Comedy History 101

We continue with the literal trials of Lenny Bruce - and the nature of free speech in comedy clubs. Does free speech mean that we occasionally have to listen to what we don’t want to hear? We dive into the gamut of free speech from the controversy of Milo Yiannopoulos appearing at a NYC comedy club - to comedian Ahmed Ahmed having a comedy club patron call 911 on him for making ‘Middle Eastern’ jokes. Are there limits to Lenny Bruce’s plight?

Lenny Bruce was a comedian who wasn’t afraid to speak his mind. And because of that, he became a martyr for free speech. Between 1961 to 1964, he was arrested on obscenity charges 8 times - for performing stand up comedy. You might have seen a fictional portrayal of Bruce on The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel. In this CH101 episode we dive into the history of Lenny Bruce, censorship, and free speech in stand up comedy.

The late George Martin will always be best remembered for his legendary work as the producer of The Beatles. Did you know that the man who made the Fab Four sound amazing got his start as a producer of comedy albums? Yes, the man behind creating the soundscape for A Day in the Life - also produced comedy albums for Peter Sellers, The Goon Show, and Beyond the Fringe (featuring Dudley Moore). Producing comedy is where Martin learned his chops to produce such Beatles classics as Strawberry Fields Forever.

Roseanne was supposed to be the big comedy breakout star of Trump’s America… and look how that turned out. So, why are there so few right-wing Republican comedians who can extend the comedic olive branch across both sides of the political aisle? And how come every time there’s a Republican version of The Daily Show - it fails? We dive into the fine art of right-wing comedy and its proclivity to punch down rather than punch up….

Tim Conway was one of the greatest second bananas in comedy history. Sadly, he passed away on May 14th at the age of 85. Conway’s comedy career started on a local TV station in Ohio, and he made his mark in sketches alongside Harvey Korman on the Carol Burnett Show. He also starred in the much overlooked TV movie: Roll Freddy, Roll. We love the comedy work of Tim Conway - and today’s CH101 episode is a tribute!

Alex Jones began his career in Austin, Texas, back in the ’90s, as a local cable access cult figure - and He built a rabid national audience by spewing out conspiracy theories. To set the stage, ACTV (Austin Community Access TV) in the ’90s was pure Austin at it’s weirdest. Find out how Jones jumped on the scene as an amped up 22-year old - and originally wanted to be a standup comedian. Learn what happened when he got in a fight in the parking lot of ACTV - and claimed he was attacked by a man with “strange goat eyes.”

Since the beginning of the 20th century, slipping on a banana peel has been a fixture in physical comedy. A comedy trope, if you will. 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 peels in 2019? Find out all this and more as we do a CH101 deep dive into the history of slipping on banana peels!

Knock knock? Who’s there? It’s time for the history of knock-knock jokes… Knock-knock jokes are the classic question and answer kid joke. But did you know that its origin goes all the way back to Shakespeare’s Macbeth? Well it does. In the episode we dive into the joke’s origin - and how Rowen and Martin’s Laugh In - helped it’s comeback into pop culture.

You know the classic childhood joke: Why did the chicken cross the road? Seems harmless, right? Well, this seemingly carefree joke has ugly disturbing origins - rooted in American racism. Eeewww! We dive into the origins of this anti-joke - and show how things aren’t what they seem to be…

Comedy History 101 Podcast: Live is coming to NYC: Tues, 3/19, 7pm, The PIT Loft Harmon Leon (Vice) and Scott Calonico (Sundance Film Festival) are joined by Chris O'Neil (StoryFest) will be bringing you: The History of XXX Party Records

Yes, we dive further into the history of the legendary San Francisco comedy club, The Purple Onion - up until it closed in 2012. In the early days, the club launched the careers of Woody Allen, Richard Pryor, and Phyllis Diller. In this episode we cover the decline of the Purple Onion in the 70s and 80s - and how it resurrected as a garage rock club, and eventually returned to its comedy roots in the 90s. In fact, Zach Galifianakis filmed his comedy special, Live at the Purple Onion, ironically, live at the Purple Onion.

The Purple Onion was a legendary comedy club in San Francisco. It was a small, basement club that had is heyday in the 1950s and 60s -and helped launch the careers of Phyllis Diller, The Smothers Brothers, Lenny Bruce, Woody Allen, and Richard Pryor. Opened in 1952, the Purple Onion ran for roughly 60 years before closing its doors in 2012.

The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour ran from 1967-1970. It was considered the edgiest comedy show of the time. It also launched the careers of Steve Martin - who was a writer for the show, along with Rob Reiner and Bob Einstein aka Super Dave Osborne. The Smothers Brothers constantly butt heads with the censors. But on November 12, 1987 President Ronald Reagan welcomed the duo into the White House. What went down? Find out more in this episode of Comedy History 101…

We continue with Part 2 of our history of the National Lampoon Radio Hour; the show that evolved into Saturday Night Live and featured such iconic comedy figures as John Belushi, Gilda Radner, Harold Ramis, Bill Murray, Christopher Guest, Richard Belzer, and Chevy Chase. We cover our favorite episodes of the NL Radio Hour and how Lorne Michaels scooped up all the talent for SNL.

The National Lampoon Radio Hour hit the airwaves in 1973 and was a direct offshoot of National Lampoon magazine. But it gets better - the evolved into the first season of Saturday Night Live and launched the careers of John Belushi, Gilda Radner, Harold Ramis, Bill Murray, and Chevy Chase. When the National Lampoon Radio Hour ran its course, nearly everyone involved - both writers and performers - were scooped up by Lorne Michaels to create SNL history.

It’s Part Two of our episode on comedy that crosses the line. You know, the edggggy comedy that goes too far for the times. We dive into Bill Hicks getting censored on the David Letterman show to the revolutionary comedy of Dick Gregory in the early ‘60s - to the cartoons of Charlie Hebdo. Like us on iTunes - and please subscribe and comments.

On this episode of CH101, we explore the history of comedy that crosses the line. You know, the edggggy comedy. Sometimes it’s comedy that’s revolutionary and creates change, such as the comedy of George Carlin and Lenny Bruce. And sometimes, its comedy that goes too far - and is there just for shock value. (Michael Richards - we are talking to you.) Please subscribe and “like” on iTunes!

Rachel Brosnahan won for Best Actress at the Golden Globes for her portrayal of the Mrs. Maisel. On this episode, we dive into Part Two of the real-life comedy influences on the fictional Mrs. Maisel - and cover such legendary comics as Joan Rivers, Phyllis Diller, Anne Meara, Moms Mabley, Elaine May, Totie Fields, and Jean Carroll. Please subscribe and ‘like” use on iTunes.

Did you see the Golden Globe Awards? The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel was nominated for several. Rachel Brosnahan won for Best Actress for her portrayal of the Mrs. Maisel. The show is about a stand up comedian in New York City during the 1950s. But who were the real-life standup comedy influences on the fictional character? We do a deep dive into the comedians that helped shape the Marvelous Mrs. Maisel.

We continue with Part Two of our history of SCTV, the iconic TV comedy sketch show that launched the careers of John Candy, Joe Flaherty, Eugene Levy, Andrea Martin, Catherine O'Hara, Rick Moranis, and Dave Thomas. This episode we dive into the later years of SCTV with such movie spinoffs as Strange Brew, starring Bob and Doug Mackenzie. Be sure to subscribe and like us on iTunes. We love you comments.