rant · moment 5 of 15
Long Island Made Comedy: Seinfeld, Rosie, and the Suburb Debate
from A Can of Sweetened Honey · #84
Audio-only archive episode — no video to seek.
3 minThey debate whether Long Island deserves credit for producing top comedians like Seinfeld, Rosie O'Donnell, and Eddie Murphy, with Tim arguing it's really just a New York suburb before cueing up the full trailer.
- 11:04Tim on why he'd beg people to go to the city when growing up—nobody ever wanted to go with him.
- 11:17Growing up on Long Island meant everyone had cars because it's an island, but Tim took the bus around anyway despite 45-minute to two-hour drives.
- 11:43Long Island produced some of the greatest comedians: Jerry Seinfeld, Rosie O'Donnell, Eddie Murphy, Ray Romano, Kevin James.
- 12:07Tim interrupts to question whether Long Island really wrapped the entire comedy industry.
- 12:20The claim that more comedians came from Long Island than anywhere else—but Tim notes they were born and grew up there, not just worked at Governor's.
- 12:31Tim argues the analysis omits that Long Island is a suburb of New York City, and that suburban location gave those comedians a unique perspective on middle America.
- 12:54Long Island comics got the balance of suburb culture plus access to city experience and all its culture, which the city proper couldn't provide.
- 13:12Tim reacts to a clip playing—a guy in black and white throwing a cigarette in front of the club.
- 13:29They move the mics away because they're going to laugh at the clip and don't want to ruin the audio for listeners.
- 13:40Shannon runs the clip from the beginning again so people can see the full thing.
Kevin JamesJerry SeinfeldLong IslandRosie O'DonnellRay RomanoEddie MurphyBostonNew York City