Dino Stamatopoulos: He puts the grrrrr in Totally Obscure Comedy Cult Figure
The best part of the new Mr. Show with Bob and David season 4 DVD? The obligatory blooper reel of course.
But more specifically, the really best part is the fetishy tribute to show writer, producer, and sometime actor Dino Stamatopoulos that shows him riding his chopper, mucking around in a lake, and flubbing his one line in the excellent Amadeus parody “Philouza.” (“There’s Philouza!”)
If Bob and David are the Lennon/McCartney of sketch comedy, Dino’s the Frank Zappa: weird, obscure, beloved by a legion of creepy fans who obsess over his ouvre like members of a secret society— and then there are Dino’s questionable Zappa-esque grooming choices. He’s probably the funniest person you’ve never heard of.
If a show was funny, Dino has probably had his grubby hands in it: The Ben Stiller Show, Late Night with Conan O’Brien, TV Funhouse. (Memo to Comedy Central: Put that show on DVD post haste!) He’s even had his hands in some not so funny shows: Take MAD TV. Please, take it.
Listen to the commentary tracks for Ben Stiller or Mr. Show and you’ll see: It’s Dino’s world, we just laugh at it.
“There’s Philouza!”: He finally nails it.
Related: Fun Bunch Comedy
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7 replies on “Dino’s List”
That’s not Dino in the Philouza clip! It’s John Ennis. Dino still rules though.
I beg to differ, Doug. Then again, I beg for everything.
What’s the emoticon for “shaking my head disdainfully”???? 😉
Doug, it is most definitely Dino. Listen to the commentary track or just look at a picture of Ennis. He played the mayor or something in the Philouza sketch and coined the most magical of all numbers, eleventy-twelve.
For those lucky/unfortunate enough to live in LA, Dino’s has been cohosting shows with another former Conan/Carvey writer, Louis CK.
I will watch the DVD again tonight to satisfy my curiosity but it appears as if I have been corrected. I tip my hat to y’all.
Hey, where are Dino and Louis CK cohosting this show you speak of?
I’m stuck on the east coast and only heard about it from Louie’s message board, but I assume it’s at M-Bar. He updates whenever there’s new info, so check it and don’t take my word for anything. I am an uninformed moron.
The comedy scene is the only thing I envy about LA.