benniesposito.com

[Wee Sandy]

Well it's nearly Edinburgh festival time again.

The night before Benni's birthday I went with my girlfriend, Caroline, to see the new Annie Griffin film "Festival." Great stuff. It captured wonderfuly the selfishness and paranoia of so many comics and industry folk, but also ecapsulated the inexplicable dedication that one has to ones own art.

I did my first Fringe show with Benni and Graham called "There's More To Life Than Meaty Eyes." (Graham's title you won't be too amazed to find out.) I had to introduce Benni on a nighly basis. When the reviews came out they were pretty mixed, with once critic saying Benni was "deleriously unoriginal." For the rest of the run Benni made me introduce him as "Ladies and Gentlemen, please welcome the deleriously unoriginal Benni Esposito!"

I thought he was fantastically original, breathing new life into and old subject ie: the difference between men and women. So many comics at the Festival churn out the same lazy observations year after year, but Benni managed to do something fresh with the subject.

Whoever is in charge of cataloguing Benni's art work should remember to get on to The List for a copy of Benni's self portrait in (I think) biro, which featured in the stand up comedy special a couple of years ago. It features Benni on stage with a mic in one hand and a pint in the other throwing up over the head of a Perrier judge, with a sign on the wall behind him saying:

Rules Of Stand-Up Comedy.
1. Sean Connery impression.
2. Knob size (ie: small.)
3. Patter (if Glaswegian.)

Top class!!

Awrabest,

Sandy.

[Jackie Anderson]

Hi Sandy

I'm doing the cataloguing so I'll try and get hold of that drawing, I remember it well. I went to see Festival last week too and kept thinking how much Benni would have loved it. I reckon he may have even gone to the cinema to see it, which was a rare thing indeed. He hated sitting still for that long!

It was brilliant and very sad seeing Benni doing his stand up again at his tribute night, and remember just how good he was. He was really looking forward to geting involved in the festival again this year. I remember him pacing around my studio last August, all edgy as it went on without him. I made him promise to get involved again for my sake!

Bye for now, Jackie