David Steinberg, noted comedian, speaks with Kelly Carlin, Sirius XM radio host and daughter of George Carlin, on the stage of the Chautauqua Institution Amphitheater on Tuesday morning. Steinberg performed stand-up on the “Tonight Show” with Johnny Carson as his most-featured guest and directed episodes of “Seinfeld” and “Curb Your Enthusiasm.” P-J photo by Katrina Fuller

CHAUTAUQUA — David Steinberg, famed comedian and director, was once on track to become a rabbi.

Steinberg and Kelly Carlin, Sirius XM radio host, chatted about his time as a theologian, stand up and more at Chautauqua Institution on Tuesday morning. Carlin interviewed the comedic genius as part of the lecture series and programming partnership between Chautauqua Institution and the National Comedy Center entitled, “Comedy and the Human Condition.”

Steinberg started out by explaining his father was a rabbi, and he has started out as a theological student.

“That’s not something that sounds good for comedy,” he said with a laugh. “But I decided to explore that.”

He got his start at the Second City Theater. Steinberg said he used to ask for the audience to choose a person from the Old Testament and he would impersonate them.

“I’ll do it right now,” he said.

“Moses,” Carlin answered with a laugh.

“But you’re not from the audience,” Steinberg said.

In just a few moments, he gave the audience a version of Moses’ story the probably hadn’t heard at church or in a synagogue.

“As he’s chasing after a sheep, (Moses) sees a bush that is burning yet will not consume itself,” Steinberg said. “A voice comes out and says, ‘Moses, Moses,’ and Moses goes to the sheep and looks in its mouth. God said, ‘No, schmuck, up here.'”

Then, God directs Moses to take off his shoes and come up to the burning bush.

“Moses approaches the burning bush and burns his feet,” Steinberg exclaimed. “There are many trusted scholars who believe it was the first mention of ‘Christ’ in the Bible.”

While the audience laughed, Carlin brought up the fact that this type of religious-based material had gotten Steinberg in trouble when he was on the Smothers Brothers variety show. Despite the network telling Tommy Smothers that Steinberg couldn’t do anymore sermons, the first thing Smothers said to him was that he had to “start with another sermon.”

Carlin said the second sermon segment was never shown on television, and the show was taken off the air. However, the brothers sued the studio and won. Despite the win, Steinberg said they lost their careers in the process.

Carlin pointed out the sermon could be viewed on Youtube.

This wasn’t the only time Steinberg found himself in trouble due to his comedic material. During his stand-up during the Nixon presidency, he said that President Richard Nixon “has a face that looks like a foot.”

“It was nothing that could actually hurt,” Steinberg said. “And I said that at the first Correspondent’s Dinner, and it was at the top of the New York Herald.”

Afterward, no matter where he was, there was a heckler that would follow him. He shouted that Steinberg should leave the president alone, and sometimes added anti-semetic slurrs.

“Someone asked me, ‘Does this happen a lot?’,” he said. “And I said, ‘Everywhere I go. It seems to be the same voice.'”

Once before a show at the Plaza Hotel, two police officers showed up at his door, telling Steinberg that there had been a threat on his life, but, there would be security for him to keep him safe. The two policemen worked with him as security and later befriended him.

“Then, during the Nixon downfall when they were calling people in to see what was happening, one of the guys, Segretti (was there) … he was the one in charge of all the dirty tricks, and sitting behind him were the two police guys that knocked on my door at the at the Plaza Hotel,” Steinberg said.

It was then he realized that the two men had been sent to spy on him due to his stand-up.

“I’m just a comedian,” Steinberg said. “I had no plan to overthrow the government.”

However, he admitted that God is the most ironic writer of all time. Around the time the Watergate scandal was wrapping up, it was in the works that he, Richard Pryor and others were slated to be on the cover of Newsweek.

However, the day before it was supposed to be released, Steinberg said President Nixon resigned.

“And that’s what bumped me off the cover!” he said. “I said ‘God, who’s side are you on?!'”

When asked about political correctness, he said it is important for comedians to “push the envelope.” When it comes to comedy, Steinberg said you also have to have an “outsider” feeling.

“It’s in your DNA. If you don’t have it, don’t go into comedy,” he said.

Steinberg spoke fondly of Carlin’s father, the late George Carlin, calling him, “one of the sweetest human beings.”

“Exactly what you wouldn’t expect,” he said. “Your dad was very special to us.”