The Definitive Guide to Comedy
David Brenner died today at his New York City home, with his family by his side. Brenner had been battling cancer. The stand-up comedian was 78. He is survived by his wife, Ruth; sons Cole, Wyatt and Slade; and grandson Wesley. Richard Lewis, a longtime friend of Brenner’s, said via Twitter …
Would you look at that?! It’s the movie poster for Stripped, a new documentary about the history of newspaper comic strips and what happens to them now that newspapers are dying. And perhaps just as symbolically important — the poster image is the first public cartoon drawn up by Bill …
Earlier this week, when Jerry Seinfeld met up with Jason Alexander and Seinfeld’s co-creator Larry David at the sitcom’s iconic diner location of Monk’s, the filmmaker directing a real documentary about the real Tom’s Restaurant also was on the scene in New York City’s Morningside Heights. Gian Franco Morini, director …
When Budd Friedman’s Improv comedy club turned 40, he celebrated with a primetime anniversary special on NBC (that aired against the final sing-off of the first season of American Idol). Now at 50, The Improv reminisces once more, this time with a one-hour documentary on cable/online via EPIX, The Improv: …
She had played Carnegie Hall, headlined the Apollo with Cab Calloway for decades, but in 1967, Dick Smothers introduced her to a whole new audience, saying: “Some of you may not have heard of her yet. She’s only started recently doing television.” She was Jackie “Moms” Mabley. “She’s been lost somewhere …
Orange and black aren’t just for Halloween or hot new Netflix titles, but also the primary colors of tigers such as Hobbes of “Calvin and Hobbes.” For anyone who grew up with newspapers from 1985 to 1995, Bill Watterson’s comic strip about a boy and his stuffed tiger and their …
Improv. Say that one word in comedy circles and you’ll see a multitude of reactions. OK. Mostly likely one of three: Love. Hate. Indifference. Or maybe even something that’s along the spectrum that connects those three. Who decides to pursue a life or career in improv comedy, what are their …
Why did the comedian cross the road? Wait a second. This isn’t a chicken joke. Why do comedians go on the road? That’s one of many questions posed by comedian and filmmaker Jordan Brady (I Am Comic) in his upcoming follow-up documentary, I Am Road Comic. And here are some …
Tig Notaro is hitting the road this summer for a very special stand-up comedy tour. Just how special? “Showtime is going to be filming my tour this summer, beginning in early August,” Notaro says in this clip uploaded yesterday from Seal Beach, Calif. “And we’re looking for venues for me …
Nick Thune taped his first hour-long TV special last week in Brooklyn, and the stand-up comedian and guitarist mentioned how he’d had to postpone the taping due to a broken arm. You don’t have to wait to find out why he broke his arm or what he did in the …
