On Robin Williams Being A 'Gentle Soul', Joke Thievery & Bullshit Spreading

"He was really nice to comedians. Just a really sweet guy, and so much more unassuming than I would have been if I was as famous and well-respected as he was. No comics had any shitty personal interactions with him. Comedians will all tell you what a great guy he was, and how genuine he was. He was a gentle soul with other comics. He never acted like 'I've got a bigger dick than you do'; he never tried to one-up you."

US comedian Norton is an author, actor and radio personality, who has co-hosted popular radio talk show Opie with Jim Norton since 2014. His CV also includes regular guesting on The Tonight Show With Jay Leno and Late Night With David Letterman. He's also filmed an HBO stand-up special for the One Night Stand series and co-starred in the sitcom Lucky Louie.

 "[Robin Williams was] so much more unassuming than I would have been if I was as famous and well-respected as he was."

Additionally, he co-hosts the UFC Unfiltered podcast, a format many have attributed to reviving interests in comedy. "Radio and podcasts, or any auditory medium like that where you're just talking... It's like a soap opera, they [my listeners] get really ingrained in my life. They know everything about me. So when they love me, they love me, and when they hate me, they really hate my guts.

"People can smell if you're a fraud. Especially with so much reality TV and so many podcasts and guys doing interviews. Years ago it used to mean something to see a comedian or an actor doing an interview. It'd be like, 'ooh, they're gonna be on The Tonight Show. Let's see what they've been up to.' But now nobody gives a shit, 'cause you're like, 'who cares if they're on TV? They're not going to give me the real scoop anyway'. You wait to hear them doing a long-form interview, or you wait to see them on TMZ walking out of a brothel. That's how we learn about people now; we catch them in their real lives."

He also helms Sirius XM's The Jim Norton Advice Show. Amy Schumer recently appeared to defend herself against accusations of stealing material. Norton feels the digital age has made it easier for comics to pilfer from peers, and yet harder to avoid being caught. "I think true joke thievery is harder to do now because of Twitter, and all these ways of people sharing the idea of it. But I also think that things that aren't joke thievery – like if somebody starts something by claiming something's stolen – then that rumour is perpetuated a lot faster as well. So the truth is exposed a lot faster, but also bullshit spreads a lot faster."

While he acknowledges such shady behaviour exists, Norton's particular brand of schtick is innately immune to theft, he believes. "My stuff's hard to steal because I'm talking so specifically about my own life. Very few comics are going to go up there and just belt out that they want to suck Caitlyn Jenner's dick."