Thank God for the writers’ strike.
If TV and film scribes hadn’t banded together and brought Hollywood studios to their knees, West Valley City audiences never would have seen comic Bobcat Goldthwait performing stand-up this weekend.
Goldthwait retired from stand-up in 2005, more than 20 years after he introduced “Bobcat” to the American public. His shtick made Gilbert Gottfried’s voice seem like Barack Obama’s in comparison: With hands attacking his long hair and his face contorting in apparent agony, Goldthwait’s black humor included a screeching voice that would veer from deep screams to high-pitched squeals mid-sentence. His act was toned down and dumbed down when he appeared in the “Police Academy” movies.
“I missed the fans, but [I am doing stand-up] because of the writers’ strike,” GoldÂthwait, 45, told The Salt Lake Tribune last week.
But Goldthwait was edgy enough to open for Nirvana during the Seattle band’s last tour. (It was during that tour that Goldthwait made a now-infamous joke that has earned him the eternal enmity of Chicago sports fans. The band and comic were in Chicago right after Michael Jordan retired, partly because Jordan’s father was shot during a robbery. Goldthwait said, “I feel bad for your Michael Jordan, but, you know, for 80 million dollars I’d shoot my own dad in the head.” Even Kurt Cobain told Goldthwait afterward, “Hey, that’s a little
Goldthwait parlayed his successful comic career into writing and directing. His first attempt, “Shakes the Clown,” became a cult hit and later he became a director for ABC’s “Jimmy Kimmel Live.”
The highlight of his career behind the camera, GoldÐthwait said, came when his film “Sleeping Dogs Lie” was accepted as an entry in the 2006 Sundance Film Festival.
“That was the craziest thing to ever happen to me,” Goldthwait said. “When I got the call, I thought it was a prank from Jimmy Kimmel.”

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