When it comes to evaluating young comics, you couldn't find two better judges than comedians Dana Gould and Paul Provenza. But Gould, a former writer for "The Simpsons," and Provenza, the host of the new Showtime series "The Green Room," also know to pay respect to their elders. The two friends recently riffed on one of their idols, Robert Klein.
NEAL JUSTIN
Gould: "People outside of comedy don't really realize that Robert's really the inventor of the modern form of standup comedy. He perfected it, even more than George Carlin."
Provenza: "Carlin sort of indentified himself outside conventional standup with his hippie attitude and his counterculture thing, whereas Klein changed the form from within. He grabbed onto conventional forms and brought college-educated savvy to it. A whole generation of comedians basically copied him."
