Most comedians dream of getting big laughs at their first roast. Jeff Ross was fortunate that he got them. And then he also got something that he never expected in his life: interruption by a legend, Milton Berle.
In an episode of ‘The Howard Stern Show’, Jeff Ross disclosed that when he performed his first roast with Milton Berle, Berle disliked his style of comedy. Even though the same style of comedy later became his identity.
Recalling the early days of roasting, Jeff Ross said that he took the stage at a Friars Club Roast, and he was thinking of performing his best on the stage, and the laughs also grew louder. At first, he thought that Milton Berle was joining in in a friendly manner. But soon it became clear that the legendary comedian wasn’t supporting the newcomer.
“Milton had giant hands and every time I got a laugh from behind the podium, Howard, he would poke me in the ribs, and I would jump,” Ross explained. “And then I keep going, and I’m hitting, pretty consistently getting good laughs and, finally, he’s just interrupting me. I’m killing, and he’s interrupting me.”
Jeff Ross said he tolerated it as long as he was able to do so.
He said, “Finally I go ‘Milton, didn’t I see you in an antique shop this morning [for] 800 bucks?'” “And Milton gets up and starts doing a two man show, and I’m trying to keep up with him. Then, you know, there were all these celebrities, like airplane wings, down the dais.”
“Buddy Hackett just bellows, ‘Hey Milton, let the kid work. Remember when you used to,'” Ross stated. “Milton runs down, kisses Buddy Hackett on the lips. The place explodes. And I go, ‘Oh, there it is, Milton and Buddy, over 80 years of homosexual experience.’ And the place just goes wild, and I felt like I’d found my Yankee Stadium in that moment.”
Roastmaster Ross said that he never expected this sort of behavior from Berle.
“I went back to the Friars Club afterwards, and I said to Buddy Hackett ‘Why would Milton do that?'” Ross said. “He goes ‘He doesn’t like when other people get a lot of laughs. He was trying to trip you up.'”
Later, Ross thought it was best to ask the talk show host directly.
“I went and had a cigar with him and I said, ‘Milton, why would you poke me like that?'” Ross explained. “He just said, ‘Remember, they only remember the homeruns. It means I had too many jokes and just edit down to the home runs. And even though he was trying to interrupt me and f— me up a little bit, I was like, ‘That’s really good advice.’ And Milton and I did go on to become very good friends. I think he was testing me.”
