Local comedian and podcast host Daniel Lobell is celebrating… well, maybe not celebrating, but marking the one-year anniversary of his business being burglarized in the backyard of his West Los Angeles home.
Home surveillance cameras captured much of the May 9, 2023, break-in on Lobell’s property, as well as the moment the business and family man fought the burglar off when he returned to the scene of the crime to wipe away his fingerprints.
“I’m looking down as I’m walking because I’m so upset and I look up and there’s the guy, back two hours later cleaning his fingerprints off,” Lobell told KTLA at the time. “I said to him, ‘I’m going to kill you,’ and I went after him. I tried to grab the trampoline out of the plaything to use it as a weapon, but I couldn’t get it out.”
Unfortunately, the masked crook made off with an estimated $25,000 in electronics and recording equipment that was essential to the comedian’s business and has yet to be caught.
The Podcastbus, which is parked behind his home, is Lobell’s office. It’s where he records his popular podcast “We Think It’s Funny,” where he and veteran comic Mark Schiff interview other comics about what’s going on in the world and try to find the comedy in it.
The mobile recording studio, which he also uses for other productions, is his livelihood.
-
Daniel Lobell seen here fighting off a burglar in his backyard May 4, 2023. (Daniel Lobell) -
Burglar captured on surveillance video stealing bags of recording equipment from Daniel Lobell’s mobile recording studio May 4, 2023. (Daniel Lobell) -
Mobile recording studio seen here own by Daniel Lobell, which was burglarized on May 4, 2023. (Daniel Lobell) -
Daniel Lobell, seen here, is the owner of the Podcast Bus, a mobile recording studio. (Daniel Lobell) -
Mobile recording studio seen here own by Daniel Lobell, which was burglarized on May 4, 2023. (Daniel Lobell) -
Daniel Lobell, seen here, is the owner of the Podcast Bus, a mobile recording studio. (Daniel Lobell)
Now, exactly one year after that massive financial blow, Lobell is bouncing back with the help of the community and some well-known comedy friends like Jay Leno, Jon Lovitz and Margret Cho to name just a few.
Lobell credits the comeback to an outpouring of love from the Jewish community, a GoFundMe campaign, a bit of insurance coverage and donations from the audio technology company Rode, which provided headphones and sound equipment.
“That was the thing,” he told KTLA’s Chris Wolfe. “I was humbled by it.”
The hardworking comic, who said he considered packing it all in after the burglary and moving back to the East Coast, said he gives a lot of credit for the comeback to his friend and cohost, Schiff.
Never missing a chance to plug the show, Lobell told KTLA that some of the upcoming guests on “We Think It’s Funny” will include Margaret Cho, Paul Reiser and Caroline Rhea.