Category Archives: Comedy

Save The Rich!

05 Wednesday Aug 2020

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As Congress argues about whether, Please Sir, May We Have More Gruel? let’s not forget about who is really important here.

Riki “Garfunkel” Lindhome and Kate “Oates” Micucci in a  dead-on satire of “We Are The World” type celebrity videos.

Warning: Language Not Suitable For Work.

More At: Garfunkel And Oates

 

 

At The Air Conditioner Factory: Bob and Ray

15 Wednesday Jul 2020

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Crack reporter Wally Ballou with a hard-hitting interview with the president of the Uncomfortable Air Conditioning Company.

Thanks to YouTuber Paul Bellefeuille

Carl Reiner: The Bare Facts

08 Wednesday Jul 2020

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Carl Reiner, that classic comedy writer, creator of the Dick Van Dyke television show—and movie director, playwright, performer, impeccable straight man—died last week at age 98.

Here’s one of our favorite scenes from the Dick Van Dyke Show that featured Reiner and Mary Tyler Moore. The set up is that Laura, played by MTM, has blabbed on a television talk show to millions of viewers that Reiner’s vain character—who happens to be her husband’s boss—is bald, so MTM goes to apologize to him, with hilarious results.

RIP. As the man said, Comedy is hard.

Thanks to YouTuber GetKempt

Twice Shot The Teller Once

17 Wednesday Jun 2020

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Leslie Nielsen starred in this television show, Police Squad, that was cancelled after six episodes. But  Nielsen had the last laugh as the characters were resurrected in the wildly successful Naked Gun films.

Thanks to YouTuber madpossum24

 

 

Monk In Quarantine

23 Saturday May 2020

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This one is strictly for the Monk nerds. If you’re not a fan, I’m afraid it won’t mean much. But if you are familiar with the show–then I think you’ll be delighted and may LOL a few times as I did. My favorite part: the dishwasher.

There aren’t many television shows that I watch, but come Thursdays, you’re likely to find me sitting, watching hour after hour of Monk re-runs that are thoughtfully played from 11am-8pm, non-stop, each Thursday on one of my local TV stations.

The premise of the show, that of a detective with severe OCD doesn’t necessarily sound very appealing, but the writing for the show is really strong, and the way the cast, especially Tony Shalhoub, wrings comedy, mystery and pathos out of each episode is always enjoyable for me to watch.

Thanks to YouTuber Peacock

 

Poster Boy

21 Thursday May 2020

Posted by in Comedy, Life, Magic, Performance

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mixed magic Jerry Zolten

A while back, I posted about the Buster Keaton short, “Mixed Magic”.

I recently had a pleasant email exchange with noted author and producer Jerry Zolten who told me that he had picked up a one-sheet poster for the Keaton short from a collector who ran an appliance store. The collector had been deeded a bunch of movie posters by the daughter of a movie house owner who didn’t know what to do with the extra posters lying around, so she gave them to him.

Jerry kindly gave me permission to display the poster here.

Jerry is a very interesting guy, and in addition to teaching university courses on stand-up comedy and the roots of rock ‘n’ roll he produced a remarkable audio documentary about the music and radio of the Vietnam War. It’s so difficult to capture the true spirit of a former time, but if you were alive at the time, this will give you flashbacks:

http://atimetoheal.wpsu.org/soundtrack/

I highly recommend you take a listen.

“That Joke is Dumb–I’m Aware Of That”

16 Saturday May 2020

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When I watch videos of Mitch Hedberg I’m amazed. His appearances are always precarious—you sort of know that he would never succeed at anything else, and you feel like there’s no way this guy is going to make it through the set, but somehow he does. He’s like a clueless guy from the audience who grabs a flaming torch from the circus fire-eater and manages not to get burned. But I am grateful that he did, because his off-kilter humor really makes me laugh.

Thanks to YouTuber 0Bathgate66

350 Years Of Punch And Judy

09 Saturday May 2020

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A post on the Genii Forum by expert children’s magician and puppeteer Quentin Reynolds led me to start viewing dozens of Punch and Judy videos.

While the scripts differ in their particulars and added topical jokes, there are some basic puppets and plotlines: Punch, always with his distinctive voice and his slapstick; Judy, his wife, and their baby; a crocodile; a policeman; often a monkey or clown. Today’s offerings are much tamer than those you can see in black and white videos of the 1950s, but they all depend on gross physical humor to get the children viewing it shouting, clapping , and cheering.

If after viewing the above, you’d like an inside view, I highly recommend that you watch the amazing Quentin Reynolds perform Punch and Judy with no puppets, and no stage, just his bare hands, here.

Thanks to YouTuber Tommy B entertainments

The Fire This Time

05 Tuesday May 2020

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The delightful Mary Murphy as interviewer Merri Boast grills The Devil, played by me, in our original  “Sympathy For The Devil” radio satire, broadcast today on the Arts Express radio program over WBAI 99.5FM, WBAI.org ,and Pacifica affiliates across the nation.

Click on the triangle or the mp3 file link above to listen.