DUSTY PEACOCK is here!

You guys know Gary Valentine from his 9 years on KING OF QUEENS, playing the cousin to his real life brother Kevin James on the hit series.  After some memorable turns in movies like I NOW PRONOUNCE YOU CHUCK AND LARRY, Gary is starring in the hilarious web series on crackle.com called DUSTY PEACOCK.  An aging magician who is always one step away from the perfect illusion, DUSTY PEACOCK is right up my alley.

From Crackle:

“Dusty Peacock” is about a hopeless thrill-seeking illusionist who is big on dreams but short on talent.  With Team Peacock, which consists of his manager, trainer, girlfriend, and brother, Dusty performs over-the-top stunts which always seem to fail.  Still, Dusty Peacock remains the best value-priced entertainer money can buy.

In addition to Valentine, the cast includes Melissa Peterman (“Reba,” “The Singing Bee”) as Naomi Flood, Dusty’s money-hungry girlfriend; Nick Turturro (“I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry”) as Stu Peacock, Dusty’s brother who acts as his lawyer even though he’s just a paralegal; Nick Bakay (“Sabrina, The Teenage Witch,” “The King of Queens”) as Burt Reynolds (no relation), Dusty’s manager who is forced to work for Dusty after being brought to court and sued when he tried to quit; and Bas Rutten (“The King of Queens” and UFC Heavyweight Champion) as Nick Hoogaboom, Dusty’s overly optimistic trainer.

“Dusty Peacock” is directed by Rob Schiller (“The King of Queens,” “Two and a Half Men”) and written by Rock Reuben. The series is produced by Hey Eddie Productions in association with Sony Pictures Television.

Check out the trailer here and follow the jump for my exclusive interview with DUSTY himself!

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I watched the first part of DUSTY PEACOCK and it just looks, and I mean this in the best way possible, but it is ridiculous and I love that!
I know, it’s kind of funny [laughs].

Tell me about how this all came together!
Rock Reuben, who wrote on THE KING OF QUEENS for 9 years kind of created the idea of this really strange performance artist kind of thing.  This bad Criss Angel dude. It wasn’t really a Criss Angel. He was thinking of an athlete that’s just not good and then I think turned into a performance artist.  An illusionist, because these guys are crazy.  They walk on the side of buildings.   He came up with this Criss Angel idea and it just evolved from there.  We didn’t want to make him too Elvisy, but we wanted to make him a little more goth, and then, that’s how it arrived.  And he brought it to my brother Kevin to produce, having me in mind to star, and that was it!  We ended up casting it ourselves.

The cast – I didn’t realize Melissa [Peterman] was in it, I love her!  There’s the shot of the two of you walking down the street in the DUSTY PEACOCK outfits is classic!
[laughs]

How did the cast come together – did you know everyone before hand?
Well Melissa Peterman was on Cedric the Entertainer’s pilot that Rock Reuben created, so he knew her from that.  So we thought she’d be perfect, because she’s a foot taller, and she can play white trash really well, and that kind of thing.  Nick Turturro is a buddy of mine – we did CHUCK AND LARRY together.  And we thought he’d be great.  Bas Rutten is a UFC fighting champ and he’s been a friend of ours for 7 or 8 years and we thought he’d be great with his little accent, he’s been doing some acting stuff.  And then Nick Bakay, who plays my manager, he wrote on The KING OF QUEENS, he’s a great writer and actor in his own right.

What can you tease for people that are going to watch?
You know what, I don’t want to give it away ha!  There is some really funny stuff coming up [laughs].  It’s kind of crazy but it’s not so much about the stunts themselves.  It’s about the lead up to it and how these characters go about it.  Everybody in the show, they don’t believe in me.  Nobody believes in me.  Melissa’s character is only in it for the money.  She thought I was going to hit already, and I haven’t.  My manager Nick wants to sue me, but he can’t because he’s stuck.  My brother Stu, who’s played by Nick Turturro is scared of everything.  He’s petrified.  He loves me more than life itself.  He’s always kissing me and hugging me, and he’s not cut out for this business.  And then there’s Bas Rutten who sets up the stunts, and he’s just all psychotic, telling me what to do.  The funny thing about DUSTY is that I believe in myself about 90%.  [laughs] I’m still lacking that 10%.  That’s where it comes in. You can see with me it’s all business, but there’s a little fear in my eyes because all of my stunts fail.  I’m not that good!

One of these days, one of them is going to pay off!
I think I fail probably most of the time, but we keep the dream alive!

What would you compare it to, as far as things we’ve seen on TV or online?
You know what, I can’t really compare it to anything.  I haven’t seen anything that’s too close.  I know there’s been stunt guys like Super Dave.  He’s not really like that.  He’s got more heart.  He’s just a guy trying to make a living at something he believes he excels in.  Obviously, he’s 40 years old and out of shape, and he just can’t hang.

Last thing before I let you go – I watch KING OF QUEENS like it’s my job!
Excellent, that’s great to hear!

Starting July 13, 4 episodes premiere, and then a new one will premiere every day through Friday the 17th!

Lastly – here’s a few pics to get you excited!