Frank Santopadre on Comedy, Career Ups and Downs, and His Podcast Journey

Frank Santopadre is an American comedy writer, producer, and podcaster, best known for his work as the co-host and writer for the popular podcast "Gilbert Gottfried's Amazing Colossal Podcast!" with comedian Gilbert Gottfried. The podcast, which ran from 2014 until Gottfried's death in 2022, became known for its deep dives into classic Hollywood, interviewing entertainers, actors, directors, writers, and other figures from the world of show business. Santopadre has had a long career as a comedy writer, contributing to a variety of TV shows. His writing credits include shows like The View, The Howard Stern Show, and Comedy Central Roasts.

Q. Hi Frank, thank you for doing the interview.

Of course. Flattered to be asked.

Q. Where did you grow up, and what were you like as a kid?

FS. I grew up in Ozone Park, Queens and in a small town on Long Island’s north shore called Albertson. I was an inquisitive kid. Asked lots of questions about everything. And VERY friendly and outgoing, even with total strangers. My mom worried that I’d get too close to a stranger and take off with one.

Q. Would it be safe to say your Father was a big influence on you?

FS. Creatively, certainly. He was a gifted painter and illustrator and I suppose he handed down some artistic traits.

Q. What started you on that path to be a writer? Especially a comedy writer?

FS. That’s a long story, but I’ll tell you the abridged version: I attended the School of Visual Arts in Manhattan with the idea that I’d follow my dad into illustration or the advertising business but I quickly grew tired of that path. It seemed too solitary and I wanted to be around other people. At that time, I was heavily influenced by Monty Python, the original Saturday Night Live and both MAD and National Lampoon magazines and I started to drift in that direction. I began spending time in comedy clubs, and eventually formed my own comedy sketch group. EVENTUALLY, it turned into a career and finally, a living.

Q. It seems your career has been a long and winding road. You’ve written for a lot of people, TV programs, publications….

FS. Yes, “long and winding” Is an apt choice of words. My original goal was to write for late night TV (SNL, Letterman) but when that opportunity didn’t present itself, I realized I could still find my way into show business through other avenues. I wrote EVERYTHING in those days – humor pieces for MAD, trading cards for the Topps company, cartoon shows for Nickelodeon and other networks, promos for Comedy Central…I wrote gags for the Muppets for a while, I staffed on some bad, short-lived sitcoms and I even wrote a daytime talk show for Donny & Marie Osmond. I was all over the map professionally, but trying to narrow my focus as I went and just trying to get better at what I was doing. I wasn’t working in the late-night arena as I had originally planned but looking back years later, it was a strange, wonderful journey, and the perfect career trajectory for someone with ADHD!

Q. I’ve listened to you as co-host on Gilbert Gottfried’s Amazing colossal podcast and holy smokes you have a steel trap for knowledge of particularly twentieth century culture. Do you find that people look at you weird when you mention certain things?

FS. All the time. I was a TV credits reader when I was a kid (you had to do it quickly in those days because the credits rolled just once; no VCRs!) and for some reason, I always retained names and facts and dates in my head. But it helps if you have a particular curiosity about who wrote what, who penned or produced which song, etc., and I’ve ALWAYS been curious about those things. I wanted to know the ‘behind-the-scenes” people. Still do. That kind of curiosity and interest was a catalyst for the Gilbert podcast.

Q. Speaking of the podcast, did you guys really think you would only do a few episodes?

FS. Well, Gil didn’t have much faith in the idea early on. I thought we’d record 10 or 20 and have fun and call it a day. Of the three of us, Dara had the most confidence and an actual vision of what it could become. You must remember podcasting was still a nascent medium and no one knew what they were doing (least of all us!) or how long these things were supposed to last.

Once we started having fun and we caught on to the fact that other people were enjoying listening to our silliness and also having fun, we actually started to build some momentum. About 30 or 40 shows in, I realized we had gone from a throwaway, experimental project to an oral history of show business in the 20th century and I started feeling a sense of responsibility to keep going. Somehow, we’d stumbled into becoming historians! Having said all that, I couldn’t have imagined that we’d record over 600 shows.

Q. How did you meet Gilbert?

FS. Another VERY long story with many chapters. I saw him perform at NYC’s Comic Strip when I was 20 or so. I was knocked out by the absurdity of his comedy and his obscure references (this was someone who thought about things I thought about and retained as much arcane info as I did!) I’d check around to find out when he was playing other clubs in the city and I’d make it a point to go and see him. Eventually, I grew to know his act by heart but he never disappointed even when I knew what was coming. As years passed and I began to get a foothold in the business, I’d see him at parties, book signings and such and in 1994, I was a staff writer on a show called “Caroline’s Comedy Hour” and we wrote a bit for him.

In 1996, I spotted him walking down Ventura Boulevard in LA and gave him a lift to a local autograph show. Of course, Gilbert being Gilbert, he never remembered my name or recalled meeting me from ANY of these occasions. I talked about this in his eulogy, actually. I’m convinced that if he had lived and we stopped recording the show at some point, I’d run into him on the street 4-5 years later and he’d have no idea who I was.

Q. Outside of comedy, what other writing pursuits do you have?

FS. I dabble in all kinds of things because I get bored easily and crave new challenges. I just finished writing the narration for a documentary about the late musician and recording artist Leon Redbone. I also recorded the audiobook version of a memoir by a cult filmmaker named Jeff Liberman. It’s called “Day of the Living Me.” I like the documentary form and I hope to do more of that kind of thing. I also enjoyed doing something with my voice that didn’t involve any writing.

Q. Gilbert was a huge talent as you are, was it natural the way you guys hosted the show, or did you rehearse?

FS. No, there was never any rehearsal. We OCCASIONALLY discussed where we wanted to take the interview but I don’t think it ever factored in much, if at all. What you were hearing was 99% off-the-cuff (except for the days and days of research on my part!)

Q. We discussed before in chat the guests you had on the show. Who were some of your favorite guests, why, and who were some of the more difficult ones, if you care not to say, no big deal.

FS. I’d rather not talk about the difficult ones in a public forum but if you engage with the members of the various Facebook groups (ex: “Gilbert Gottfried’s Amazing Colossal Listener Society”) you can figure it out easily enough. Happily, there were very few negative experiences or challenging guests. As for favorite interviews, wow, too many to count (and they were favorites for so many varied reasons). A short list: Carl Reiner, Alan and Adam Arkin, Malcolm McDowell, Bob Costas, Brad Garrett, songwriters Brian & Eddie Holland, Neil Sedaka, Dick Cavett, the late Treat Williams and perhaps my personal favorite guests, the wife and husband team of Jessica Harper and Ron Leibman (because I felt that they really “got” both of us and got the show, understood what it was all about).

Q. What projects are you working on?

FS. Well, I still work 5 days a week writing joke lines and guest intros for “The View,” as well as working on the occasional freelance project, like the audiobook narration and documentary script I mentioned earlier. I’m hoping to put together some kind of book or memoir about my 8 years on the Amazing Colossal Podcast (I’ve got stories!) and if time and sanity permits, launch a new podcast sometime in 2024. Time will tell.