Tomasulo’s Man of the People offers refreshing chuckles in mad, mad, mad, mad world
“Common sense perspective” returns to American TV late night comedy in Pat Tomasulo’s “Man of the People” on Saturday nights at 10 pm on WGN TV. Tomasulo is the only host on TV offering original comedy that isn’t driven by the boring and simplistic humor darts thrown at President Donald Trump. It doesn’t take talent to make fun of Trump! That’s why Tomasulo is different. He has real, refreshing comedic talent.
By Ray Hanania
WGN’s award-winning sports announcer and very own standup comedian Pat Tomasulo launched his new weekly comedy show this weekend, “Man of the People,” and it teams with belly laughs and a lot of original humor, a rarity in late night talkshows.
Tomasulo joined WGN’s morning news and entertainment team in 2005, absorbing the comedic talents of WGN’s Morning News anchors and comics themselves, Larry Potash and Robin Baumgarten.
It’s not surprising that he has launched his own show, “Man of the People” on WGN TV broadcast every Saturday night at 10 pm with a studio audience — as Tomasulo points out in his funny bits, he revives the in-studio audience action that made WGN so famous for more than four decades, ending in 2001 with the retirement of Bozo’s Circus in 2001.
What aging, addled and Alzheimer-stricken Baby Boomer hasn’t yearned for that kind of refreshing humor, while grouping for a freshly wrapped absorbent Fitrights or Depends underwear? Fitrights? Late nights? Who remembers differences while piling through reams of pages from the latest updates on Medicare and Social Security regulations and forms?
WGN’s Mornings with Potash and Baumgarten have given news reporting a very important infusion of badly needed humor, making it one of the country’s most entertaining and fun-to-watch news broadcasts in America. Tomasulo suckled on years of Potash and Baumgarten puns and today fits into that equation like a hotdog without ketchup.
Tomasulo’s tenure at WGN has been a rehearsal for his own show, ever since joining Potash and Baumgarten, who are always encouraging the young grad from the College of New Jersey. Any school of higher learning named after the state that gave us Jersey Shore, JWoww, Vinny and Snooki has to offer the promise of true everyday humor embedded deep in the bowls of American comedy.
I love the show. I’m tired of all the political nastiness that has swallowed late night and weekend comedy. It doesn’t take much talent to bash President Donald Trump into worn-out jokes and one liners. Stephen Colbert is the worst. At least Jimmy Kimmel adds a personal sympathetic tear-jerker every-once-in-awhile to break up the monotony of Trump bashing.
Tomasulo’s humor is original and funny. He does a great comedic monologue called “The Voice of Reason.” Original humor, not a rip-off of internet political rantings, “The Voice of Reason” hit many issues that couch potatoes in America have been afraid to ask about. Like teenagers getting high by eating laundry soap pods. He gives audiences a badly needed “commonsense perspective” on everyday life, everyday life that everyday people who are often forgotten in the national talkshow jousting, can identify with and enjoy.
I have always been in love with WGN’s Morning News show with Potash and Baumgarten. They’re funny and they encourage everyone on their team to be funny, too. Naturally funny. Tomasulo was nurtured in that environment with Potash’s and Baumgarten’s “mom and pop” comedy duo.
The show is filled with original skits, original comedy and comedy that you will enjoy for everyone, whether you support Trump or hate Trump, or whether you enjoy snorting Tide or just a doobie now and then.
Here’s the show’s recent press release:
Not since 2001, when The Bozo Show was wrapping up it’s 40-year run, has WGN-TV’s famed Bradley Place studios seen a regularly scheduled television show featuring a studio audience. Starting this Saturday night, echoes of laughter and applause will once again echo through the hallways of WGN, with the premiere of Man of the People, Pat Tomasulo’s new show produced by WGN News. The show, taped in front of a studio audience, is a topical comedy show that will have Pat Tomasulo breaking down the week in news, current events and pop culture through a common sense perspective to the “everyman viewer.”
“It’s going to be the greatest, local, weekly, late night television show in history,” jokes Tomasulo. In as much serious that he can muster, Pat says that in years of doing bits for WGN Morning News, from the now-famous “I’m Tom Freakin’ Skilling” moment to his viral take on the Olympics seen round-the-world, he has honed what he calls a very “common sense perspective” that is present throughout his comedy. One of the few bits that will carry over from WGN Morning News is his “Voice of Reason” segment where he takes on a subject and begs society to come to its collective senses. The topics range from replying all on e-mail to the world of online dating. While the show will not have guests as a regular occurrence, when an opportunity to have some fun or do a bit presents itself, guests will appear. In fact, says Pat, “our very first show will feature a Chicago television luminary.”
To help pull off the endeavor, WGN hired TV veteran Doug Karo to be the executive producer of the show. Karo has served as executive producer and showrunner for shows on TBS, truTV, SYFY, and Comedy Central. One of Chicago’s Very Own, Karo is a native of Elmhurst and graduated from Columbia College. Says Doug, “it’s great to be back in Chicago, working in such a legendary building as WGN-TV, working with such a great talent as Pat, and producing what we hope will be a fun and funny show.”
The show tapes Friday afternoons, and will air the very next night at 10:00 on WGN. Tickets to come and see the show are free, and can be booked at manofthepeople.com/tickets.
Man of the People will air every Saturday night at 10pm starting this Saturday, with a few “special times” at 10:30 and 11 due to WGN Sports commitments. You can follow Pat on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. Complete shows as well as comedy bits will be posted to the Man of the People You Tube channel.
(Ray Hanania is an award winning columnist with the Southwest News Newspaper group of seven newspapers, and a former Chicago City Hall reporter who departed in 1992 when then Mayor Daley nullified the English language. A standup comedian, Hanania can be reached by email at rghanania@gmail.com or by visiting his website at www.TheDailyHookah.com where he spits fire and brimstone every week. You can also find his bio on the FBI’s Top 15 Most Wanted website online.)
Hanania also writes about Middle East issues for the Arab News, and The Arab Daily News criticizing government policies in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Hanania was named "Best Ethnic American Columnist" by the New America Media in November 2007, and is the 2009 recipient of the SPJ National Sigma Delta Chi Award for column writing.
Email Ray Hanania at rghanania@gmail.com.
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