Hatem Gabr: The Comedy Cellar and a Heart Transplant
KEY MOMENTS
0:00 – Intro and welcoming Hatem Gabr
1:09 – Discovering Hatem on Race Wars
2:42 – From the Olive Tree to the Comedy Cellar
5:22 – Why Hatem never tried stand-up
6:33 – Working New Year's Eve and its overrated nights
9:58 – What makes the Comedy Cellar special
13:02 – Comedy Cellar versus the Comedy Store
14:40 – Best Comedy Cellar memories
15:45 – Weed in Jerry Seinfeld's car
18:33 – The night Donald Trump Jr. got hit
22:39 – What successful comedians have in common
25:47 – Kind comedians: Maria Bamford and Roy Wood Jr.
28:41 – Comedians imitating their idols
29:56 – Respect, egos, and comedians riffing
32:31 – COVID and the future of live comedy
34:13 – Praising and roasting Noam Dworman
36:45 – Hatem's illness and artificial heart
40:16 – A heart transplant during COVID
42:12 – Lou's family emergencies in spring 2020
45:07 – Hospital hallucinations and faith
48:05 – What being in a coma feels like
50:05 – Appreciating the little things in recovery
51:36 – The old heart and the donor family
55:03 – Organ donation and transplant teams
56:40 – Telling people they matter
59:39 – Wrap-up and Locals preview
ABOUT THIS EPISODE
Lou's friend, producer Hatem Gabr, joins Lou to talk about working at the Comedy Cellar, Jerry Seinfeld, what successful comedians have in common, and what it's like to get a heart transplant.
We also get into discovering Hatem on Race Wars, working New Year's Eve, the Comedy Cellar versus the Comedy Store, weed in Seinfeld's car, the night Don Jr. got a glass broken over his head, kind comedians like Maria Bamford and Roy Wood Jr., praising and roasting Noam Dworman, his artificial heart, getting a transplant during COVID, hospital hallucinations and faith, what a coma feels like, and the donor family.