Hi.
Hi guys. Good morning
That's a great outfit.
Oh!
You look great.
Well, thank you, Folake.
I really appreciate that.
How are you guys liking,
you know, being on this hit show
about something so meaningful
love and, you know
it feels so timeless,
but also so modern in the themes
that you guys are discussing on the show.
I'm so proud of this show.
I had one show with "Mike and Molly,"
and that was a gift
and life-changing.
And this one just feels right,
because without preaching,
it's just a great example %of love.
And it's an example of,
if you're luc%ky enough to find that person
to walk through this life with then you win.
That's what the world is about.
If at the end of the day,
you can reach over and there's a hand to hold,
you're ahead of the game.
And I love how different we are
because it does
you know, the more we find out about our differences
the more we find out we are the same.
And there's just a lovely connection.
And what's fun about becoming a couple is,
and I think where a lot of comedy is,
you have to blend the families.
And we all know that's not an easy ride sometimes.
And I think that makes for good humor.
And I think it's identifiable to everybody
Folake, do you think that the show really brings home
the opposites attract,
and you find this common ground which,
my goodness, is so thematic of our world.
Yeah, I like to think of it
as sort of like an aspirational show.
It's a good reminder that,
it doesn't matter where you come from,
it doesn't matter what you look like.
At the end of the day,
we all want to be surrounded by love.
We all want to be able to provide for our loved ones.
And that is the most important thing.
I think it's very timely
during this past few years of anti-immigration sentiment.
And just to remind people that,
like immigrants are human beings
and we're coming here to look for a better life.
Absolutely, I couldn't agree more.
I do love though you were born in Nigeria.
Yes.
And something that you said really spoke to me
and made me giggle,
because you said in Nigeria,
people just say it like it is.
And in America we have to put a smile on it.
Yeah.
(laughs loudly)
Like in Nigeria,
you have to understand the climate there.
It's really hot.
It's really fast-paced in Lagos where I grew up.
It's really fast-paced.
The government doesn't necessarily look out for you
so you're out there building the roads yourself,
connecting your electric power lines yourself.
Like, you have to be really, really straight to the point
and communicate as efficiently
and effectively as possible.
So whenever I need like a critique
or feedback on something,
I just call my brothers at home and they're like,
no, that's stupid.
Yeah, that's good.
And they get straight to the point
we have a conversation in like less than three minutes.
You know, I'm someone who flowers a lot of things up.
I'm very long-winded,
I don't know how to edit.
I have so much to learn every day.
I'm just a student.
If you couldn't be offended,
we can totally work on it.
Alright, good.
Yeah, I think I could use some Folake in my life.
When you came to America,
you played basketball, right?
I did.
I was in New York for the first 10 years
and I went to the City College of New York,
where I studied theater.
And for my last two years of college,
I got on the basketball team, Beavers.
And I had never played before.
I knew the rules from playing PlayStation with my brothers
but the team was so desperate.
I was able to get in,
(laughs loudly)
and I was a starter by the second year.
You're also like into martial arts.
Yeah, I always felt like I needed
to prepare for the apocalypse.
So I started taking Israeli martial arts.
It's called Krav Maga when I moved to LA.
And it's pretty badass.
You know, it started to scare me for a while
because it gave me a lot of confidence,
but then the moves are so precise.
They're so precise and lethal.
So I started getting scared of actually getting in a fight.
So I don't know if that's a good thing
or a bad thing, but yeah.
I studied Crab Louie.
Oh, I did too Billy.
I was really excited to talk to you about something
which is that you are an awesome vet of stand-up comedy.
Well, I don't know if I'm awesome
but I did it for a long time.
You really did.
You made that rounds,
you were traveling the country
you know, 250 days out of the year.
Tell me about those days.
Well, I started in stand-up.
You know, my dad was responsible for all that.
You know, he had Richard Pryor albums
and George Carlin albums
and Bob Newhart albums.
And he really introduced me to stand up
and I realized pretty quick
that I wasn't really going to college
and I wasn't really cut out for a lot.
So I loved the idea of words
and making people laugh
and that just clicked to me,
and I really loved it.
And then sitcoms were big with him too.
And when I was young,
we would watch "The Honeymooners" with him
and I would watch "All in the Family"
and "M*A*S*H" and "Cheers"
and you know, "The Jeffersons."
And so I always dreamt about doing a sitcom
and you know, I went out on the road at about 17
and about 25 years later,
I was an overnight success.
Well, I started an online comedy club called Bananamore's.
Really?
Yes, I did,
because I felt like those rooms are dark
and empty right now,
and we need laughter,
we need comedy.
More than ever.
Can I ask you about a story that really jumped out at me
that the day you met your wife,
you saw her three times.
I did.
I saw her three times in the same day.
I saw her at a bank in Atlanta,
then I was performing at a comedy club that night
and her and her sister just happened to be there.
And I spotted her there.
And then I went to a jazz club afterwards
and she was there.
And I've told this story a bunch of times
but I actually put it in my act.
When I saw her in the jazz club
I figured three times in one day
you gotta take a shot.
So I ordered a glass of wine.
I took her to her table and I said,
here, drink this until I'm cute,
and which I thought was a pretty good line
until my wife looked at me and goes,
I'm gonna need another one.
I was like, I'm in love.
That was the end of it.
Man, that must really just mean something.
You ran into her three times in one day.
I mean that's.
You know, she's been the best thing
that ever happened to me.
She's just stood by me all the way,
she's been my rock,
she's been my good sense,
my logical brain.
And I think it takes you a while
when you're married to realize how smart your wife is.
And you know, if I'm listening to her
chances are I'm not in trouble.
So I'm good with that.
I tend to follow people who are way smarter, wiser
and more Zen and emotionally capable than me,
but at least I'm following better people.
But I know that,
you were just about to give up,
you had been doing standup comedy
and yet got the call for "Mike and Molly."
Well, kind of.
It had just kind of dried up.
You know, I was in that period in LA,
that everybody goes through
where it was like just a year or two with no work,
nothing on the horizon.
And I said, I'm going to hang out one more pilot season.
And I only got six auditions in that pilot season
and the last one was "Mike and Molly."
It was literally a Hail Mary into the end zone,
and then everything changed.
I just happened to be standing in the right place
at the right time twice.
(laughs loudly)
So I'm very blessed,
very, very blessed
Or maybe it was just all meant to be
and you earned it.
And you deserved it. Well, maybe.
I don't know about that.
Well Billy and Folake,
"Bob Hearts Abishola" airs Monday nights at 8:30
7:30 Central on CBS and CBS All Access.
(upbeat music)