The Definitive Guide to Comedy
The Riviera Comedy Club died tonight* after fighting a lengthy battle with economics. The club is survived by hundreds of mourning comics: Some great, some hacks, some geniuses, some frauds, some journeymen and women, some who became successful, some who did not, some who went on to write TV and blockbuster films, …
A lot of Oscars viewers were upset Sunday night by who the Academy Awards had snubbed and otherwise ignored during its annual “In Memoriam” montage segment, and most of those snubs just happened to be comedic actors and actresses: Joan Rivers, Elaine Stritch and Taylor Negron. Truth is, 2014 was …
If you’re walking the streets of San Francisco this month, you’re likely to see an unfair number of homeless people and one busker singing and performing who should look familiar. Margaret Cho has gone Dancing With the Stars, but now she’s dancing, singing and performing for the homeless. Cho began …
The PBS documentary series, Pioneers of Television, had interviewed Robin Williams extensively just recently for its portraits of him and other groundbreaking comedians of the past 60 years. So, when Williams tragically died last month at 63, they went back through the footage with him as well as with other …
The suicide of Robin Williams, devastating as it was not just for his family and closest friends but also to millions of us fans around the world, has brought a new wave of attention to how we treat depression and mental illness. It’s not about sad clowns, either. We all …
You want to be able to quote his inspirational movie lines back to him, to step on a desk and shout to him, “O Captain! My Captain!” You want to be able to hug him close and tight and never let go, telling him, “It’s not your fault.” And then …
When Robin Williams visited Jimmy Kimmel Live on Tuesday night, Kimmel was impressed not only just to have Williams on as a guest — it made him feel like he’s actually hosting a TV talk show — but also because he’d heard that Williams performed improvisational comedy with “the kids” …
It began as an off-handed joke and became a 10-year-long running joke. “Apologies to Matt Damon, we ran out of time.” That’s how Jimmy Kimmel ended his late-night episodes of Jimmy Kimmel Live, sometimes varying the wording a bit each weeknight on ABC. Until last night. When, upon his 10 …
New York City-based comedy rock band Fortress of Attitude is halfway through a “12 Christmas Songs in 12 Days of Christmas” project called “Bigger Than Santa.” They may have found their winner with “Carol of the Comedians,” with traditional Christmas tune having its lyrics adapted entirely to names of famous …
Earlier this year, Robin Williams received the Comedy Icon Award from the second annual reboot of The Comedy Awards. Afterward, Williams met the press assembled backstage (actually, beneath stage level) to answer all sorts of questions. What’s his favorite movie he has done? Blah, blah, blah. You should hear some …
