On this episode of In The Back Room, I sit down with comedian and actor Lenny Clarke for a free-wheeling discussion touching on his alcoholism, stroke, charity work, dramatic weight loss and more. Lenny features in the new Halloween Kills film, starring Michael Myers, realizing a childhood dream of his to be killed in a Hollywood horror film.

Lenny and I start off by talking about some great American comedians who were friends and heroes of Lenny, from Stephen Wright to Steve Sweeney. Lenny was inspired by these guys to pursue a career in acting and comedy, but he’s faced many challenges along the way, from a childhood growing up in poverty to an addiction to drugs and alcohol. He was also overweight, weighing 388lbs at his heaviest, and worked hard to eventually bring his weight down to 188lbs. His weight loss was actually spurred on by me and a discussion we had during a golf game, which we go into more detail about in this episode. Lenny also talks about the massive stroke that he had, which temporarily damaged his speech and affected his mobility. He was lucky enough to be saved by doctors at the Martha’s Vineyard hospital, who had him airlifted to a specialist stroke unit.

Throughout this episode, Lenny goes into detail about some of the charities that he works for and the causes he represents, which are all very near to his heart. He volunteers for the Globe Santa organization, which provides books, toys and games to children in underprivileged families and he is also participating in the Cape Cod Getaway bike ride to raise funds for Multiple Sclerosis, a disease that affects his two of his sisters.

Stay tuned to the end to hear how Lenny helped to boost Joe Rogan’s career, and you can also find links to support Lenny’s charities in the show notes.

Timestamps

[01:40] Where should I retire?
[04:14] Lenny Clarke on the Jimmy Kimmel show [05:35] Lenny Clarke on Halloween Kills
[08:20] Bostonian comedian Stephen Wright
[10:02] A clip of comedian Steve Sweeney
[13:33] Lenny’s alcoholism
[15:45] Lenny and I discuss his charity work with Globe Santa 
[25:50] Lenny's fathers sickness
[32:00] When Lenny had a stroke
[35:25] Bob and Lenny on being a little portly
[42:40] Joe Rogan’s early career and how it was boosted by Lenny 
[45:28] Being friends with Joe Rogan

Links

Lenny Clarke on IMDb Globe Santa
Lenny’s MS fundraiser Alcoholics Anonymous

In The Back Room website