Comedy History 101

From the archives: The Comedy Store in Los Angeles is home to a zillion famous (and not so famous) comedians. The condo, directly behind The Store - was literally home to numerous comedians who went on to change the face of comedy. Sam Kinison, Andrew Dice Clay, Robin Williams, Yakov Smirnoff, Marc Maron, and more...

This comedy frat house was both a humor incubator and a dark den of drugs and destruction.

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In 1975, Warner Brothers filmed a sitcom spinoff of the hit movie, Blazing Saddles, called: Black Bart.

The sitcom starred Lou Gossett Jr., featured pale imitations of the original cast, and had a canned laugh track. The only reason Warner Bros filmed the sitcom was due to a clause in Mel Brooks' contract - with the intent of producing a Blazing Saddles film franchise. Four seasons were filmed - and it was never meant to see the light of day.

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The Unknown Comic skyrocketed to fame - from his appearances on The Gong Show in the 70's. His schtick was to perform with a paper bag on his head - and rattle off a series of paper bag-related puns.

But did you know that Murray Langston - the man behind the bag - got his start on Laugh-In and was a series regular on the Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour? Well, he was.

In this episode, we'll dive into the Unknown Comic origin story -and how the paper bag on his head came to be...

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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.

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Let’s salute Carl Reiner! The comedy legend passed away this week at the age of 98. Here’s a man responsible for kickstarting the film career of Steve Martin, was a comedy partner of Mel Brooks, and created the iconic television sitcom, The Dick Van Dyke Show.

It doesn’t get anymore comedy legend than the work of Carl Reiner!

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In 1961, Dick Gregory was the first African American comedian to perform at 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 Chris Rock.

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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.

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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 Gottfried's legendary joke at the Friar's Club Roast.

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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.

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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.

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