John C. Reilly grew up in Chicago, with an old-fashioned dad in an old-school age -- i.e., before cell phones. But had they existed when he was a kid, Reilly wouldn't have a funny story to tell (and some physical comedy to showcase) on 'The Tonight Show' (weeknights, 11:35PM ET on NBC).

Reilly explained that while his dad was out of the house, he was under strict instructions to make sure to answer the phone. A guy was expected to call with "a very important message."

But Reilly got sleepy, and chilly. "I laid down on the couch like this." The actor demonstrated onstage, placing both arms under his chest.

When the phone rang, he bolted upright, but "I realize both my arms have fallen asleep ... and I've got like these two clay logs for arms." Using one as "a battering ram," he was able to knock the receiver onto the couch and lean over to speak into it. So just what was the important message...?

While comparing singing voices with John C. Reilly on 'The Daily Show' (weeknights, 11PM ET on Comedy Central), Jon Stewart inadvertently makes a sexual innuendo.

John C. Reilly has a laundry list of acting credits attached to his name and the latest on the impressive list, 'Check It Out! With Dr. Steve Brule,' premieres May 16 at 12:30AM ET.

'Check It Out!' is a spin-off from Adult Swim's popular 'Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job!' It follows Reilly as Dr. Steve Brule, a Channel 5 News correspondent. Yes, the quality is supposed to look like an incredibly low-budget local newscast, so don't call up your cable company when you tune in on Sunday.

In our exclusive clip, the bumbling Dr. Brule attempts to make "sushi sandwiches" with all the natural sushi ingredients: "sushi meat," "guacamole" and "peaches." That is not a sushi roll -- sorry, "sandwich" -- we'd want to eat.

This is almost a year old, but I've never seen it before, and I bet a lot of you haven't either. It's an infomercial parody from Tim and Eric's Awesome Show, Great Job! It would be one thing to parody an informercial. That's been done a lot. But they got Cathy Mitchell herself to do the sketch, along with John C. Reilly as her strange co-host.

Question: if you were famous - not just well-known to a small but loyal fan following, I'm talking real mainstream fame - would you sign a bunch of autographs? Let's say you worked every day filming and at the end of the day you just wanted to go home or go out to dinner but you were ambushed by 50 people who all wanted their photo/book/stomachs signed. Would you stop and do it? I think I'd be a good signer. I wouldn't go crazy. There would be a normal limit to what I would stand there and sign, but I'd be nice to fans.

I was thinking about that after reading this story about the best and worst celebrity signers. It's ranked by Autograph magazine, and they say that the best celebrity autographer is Jay Leno.

This week, I got a question from Jonathan Myers that reads...
"There was a short lived television show in the late 60's or early 70's - sitcom - where the characters dressed in dog outfits. Part of me thinks it was related to Rob Reiner? Any idea what show this is?"

Well, after scouring my memory and doing a little research, I was able to dig up some info on an unsold pilot called McGurk.

"Total (Lack of) Recall": Either the House Judiciary Committee loves talking about torture or they haven't been getting any answers during their hearings. Last week, they managed to pull John Ashcroft in for questioning, but they might as well have stayed at home. I can't look at John Ashcroft without thinking of "Let the eagle sooooar", so I'm glad that Jon Stewart brought it up. No mention of Robert Wexler's fantastic "I enjoy cocaine because it's a fun thing to do" from The Colbert Report, but we know everyone was thinking it.

(S19E18)"No more Simpsons' movies! One is enough." -- Marge Simpson

Add Utah to the list of states that the Simpsons have visited since the series began. And, no, they weren't there for some wacky episode about Homer being married to multiple women. They were at the Sundance Film Festival, thanks to Lisa and her wonderful documentary about the family she lives with.

Wonderful to the visitors of the festival, that is. For her family it was a bit humiliating -- as much of Lisa's artistic work is. Being such a free spirit Lisa doesn't think too much of the consequences she wreaks when the creates these various projects. Which is weird coming from someone as smart as her. Then again, she's only 8-years-old. So, should we really be expecting more from her?

No matter what I do to make my Oscar viewing experience bearable (parties, alcohol, hookers) I always end up wanting to put a gun in my mouth by hour two.

First, let me say that Ellen DeGeneres was very funny and did a great job hosting. Also the song by Will Ferrell, Jack Black and John C Reilly was the funniest thing I've seen in a while.

Now let me ask you this...how stupid were those dancers?

(S02E10) One of the things that has made this season of Tom Goes to the Mayor so great is the guest stars. They haven't just used comedians with the same knack for irreverence as Tim and Eric, such as Tom Kenny and Michael Ian Black, but also actors like Judd Hirsch and Robert Loggia who aren't necessarily strangers to comedic acting, but simply have a different approach. Watching Black act like a goofball is fun and all, but it's not surprising. Seeing Hirsch behave in a similar fashion is surprising because we're not used to seeing him that way, and it makes the show all the more fun to watch.

John C. Reilly, a man known for dramatic, albeit quirky, roles in film, shows off his comedic chops in this episode as a mentally-unbalanced man who befriends Tom through a MySpace-like site called "Friendship Alliance." Tom hasn't even been on the site for more than a minute when John sends him a message to meet at Sauceman's, a "house-style saucehouse restaurant" where you can dip your food into over 3,000 different sauces. Tom was only logging onto the site to add his profile (he's the step-grandpop of a baby wolf-child), but since he's the easy-going sort he accepts John's invitation.