Immigration, the Comedy Store Golden Age, and Sam Kinison Drama with Paul Rodriguez | Ep 256 HTBITY

This week on Hate To Break It To Ya I sat down with Paul Rodriguez — comedian, actor, Air Force veteran, and one of the original Latin Kings of Comedy — and I have to tell you, this one hit different. Paul is someone I've known for years, seen work rooms that would humble most people, and watched stay out there grinding long after most guys his age would have cashed out. We got into everything: his family's immigration story, his unfiltered take on ICE and the border, the Comedy Store golden age, and what it was actually like living in the same building as Sam Kinison. We went deep on Paul's father — a man who stood in a physical line outside the American Embassy in Tijuana for four months straight to get a lottery number for citizenship in 1958. That story alone will stop you cold. From there we traced the whole arc: growing up in Compton during the '68 riots, getting drafted into the Air Force, nearly becoming a personal injury lawyer, landing DC Cab on his third audition for sixty thousand dollars, and then Norman Lear writing him a check for three million. We talked about driving Richard Pryor around for six months, what Rodney Dangerfield was like in a hospital bed still asking for party favors, Jim Carrey getting standing ovations the first time anyone ever saw him, and why Paul and Sam Kinison genuinely could not stand each other. He also broke news on me — he's currently suing the Burbank Police Department for fourteen million dollars, and the story behind it is something else. Paul Rodriguez is the real thing. He came from nothing, built something that mattered, raised a son who became a global superstar on his own terms, and he's still out there performing because he can't not do it. The laughs that come out of this man are earned. Every single one of them. ⸻⸻⸻⸻⸻ About Paul Rodriguez: Paul Rodriguez is a Mexican-American stand-up comedian and actor born in Culiacán, Sinaloa, and raised in Compton, California. He broke through as the star of the Norman Lear-produced ABC sitcom a.k.a. Pablo — the first television show about a Mexican-American family on mainstream American television — and went on to appear in films including D.C. Cab, Born in East L.A., Rat Race, Blood Work, and Ali. He is a part-owner of the Laugh Factory comedy club in Hollywood, chairman of the California Latino Water Coalition, and a U.S. Air Force veteran. His son, professional skateboarder Paul Rodriguez Jr. ("P-Rod"), is one of the most decorated street skaters in X Games history and the founder of Primitive Skateboards. Follow Paul Rodriguez Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thepaulrodriguez/ Website: https://www.paulrodriguez.com ⸻⸻⸻⸻⸻ Timestamps: 00:00:00 – Wild Donkeys, Moreno Valley, and Paul's New Life 00:05:00 – Quadruple Bypass, COVID, and Getting a New Lease on Life 00:08:15 – How Paul Sees Jamie's Comedy Style 00:09:46 – The Ranch in Fresno, Brother George the Ginger, and Family Chaos 00:13:37 – Youngest of 12: Born in Sinaloa, Raised in America 00:16:26 – Paul's Father and the Bracero Program 00:17:27 – The El Chapo Connection 00:19:04 – Immigration, ICE, and Paul's Unpopular Opinion 00:26:51 – The Comedian's Dark Side and What Drives the Laughs 00:31:35 – Rodriguez Lemons and the Family Farm 00:35:43 – Getting Drafted, the Air Force, and Almost Re-Enlisting 00:37:40 – DC Cab, Joel Schumacher, and the $60,000 Audition 00:44:49 – The Comedy Store Golden Age: The Lineup Nobody Could Believe 00:56:47 – Driving Richard Pryor and What Paul Learned Watching Him Work 01:00:19 – Rodney Dangerfield: Partying to the End 01:01:18 – Sam Kinison: Brilliant Comic, Piece of Shit Human Being 01:07:55 – Norman Lear, Three Million Dollars, and Going Flat Broke 01:11:23 – The Burbank Police, the Bentley, and a $14 Million Lawsuit 01:26:55 – Paul Rodriguez Jr.: The Skateboarder Who Made It on His Own 01:34:03 – Current Projects: Roxy and the Man, Our Lady of the Barrio, and the Dos Pablos Tour ⸻⸻⸻⸻⸻ Support the Pod: 💥 Patreon: patreon.com/thejamiekennedy 🎟️ Tour Dates: jamiekennedy.com 👕 Merch: jamiekennedy.com/merch 📺 Subscribe: youtube.com/@jamiekennedycomedy ⸻⸻⸻⸻⸻ Paul Rodriguez, Paul Rodriguez comedian, Jamie Kennedy podcast, Hate To Break It To Ya, Comedy Store golden age, Sam Kinison, Richard Pryor, DC Cab cast, a.k.a. Pablo, Mexican American immigration story, Latin Kings of Comedy, Paul Rodriguez interview 2026 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices