Keith Olbermann was fired Friday by Current TV for breach of contract. Fortunately for Olbermann, he won’t have to start a new Countdown for the days since his firing or days until his new job. That’s because Olbermann was immediately hired by Comedy Central on the advice of Emmy Award-winning writer and producer Eddy Spageddi.
“Keith Olbermann cracks me up,” said Spageddi, who seems to have a second sense when it comes to finding comedic talent, having a hand in recommending guys like Daniel Tosh, Dave Attell and others. Spageddi was asked why he would recommend hiring a guy like Olbermann, who has a reputation for being one of the most serious guys around when it comes to progressive issues.
“Honestly? I think people just don’t get him,” said Spageddi. “Maybe I’m missing something, but I think Keith takes sarcasm and irony to a level so far above anyone I’ve ever met, including the likes of Stephen Colbert.”
Spageddi says he got hooked on Olbermann when he [Olbermann] was still with MSNBC.
“I would regularly sit down to unwind after a grueling day at the Central, roll a fattie and turn on Olbermann. The guy had me in stitches almost every night,” he said. Spageddi concludes that Olbermann just hasn’t found his target market yet and believes Current TV is nuts to let him go.
“Their loss, our gain,” said Spageddi. “Fortunately, here at Comedy Central, we have plenty of niches to fill. We’ll take him. No problemo.”
Not many of Spageddi’s colleagues agree though. Word around the water cooler is that Olbermann won’t last more than a couple of weeks before he alienates everyone around him and brings the whole place down. And many are worried that bringing Olbermann into the Comedy Central fold will have some dire consequences when it comes to keeping their number one ratings king, Jon Stewart, happy.
“This one could really backfire on Eddy this time,” said Lou Berifunni, a writer for the Stephen Colbert Report, “Keith Olbermann holds grudges like no one I’ve ever seen. Hell, he’s still counting down the days since Bush started the war in Iraq even though Bush hasn’t been our President now for going on four years.” He then added, “On second thought, that is pretty damned funny.”
I never forgave Olbermann for preempting the third part of a Thurbur story for a clip from an over-exposed viral video a couple of years ago. Told him I’d get him. Oops, too much information?
Current found out the hard way I guess…
$10 Million chandelier is what he is, with no brightest bulb.