Joy Behar

We were watching Joy Behar when she was a stand-up in the eighties. She was on every small-time cable show there was, most notably Robert Kline's. She was very funny.

For that reason, bored and needing some tv, I tried her show a couple of times again last week and I'll tell you if you can get past some of the guests she's good. Very quick and funny. I heard a lot more than I cared to about the Miley Cyrus underwear photo "scandal." Who's the dude who linked to it and may be facing legal problems? He actually made sense in defending himself though he strikes me as a pretty smarmy guy.

Then came Lady Gaga at Yankee stadium. I give her another year and then she's smoke. She's a Madonna imitator who lacks Madonna's sense of fun and cunning. Even Madonna reached a place where she couldn't shock people any longer. Gaga's a much better singer than Madonna but not even close as a showbiz phenom. I enjoyed watching Madonna kicking all the mobbed-up record executives around for two decades. It was strictly a boys club till she came along.

Ms. Behar recommended Larry King's interview with Mick Jagger which I finally caught up with last night. I'll tell ya I like Larry King. He's always been a crazy bastard with all his wives and all his gambling and his endless tales about his impoverished boyhood in Brooklyn (we get it, Larry). But anybody who can stay on the air with huge audiences (now in decline) doing interviews with absolutely no prep...I mean he walks into the studio, a staffer hands him the questions and he goes on. He's a dope but a likable one. Oh I'm sorry Aaron Burr, I thought you were RAYMOND Burr. We'll be right back after this message.

I was afraid his Jagger turn would be like his notorious interview with Sinatra. I mean Sinatra was a true asshole all his life. But King elevated him to sainthood. It got to be hilarious and is still joked about forty years later.

In honor of Jagger Larry wore a blazing red shirt, black suspenders and jeans. Hey, man, let's go clubbing at the old folks home tonight. (I'm old, too, Larry.) The outfit was corny but endearing. Larry was trying hard.

None of the questions were particularly interesting but Jagger turned them into fascinating insights about the Stones and himself. Jagger is a very smart guy. I mean you don't hear many rockers quoting Somerset Maugham twice. The interview reminded me of Boz Scaggs on a radio interview talking about noir and Graham Greene's influence on it.

I'll likely watch Joy again. I wish she'd reprise her stand up bit about how the Brit Royal Family is actually German and how many of them secretly supported Hitler. Now there's a stand up turn that got your attention.