Emmy-Winning Writer Bob Illes on Comedy, Chaos, and Classic TV
Update: 2025-07-21
Description
Before Bob Illes was writing for The Carol Burnett Show, Smothers Brothers, and Silver Spoons, he was just a kid trying to climb inside his black-and-white TV.
In this wildly funny and revealing conversation, Bob shares the misadventures, backstage feuds, celebrity run-ins (hello, Groucho Marx and Peter Sellers), and ridiculous showbiz politics that shaped his decades-long career in TV comedy. From bombing in front of Joey Bishop to being snubbed by Steve Martin (but in a friendly way), it’s a behind-the-scenes rollercoaster full of laughs and jaw-dropping moments.
Episode Highlights:
- What it’s like to write comedy for Cosby, Carol Burnett, and Fred Willard
- Bob's college radio show that accidentally became a star-studded madhouse
- The truth behind Jason Bateman getting booted from Silver Spoons
- Why Groucho Marx had to keep his cigar wrapped in plastic
- Pitching a gay bar storyline to Sanford & Son… in 1973
You're going to love my conversation with Bob Illes
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