From the Catskills Mountains to the Las Vegas Strip, comedian Freddie Roman has delighted audiences across the country for decades. He will be entertaining the people of Naples for the first time at the Jewish Federation of Collier County’s Power of Community event. Roman’s prolific career includes headlining at famous casinos such as Harrah’s in Atlantic City, creating and costarring in the Broadway hit Catskills on Broadway, and most recently costarring in the series Red Oaks currently streaming on Amazon. His famous one-liners, classic monologues, and ability to reach diverse audiences have allowed him to continue doing the work he loves for more than 50 years, and there’s no sign of him slowing down anytime soon.
- “The King of One-Liners,” comedian Freddie Roman, will regale attendees of the Jewish Federation of Collier County’s Power of Community dinner and show, Saturday, January 16, at The Ritz-Carlton Golf Resort, Naples. Tickets cost $150; for more information, call 239-263-4205 or visit jewishnaples.org.
NI: Will you be performing any new material in your Naples show, or will it be a compilation of some of our favorite monologues from the past?
Roman: Both, actually, I’m doing some new material now and of course there’s my old standards that people seem to love. I do a big routine about Florida so that sort of hits home with everybody.
How did you find your experience working on the recent Amazon release Red Oaks, how did you enjoy working with Paul Reiser, Jennifer Grey, and Richard Kind?
I had never done a series before, and it has become a new part of my life that I’ve really enjoyed. Paul Reiser is a dear, old friend of mine; I sort of mentored him when he started and we’ve stayed friendly over all of these years. Jennifer Grey is just a delightful lady. I spent time working with her father, Joel Grey; we traveled to a lot of the theaters throughout America doing his act and my act it was a good combination. Richard Kind, I’m just a major fan of his; he’s done some brilliant acting. It’s a great cast, the young people on the show who nobody really had heard of yet are all wonderful, and it’s a joy to work with them. The show’s been picked up for another season so I’ll be working on that again next year as well.
What has been a major highlight, if you can choose one, of your career?
A major highlight for me was when I created and costarred in a show that went to Broadway, called Catskills on Broadway. We spent a year and a half on Broadway, it was a major hit in New York, and we traveled with it all around the country. As a matter of fact, I’m still doing versions of it. I’ll be doing a version of it two nights before I’m in Naples, in Sarasota at the Van Wezel Theater. It’s been a wonderful part of my life.
Are there any currently popular comedians or comedy shows that you enjoy?
There are some new comedians who I find very funny; I’m not a big fan of everyone out right now. When I started you couldn’t do dirty material and all of a sudden with the advent of cable TV, that’s all I hear and I’m not a big fan of that. I was a major fan of Jerry Seinfeld; he had the cleanest act in show business and still became hugely successful.
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