Super Mario: The Laugh Whore

May 27, 2005

Comedian, Mario Cantone paid the show a visit today. Howard explained that Mario has a hit Broadway show called “Laugh Whore” which is now becoming a show on Showtime (see it this Saturday on Showtime). Mario is an openly gay comic, who, according to Howard, has been in a relationship with the same guy for 14 years. Mario recently saw Howard and Beth at an event and said he was very impressed with Howard’s taste in women. Mario had a very interesting childhood. His parents never got along very well and, apparently, his father had a second family complete with a son. Mario finally found out about his half-brother 8 years after his mother died. Mario said there were also the usual issues that go with being openly gay from the age of 12. His mother never really accepted it and that was difficult. He said middle school was pretty tough, but surprisingly, by the time he was in high school most people seemed to accept him for who he was and left him alone. Howard asked if he had ever been with a woman, but he said he has never been “down there” with a woman. Howard brought up Mario’s recurring role on the HBO series, “Sex and the City,” and wanted to know if the rumors of a rift between Kim Cattral and Sarah Jessica Parker were true. Mario said that not only had he never heard of anything between the two, they seemed very friendly on the set. Howard then asked about his show, “Laugh Whore”, which Robin said was very funny. In the show Mario does impersonations of Liza Minelli and Judy Garland. Mario did a little of both and they were great. He said the real Liza was supposed to come to the opening of his show which scared him to death because a large portion of it was him impersonating her.

Mario Is a Bomo, Too

Mario brought up “American Idol” and said he actually liked Bo Bice, but agreed that it was an off year for the series in general. He said Carrie Underwood’s singing was as emotionally attached as Mariah Carey’s. He thought she was way off pitch during the finale as well. Howard said the reason she won was because she was a country singer and country fans are much more forgiving. Mario is also a big “Contender” fan and watchedevery episode. He said his friends tease him that he just likes to see sweaty men in shorts, but Mario said he is really a fan of the sport, (but does like the men too). They agreed the boxers’ wives on the show were not much to look at, but that didn’t surprise Mario as much as it did Howard. As Mario put it, they have the kids and the hips get wide. As opposed to Howard, Mario liked that the show brought Chicken Pox Peter back on because he thought it added drama to show. Robin seemed to agree with him. Howard said he got a personal note from Sylvester Stallone yesterday, thanking him for promoting “The Contender” so much.

Howard to the Rescue

Howard delved into Mario’s sex life a little more, wanting to know if he’d ever converted a straight man — and he said he has. Then Howard’s own stylist to the star, Ralph Cirella, called in. Ralph wanted to know if Mario thought Star Jones and Elisabeth Hasselbeck were annoying. Mario said he loves Joy Behar and that’s enough for him. Ralph pushed a little more and all Mario would say was that he was very disappointed in Hasselbeck’s conservative politics. Ralph kept pushing and Howard came to Mario’s rescue saying that, as a working comic, he needs exposure on shows like “The View”, especially because he can’t seem to get on shows like Letterman, Leno or Regis, so he can’t trash them. Mario says he will trash them a little on the show, like when he made fun of Barbara Walters recently or the time he told Star to “shut up already” about her wedding. Speaking of Star Jones, Mario agreed with Howard — and disagreed with Ralph — that there is something disturbing about how skinny Lindsay Lohan has gotten. Ralph also brought up Mario’s old Channel 9 kids’ show, “Steampipe Alley” on which he said they got away with murder. Howard said he thought Mario was mad at him back then because Howard once said, jokingly, that they shouldn’t let Mario broadcast to kids. As they wrapped up the interview, Mario said he was surprised at how much fun he had this morning. Be sure to catch Mario’s show, “Laugh Whore”, on Showtime Saturday night (May 28).