Pushed Off Stage

• Lori Palminteri
• Uncategorized
• June 12, 2026

Lucky for me, I have a collection of memories so outrageously fun and hilarious from my comedy career, they seem to have made all the hard times worth it. Sometimes these moments are times I am crushing on stage in what I would consider truly great sets, but more likely it’s shared moments with other comedians.

One of these moments happens to be with the great Kevin Nealon. SNL alumni, Kevin Nealon, I think, is one of the funniest people on the planet and most underrated comedians out there. I had the opportunity to open for him one weekend in my life, and it’s one of the most memorable. This was many years ago at Governor’s Comedy Club on Long Island. My good buddy and comedy older brother, Chris Roach, was featuring and I was hosting. We were both giddy like little kids to be opening for Nealon.

Nealon has a stellar reputation of not just being a perpetual goofball but one of the nicest guys in comedy who defies the “don’t meet your heroes” cliche. He is without an ego, down to Earth guy with a little smirk on his face, ready to hit you with a punchline out of left field. The green room hang is casual and full of laughs.

Hosting is usually my least favorite spot on the show. Going up to a cold audience is difficult. Additionally, I’m not a high energy comic, I’m a joke teller, so I’m not the best cheerleader for hosting. However, when you open for comedy legends who draw their own great comedy crowds, this job is a lot easier. The crowd is ready and eager to laugh. You would think going to a comedy club, all crowds would be ready to laugh, but that’s usually not the case.

So, it’s an easy set up for me. I do a little up front house keeping and ten minutes of my best material in case Nealon is watching (I’m more eager to impress him than the audience). I bring up Roach who does his best 15-20 minutes, he crushes. And, finally, “your headliner for the evening, the legendary, Kevin Nealon!” The crowd goes wild.

Kevin does a crushing hour, and Roach and I are laughing to tears watching him. His jokes and delivery are amazing. He is a silly, silly man, in the best way.

Towards the end of his set, I stand in the curtain area, ready to jump on stage for closing announcements when he says goodnight. He starts to close and says, “let’s get Lori back up here, isn’t she swell.” I return to the stage, and as I do, he starts jumping into another bit and literally pushes me off stage. He is a tall guy and I am a petite girl, so the juxtaposition of this giant pushing me off is hilarious and the crowd loses it. He does another quick joke and tells the audience they were great, almost as good as he is, and begins to say goodnight… I come out and then he pushes me off stage, again, going into another joke. This time, I lean into the gag a little bit, acting like he’s really forcing me even though he is a gentle giant, as comedy team doing physical comedy.

Nealon jumps into another joke and then he says something like, “I really have to go though, thank you, another round of applause for Chris and Lori.” I come out again. This time, he puts his hand on my head, like a basketball player cupping a basketball and again pushes me away. The audience is roaring, I’m hysterical, and Roach is in the back howling. This bit continued several times before he finally actually got off stage. And when it was just me up there, I just stood at the mic and laughed with the audience. I could hardly tell the closing announcements, and I was getting a giant laugh just milking Kevin’s actions.

And that’s one of my favorite moments in comedy. If you ever have a chance to see Kevin Nealon live, I highly recommend it. Additionally, he has a new special on YouTube that has a bit about a “friend that’s supposed to die but keeps living” that I consider one of the best bits I’ve ever heard. Watch it here.