By Victoria Stevens
Los Angeles, CA (The Hollywood Times) 06/15/2020 – THT/tv launches on YouTube with the premiere of The Hollywood Times LIVE, brought to you by Factor’s Deli, on Saturday, June 20th at 7 pm PDT featuring filmmaker Donna Kanter and cast member John Rappaport, and post-documentary lunch bunch members Carl Gottlieb – JAWS, The Jerk, “The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour”, and Howard Storm – “The Redd Foxx Show”, “Mork & Mindy”, “Laverne & Shirley”, “Taxi”, and “Full House”.
Actor, singer and comedian Scott Palmason will be hosting this live event. Palmason is no stranger to the spotlight, following in his family’s footsteps, he became a performer at a young age.
“My grandfather was an amazing singer along with my father, mother, and sister. I started to sing more in high school and then college when I joined the Chapel Singers at the University of Redlands. At a certain point when I went to LA to pursue my career, I started to land roles in musicals which led to auditioning for bigger and better gigs,” said Palmason.
Palmason regularly performs in musicals like “Trump in Space” or “Supportive White Parents” at Second City Hollywood and has auditioned and is a part of the casting database of singers from Cirque Du Soleil.
Palmason also got to break into the wonderful world of Disney by being a singer on the Lion Guard along with other live Disney events.
“A dear friend of mine, Beau Black, wrote the music for Miles from Tomorrowland, The Lion Guard, and other Disney shows,” claimed Palmason. “I sang on The Lion Guard and I also performed in a few live Disney events as a backup singer and fellow performer alongside my friend.”
Singing is just one talent Palmason has among many, he also writes stand-up and music as well.
“Stand-up is truly a writer’s genre. That’s really where joke writing and the true economy of words comes into play. Stand-up is fun because I am my own writer’s room,” exclaimed Palmason.
“One funny industry job that I had, when it comes to writing, was when I co-wrote the theme song for the first and only ever YouTube Super Bowl halftime show. YouTube a few years back decided to do their own halftime show and I was hired along with my friend, Allen Simpson, to write the theme song. It was a wild, exciting, and wonderful experience,” said Palmason.
Being a man of many talents, the craft/pursuit that Palmason relates to and enjoys the most is improv comedy.
“I grew up loving all these Second City performers from the ’70s and the ’80s. They were my heroes and they were clearly all students of the craft, students of unscripted theatre, and students of the DNA of comedy,” said Palmason. “In any art, if you want to be good.. really good.. you have to go back to the beginning where it started. That’s what I love about improv and comedy. If you go from the ground up and stick with it then the elements of improv and comedy are now in your bones.”
There are many different styles of improv. The two forms that Palmason currently enjoys performing are a long-form improv, called “Harold,” created by Del Close out of Second City Chicago, and genre or narrative Improv.
“Harold is simply getting a suggestion from the audience and then improvising a series of scenes off of that suggestion to create a story,” described Palmason. “Narrative improv is where you study a writer, genre, and a style for five to six months to get it in your bones so you can improvise an entire show from scratch in that style and it appears completely scripted. Some of my favorites have been Shakespeare, Fairy Tales, Film Noir, and Twilight Zone.
Being well trained in improv landed Palmason a speaking role on the TV sitcom Scrubs as Dr. Kelso’s Intern.
“My dear pal Devin Mahoney wrote an episode of Scrubs and asked me to play one of the roles. It was my very first television speaking role,” explained Palmason. “I was going to be an intern making fun of Dr. Kelso in a sketch. I decided the night before to work up an impression to perform on set the next day. When I did the impression during rehearsal, everyone genuinely laughed. Bill Lawrence, the creator of the show, told me that I did ‘really nice work.’ He thanked Devin for bringing me in and then told him to write me an extra line. Devin whispered the line to me, and when we shot the scene no one knew what I was going to say. It was amazing.”
Palmason credits his improv chops for being the reason why he was chosen to host the premier event for THT/tv; an opportunity that he was thrilled to accept and be a part of.
“When I was approached about hosting the YouTube event, an homage to Lunch, I expelled an immediate “Yes.” In the world of improv comedy, it’s all about “Yes, and..” which means accepting the offer in front of you and hopefully adding to it. It’s such an unprecedented time to have a virtual premiere to connect with people. I’m a huge comedy nerd and the film was so fantastic. It was a no brainer,” expressed Palmason.
As an experienced improviser, Scott appreciates the passion and drive of each of the talented writers and comedians featured in the documentary. The elements of comedy were evident in these men who made that art form work.
“In the documentary itself, it was clear to me that these guys were there for two main reasons,” said Palmason. “Number one, they could walk the walk. Each of them had been a student of their craft so, they didn’t have to do anything, but to be their brilliant and amazing selves. All these guys were talented beyond belief. Number two, they were all just wonderful humans. So often, Hollywood is portrayed as cut-throat, tough, and unforgiving. Sometimes it is, but LUNCH captures these genuine moments of talented and good-hearted people getting together to speak the same language – the language of comedy. At that table, they could be with their friends and all tell the same jokes and appreciate each other’s talents and humanity, which is not something you see every day. Also, their journeys were different, and their stories all unique.
Everyone’s story is different in terms of making it versus not making it. No matter how well you do, there will always be someone to compare yourself to. LA is a beautiful, tough city that challenges you to work your tail off to meet the competition and not give up,” he said. “I am still on my journey, but hopefully my story as an actor and performer is a testament to that. At the very least, maybe I’ll be lucky enough one day to be invited to lunch. Sounds pretty nice.”
The Hollywood Times invites you to LUNCH. on Vimeo. Use the code funnydeal for 50% off the rental or purchase of LUNCH. any time before 7 pm on June 20th. Then join us for the launch of THT/TV and premiere of The Hollywood Times LIVE on YouTube. Subscribe at thehollywoodtimes.today/YouTube
For more information on Scott Palmason, go to IMBD: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2060057/