Thanks to YouTuber MyTalkShowHeroes
Tag Archives: television
Looxury!: The Four Yorkshireman Sketch
One more sketch from pre-Python days from At Last The 1948 Show, which was later revived for the Pythons. I think I like this original version best.
For some reason, the punch line is missing at the end. “And you try telling the young folk that today… and they won’t believe you”
Tim Brooke Taylor, John Cleese, Graham Chapman and Marty Feldman.
Thanks to YouTuber BritBox
The Bookshop
The pre-Python Pythons in another classic sketch from the At Last The 1948 Show television program.
Thanks to YouTuber BritBox
The Railway Carriage: Marty Feldman and John Cleese
John Cleese, Marty Feldman from pre-Monty Python days on a tv program called At Last The 1948 Show. Feldman was hired as a writer as he was not yet a performer, but Cleese thought that Feldman would be great in sketches. And he was.
Thanks to YouTuber inedibledormouse
“You Promised, My Little Chickadees…”
Ed Sullivan tries to quiet the screaming teens as the Rolling Stones sing “Around and Around.”
Mick Jagger is just 21 years old here.
Thanks to YouTuber Just Some Videos
Guardian Angel
Given that Guardian Angel Curtis Sliwa is now the Republican candidate for New York State governor, this Chris Elliott sketch from 1990 is funnier than ever.
Thanks to YouTuber Don Giller
Martin Short, Eugene Levy In “I Was A Teen-age Communist”
Pitch perfect!
Thanks to YouTuber Nivek Htims
Charles Grodin
Charles Grodin died last month. His mock feud segments with Johnny Carson were some of my favorite bits of impromptu comedy. Here’s a follow up visit by Grodin to Johnny that I posted a few years ago.
Thanks to YouTuber MyInnerEyeInterview2
“What Do You Expect From A Moose?”
Welcome actors June Foray and Bill Scott to the virtual studio, as they do the voices for Rocky The Flying Squirrel and Bullwinkle Moose, among other characters from the classic Rocky and Bullwinkle cartoon television series of the early 1960s.
Click on the image above to play the clip.
Thanks to YouTuber davidalpert
The Chief Apologises
As a self-identified Person of Scalp, I empathize.
Thanks to Viv Shalom for passing this along!
Thanks to YouTuber BBC Scotland – Comedy
The Cheezy Ventriloquist
Chuck McCann, from his 1960s afternoon local television show, with one of his many characters.
Thanks to YouTuber wowinkorporated
The Great Bombo Dump
Here in NYC we were blessed in the 1960s with at least three incredibly talented daytime television hosts. They masqueraded as children’s program hosts, but they produced thousands of hours of hilarious comedy with no budget to speak of, and whose studio audience was usually only an appreciative camera crew. There was Soupy Sales, Sandy Becker, and perhaps the most talented of them, Chuck McCann. Here’s Chuck as the failed escape artist, The Great Bombo. I believe his sidekick here, Sid Slick, is played by Jim MacGeorge.
Thanks to YouTuber sandysoup
Breaking The Ice With David Stone: Fool Us
David Stone is consistently entertaining no matter what he does. I really enjoyed this card to impossible place routine.
More at David Stone
Ready To Rumble
Finally! I’ve been looking for this clip for years. Phil Hartman in one of my favorite fake advertisement parodies from Saturday Night Live, the commercial for the new breakfast cereal, Colon Blow.
More at Saturday Night Live
Diana Rigg, 1938-2020
Diana Rigg died this week. A fine actress, the clip above shows her in a few of her famous roles.
But my favorite thing that Diana Rigg ever did as an artist was to write a book called No Turn Unstoned: The Worst Ever Theatrical Reviews. Stung by unkind reviews that she had received over the years, to cheer herself up, Rigg compiled a book of horrendous reviews that other celebrated actors had received over the years. If you can get a hold of a copy, it’s a fun read.
Thank you, Mrs. Peel.
Thanks to YouTuber Guardian News
I Threw It All Away: Bob Dylan
Monday morning, an amazing clip, a beautiful video of Bob Dylan on the Johnny Cash television show singing “I Threw It All Away” from the album Nashville Skyline.
More at Bob Dylan
Monk In Quarantine
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
Stephen Fry and Hugh Laurie: A Word, Timothy
Fry and Laurie in some more great nonsense.
Thanks to YouTuber Stefano Morciano
Chomsky vs Buckley
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This one is longish, but fun. William Buckley was a conservative who hosted a PBS show called Firing Line. He was fairly erudite, and on his show he was usually able to intellectually intimidate his debate opponents. But when he had on Noam Chomsky, Buckley was definitely outclassed, and it ‘s fun to watch the two of them parrying, with Buckley clearly in over his head. To Buckley’s credit, he allowed Chomsky onto mainstream television, something that broadcasters then and now were and are loath to do.
Thanks to YouTuber Patrick Steinkuhl
Through The Looking Glass
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It was rare for Johnny Carson to be on the other side of the desk, but in his guest appearance on David Letterman’s show, he pleases in the way he wishes his own guests would do.
Thanks to YouTuber AllDavidLetterman
“That Was Not A Compliment”: The Smothers Brothers
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In 1969, CBS television fired the Smothers Brothers from their high-rated comedy variety show for being too outspoken against the Vietnam War. Among other things, they had on blacklisted guest Pete Seeger who sang “Waist Deep In The Big Muddy,” an anti-war song about a captain who orders his men into a bog despite the obvious senselessness of the command.
You can read more about that incident here:
and I’ll post video of Pete’s remarkable performance in the comments.
Twenty years later, however, things had changed somewhat and the Brothers were invited to do a 20th anniversary special for CBS. Click on the video above to see how they opened the show.
Thanks to YouTuber Kehlog Albran
Essential Non-Essentials
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Conan O’Brien seeks staff to furlough. But I’m surprised he doesn’t understand that the real trick is to get them to work for nothing.
More Conan at Team Coco
Red Skelton On Carson
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One of the old comic greats. Not well known is that Johnny Carson at one time was one of the writers on the Red Skelton Show
Thanks to YouTuber Alchay Archy
Hymn For A Sunday Evening
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Department of Self-Referential Videos Department.
The original Broadway cast of Bye Bye Birdie—including the fabulous Paul Lynde— singing the Ed Sullivan song—on The Ed Sullivan Show.
Thanks to YouTuber lee a
What’s My Line?
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The guest on the October 13, 1953 edition of What’s My Line (exactly 65 years ago) had just celebrated her 69th birthday. Unlike other more recent occupants of her job, she had never been a high-fashion model, served on the boards of exploitative corporations, nor killed her friend by running a stop sign at 50 mph. Nevertheless, she managed.
Thanks to YouTuber What’s My Line?