Comedy History 101

Fred Willard was a true comedy legend. Not only did he appear in the classic Christopher Guest mockumentaries - but he also got his start at Second City in Chicago and was a member of a comedy team that was featured on The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour and Get Smart. As a tribute to the great Fred Willard - we dive into his comedy history that spanned decades. Learn more about your ad choices. Vis...

Needless to say, we are currently living through a crisis. But we know that laughter is the best medicine - and comedy will help us prevail. It’s helped us in the past - in dealing with tragic events. This episode, we look at comedy right directly after 9/11. They said irony was dead - but comedy help us pull through tragedy - especially with The Onion, SNL, Letterman, The Daily Show, and Gilbert...

We dive into the Sam Kinison origin story - and his role as a member of the Texas Outlaw Comics in Houston, Texas during the mid-1980s.. Kinison was a former preacher who turned to stand up comedy. During his Houston years, Kinison found his comedy voice - working alongside another future comedy legend: Bill Hicks. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Texas Outlaw Comics were a group of comedians based in Houston that formed at the Comedy Workshop in the mid-1980s. This collective of like-minded comedians became an incubator of a unique style of comedy - that brought the world such legends as Bill Hicks and Sam Kinison. In Part One, we'll dive into the Bill Hicks origin story; from clean-cut suburban kid - to full-blown Texas comedy outlaw....

Yakov Smirnoff is a comedian from Russia. He's known for his catchphrase: "What a country." Yakov's comic persona was of a naive immigrant who was perpetually confused and delighted by life in the United States. And then came the fall of the former Soviet Union. What happened to Yakov's career? We have a surprise twist that will make you say....what a country! Learn more about your ad choices. Vis...

From the archives: Gallows humor is witticism in the face of – and in response to – a hopeless, tragic, or deathly situation. Gallows humor is typically made by or about the victim of such a situation. In this episode of CH!01 - we actually chart gallows humor - made by people in history right before they’re about to be executed. Yes, gallows humor on the gallows. Learn more about your ad choices....

Spuds MacKenzie was the original party animal - that women adored. The fictional dog made his debut in a Bud Light beer commercial during the Super Bowl in 1987.  Spuds appeared in a series of commercials and became a marketing sensation. The premise of every ad: once Spuds arrived, the party could really begin. And there was the Spudettes, of course. Long after the ads dried up, Spuds MacKenzie l...

When Charlie Chaplin hit the silver screen - the country suffered from a case of ‘Chaplinitis’. Audiences couldn’t enough of his films - so in 1917 a fake Charlie Chaplin, named Billy West, popped onto the scene. West stole Chaplin’s character and starred in 24 films - as a “tramp” character. Yes, being a hack was even a thing back in old-timey days. We also explore other comedians who tried to ri...

"Where's the beef?" became the legendary commercial catchphrase for Wendy's. Back in 1984, the ad starred cantankerous old lady, Clara Peller, who uttered: "Where's the beef?" The commercial skyrocketed 81-year old Keller to fame - and the catchphrase is now in our pop culture lexicon. But things didn't go smooth with Keller and Wendy's - she was eventually fired from the ad campaign appearing in...

Yo Mama jokes are a comedic staple. But did you know Yo Mama jokes date all the way back to ancient Babylon? Making fun of one’s mother was also mentioned in the Bible - and Shakespeare even utilized this comedy device. We also dive into the history of The Dozens - an interactive insult game - where participants try to one up each other - and saw the rise of Yo Mama jokes. Learn more about your ad...

From the archives: We dive into the history behind the legendary sketch comedy show: SCTV. Learn how SCTV was an offshoot of the original Toronto company of Second City - and find out more about the original SCTV cast that consisted of John Candy, Joe Flaherty, Eugene Levy, Andrea Martin, Catherine O'Hara, Harold Ramis, and Dave Thomas. Hear what about our favorite episodes - and learn the meaning...

Mother-in-law jokes were big back in the era of Mad Men and the ‘50s. The joke genre was once a mainstay for stand up comedians. The premise includes the stereotype that mothers-in-law are generally overbearing, obnoxious, and unattractive. What’s the historical origins of mother-In-law jokes - and what change in society led to their demise? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.c...

Remember in Goodfellas when mobster Henry Hill took his date, Karen, to The Copacabana? That was pretty true to form. The mob actually owned the legendary club. We saw this recently in the movie The Irishman - when Don Rickles was on stage performing for Crazy Joe Gallo. We dive into the mob’s connection with The Copacabana - where you’ll learn such interesting tidbits as what happened to comedian...

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Have you seen The Irishman? There’s a scene where Don Rickles (played by comedian Jim Norton) is performing at the Copacabana for mobster, Crazy Joe Gallo - on the night he was gunned down. The incident is pretty true. And Don Rickles, much like other comedians of that era, had a history of working at clubs owned by the mob. We jumped into Don Rickles history with the mob - that eventually led him...

The oldest recorded joke in the world - dates back to 2,300 BC. It’s attributed to the Sumerians, Back in those old-timey days - fart jokes were all the rage. Go figure. In this episode, we dive into several of the world’s oldest jokes - to see what was making ancient people laugh. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

From the archives: The history of Moms Mabley, who was the first successful female standup comedian and had a career that spanned over 50 years. Moms bridged the gap between vaudeville and modern stand up comedy. She was also the first woman comic to play the Apollo theater and Carnegie Hall in 1962. Moms influenced the style of comedy legends Richard Pryor, Redd Foxx, Whoopie Goldberg, and Eddie...

Gallows humor is witticism in the face of – and in response to – a hopeless, tragic, or deathly situation. Gallows humor is typically made by or about the victim of such a situation. In this episode of CH!01 - we actually chart gallows humor - made by people in history right before they’re about to be executed. Yes, gallows humor on the gallows. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoic...

We continue our history of: Dolemite. Eddie Murphy has a new Netflix bio-pic on comedian Rudy Ray Moore - and the making of the movie Dolemite. The movie was made for $100,000 in 1974- and in this episode we cover everything that went wrong during production; including a drunk director, hiring a real-life junky, and basically filming without permits. Be sure to subscribe and like CH101 on iTunes! ...

“Dolemite is my name and f*cking up motherf*ckers is my game!” says Dolemite - the comedy creation of Rudy Ray Moore.  There’s a new Netflix bio-pic coming out on Rudy Ray Moore called: Dolemite is My Name. It stars Eddie Murphy - and chronicles how Moore went DYI and produced the movie: Dolemite. In this episode we dive into the early days of Rudy Ray Moore, producing XXX Party Records - to the D...

Here Comes the Judge is a 1968 song by legendary comedian Pigmeat Markham. It become one of comedy’s first memes when Sammy David Jr. made it a catchphrase on the TV show: Rowan & Martin’s Laugh In. The song, and Laugh In comedy sketch, became so huge - that 4 other versions of Here Come the Judge were released in the same year - all them making the charts. (The most famous by Shorty Long.)  Here...

This week, Saturday Night Live fired new cast member, Shane Gillis. Turns out he made racist comments on podcasts. Ugh! But there’s been numerous famous comedians who have been fired by SNL over the years. Adam Sandler. Fired! Chris Rock. Fired! Sarah Silverman. Fired! Not to mention, Norm Macdonald, Damon Wayons, Rob Riggle, Chris Farley, and of course, Iron Man: Robert Downey Jr….ALL FIRED! In t...

In 1971, the legendary comedy troupe, Monty Python, went to Germany to film two episodes of: Monty Python's Fliegender Zirkus. The Pythons were reluctant to do the episodes - largely because they had to do the shows..in German. The only problem was - none of the members of Monty Python could speak German. The Pythons had to phonetically learn the scripts - to appear like they knew German - to very...

Traveling salesman and farmer’s daughter jokes - are the product of a bygone era. When these two joke genres collide, it involves a farmer, his daughter, and a salesman who is stranded in the country. Without fail, the salesman is warned to stay away from the daughter. Comedy ensues.  Believe it or not  - this joke has its origins in 13th century Iceland.. We give you the full traveling salesman/f...

In this CH101 Select - we dissect Caddyshack 2 - which is the worst comedy movie sequel OF ALL TIME! Sure, it's still a classic battle of the snobs vs. the slobs, but Caddyshack 2 has none of the charm of the original Caddyshack. And none of the original cast (except for a cameo by Chevy Chase). But what it lacks in all those other areas, the movie makes up with Dan Aykroyd in the most embarrassin...