The “Daily Show” contingent said it is sensitive to the soldiers’ concerns, and the comedy this week from Iraq will focus on Riggle’s escapades while there. The fake-news show is taking a page from serious news organizations this week with on-the-scene reports from the war zone in Iraq. Jon Stewart poses backstage after "The Daily Show With Jon Stewart" won an Emmy for both best variety, music or comedy series and best writing for a variety, music or comedy series at the 58th annual Primetime Emmy Awards at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles August 27, 2006. “First and foremost, we were there to entertain the troops.”Ĭlements said that there was a YouTube-esque aesthetic to the “Daily Show” videos, which will be about two minutes in length each night. “Definitely it was run and gun,” said Clements, who with Bleyer ran the handheld camera. They performed with other comedians in 120-degree heat on makeshift stages, including a basketball court, then in between shot short videos for “Daily Show.” Riggle, Clements and Bleyer visited several bases - including Balad Air Force Base near Baghdad and two forward operating bases - over five days. They went with a USO sketch comedy tour known as “Operation Feel the Heat” - armed with small, handheld cameras - and also brought back video that will be used for “Daily Show” about the troops and their lives in Iraq.Īlthough “Daily Show” spends time on topics related to Iraq and often has one of its correspondents appear against a greenscreen that simulates the Middle Eastern country, it’s the first time the show has gone the extra step and visited Iraq. Marine Corps Reserve, spent five days in Iraq last week with “Daily Show” writer Kevin Bleyer and field producer Glenn Clements. Decide what you want and go get it.Correspondent Rob Riggle, who has combat experience as a major in the U.S. There's so much waiting for you outside and it's not something to be intimidated by or scared by, it is something to be embraced. There's no better citizen than a veteran. Don't worry about how you're going to do it. You have to decide what you want and have a goal. "My advice is for veterans to seek out mentors, people who are doing what you want to do. Riggle's message for veterans coming into the civilian world : "I would always study those guys and focus on them," he says, "and really listen to the words they use." He also watched fellow Marines to gather ideas for future characters. Indeed, whenever he was away from comedy in the Marines, he would make sure to write, perform jokes and surround himself with friends in the business. To his amazement, he got a call 10 years later to be part of the cast of "SNL." This was a dream come true for Riggle because it was one of the first comedy shows he ever watched, he says. That's when he wrote down a note that he was going to be on "Saturday Night Live" in 10 years. "I have never quit anything in life, so it didn't sit well with me," he said. The fear of not being able to fulfill his dream of becoming a comedian made him quit flight school in 1994. He says he was voted "most humorous" in high school. "If I could make them laugh," he says, "they won't beat me up." And jokes were part of Riggle's way of defending himself. At home his mom and dad were a comedy team, with dad as the most animated, he says. He joined the service in 1992 after getting a pilot's license, but still graduating from college with a major in theater.Ĭomedy has always played a big part in Riggle's life. "I always thought highly of him and when he came back from duty and told me all about it, he got me all motivated," Riggle recalls. He was studying theater at the University of Kansas as a sophomore at the age of 19 when a friend motivated him to join. "When I put on my Marine cover, I'm a Marine and I act accordingly." "I don't think anybody is just one thing," he says. He also had parts in movies like "The Hangover," "Step Brothers" and "21 Jump Street," all of which he managed while serving in the Marine Corps: nine years of active duty and 14 years in the reserves. WATCH: Riggle Didn't Mean to Ogle Jennifer Lawrence When you have a plan, you never know what will happen."Ī Louisville native, Riggle, 43, is probably best known for character roles on "Saturday Night Live" and "The Daily Show," as well as work with the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre in New York. "The thought of comedy never happening was scary. "The comedy seeds were planted before the Marine seeds," the recently retired lieutenant colonel says. War is no joke, but Rob Riggle was not about to let 23 years of Marine Corp service stand between him and a career as a comedian and actor.
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