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Comedian Jackie Martling has released a new documentary entitled ‘Joke Man’ that is available on several streaming platforms. You can visit JokeManMovie.com to find out which of your favorite platforms to watch this fascinating documentary on.
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Martling wrote for the Howard Stern Show at its peak, and has been a legend in stand-up comedy for many decades.
From beginning to end, his new documentary ‘Joke Man’ is packed with hilarious jokes and amazing stories about Martling’s career. We cannot recommend this film enough!
We were thankful to have the opportunity to ask Mr. Martling a few questions about his career for our coverage of this documentary. We asked Mr. Martling about his work ethic, often emphasized throughout the film. We wanted to know if Martling feels that his talent, or his work ethic were more responsible for his success.
Martling didn’t hold back, telling us, “I look at it as a good work ethic won’t get you anywhere if you don’t have the talent you need once you get someone to pay attention to you .. and talent won’t get you anywhere unless you have the work ethic to run it up the flagpole. I’m sure the balance of hard work vs. talent is different for everyone’s road to success. I know I worked my ass off for a long, long time for what seemed no apparent reason, and then opportunity finally reared its head and I .. got lucky? Luck certainly favors the prepared. I do know it took so long for me to get some traction that I still feel a bit uncomfortable when someone refers to my “success.” That’s not feigned humility, that’s the ingrained result of years and years of plowing ahead with no real plan and getting nowhere.”
When we asked Mr. Martling who is favorite stand-up comedian of all time is, he told us that Rodney Dangerfield has always held a special place in his heart, saying, “I have the utmost respect for anybody who’s ever stepped up on a stage and faced a crowd with the intention of trying to make them laugh. But if the question is who best makes me laugh, it’s far and away Rodney Dangerfield. Punch punch punch .. that’s the way I like it. I was a huge fan of Rodney’s jokes long before I dared get up there with that intention. It’s so crazy I got to work with him, it was and still is a real pinch-me moment.”
It wouldn’t be a Jackie Martling interview if we didn’t discuss the Howard Stern Show. We asked Mr. Martling about the drastic changes that Howard Stern has undergone in recent years, and if he ever felt pressured to be “more mainstream” during his tenure on the show. Martling told us that he never had any inclination that Stern would make such an extreme change.
“No, nothing ever gave me an indication Howard or the show would change,” Martling said. He also described his duties on the Stern show during his time on the show, saying, ” My job description, the only instruction I ever got from Howard, was in February 1986 when he called and asked me to join the team, as the show was about to move to mornings on K-Rock in New York City. He said, “I want you to come in and do your thing with the notes.” And he soon appended that with, “Don’t ever edit. Write whatever you want, whatever you think is funny. I’ll edit.” Me and Fred Norris were never given any guidance whatsoever. Actually, I thought that was pretty apparent. By 2001 we had become an incredibly well-oiled machine, but it was basically the same show it had been in 1986.”
Martling added, “I never expected Howard to move to satellite radio, as I always thought that dancing around the rules, going right up to the line of what was passable for terrestrial radio, being outrageous yet staying within the guidelines of the FCC, was the charm of the show. Day after day testing “what we could get away with.” Yeah, I say “we,” I hope that doesn’t sound presumptuous.”
We asked Mr. Martling why he thinks that Howard Stern has been so vicious to him over the years since his departure from the show. Martling responded to our question by assuring us that he does not listen to the Stern show, and never did. He simply worked there.
Martling told us, “Do I know why he’d be vicious to me? I honestly have no idea. The only logical answer I can offer is he thinks its good radio. For the Howard I know, or knew, that was always the bottom line. I do have to admit I’d really love to hear Howard’s answer to that question. (To nip any rumors in the bud, no, it’s not the old p**** size thing.)
Obviously, Jackie Martling still has his beloved sense of humor!
When asked what he hopes people take away from this documentary, Mr. Martling told us, “I’d like people to come away from our film thinking I’m a decent, funny and hard-working guy who had major input to the incredibly rapid rise and monster success of the world’s greatest radio show.”
It was an incredible honor to be able to ask Mr. Martling some questions for this article, and we thank him sincerely for his willingness to answer our questions. We also want to thank his team for making this process as easy as possible.
Being that we are best known for our coverage of President Joe Biden here at Rare, we asked Mr. Martling to give us a joke about Joe Biden, and he kindly obliged. His joke reads…
People tell me I look like Joe Biden.
I tell them no, Joe Biden looks like me.
Legendary Comedian Jackie Martling To Rare
Funny as always.
Be sure to head to JokeManMovie.com, and watch this documentary!
