Comedy History 101

Revenge of the Nerds is one of the classic comedies of the 1980s. And we talk to Andrew Cassese who played child-genius: Wormser in the movie. Revenge of the Nerds featured early roles from such actors as John Goodman, James Cromwell, Anthony Edwards - and Andrew tells us some behind the scenes antics of what it was like to be an onscreen members of the Lamda Lamda Lamda fraternity. Learn more abo...

Comedian Freddy Lockhart has the notoriety of being the very last person to EVER bring up Seinfeld's Michael Richard on stage as a comedian - the night he had his infamous meltdown at the Laugh Factory. Freddy was also there, at the Comedy Store - the night Joe Rogan confronted Carlos Mencia on stage for being a joke thief. Freddy shares these tales & his recent experience taking on an A.I. in a c...

Reprise: Our guest is Art Bell; the man who pitched the idea that became Comedy Central. Art was also the head of programming at the network. We do a deep dive into the origin of such iconic shows as Mystery Science Theater 3000, South Park, The Daily Show - and talk about the early careers of Jon Stewart, Marc Maron, and Bill Maher. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adcho...

Mr. Bill is one of the most iconic characters in the history of Saturday Night Live. He got his start in the first season of SNL - as a viewer submitted Super 8 film. In his heyday, this bundle of Play-Do was the third most beloved character on SNL - right behind John Belushi and Gilda Radner. And we are talking to Walter Williams - the creator of Mr. Bill - who also become a staff writer at SNL....

Some of the best comedians in the world come from Ireland. We're talking your Dylan Morans, your Ardal O'Hanlons, your Tommy Tiernans - and just about every comedian you've seen on the TV show: Father Ted. And we have Irish comedian Johnny Candon - who joins us to give a brief history of stand up comedy on the Emerald Isle - whose modern day roots begin at a venue called The Comedy Cellar, upstair...

I talk to Jordan Belfort - the man whose life story was told onscreen in the Martin Scorsese movie: The Wolf of Wall Street (as well as in the movie: The Boiler Room) - where he was portrayed on screen by Leonardo DiCaprio. We dive into the history of The Wolf Wall Street - as well as what it was like to share a jail cell with legendary comedian Tommy Chong of Cheech and Chong. Take time to 'like,...

The Kids in the Hall are one of the most iconic sketch comedy groups in history. And we do a deep dive into their origin story with Paul Myers - who knew KITH in their early days. Paul is the author of The Kids in the Hall: One Dumb Guy, the executive producer of the documentary The Kids in the Hall: Comedy Punks, as well a the brother to Mike Myers - and he gives insights into what it was like to...

Legendary comedian Rick Overton joins us to talk comedy. Rick's IMDB page is the size of a phone book; and includes Beverly Hills Cop, playing Matt Damon's boss in Steven Soderbergh's, The Informant! - and Showtime's: I'm Dying Up Here. We do a deep dive into Rick's comedy origin story - spanning back to his jazz musician father who played with Thelonious Monk. Like, subscribe and comment on Comed...

The iconic TV show Last Comic Standing - ran from 2003 to 2015. It was a reality show, where comedians competed to be, well, the last comic standing. The show helped launch the careers of such comedians as Amy Schumer, Gary Gulman, Nicky Glaser - and our guest today: Rob Cantrell. Rob was a finalist on Season One of Last Comic Standing - where he lived in a house in the Hollywood Hills with such c...

Our special guest is Wayne Federman author of the new book: The History of Stand-Up: From Mark Twain to Dave Chappelle. Wayne's impressive creds include Curb Your Enthusiasm, The Larry Sanders Show, Silicon Valley - as well as head monologue writer for The Tonight Show. We do some serious deep cuts into the history of stand-up comedy. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adch...

As a tribute to the great Jackie Mason - who passed away this weekend - we have a reprise of our episode on Caddyshack 2. Jackie starred in the movie - which has the notoriety of being the worst sequel OF ALL TIME! Jackie took on the Rodney Dangerfield role for the movie - in this classic battle of the snobs vs. the slobs, (Spoiler Alert: The slobs win in the end!) Learn more about your ad choices...

Legendary comedian Rick Overton joins us to talk comedy. Rick's IMDB page is the size of a phone book; which includes Beverly Hills Cop, playing Matt Damon's boss in Steven Soderbergh's, The Informant! - to Showtime's: I'm Dying Up Here. Rick also has a new comedy special, out called: Rick Overton's Set List. We do a deep dive into Rick's comedy origin story - spanning back to his jazz musician fa...

From the archives: Sasha Baron Cohen plays activist Abbie Hoffman in the Netflix film, The Trial of the Chicago 7. As seen in the film, by day, Hoffman was in the courtroom - fighting conspiracy charges. By night, he would regularly perform at The Second City. Hoffman's stage appearance marked a transition at the theater - from a bunch of squares doing sketches; to progressive radicals that change...

To bookend the pandemic, we have a CH101 reprise on comedy helping to deal with tragic events. 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 Gottfried's legendary joke at the Friar's Club Roast. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoic...

Our guest is Art Bell; the man who pitched the idea that became Comedy Central. Art was also the head of programming at the network. We do a deep dive into the origin of such iconic shows as Mystery Science Theater 3000, South Park, The Daily Show - and talk about the early careers of Jon Stewart, Marc Maron, and Bill Maher. Art also has a new book out: Constant Comedy: How I Started Comedy Centra...

From the archives: I talk to David Litt- former head joke writer for President Obama. We dive into what made Obama funny in the Oval Office; and contrast that to Trump's vastly different sense of presidential humor. (Trump's humor wheelhouse: mocking a disabled reporter and making fun of a sexual assault victim.) You might also know David Litt from his recent appearance on Newsmax - where he was b...

From the archives: In 1961, Dick Gregory was the first African American comedian to headline a white club. A pioneer in the world of stand-up comedy, Gregory's material mocked the bigotry and racism of the time. Gregory is equally known for his activism as well as his comedy. He's one of the most influential comedians in comedy history; inspiring the likes of Dave Chappelle, Eddie Murphy, and Chri...

Our special guest is Wayne Federman author of the new book: The History of Stand-Up: From Mark Twain to Dave Chappelle. Wayne's impressive creds include Curb Your Enthusiasm, The Larry Sanders Show, Silicon Valley - as well as head monologue writer for The Tonight Show. We do some serious deep cuts into the history of stand-up comedy. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adch...

From Our Archives: 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 h...

From the Archives: Since the beginning of the 20th century, slipping on a banana peel has been a comedy trope. We’ve seen such legendary silent comedians as Charlie Chaplin, Buster Keaton, Harold Lloyd, and Laurel and Hardy - all do a variation of the slipping on a banana peel gag. But how did the “slipping on a banana peel” gag come into our lexicon? And why don’t we see people slipping on banana...

We conclude our 4-part series on John Belushi - with his sad final years. This involves the film disaster, Neighbors - and what happened the night he died at the Chateau Marmont. Ending on a good note - Belushi is ranked #1 by Rolling Stone - as the best sketch performer on SNL. He also has an Albanian stamp with his likeness. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Blues Brothers is one of the most iconic screen comedies of all time. The movie held the record for the amount of cars destroyed - and actually had a budget for cocaine. That's why production was a nightmare - largely due to John Belushi and his proclivity for drugs. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

John Belushi, at the height of his fame - was on top-rated TV show, SNL, had the #1 movie with Animal House, and had the #1 album with his band, the Blues Brothers. Belushi created iconic comedy characters while on SNL - but backstage, he was kind of turning into a mess. We cover all this and more in Part 2 - of the History of John Belushi. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.co...

In this episode we cover the John Belushi origin story. From his early days growing up in Wheaton, IL - to his stint in Second City and starring in National Lampoon's Lemmings. Plus, all the other theatrical twists-and-turns Belushi took before being cast on SNL - and changing the face of comedy. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In celebration of the end of a shitshow era - we bring this CH!01 Select: From mocking a disabled reporter to making fun of a sexual assault victim - Donald J. Trump has proven there is a vastly different sense of presidential humor coming from the White House. I interviewed David Litt - head joke writer for President Obama - for a story in the NY Observer, to get his take on Trump as a purveyor o...