Episode 66 of The Big Event is an interview with Michael Pritchard, a Bay Area comedian and social worker. Pritchard was one of the biggest rising stars in the early 1980s, winning the San Francisco International Comedy Competition in 1980 and appearing on "The Tonight Show" the following year. But Pritchard rejected Hollywood to work in juvenile halls, with the homeless and in anti-bullying programs. Pritchard joined host Peter Hartlaub and reporter Kevin Fagan, who has gotten to know Pritchard covering homelessness for The Chronicle. More info at www.michaelpritchard.com

Recorded in the San Francisco Chronicle basement archive.

Theme music is "The Tide Will Rise" by the Sunset Shipwrecks off their album "Community."

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