BERT KREISHER
More than eighteen years ago Rolling Stone magazine named Bert Kreischer, who was then attending Florida State University, “the top partyer at the Number One Party School in the country.” Nicknamed “The Machine,” Kreischer’s career has evolved into one of the top grossing stand-up acts in the business, which has led to a successful podcasting career, movie stardom and a new Netflix deal.
Currently, the perpetually shirtless Kreisher is the star and co-creator of the new six-episode comedy on Netflix, Free Bert. “When his antics turn the family into outcasts, he decides to put a shirt on and stifle his true self in order to fit in,” Variety writes.
The comedian will notch his fourth appearance at Red Rocks on October 1. Like for so many musicians and performers, the iconic location is one of Kreischer’s favorite venues.
“In my opinion, Red Rocks is the flagship venue in the country, especially for music,” he says. “It is an artistic and cultural venue — The Beatles even played there. I’m excited for my fourth time, as the first time you do Red Rocks, it’s like losing your virginity — it happens so fast. The honor and privilege to even get to play this venue was way beyond any expectation I had when starting stand-up. The fact that I’m coming back for the fourth time to play there after seeing amazing acts like Wilco, Red Clay Strays, Sturgill Simpson, Widespread Panic and Jimmy Buffett makes me feel like I’ve died and gone to heaven.”
Kreischer first appeared in Colorado more than fifteen years ago when he was headlining the Jameson Comedy Tour at The Pikes Peak Center. Soon afterwards his career started to explode, and in 2019 he headlined at Red Rocks. But his true Colorado experience did not begin until he headed West. “I stayed at my manager’s house in Crystola, and besides being at 8,000 feet and fearing I was having a heart attack, the area was so beautiful.”
TOM ARNOLD
For more than thirty-five years, Tom Arnold has been at the forefront of comedy, landing his breakout role on the iconic sitcom Roseanne in 1990. Hired as a writer on the show in 1988 when meeting Roseanne Barr in Denver, two years later he was also acting in and producing the series, which ran from 1988 to 1997, winning a Golden Globe and a Peabody Award for writing.
Additionally, Arnold helped put Fox Sports Network on the map with his hosting duties on The Best Damn Sports Show Period. Currently, he’s on the Netflix series Fubar with Arnold Schwarzenegger, having started their relationship with the box-office hit True Lies.
So why then does Arnold continue to return to stand-up comedy after such a successful film and television career? “I grew up in a small town in Iowa and my dream was to become a stand-up comedian, which is a strange dream if you’re from Ottumwa. I’m a single dad and my dad was a single dad. So perhaps the real reason I’m a comedian is the only time I can remember him laugh was when he would watch a Bob Hope comedy special.
“Every son wants to make his dad laugh, so one of the first things I did when I got to Hollywood was to appear on a Bob Hope special and it was magical for my dad to be sitting in his living room and seeing me stand next to the comic legend. Comedy is very personal to me.”
Arnold returned to stand up in a big way last year and is hitting the road almost non-stop from now until early December. He will be stopping at Loonees Comedy Corner in the Springs for four shows September 19 and 20.
“Colorado has always been a comedy powerhouse and ones of the best places for live comedy,” he says. “There are a bunch of great people as well as great writers who I have hired to work on Roseanne and other shows. The area just has a great vibe!”