Charles Kushner/Chronicle                                                                                        Charles Kushner/Chronicle 

  Ken Kleiber comes home to talk                                     Columbia grad Ken Kleiber (left) catches up

  about his random road to stardom.                                  with Albert Williams (right), at a Q-and-A on

                                                                                      Oct.16.

By Lisa Balde
Managing Editor

Columbia alumnus Ken Kleiber will readily admit that his job is “campy” and “kitschy,”–a parody of the real thing.

He has no problem saying he works from his apartment and that he acts like an obnoxious know-it-all while on the clock.

But, for the increasingly popular star/writer/director/producer of “That’s Kentertainment!,” a New York cable access show that has recently received a growing fan base, none of those things can be considered an embarrassment.

With a cast of characters that has included Robin Williams, Carol Burnett, Carol Channing, Lauren Bacall and Woody Allen, Kleiber has received acclaim from a variety of sources, including hundreds of night owls who watch his show religiously, every Thursday at midnight.

He was recently interviewed by The New York Times and has been offered interviews with Dreamworks Studios’ biggest and brightest actors and actresses.

Kleiber’s name is popping up everywhere, and the tiny TV show that showcases Q-and-A’s at theater openings and movie premieres, as well as some color commentary about the New York theater scene, just keeps getting bigger.

The saga of Kleiber’s success was shared with Columbia’s Theater Department Oct. 16, featuring a cameo by the man himself, as well as a 20-minute clip of his show.

After Kleiber explained his life after Columbia, more than 50 theater majors gathered around a television and immediately became enthralled by his show. If those students are any reflection of Kleiber’s New York audience, it’s no wonder he’s such a success.

Kleiber never expected his side project, which was initially intended as a creative outlet and a cure for boredom, to take off to such an extent.

Originally from Chicago, Kleiber moved to New York after graduating from Columbia in 1998 to pursue a career in musical theater.

Luckily, he landed a job as an office assistant at Music Theater International, an artistic licensing company. Finding time to audition for shows while pursuing a 40-hour work week, though, was unthinkable.

“I wasn’t doing anything,” he said. “I thought, ‘Why am I here? I could be doing nothing in Chicago.’”
So, about a year after he moved to the Big Apple and “settled in,” Kleiber decided to create his very own public access show.

All he needed was a camera, a cameraperson, a concept and a few people to talk to.

“I like to describe it as a variety/sitcom/interview/travel show,” he said. “And it’s called ‘Kentertainment’—it’s whatever I find interesting.”

Everything from interviewing a picture of Jesus (one of his first interviews on the air) to filming mating pigeons to asking Woody Allen if he believes in love at first sight has been part of the show.

Joined by cameraman Sal and recently added piano accompanist David, pals Kleiber met at MTI, he starts off every episode with a tacky, “over-the-top” medley that ties the theme into the show.

At first, he ran around New York City just looking for people to talk to, Kleiber said.

In the second episode, he was shown chasing after and finding cameraman Sal. Later, Kleiber actually pulled a Federal Express delivery guy into the studio (Kleiber’s living room) to interview him.

And he did it in the same arrogant and snobbish, but slightly insane and certainly silly character that Kleiber created just for the show.

“I’m just a know-it-all [on the show],” he said. “I’m a caustic theater queen … who berates his cameraman.”

The character that people just love to hate has certainly caught on, especially with people in the theater industry, Kleiber said.

The show includes inside jokes about the business of theater and little tidbits about the inner workings of the craft.

Kleiber said that a majority of the show’s response comes from working professionals, publicists and entertainment lawyers, as a result.

It’s not as easy as it looks though, according to Kleiber.

He said that the show is a 40-hour per week job besides his current full-time position as the recently named executive assistant to the owner of MTI.

“It forces me to be creative at least once a week and to have deadlines,” he said.

“That’s Kentertainment!” was formally recognized with a New York Times interview after Kleiber scored an interview with Liza Minnelli.

Minnelli, who recently broke off her marriage with controversial David Gest, turned down interviews with “Entertainment Tonight” and “Larry King Live,” but willingly talked to Kleiber.

In response to the high-profile interview—one of many these days—Kleiber said he knew that everyone else just wanted to talk about Minnelli’s break-up.

He wanted to talk to her, not barrage her with questions about her personal life, because he’s a fan.
Surprisingly, the interview inadvertently turned toward the split, not because Kleiber brought it up, but because Minnelli wanted to tell it to Mr. Kentertainment.

Personal success set in for Kleiber after he got to interview one of his childhood idols and musician/actress Charo.

Kleiber describes himself as a shy person who was once deathly afraid of people.

He originally started at Columbia as a music major until his friend forced him to take a theater class to help him conquer his shyness.

It was then that he found confidence in the Theater Department and in musical theater.

As he sat among the large group of theater students last week, it was easy to see his contentment with being back where he started.

Five years after graduation and about a year and a half after the birth of “That’s Kentertainment!”

Kleiber is currently in negotiations with a couple of well-known cable networks about furthering the life span of his original concept.

Kleiber insists that the show is really just a learning experience, but the cooky, red-headed theater snob enjoys running around New York (and occasionally Europe).

Chasing down interviews with the stars is showing his growing audience what it is that makes life “kentertaining.”

Copyright 2002  Columbia Chronicle

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