John Tesh Strikes a Funny Note

By Chris Carpenter
CBN.com Program Director

CBN.com - At first glance, John Tesh appears to be the last person you would consider as a comedy show host. Known more for his musical career and 10 year stint as host of Entertainment Tonight, the genial entertainer does a commendable job filling this role in Thou Shalt Laugh 4, a new video from Grace Hill Media.

CBN.com Program Director Chris Carpenter recently sat down with Tesh to discuss why this series connects with people so well, his role in the festivities, and whether there is a difference between Christian comedy and regular comedy.

This is the fourth installment of Thou Shalt Not Laugh comedy series. Previous hosts have included Patricia Heaton, Tim Conway, and Sinbad – all comic actors. You are hosting the fourth.

It’s like which one of these doesn’t work, right?

I must say, I was surprised when I first heard that you were going to be hosting it.

Well, I’m plugged into the world of family entertainment. And while I’m not a comedian, I’ve lived the life of an entertainer. I’ve been a stepdad to a kid who’s now 28 and married. I’ve got a 15-year-old daughter at home. And you know, it’s very similar to the Ellen DeGeneres addition to American Idol, where I’m a fan, and so it’s easy for me to appreciate the comedy. I don’t have to be funny onstage, but as the host, I’m a fan.

I’ll say it right now, I thought you were good. I thought you were funny.

I appreciate it.

Do you think you missed your calling, perhaps?

No, I’m fine right where I am. I spent a lot of time in front of live audiences, and that’s why I have a lot of respect for the comedians that were on the show. But a lot of times I just talk onstage about stuff that happens in my life. And I’ll be honest with you, in front of, whatever that was, three or four thousand people, just doing hosting and stuff, it was a little nerve-wracking for me, knowing that right behind me each time is going to be somebody who’s incredibly funny, because I’m always able to hide behind the piano when I’m talking. But a lot of times if you just talk about your life, it’s funny. If you try and make up jokes, it doesn’t really work. But as you can probably tell, I enjoy being in front of a live audience much more than being in front of a camera.

What do you think makes this series so successful?

What people in the church understand is that there’s a tribe, if you will, of people who just want to be good people. They want to tune out the Howard Sterns of the world and The Cougar television shows and stuff like that, and they want to be good people. And sometimes folks go like, “Oh, you guys are Christians, and it’s a cult.” And it’s not so much as it is, I think, there’s a movement in the United States, in North America, certainly, where people, they really want to live their lives with purpose and really want to be good people. They’re the people who go to CBN.com for their information or watch to The 700 Club, or maybe get plugged into a show on television that’s not disgusting. It’s that “tribe of goodness,” as I like to call them.

I was talking to comedian Jeff Allen one time, and he told me it’s sometimes hard to have that Christian comedian tag hung on you when you’re out there working in the clubs. How do you feel about the tag of “Christian comedian” versus “regular comedian”? Or should there be a difference?

That’s a great question. I think it’s a bit limiting. I think when the guys sat down and decided on Thou Shalt Laugh as the title, there may have been a time when they said, “Ah, maybe it should have been something else.” I’m the guy who plays neoclassical piano, and so I got into that New Age bin. And people are like, “How can you be a Christian when you’re a New Age artist?” So the titling thing is really—maybe the subtitle of this would be “Crazy, Clean Comedy.” I agree with Jeff. I think that are times when, “Well, it’s Christian comedy or it’s Christian music, so they probably didn’t spend much time on it.” I think that’s changing now. But the thing I love about the first several DVDs of this series was sitting around with my daughter who’s 15, who doesn’t laugh at anything unless it’s like really edgy, and my wife and my son, and all of us were in hysterics laughing over this. So I think it hits a lot of different demos. But, yes, “It’s just Christian comedy,” it can be really limiting, and I think they’ve probably seen that.

Yes. It’s good to know, though, that you can sit in your living room with your family and your teenage kids and not have to worry about something vulgar that’s going to flash on the screen. And I think that’s what makes these videos so popular.

I think as Christians, and even people who aren’t Christians that happen to be searching who are good family people, it’s our obligation to take a piece of material like this and films that you might discover and spread them around.

There are some great comedians in this lineup you’re working with. Chief among them is Taylor Mason. He’s appeared in all four of the Thou Shalt Laugh videos. What are your thoughts on Taylor and his act?

I learned a lot. I mean, I’m 57 now, and, I feel like I’ve interviewed everybody in the business and gone backstage and seen them working, done the sound-check thing with everybody from Sting to Barbara Streisand and Tim Allen. And the interesting thing that connects them all, and especially somebody like Taylor, is that they never stop working. And I speak to kids at a couple of performing arts schools here in town every now and then, and they all want to know what’s the secret. And you’ve got to tell them, “I’m sorry, but the secret you’re just working all the time.” And if you follow that guy around, you would have seen, even on the night of the taping, he played piano for like three hours during sound check. And I’m thinking, “Boy, I don’t do that, and I’m considered to be a piano player.” He is a great pianist and, obviously, a great comedian. But that’s the thing, is that these guys backstage, and they’re all like working material out on each other. So that’s the one thing that they’ve shared. You don’t see that—probably musicians and stand-up comedians are the only people I’ve seen do that all the time.

After people see this new video, Thou Shalt Laugh 4, what do you want people to get out of it after they watch it?

You’re always looking for something you can share with your teenager other than listening to Kanye West. You’re looking for an opportunity to share something with the family beyond having dinner together. And that’s what this is. And there’s just not that much of it anymore. I hate to sound like “Angry Steve Allen Guy,” but it’s true. There’s a lot of, “Christian” material that’s so watered down that these kids aren’t just going to go for it. But this is one of those things that can join as a family, as goofy as that sounds. But it’s an opportunity to sit down together and have some fun.

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