Even though I should have expected it from Howard Stern, I was still ticked at the advice "All you haver to do is raunch it up" to be a success.

If that is what it takes to be a success, I will be happy in my own little corner of show biz doing clean shows.

Neale! I agree with you 100...no....make that 500%!!
Modern "comedy" in general has gotten tiresome because so much of it goes for the lowest common laugh. I remember reading in an obviously much older vent book, about not using "blue humor" just because it's an easy laugh, keep it clean. It had to be an older book because now, Howard's advice seems to be the rule.
Personally, I prefer a little more thought out routine, one that gets the laughs without using the cheap material.

To Neale and Dickens & Dave, I completely agree with you both. My mentor in the world of magic told me many moons ago to keep it clean. Howard Stern has a reputation as a 'male chauvanistic pig'. I'm suprised he lasted this long on AGT without making really lewd comments.

Ray

PS I don't do vent material (I don't do blue material either) but I enjoy the routines and take my hat off to you.

I've never listened to Howard Stern's radio show but, I'm sure he's smart enough to know what he can and can't get away with on Network television.

I don't think he, or any of the other Judges, were suggesting he HAD to have blue material in order to advance to the next round. In fact it was Howard who said that Todd's act was brilliant. It's just that the Judges felt, along with millions of other Americans who voted, that the routine simply wasn't entertaining enough. Period.

Terry Fator didn't do any blue material on AGT but his routines were at least as good as the last, or better, each and every week. Not only the Judges, but tens of millions of Americans agreed.

Howard actually gave a thoughtful and useful critique of Todd's second performance. I can understand dismissing the "raunch it up" part, but Hoaward was right on point regarding the material. Terry Fator won by knocking people over with each appearance. He was funny,charming and surprising AND delivered an superb vocal perfomance each time.
Todd's not a singer or an impersonater - he's out there to be FUNNY. The material was uneven and kept him from moving on. Hpward pointed that out without being personally insulting or dismissive of Todd's talent. Needed more. Advice that is good, should be taken, regardless of where it comes from. That's show biz!

Bingo!

Well for my 2 cents, I thought Todd's performance WAS FUNNY and raunchy enough considering it was the dog's bantering back and forth and the joke about the face in the butt was enough for live prime time TV when children could be watching (IF they didn't have their noses stuck to a video game:o) Terry Fator is just plain and simple an EXCEPTIONAL TALENT who can mimic ANY singing voice he wants to (he said that in an interview I saw/read somewhere). That talent alone could have won AGT IF he had wanted to pursue being just an impressionist like Rich Little, IMHO. When you couple that talent with vent and have the puppets or figures doing the song, well that is just WAY out there on Pluto, plain and simple again. Even Hasselhoff, who hates vents by his own admission, was "blown away" by Terry. I rooted and cheered every time he took the stage and STOOD UP in my living room and gave Terry a STANDING OVATTION when he won. I seriously doubt that another vent will ever win AGT because unique acts like Terry Fator are a rarity these days. A vent might get on who has outstanding material and great vent technique but unless he/she has a "hook" to catch the audience's and judge's attention from the "blown away" perspective that Terry presented, unfortunately a vent will never make it to the top 3 AND it SADDENS me to NO END to say that. Even the great Jeff Dunham's career really didn't "take off" until he created Achmed, the Dead Terrorist who is such an UNCONVENTIONAL vent figure in the vent world (I could be wrong about that BUT until Achmed hit the scene I never saw Jeff get the coverage and attention his act got).

As suggested by Steve above, the judges (and the audience, too, I presume) expect each performance to surpass the previous one. Hence the frequent, repetitive advice to "step it up," "bring it to the next level," etc. Todd's first audition took everyone who had never seen his act by surprise. In Las Vegas, he did a virtuosic rapid voice-change routine which clearly surpassed his first performance. However, the last performance did not go beyond the other two (even with two dogs). All commenters so far have discussed Howard's criticism of Todd's material. However, did you also notice that as Todd was leaving, Howard said improve the material and the ventriloquism? I thought Todd raced through the material a little, and the actual vent was not as good as previously.

Please understand that I am not in anyway flaming Todd, whom I consider to be an excellent ventriloquist and entertainer. Indeed, I cannot begin to imagine the pressure of doing one's act live in front of millions of people when "it's all on the line," as AGT is fond of pointing out. However, the unwritten rules of that contest require the performers to outdo themselves each time they go on, and unfortunately, neither of this year's AGT vents did that.

One final word about Howard, if I may. I've been friends with him for 25 years, and he's been my patient for 20 years. He is very smart. You don't get $100 million contracts by being a dope. He knows what he can and cannot do on network TV. (In fact, he told me that "the biggest shock of my career is that I'm on family television.") He knows exactly how far to push. And understand that to some degree he is playing a character, a much exaggerated version of himself. Like him or not, he is extremely successful. And, by the way, don't you find yourself agreeing with the comments he has about the performers?

Bob

Bob: I for one have always liked Howard!! He is extremely intelligent and that helps explain his quick wit which many of the better, well know comedians like Robin Williams also have. Having watched ALL the AGT programs since it started years ago, I think Howard will prove to be an excellent judge and I think his comments are "spot on" in most instances. His "shock jock" persona is just that, a persona derived from his early radio shows. As I said, I like and respect Howard and I'm sure the contestants on AGT do too. Howard seems set on doing a great and FAIR job as an AGT judge and I'm sure he will. Much better fit than Pierce Morgan, IMHO:o)

I guess I wasn't clear. I agreed that Howard was spot on saying improve the material. It was the raunch it up I objected too. Raunchy does not equate funny.

Milton Berle once said "You can people to laugh at a dirty joke, but they will hate you for making them laugh."
Groucho Marx said "Anyone can get a laugh with a dirty joke, but to tell a clean story and get laughs - that take a real comedian."

I completely agree with you Neale. Raunchy/vulgar, etc. does not necessarily make it funny. Funny does not happen because of crudeness. There are other ways to get laughs.

Ray

Red Skelton did clean comedy for many years and even mentioned that we don't need to dirty up our acts. He was a classic. I applaude those that don't have to resort to that to make people laugh.

Glenn

Howard Stern is bringing Todd Oliver back for next week's Wild Card show along with escape artist (and former vent) Spencer Horsman. Tune in and vote, gang.

Bob

Todd did really well tonight, winning praise from all 3 judges. I just voted for him a bunch of times. How about you guys?

http://www.nbc.com/americas-got-talent/vote/

Bob

P.S. Spencer Horsman also nailed it.

I lost count but I voted several times

Todd did a WONDERFUL job! I'm proud that he's my friend! (I'd be proud of him anyway...even if he wasn't on AGT!)

Mark

markwade@kidshowvent.com

Todd makes it through to the semi-finals!

Yup, I saw that too. Good thing that he listened to the judges' advice by coming up with a much stronger material!

Way to go , Todd!!

Mark
markwade@kidshowvent.com

Howard Stern on Todd Oliver tonight: "This act deserves to go through!"

Go, Todd!