famously, go on 'Laugh In' in 1968, but as a candidate; and to his credit, he rued the day and hated every second of it.

I had done about 60 television shows, from 'Ed Sullivan' to 'The Hollywood Palace,' before I ever went to 'Johnny Carson.' At the time, that was the showcase for comics. And I couldn't believe it.

Every black comedian in the country knew what I could do. But that doesn't mean everyone else is paying attention.

I always feel pleasure while introducing new talent.

I remember the first couple of TV things I did, I was really nervous.

Yeah, I don't think I'm gonna do anymore TV shows.

People say I'm a celebrity chef, and I am on telly a lot but that's because I judge contests. Perhaps I'm more of a celebrity eater than a cook.

I acted in 'Almost Famous.' My album 'Fingerprints' won a Grammy Award in 2007. Even more prestigious, as far as my kids were concerned, I appeared in episodes of 'The Simpsons' and 'Family Guy.'

Everybody deserves to showcase their different talents and there's always somebody new you can tap into.

Superstars in every era have come from outside the industry, and that will continue to happen because cinema is nobody's birthright.

I've been asked by 'Big Brother,' 'I'm a Celebrity - Get Me Out of Here!,' 'Strictly' and 'Dancing on Ice,' but it's not for me.

For me, 'The Ultimate Fighter' has been massive. I think it is a fantastic vehicle to find the new talent of tomorrow.

There's definitely a lot of undiscovered talent in Africa. If I'm one of them and there's a few other guys in the league, that means that there must be some that are hidden.

I was intending not do any more telly and then I got talked into 'My Kitchen Rules,' which I did with Michael Caines.

My dad used to work a night shift when I was five years old, so I would get up when he went to work and watch Johnny Carson. I remember not knowing what was going on, but loving it.

I was watching Johnny Carson when I was way too young to be awake that late.

I was asked before to go out on '8 out of 10 Cats,' and I've been asked to go on 'Question Time,' I said to no to that. I don't see myself coming across well on that sort of thing.

Being back with Impact wrestling, I couldn't be happier for those guys, but from a professional and business side, it energises me so much to find the next AJ Styles, the next Bobby Roode, the next Samoa Joe.

I think so often about how, when I was starting out at UCB, Conan O'Brien was in town, and on his show back then, they sometimes did character bits, and I started getting paid to dress up as a page or a Dutch boy on his show.

In 1980s, I discovered 'Late Night with David Letterman.' It was on one of the 13 cable TV channels. They didn't have 25 late night talk show hosts trying to be the most outrageous. There was the likeable television genius Johnny Carson and his mad-genius counterpart Dave. There was nothing else crazy on TV every night, and there was no Internet.