Judd Apatow may may not be an immediately familiar name, but you KNOW you have heard it somewhere.The Critic, Freaks and Geeks, and The Larry Sanders Show, to guest hosting for none other than Charlie Rose, and putting his stamp on films from The 40 Year Old Virgin, the Ron Burgudy trilogy, to HBO's Girls and Crashing, Apatow is returning to his stand-up comedy roots with a Ridgefield Playhouse set on Sunday, July 23 at 7 pm.The Newtown Bee, Apatow talked about how he developed a name for himself doing interviews for his high school radio station while inadvertently networking himself toward future collaborations and relationships with top comics of the late 1970s and '80s including then 'up and comers' Jerry Seinfeld, Jay Leno, Garry Shandling, and John Candy.Bridesmaids, Knocked Up, Superbad, Forgetting Sarah Marshall, Pineapple ExpressThe Cable Guy., and one of Jim Carrey's early vehicles Unnatural Act.Crashing where he is serving as co-executive producer. He is also co-executive producer of HBO's Girls, and the series Love on Netflix.30 For 30 documentary, Doc & Darryl. Riffing off its success, he was tapped to co-directed the HBO documentary, May It Last about The Avett Brothers Americana music group, which will premiere later this year.Curb Your Enthusiasm, along with film and TV roles on Sandy Wexler, Community, ShamelessIt's Always Sunny in Philadelphia., and The Newtown Bee: You know, Mr Apatow, when you actually scroll, and scroll, and scroll, through the iMDb site about you, from an interviewer's standpoint it's almost kind of intimidating... so be kind...Judd Apatow: (laughing) Please, call me Judd, it's ok.The Bee: In trying to find a common experience - I discovered we both kind of pursued broadcasting in high school. But while I just made PA announcements, you were actually on the air at your high school, which I must say, you network quite expertly with the comics you met.Apatow: Yes, I used to do this little radio show ay my high school on Syosset - WKWZ - we had a great station manager and a great teacher who oversaw the station. He encouraged us to be creative, and I loved comedy. So I thought maybe I'll just start a radio show where I interview comedians. That led to meeting Seinfeld, Leno, Garry Shandling, John Candy, and dozens of others. And that's how I educated myself, doing this radio show that nobody else on earth listened to. I looked at it as a way to ask questions. Because back then there were no podcasts or hour-long interviews with people like Steve Allen, or Father Guido Sarducci, so I just did it myself and it was really useful. These people had great advice, and I wound up taking it - and using it for the rest of my life. I put it all into a book I wrote called Sick In The Head which also includes interviews with a lot of the newer people like Louis CK.The Bee: When I randomly picked a jumping off point for my research - I found the Larry Sanders episode 'Putting the Gay Back in Litigation' that you Executive Produced. That episode featured Iliana Douglas, who by twisted coincidence went to high school here in Connecticut. Plus two future stars of the series 24 - Sarah Silverman and the late Bruno Kirby, who was in The Godfather. Were all of those Sanders shows stacked with stars like that?Apatow: Well The Larry Sanders Show was very special because it was about the backstage world of a late night talk show. And Garry was one of the first people to come up with an idea to sort of blur the lines between reality and fiction. So we had all these huge celebrities come on to lampoon themselves, and I was lucky enough to be asked to direct an episode. I wasn't a director, but Garry instinctively though I should direct, and so the first time I ever directed anything, the guest stars were Bruno Kirby, Ed Begley, I think Michael Richards was in that episode, it was very challenging. I was so scared of doing it, and I don't think I would have if Garry hadn't forced me to do it.The Bee: I loved the Higginum... Beaver Meadow..bit, and riffing on Cockaponsett Forest? And I realized how hard it must be to actually write this kind of material which is deliciously personal to a handful like me, who have actually been to Higginum, and to the Cockaponsett Forest.Apatow: (laughing) That's hilarious...The Bee: The Charlie Rose hosting gig was also fascinating to me - how does that happen? Apatow: Well, I had been a guest several times, but then I got to host, which was a really special experience because I had been a fan of that show forever. So I had Pete Holmes and Artie lang on, who are stars on my TV show Crashing. And then they put together a political panel with Maggie Haberman from The New York Times, Keith Olbermann and Ed Rollins having a political conversation about Trump. And I really enjoyed it... I'm ready to do it again, I have questions!The Bee: How much prep is involved in a gig like that? Are you actually reviewing news up to the moment to help make the conversation look so fresh?Apatow: There actually wasn't a lot of prep. They wrote out some questions, but I was just trying to lead a general conversation about what we're to make of Trump. At that time he was just elected, so since then a lot has revealed itself. But I was glad I didn't humiliate myself.The Bee: I credit your background as a high school radio interviewer.Apatow: I remember interviewing a congressman when I was in 11th grade, and I asked him what I guess was a tough question, and he seemed so mad at me...The Bee: Your projects occasionally center around marijuana humor, with maybe your best known being 'Pineapple Express'. But with a growing number of states either legalizing or decriminalizing pot, do you think the comedic grist of pot-centric material is less potent now?Apatow: That's a good question. Things are changing so quickly, there's no more shock value in the world of marijuana humor. We may have been ahead of the curve on that. It's not that pot humor is a specific interest of mine - Pineapple Express was more a Seth (Rogan) thing. But the way that happened was I was watching a the movie True Romance with Brad Pitt playing this drugged out kid, and I remember thinking that I wished the whole movie was about him - I wished his scenes would just keep going and the bad guys just kept chasing this stoned guy around. And that was the first spark that eventually became Pineapple Express. It's kind of a Cheech and Chong film with Michael Bay special effects. It's fun to make silly movies, but what I've had a lot of fun doing is pushing the envelope on certain genres. I've done Pop Star, and Walk Hard - silly musical parodies; and at the same time I like relationship movies like The Big Sick we've got coming out, which I think is the best movie we've ever made. Amazon bought it at Sundance and Lion's Gate is distributing it. It's opened in major markets and is opening nationwide on July 14.The Big Sick is a real gem - it's emotional, it's hysterical, and I'm hoping people go check that out because it's a great alternative to superhero movies. People do not fly in this one.The Bee: Last year you stepped out of the familiar and directed your first documentary for ESPN - 'Doc & Darryl.' Is it still a little scary, or more thrilling from a challenge standpoint to begin working in a brand new environment like sports?Apatow: Well, we had made a few mini-documentaries over the years for things like DVD extras, including an extended doc when we made the film Funny People. So I have a friend Michael Bonfiglio who made the amazing ESPN 30 for 30 documentaryYou Don't Know Bo, about Bo Jackson. And when ESPN came to me about doing a 30 for 30 doc, I said I would love to do one with Michael. So we did one called Doc & Darryl, following around Darryl Strawberry and Dwight Gooden. I was really proud of that work. And then HBO came to me about developing a doc about the Avett Brothers.The Bee: And that put you at the helm of 'May it Last'.Apatow: Yes, that one is a beautiful documentary about The Avett Brothers - which follows their relationships and how they make music. And I'm just finishing up another documentary on the life of Garry Shandling for HBO. He left behind extensive journals so it was really easy to tell Garry's stories from his own point of view. It's great to be able to tell his story in a way I think would make him happy. He was around comedy from the early '70s until we lost him last year. So it's a great vehicle to talk about the contributions he made to comedy, along with the spiritual quests he made throughout his life.The Bee: Today, your HBO show 'Crashing' faces off against 'I'm Dying Up Here' on Showtime. Since stand-up has sort of matured and commercialized as a business since the '70s days of 'I'm Dying Up Here,' - do you think it's harder to come up with ideas for 'Crashing' because you're couching the characters and situations in modern day?Apatow: I think they're both really interesting. I really enjoyed the first episode of I'm Dying Up Here, which Jim Carrey produces. I have a lot of friends on the show - that one has more of a Boogie Nights feel. I'm always fascinated by that era and I loved the book it was made from. Our show is a more intimate portrait from the book about Pete Holmes' life when his wife cheated on him and he decided to become a comedian - which was complicated by the fact that Pete was a very religious person. The show got a really warm reception this year and we're in the middle of shooting our second season now. It's great to be able to do a show about all the comedians we love who are in this world of Crashing. Pete is so hilarious, and we've got some really exciting stars lined up for this next season.The Bee: So is your set at Ridgefield going to be some prepared material, improv, or a little of both?Apatow: I'm doing this short tour to get in shape before I tape a Netflix special later in July. It's it's been so much fun to get back into, and exciting because I look at it as a continuation of a conversation I've had with audiences for decades. I started getting back into stand-up about three years ago after a 22 year break, and it's been a blast. I've been working a lot out of the Comedy Cellar in New York, and I'm looking forward to showing folks up in Connecticut what I've been up to. If you look at me through my films, this is a spoken word extension of those movies because I talk about my life experiences, and I hope people find it funny.ridgefieldplayhouse.org.

Well, chances are good he's played a role in making you laugh - maybe even pee your pants laugh - since his career in comedy, film, TV, and talk began way back in the early '80s at his high school on Long Island.

From Apatow's foray into improvisational stand-up to countless contributions to projects like 

During a pre-tour interview with 

Today, Apatow is considered one of the most sought-after comedy minds in the entertainment business having been been closely associated with the aforementioned projects, along with films including 

It was actually Carrey who gave Apatow his first big break in show business, according to iMDb, hiring him as a co-producer for a 1991 TV comedy special called 

Apatow's latest HBO project is the series 

Last year marked Apatow's documentary directorial debut, partnering on the ESPN 

At his Ridgefield stop, Apatow said he will be previewing material that will be taped later in July for a Netflix comedy special.

His show will have support from special guest Wayne Federman, a Los-Angeles based comedian, actor, writer, and musician who is best known for his stand-up comedy appearances, his recurring role on HBO's 

Turning to iMDb.com to begin preparing for his interview call, the sheer number of entertainment ventures Apatow has been involved with becomes immediately striking.

The Ridgefield Playhouse is a non-profit performing arts center at 80 East Ridge, parallel to Main Street. For tickets to see Judd Apatow (Orchestra $55, Mezzanine $45, Balcony $35), call the box office at 203-438-5795, or visit

Check out a clip of Apatow talking with Charlie Rose about his film 'Pineapple Express:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UrWLMTPmlx8

Check out a rare clip of Apatow talking stand-up in 1989:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y5j7qh6Pelg

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