He spent a while doing standup in the '70s, and then went into improv -- in which it's probably harder to keep cool. And he was a regular at The Laugh Factory, which is pretty much the comedy big leagues.
The first thing I thought when I saw the tape (I didnt see the introduction and didnt know it was Richards) was that it was an Andy Kaufman like setup. Im disappointed it wasnt.
Interesting that you would make that comparison -- the most famous incident on the short-lived "Fridays" was when Kaufman broke character and started ranting, and it was Richards he got into a brawl with.