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S'Right? S'Right!
It was one 1997 night at the Improv in Hollywood. A stellar crowd of magicians, comedians, actors and ventriloquists all gathered
to pay tribute to a man who painted a face on his fist and made show business history. He was 100 years old the night we had...
Mr. Laurel and Mr. Hardy
J.D. Salinger called them "two Heaven-sent artists and men." Compliments don't get much better than that and this one is richly
deserved. Here's a two-part column about my all-time favorite comedians, Stan and Ollie and do visit our detailed, opinionated
Filmography...
"And May God Bless..."
That was how Red Skelton always ended his shows...his TV shows and his live shows (for which he seemed to have lived). He also
said other things which were not quite as wholesome. When he passed away, I recalled a very funny man who told very filthy jokes, and I penned
this piece on...
My Son, the Parody Singer
He wasn't a star for long but there were a couple of years there where Allan Sherman was the hottest thing in comedy. And though
he's gone now, his wonderful song parodies will live for a long time. So we thought it would be a good idea to compile this...
The One...the Only...Groucho!
And no one has to ask, "Groucho Who?" Julius Marx was one of the greatest comedians of all time and perhaps the most
imitated. But, unfortunately, Groucho's last years were anything but funny.
"What's That?" "French Horns!"
George S. Kaufman once said, "Satire is what closes Saturday night" — an odd statement from someone who wrote so many successful
satires. Nevertheless, Stan Freberg has been proving the adage wrong for 50+ years. Which is why we have all this stuff here about a
personal hero...
Top Ten
This'll make somebody mad: It's a list of ten men who defined the art of stand-up comedy and did it better than anyone else. And
before we could make up that list, we had to define stand-up comedy. So read our definition and then see if you can come up with the names we
think are...
You're Living in a Desert!!!
A lot of folks didn't like him and, if you only saw him on TV, you may be one of them. But those of us who saw him live usually
— there were exceptions, and they were often louder than Sam — loved what he did. Here's a column about my (admittedly-brief)
encounters with a man whose life ended way too early...
Take His Life...Please!
"You know what ambivalence is? It's watching your mother-in-law drive your new car off a cliff." "I bought a suit with two
pair of pants but it's too hot to wear both pair." "The only time I wear both pair is when I play golf, in case I get a hole in one."
"You know the great thing about a nudist wedding? You can always tell who the best man is." "I told my doctor I broke my leg in two
places. He told me not to go to those places." That's right. It's an article about...
Read This While I Drink A Glass Of Water...
This column is all about the best danged ventriloquist in the history of the voice-tossing business. It's all about a legendary
entertainer who also, in his spare time, invented an artificial heart. It's all about a fine cartoon voice artist and a very nice man and a
personal hero of mine. It's all about Jerry Mahoney, Knucklehead Smiff and their soul...
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