Comedy History 101
Journalist/comedian Harmon Leon dives into the history of comedy; bringing podcast listeners some of his favorite comedy influences, cult classics, and all things comedy history. More at: harmonleon.com
Episodes
April 11, 2024 • 67 mins
CH101 Select: In 2006, a producer thought it would be a good idea for double-acquitted murderer OJ Simpson's comeback project to be a zany hidden camera prank show called Juice'd. As in, a prank is pulled, OJ Simpson pops out, and goes, "You've been Juiced," at which point the person pranked goes, "HEY, AREN'T YOU THAT GUY WHO MURDERED THOSE PEOPLE?!
And I, Harmon Leon, was hired off an ad on Craigslist to be OJ's funny little sid...
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March 28, 2024 • 41 mins
Chris Farley was one of the most dynamic and beloved comedians to ever grace the stage at both Second City and Saturday Night Live.
And I talk to Brent Hodge, director of the documentary, I Am Chris Farley. We do a deep dive into the life and times of this legendary comedian.
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March 19, 2024 • 39 mins
Jewish comedians, such as Lenny Bruce, Joan Rivers, Gilbert Gottfried, have always broke norms and challenged taboos of American culture.
We talk to Eddy Portney of YIVO Institute for Jewish Research - historian and curator of the course: Is Anything Okay? The History of Jews and Comedy in America.
We dive into the roots of Jewish humor from the Borscht Belt to modern times.
More at Yivo
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March 13, 2024 • 39 mins
Just for Laughs is (was) the largest comedy festival in the world. Based in Montreal, the festival has helped launch the careers of such comedians as Jerry Seinfeld, Mitch Hedberg, Jimmy Fallon, Ali Wong, Amy Schumer, etc...
And it was announced last week that this year's festival has been canceled - due to bankruptcy.
We talk to Darren Frost - a Canadian comedian who started performing at the festival in the mid-90s - on the hist...
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February 29, 2024 • 40 mins
The legendary Comedy Cellar - is the Yankee Stadium of NYC comedy clubs. Founded in 1982, the club has helped launch the careers of Jon Stewart, Dave Chappelle, Colin Quinn, Dave Attell, Amy Schumer, Ray Romano...(you get the idea).
And we talk to comedian Dave Juskow, who is a Comedy Cellar regular - and host of the Comedy Cellar Tuesday podcast, on the history of this beloved club.
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February 16, 2024 • 44 mins
CH101 Select: Mr. Bill is one of the most iconic characters in the history of Saturday Night Live.
Mr. Bill got his start in the first season of SNL - as a viewer-submitted Super 8 film. In his heyday, this bundle of Play-Do was the third most beloved character on SNL - right behind John Belushi and Gilda Radner.
And we talk to Walter Williams - the creator of Mr. Bill - who also became a staff writer at SNL.
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December 26, 2023 • 71 mins
We wrap up the year with a sampling of the best of 2023 Comedy History 101 interviews.
Featuring episode excerpts on Kids in the Hall, Mr. Bill, Comedy Culture Wars, Shemp Howard, Found Footage Festival, the Dublin Comedy Scenes, Michael Richards Infamous Meldown, Last Comic Standing, The Harvard Lampoon, Revenge of the Nerds, and more..
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December 22, 2023 • 27 mins
Bruce Cherry is a comedian who wrote jokes and comedy material for George W. Bush and a host of other politicians. And we do a deep dive into the writing process on creating humor for the Commander-in-Chief.
I originally interviewed Bruce for a story I did in Vice.
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December 14, 2023 • 39 mins
In the world of The Three Stooges, Shemp Howard deserves more love.
Shemp was the original Stooge who appeared in 76 Stooge shorts. He also virtually saved The Three Stooges, was noted as the Ugliest Man in Hollywood, and is responsible for the phenomenon of 'The Fake Shemps.'
And we talk to Geoff Dale, the only man in history to have written a biography of Shemp Howard, aptly titled: Much More Than a Stooge: Shemp Howard.
Learn m...
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December 8, 2023 • 62 mins
Kliph Nesteroff is one of the leading comedy historians and the author of the new book: Outrageous: A History of Showbiz and the Culture Wars.
And we talk about his book, censorship in comedy, how every generations declares that "comedy is over" - and how the old guard often refuses to accept culture shifts in the comedy biz.
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November 30, 2023 • 30 mins
Mark Katz is a former joke writer for President Bill Clinton. He shares stories about writing humor in the White House, writing presidential jokes during a time of impeachment - and his take on which presidents are natural comedians. (Spoiler: Trump does not fit the mold.)
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November 9, 2023 • 54 mins
A CH101 Select: The iconic TV show Last Comic Standing - ran from 2003 to 2015. It was a reality show, where comedians competed to be, well, the last comic standing. The show helped launch the careers of such comedians as Amy Schumer, Gary Gulman, Nicky Glaser - and our guest today: Rob Cantrell.
Rob was a finalist on Season One of Last Comic Standing - where he lived in a house in the Hollywood Hills with such comedians as Ralphie...
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November 2, 2023 • 42 mins
The Jerry Springer Show has the notoriety of being the trashiest of all the trashy daytime talk shows. In 1995, a group of Canadian comedians pranked the Springer Show - and appeared on a segment entitled: My Husband Slept with the Babysitter.
The prank made international news - and inspired many other Jerry Springer infiltrators followed over the years - including yours truly. Our guest today is Canadian comedian, Ian Sirota - wh...
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October 26, 2023 • 30 mins
Irate encounters with Bill Murray. Cary Grant at The Friar's Club. Margarita lunches at The Russian Tea Room. This was all part of being a celebrity journalist at People Magazine in the 1980s - for our guest Michael Small.
And check out Michael's podcast: I Couldn't Throw It Out.
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October 19, 2023 • 45 mins
Michael Small was a staff member of The Harvard Lampoon. He is our guest today - on his history at one of the oldest and most prestigious humor magazines in the world. The alumni of The Harvard Lampoon include such icons in comedy as Conan O'Brien, Greg Daniels, Jim Downey, Colin Jost, BJ Novak - and numerous writers for SNL, The Simpsons, Letterman, Curb Your Enthusiasm - as well as almost every known comedy entity in TV and movie...
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October 9, 2023 • 30 mins
I interview the directors behind the new documentary, Satan Wants You - which tells the story how the Satanic Panic of the 1980s was ignited by the book, Michelle Remembers. Find out how the book was used by law enforcement to convict innocent people - and was later determined to be a complete hoax.
The episode I produced for 99 Percent Invisible, mentioned in our show, can be found at: 99percentinvisible.org/episode/devil-in-the-d...
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September 28, 2023 • 48 mins
I talk to Joe Pickett and Nick Prueher curators of the Found Footage Festival - on their love of found videos, infiltrating TV shows, sabotaging America's Got Talent, and their new documentary, Chop & Steele. Learn how posing as a strongman duo landed Joe and Nick in a major lawsuit and what was the reaction when they peed in their pants in front of Howie Mandal, Simon Cowell, and Scary Spice on NBC TV.
More at: foundfootagefest.co...
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September 20, 2023 • 25 mins
More Grateful Dead stories? We talk to Frankie Accardi-Peri who co-managed Grateful Dead ticket sales from 1984- 1995- and she has some Dead insider stories to tell. This is a companion episode to my interview with Steven Marcus who was the Dead's ticketing head honcho.
My interview with Frankie was part of research for a fiction script I wrote for the podcast Paperless - and my episode entitled: Blinkers. Check it out: https://sh...
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September 6, 2023 • 54 mins
Joe Raiola was a writer and editor of Mad magazine for 33 years. And he has some stories to tell on how Mad shaped comedy in America - and whose voice resonates through such entities as The Onion, The Daily Show, The Simpsons - and beyond.
Take time to 'like,' subscribe, and comment on ComedyHistory 101.
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August 25, 2023 • 14 mins
The Edinburgh Fringe Festival is the biggest performance festival in world. It takes place during the month of August and has launched the comedy careers of Monty Python, Eddie Izzard, Fleabag - and just about every major comedy figure in the UK. Its where comedians go to get their Beatles 10,000 hours of Hamburg performing skills.
The Edinburgh Festival is both amazing and soul-crushing at times. And on this CH101 Short, Irish com...
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