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The funniest of funnymen, Kentucky native Aaron Lee has reigned over L.A.'s comedy scene for years as a jokester of all trades.
The jovial Mr. Lee works as a stand-up comic, TV writer, one-half (with ?-hilarious partner Joe Wagner) of the corpulent punk-rock combo Fat FX, and the most in-demand on-the-fly gag writer for some of Hollywood's most notable mirth-makers since Bruce Vilanch returned to whatever Sid-and-Marty-Kroft landscape from whence he initially arose.
Aaron first punctured popular consciousness in the early 1990s with a Xeroxed-and-stapled trash-culture journal called Blue Persuasion, which covered the harshest fringes of entertainment in a manner that managed to be both amazingly funny and, oddly, sweet.
The 'zine led Aaron to a distinguished tenure at Hustler magazine alongside Happyland publisher Selwyn Harris and under the legendarily Torquemada-esque guidance of Allan "Christian Shapiro" MacDonell. He emerged a stronger man from the Sweatbox That Flynt Built.
Around 1995 Aaron applied his remarkable way with a jape to Hollywood comedy clubs and developed into one of the city's best-loved stand-ups. He also teamed with fellow comic Wagner and the pair peddled their talents to numerous television endeavors, including various MTV and VH1 specials and awards show.
MTV's The '70s House is Aaron's latest, most personal creation. A time-warped take on MTV's Real World, '70s House blasts viewers and cast members alike back to the decade of polyester, Watergate, and roller-disco as filtered through the comic sensibilities of a guy who laughed at it all the first time around.
Aaron illuminates us now on his lava-lamp-a-palooza, which premieres Tuesday, July 5th at 10:30pm EST (right after The Real World on MTV).
Explain what your new show is all about.
The official, clunky title is MTV's The '70s House. We took twelve good-looking MTV kids--the oldest was twenty-three--and led them to believe they were off to live in a Real World-style house. When they showed up, we dropped the bombshell that they were "stuck in the '70s." No Internet, cell phones, video games; no modern hair or skin products; three channels on the black-and-white TV, all showing Laverne Shirley.
The kids have to dress, talk, and eat '70s--TV dinners, Twinkies, no microwave. And whoever stays '70s the longest--without getting kicked out for infractions like saying "wack", sneaking out to check their e-mail, or mentioning Eminem--wins a car, a trip around the world, and a whole bunch of modern electronics.
The whole thing is played for laughs, with comedians playing '70s archetypes who stop by to mess with the contestants, and guest appearances by Erik Estrada, Jimmie "J.J." Walker, Gallagher, and other goofball '70s icons.
What's so special about the 1970s? What inspired you to tap into that decade?
I suppose the fact that I was born in the '70s and have always been a pop-culture nerd. The 1970s were a great cross-section of hippie culture, punk, disco--everything cool. You still had drive-ins, arena-rock concerts; people left their houses to be entertained.
You were born in 1971, so many of that decade's classic movies and disco/drive-in-era stars must have shaped your personal tastes. What are your favorite sexy movies of the '70s?
First of all, for entertainment-industry purposes, I was born in 1979. I love exploitation films from the '70s and buy as many DVDs from that era as possible. I think the all-time list would include Pam Grier in Coffy (Picture: 1 - 2) ,Russ Meyer's Beyond the Valley of the Dolls, and Daughters of Darkness (Picture: 1 - 2) , which Blue Underground reissued. That's just from a quick look at my DVD shelf.
Who are your favorite actresses of the '70s? Which ones did you have the most severe and/or hilarious crushes on?
I had the requisite Catwoman fixation, although I dug Batgirl too. I also had that Ginger/ Mary-Ann dichotomy thing happening with Loni Anderson's and Jan Smithers's characters on WKRP in Cincinnati. Valerie Bertinelli on One Day at a Time, especially the season where she was in a bathtub during the opening credits. Her character was really into Elton John, and I loved to imagine her scrubbing down to "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road".
There was also a short-lived sitcom called Ladies' Man, and the theme song went, "How can I be in a room full of women / When not one of them knows I exist?" That scenario seemed really arousing to me at age eight.
Tell us about the first movie nude scene you ever saw. Is there a funny story behind it?
I think it was Ursula Andress peeling off her nurse uniform in The Sensuous Nurse (Picture: 1) . There was absolutely nothing humorous about it in the least; it was a deadly serious moment of revelation.
What do you think of '70s porn? Did you manage to sneak a glimpse at any while you were a kid? Got any favorites?
I saw softcore stuff on cable, but I didn't see any hardcore porn until the '80s. I watched the DVD of Radley Metzger's The Image last year--that was pretty mind-blowing (Picture: 1 - 2 - 3) . I think Uschi Digard is my favorite retro girlie model, if she counts as porn.
MTV has evolved through the years into a non-stop parade of hot chicks wearing almost no clothes and indulging their sexiest whims. Who are the three women associated with MTV that you are the most fond of?
Trishelle Cannatella (Picture: 1) from Real World is an awesome train-wreck; Nina Blackwood, whose '80s show I listen to on LA's 103.1--very classy lady; the chick at Supercuts whose boob rubs up against Butt-Head while she's cutting his hair.
Do you think the time-setting of '70s House added to the show's sexiness? How? Did it affect the contestants in a sexual way?
About two weeks into shooting I realized that the kids looked much, much better in their '70s clothes than they did when they first walked in. I never felt this way before, but I've grown to believe that fashions are way too boring today. The '70s clothes have more color and life; the whole thing is sexier. As for how this affected the contestants--they were all kids in their late teens, early twenties. They were horny as hell to begin with. Even if the show had been Burqa House, they would've been turned on.
Was TV sexier in the '70s than it is now?
TV is sexier today, although in the '70s I spent more time as a kid glued to the screen, believing that I was finally going to see actual nudity on an episode of Three's Company. Or mistakenly believing that I had indeed just seen a breast on Benny Hill. The one show that has always featured women I find sexually attractive, from the '70s till today, is Saturday Night Live.
What about movies? Were they sexier? Why or why not?
Movies, on the other hand, were definitely sexier, because guys had beards, which led to scenes like the one in Coming Home (Picture: 1) . I can't think of anything that sexy in modern films, outside of Vincent Gallo's work.
Some of the music of the '70s exuded a heavily sexual vibe. Occasionally it could border on being gross. What are some songs or musicians of the '70s that you feel put forth an amusing and/or arousing sexual vibe?
I don't know what you mean by "gross". What could be gross about the Rolling Stones' lips logo or the red-hot sexuality of Rickie Lee Jones's "Chuck E.'s in Love"? I will say I was pretty grossed out to read in Hammer of the Gods that when Robert Plant sang "Juice runs down my leg," he was talking about a urinary-tract infection. "Kiss You All Over" by Exile springs to mind as a very arousing jam; not coincidentally, all the guys in Exile had beards. "Champagne Jam" grossed me out as a kid, because I assumed it was something dirty, like a Pearl Necklace.
Was there a no-shaving-the-pubes rule on '70s House? If not, tell us about some other disgustingly hilarious customs of the '70s that you might have considered imposing on the House, but ultimately passed on.
Without going into too much detail, a controversial "Flavor-Saver" rule was shot down by MTV's attorneys at the last minute. Otherwise, no, we did not tell contestants they could not shave their pubes. A disgusting '70s tradition we considered imposing on the kids was no guys wearing shirts, ever, no matter what the weather or how out-of-shape you are. However, this was considered discriminatory to the girls.
What else are you working on?
I just finished writing the MTV Movie Awards and the script for an animated project with comedian Jeffrey Ross. Other than that, I'm working on convincing MTV that '80s House would be awesome. Totally awesome.
All photos of '70s House cast courtesy of MTV's '70s House website
The jovial Mr. Lee works as a stand-up comic, TV writer, one-half (with ?-hilarious partner Joe Wagner) of the corpulent punk-rock combo Fat FX, and the most in-demand on-the-fly gag writer for some of Hollywood's most notable mirth-makers since Bruce Vilanch returned to whatever Sid-and-Marty-Kroft landscape from whence he initially arose.
Aaron first punctured popular consciousness in the early 1990s with a Xeroxed-and-stapled trash-culture journal called Blue Persuasion, which covered the harshest fringes of entertainment in a manner that managed to be both amazingly funny and, oddly, sweet.
The 'zine led Aaron to a distinguished tenure at Hustler magazine alongside Happyland publisher Selwyn Harris and under the legendarily Torquemada-esque guidance of Allan "Christian Shapiro" MacDonell. He emerged a stronger man from the Sweatbox That Flynt Built.
Around 1995 Aaron applied his remarkable way with a jape to Hollywood comedy clubs and developed into one of the city's best-loved stand-ups. He also teamed with fellow comic Wagner and the pair peddled their talents to numerous television endeavors, including various MTV and VH1 specials and awards show.
MTV's The '70s House is Aaron's latest, most personal creation. A time-warped take on MTV's Real World, '70s House blasts viewers and cast members alike back to the decade of polyester, Watergate, and roller-disco as filtered through the comic sensibilities of a guy who laughed at it all the first time around.
Aaron illuminates us now on his lava-lamp-a-palooza, which premieres Tuesday, July 5th at 10:30pm EST (right after The Real World on MTV).
Explain what your new show is all about.
The official, clunky title is MTV's The '70s House. We took twelve good-looking MTV kids--the oldest was twenty-three--and led them to believe they were off to live in a Real World-style house. When they showed up, we dropped the bombshell that they were "stuck in the '70s." No Internet, cell phones, video games; no modern hair or skin products; three channels on the black-and-white TV, all showing Laverne Shirley.
The kids have to dress, talk, and eat '70s--TV dinners, Twinkies, no microwave. And whoever stays '70s the longest--without getting kicked out for infractions like saying "wack", sneaking out to check their e-mail, or mentioning Eminem--wins a car, a trip around the world, and a whole bunch of modern electronics.
The whole thing is played for laughs, with comedians playing '70s archetypes who stop by to mess with the contestants, and guest appearances by Erik Estrada, Jimmie "J.J." Walker, Gallagher, and other goofball '70s icons.
What's so special about the 1970s? What inspired you to tap into that decade?
I suppose the fact that I was born in the '70s and have always been a pop-culture nerd. The 1970s were a great cross-section of hippie culture, punk, disco--everything cool. You still had drive-ins, arena-rock concerts; people left their houses to be entertained.
You were born in 1971, so many of that decade's classic movies and disco/drive-in-era stars must have shaped your personal tastes. What are your favorite sexy movies of the '70s?
First of all, for entertainment-industry purposes, I was born in 1979. I love exploitation films from the '70s and buy as many DVDs from that era as possible. I think the all-time list would include Pam Grier in Coffy (Picture: 1 - 2) ,Russ Meyer's Beyond the Valley of the Dolls, and Daughters of Darkness (Picture: 1 - 2) , which Blue Underground reissued. That's just from a quick look at my DVD shelf.
Who are your favorite actresses of the '70s? Which ones did you have the most severe and/or hilarious crushes on?
I had the requisite Catwoman fixation, although I dug Batgirl too. I also had that Ginger/ Mary-Ann dichotomy thing happening with Loni Anderson's and Jan Smithers's characters on WKRP in Cincinnati. Valerie Bertinelli on One Day at a Time, especially the season where she was in a bathtub during the opening credits. Her character was really into Elton John, and I loved to imagine her scrubbing down to "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road".
There was also a short-lived sitcom called Ladies' Man, and the theme song went, "How can I be in a room full of women / When not one of them knows I exist?" That scenario seemed really arousing to me at age eight.
Tell us about the first movie nude scene you ever saw. Is there a funny story behind it?
I think it was Ursula Andress peeling off her nurse uniform in The Sensuous Nurse (Picture: 1) . There was absolutely nothing humorous about it in the least; it was a deadly serious moment of revelation.
What do you think of '70s porn? Did you manage to sneak a glimpse at any while you were a kid? Got any favorites?
I saw softcore stuff on cable, but I didn't see any hardcore porn until the '80s. I watched the DVD of Radley Metzger's The Image last year--that was pretty mind-blowing (Picture: 1 - 2 - 3) . I think Uschi Digard is my favorite retro girlie model, if she counts as porn.
MTV has evolved through the years into a non-stop parade of hot chicks wearing almost no clothes and indulging their sexiest whims. Who are the three women associated with MTV that you are the most fond of?
Trishelle Cannatella (Picture: 1) from Real World is an awesome train-wreck; Nina Blackwood, whose '80s show I listen to on LA's 103.1--very classy lady; the chick at Supercuts whose boob rubs up against Butt-Head while she's cutting his hair.
Do you think the time-setting of '70s House added to the show's sexiness? How? Did it affect the contestants in a sexual way?
About two weeks into shooting I realized that the kids looked much, much better in their '70s clothes than they did when they first walked in. I never felt this way before, but I've grown to believe that fashions are way too boring today. The '70s clothes have more color and life; the whole thing is sexier. As for how this affected the contestants--they were all kids in their late teens, early twenties. They were horny as hell to begin with. Even if the show had been Burqa House, they would've been turned on.
Was TV sexier in the '70s than it is now?
TV is sexier today, although in the '70s I spent more time as a kid glued to the screen, believing that I was finally going to see actual nudity on an episode of Three's Company. Or mistakenly believing that I had indeed just seen a breast on Benny Hill. The one show that has always featured women I find sexually attractive, from the '70s till today, is Saturday Night Live.
What about movies? Were they sexier? Why or why not?
Movies, on the other hand, were definitely sexier, because guys had beards, which led to scenes like the one in Coming Home (Picture: 1) . I can't think of anything that sexy in modern films, outside of Vincent Gallo's work.
Some of the music of the '70s exuded a heavily sexual vibe. Occasionally it could border on being gross. What are some songs or musicians of the '70s that you feel put forth an amusing and/or arousing sexual vibe?
I don't know what you mean by "gross". What could be gross about the Rolling Stones' lips logo or the red-hot sexuality of Rickie Lee Jones's "Chuck E.'s in Love"? I will say I was pretty grossed out to read in Hammer of the Gods that when Robert Plant sang "Juice runs down my leg," he was talking about a urinary-tract infection. "Kiss You All Over" by Exile springs to mind as a very arousing jam; not coincidentally, all the guys in Exile had beards. "Champagne Jam" grossed me out as a kid, because I assumed it was something dirty, like a Pearl Necklace.
Was there a no-shaving-the-pubes rule on '70s House? If not, tell us about some other disgustingly hilarious customs of the '70s that you might have considered imposing on the House, but ultimately passed on.
Without going into too much detail, a controversial "Flavor-Saver" rule was shot down by MTV's attorneys at the last minute. Otherwise, no, we did not tell contestants they could not shave their pubes. A disgusting '70s tradition we considered imposing on the kids was no guys wearing shirts, ever, no matter what the weather or how out-of-shape you are. However, this was considered discriminatory to the girls.
What else are you working on?
I just finished writing the MTV Movie Awards and the script for an animated project with comedian Jeffrey Ross. Other than that, I'm working on convincing MTV that '80s House would be awesome. Totally awesome.
All photos of '70s House cast courtesy of MTV's '70s House website
