Vintage Stand-up Comedy

Bill Hicks - Dangerous 1990

Bill Hicks - Arizona Bay 1997

My Darling Mrs. Eidenberg

Bryce Bond With Bernadette - Bryce Bond's Bachelor Apartment 1961

Who Said THAT?

Bernie Lawrence - If The President Wuz...1976

Jonathan Winters - Best Of Maude Frickert & Elwood P Suggins 1959

James Komack - At The Waldorf 1960

Headline: Roseanne Barr Running For President

Carl Reiner & Mel Brooks - Carl Reiner & Mel Brooks At The Cannes Film Festival 1962

Foster Brooks - Live From Las Vegas 1976

On: Sunday, February 12, 2012

Bill Hicks	William Melvin Hicks	Valdosta, Georgia, USA
Dec 16 1961 - Feb 26 1994 age 32	Official Site Unofficial Site	Wikipedia

William Melvin "Bill" Hicks (December 16, 1961 – February 26, 1994) was an American stand-up comedian, social critic, satirist, and musician. His humor challenged mainstream beliefs, aiming to "enlighten people to think for themselves." Hicks used a ribald approach to express his material, describing himself as "Chomsky with dick jokes", while conceding that his humor was "caring". His material largely consisted of general discussions about society, religion, politics, philosophy and personal issues. Hicks' material was often controversial and steeped in dark comedy. In both his stand-up performances and during interviews, he often criticized consumerism, superficiality, mediocrity and banality within the media and popular culture, describing them as oppressive tools of the ruling class, meant to "keep people stupid and apathetic."

Hicks died of pancreatic cancer in 1994 at the age of 32. In the years after his death, his work and legacy achieved the significant admiration and acclaim of numerous comedians, writers, actors and musicians alike. In 2007 he was voted the 6th greatest stand-up comic on the UK's Channel 4's 100 Greatest Stand-Ups and again in the updated 2010 list as the 4th greatest stand-up comic. Source: Anarcho-punk.net

This album was recorded over two nights at Caroline's in New York City.

01 Modern Bummer 6:34
02 Flying Saucer Tour 3:21
03 Smoking 5:30
04 We Live In A World... 10:51
05 The War On Drugs 9:14
06 Burning Issues 4:00
07 I Love My Job 1:34
08 My Parents 5:27
09 Please Do Not Disturb 7:02
10 The Vision 0:58

	Invasion Records INV 3.5001
	Standup
Enjoy!

Bill Hicks	William Melvin Hicks	Valdosta, Georgia, USA
Dec 16 1961 - Feb 26 1994 age 32	Official Site Unofficial Site	Wikipedia

01 Goodbye You Lizard Scum
02 Step On The Gas (L.A. Riots)
03 Hooligans
04 Officer Nigger Hater
05 As Long As We're Talking Shelf Life (Kennedy)
06 The Elephant Is Dead (Bush)
07 Me And Saddam
08 Bullies Of The World
09 Shane's Song
10 Dinosaurs In The Bible
11 Living God
12 Marketing & Advertising
13 Don't Talk For Me
14 Clam Lappers & Sonic The Hedgehog
15 She's Got A Broken Heart
16 Pussy-Whipped Satan
17 L.A. Falls
18 Elvis

	Rykodisc – RCD 1035
	Standup
Enjoy!

On: Saturday, February 11, 2012

This morning I got this heart wrenching, unsolicited email from Mrs. Laura - an excerpt:

Dearest Beloved,
I know that this letter might be a surprise to you, I came across your email contact from my personal search and I instructed the doctor here in this hospital to help me email you and I believe that you will be honest to fulfill my final wish before I will die.
I am Mrs Laura Eidenberg from Belgium, I am 78 years old, I am deaf and suffering from a long time cancer of the breast."
etc. etc. MONEY etc. etc.

Yours in Christ, Laura

She went on to say that she had some money to give me, lot's of it. Note that she's in Belgium, not Nigeria, so this is not some run-of-the-mill scam. So I carefully composed a heartfelt response. I hope she received it in the spirit I intended.

Dear Laura,

I hope you suffer a long, drawn out painful death, screaming and writhing in pain at the horror of approaching death. Since you are deaf you will have to imagine that I am screaming in your ear "FUCK OFF BITCH."
Otherwise, Have A Nice Day! :)

Jim

You can send your sentiments to: laura.eidenberg@mums.com

Bryce Bond	Bryce Burleigh Bond	Plainfield, New Jersey USA
Dec 21 1928 - Jan 10 1992 age 63	Official Site	Wikipedia

For a brief period of time Bryce B. Bond was known as The Night Mayor of Norfolk. It says so on the back of the LP, but it also says the same thing in two issues of Billboard; one from 1959 the other from 1960. As terrible as the record is I am surprised to read he released at least another five on Folkway records.

In 1960 Bryce moved from WNOR-AM in Norfolk, VA to WVOX-FM in New Rochelle, NY. Billboard described his then new program as an "early bird" show and that he shared the MC position with PD Mort Dean. Mr. Bond himself said that rock n' roll was banned form the program. This was no surprise of course. He'd put the kibosh on the rock at WNOR earlier. He was quoted at length on the topic a year earlier.

"...As the night mayor of Norfolk, I have put a ban on rock and roll , rhythm and blues, and hillbilly music on by six and a half hour nightly show (midnight to 6:30 AM.) I play nothing but the very best in quality standard music, old and new, plus good progressive jazz. . . Wt at WNOR are very proud of having 95 per cent of the adult audience, the buying audience."

He comes off more than a tad arrogant no? In 1961 Strand records released their "Bryce Bond's Bachelor Apartment" LP. they advertised that in Billboard too. It was priced at a whopping $2.98. In January of that year Bryce was promoted from mere DJ to Program Director of WVOX.

I lose track of him a bit there and he reappears on a New York jazz station WTFM-FM 103.5 in 1966 hosting the Moondial program. Philco was the original sponsor of that program at least starting in 1962.

Bryce appears by name in a WTFM advertisement run in New York magazine in 1970 so we know he was with that station for at least four years. I had assumed that he began in 1964 or so but a 1962 issue of Billboard has Bryce on WTFM hosting "Moondial" in 1962 and in 1966. This is incongruous because another issue plainly says that Alan Grant took over as host in 1963.

What happened is that Bryce left and came back. He was a morning host at WBAB in 963 into 1964. That didn't work out and by 1965 he was doing afternoons and was back on WTFM in lake Success, NY. the trail ends there except for a mysterious single reference to an ex-radio broadcaster, who became a New York psychic and got a parapsychology show on cable TV... named Bryce Bond. (I totally hope that's him.) If it is, he was the editor of Psychic Observer Magazine until it's demise in the 1990s. Source: ArcaneRadio

01 At The Bachelor Apartment 16:32

02 Eight Avenue hideaway 10:18

03 Tight Quarter Sports Car 8:42



	Skits	Strand SL-1019
ENJOY!
His other material on this blog are "tagged" at the bottom of this post

On: Friday, February 10, 2012

"Eenie Meenie, Chili Beanie, The Spirits Are About To Speak...."

Who said that? C'Mon, don't Google it, tax your brain cells a little and...

Bernie Lawrence	Birth name	Birthplace
Born/Died	Official Site	Wikipedia

Side 1

Part 1 Jewish

01 Press Conference 5:07

02 Fireplace Chat :35

03 Party At The Church :52

Part II Italian

04 Press Conference 1:48

05 Luncheon :38

06 Compaign Trip 49:

07 Our Lady Of The Harbour :34

08 Confession Booth :47

09 Interview With The Secretary Of State 1:53

Side 2

Part III Puerto Rican

10 Acceptance Speech 2:38

11 White House Decorator 2:04

Part IV Black

12 Inauguration 1:33

13 White House Tour 1:02

14 Appointments 1:18

15 The Cabinet Meeting 1:32

16 Black And White Of It 2:35

17 Wailing Wall 1:14

18 Pillow Talk 4:57

On: Thursday, February 9, 2012

Jonathan Winters	Jonathan Harshman Winters III	Bellbrook, Ohio, USA
Nov 11 1925 - Apr 11 2013 age 87	Official Site	Wikipedia

Jonathan Winters 'The Best of Maude Frickert & Elwood P. Suggins' is, for me, the funniest comedy album I have ever heard. Truly, I have never laughed so hard. This album features the extemporaneous genius of the great Jonathan Winters at his best. The fact that the album is no longer released and cannot be found in CD or MP3 form is a testimony to the stupidity or poor judgement and lack of marketing acumen of those who own the rights to the product and the sad state of the entertainment industry in general. It looks like I will have to cough up $61 + s/h to get a copy of the LP + a CD-R burn; but it will be well worth it. With the horrific state of the world today, I could use some deep, cathartic belly laughs; and this collection of prime Jonathan Winters' bits - especially the hilarious UFO bits - will provide them. Source cQ Amazon

01 New Flying Saucer 7:07

02 Old age Speaks Out Maude Frickert 4:25

03 Oldest Stewardess In The World Maude Frickert 6:12

04 Elwood P Suggins New Automobile 8:50

05 The American Farmer Elwood P Suggins 4:12

06 Flying Saucer 6:35

	Verve V-15052
	Stand-up
Enjoy!

On: Wednesday, February 8, 2012

James Komack	Birth Name aka Jimmy Komack	New York City, New York, USA
Aug 02 1924 - Dec 24 1997 age 73	Official Site	Wikipedia

James Komack was an American actor, writer and film producer. Komack was in the original cast of the Broadway musical Damn Yankees and also in the film version; in both productions, he was one of the baseball players who perform the song "(You Gotta Have) Heart". Komack also appeared in Frank Capra's film A Hole in the Head, as Julius Manetta, inept son of Mario (Edward G. Robinson) and Sophie (Thelma Ritter).

In December 1960, Komack appeared as Dr. Franklin in the episode "Emergency" of CBS's anthology series, The DuPont Show with June Allyson; his co-stars were Robert F. Simon and Robert Vaughn. Komack was the guiding force behind such television hits as The Courtship of Eddie's Father, in which he also appeared as Norman Tinker, Me and Maxx, whose title character was inspired by and named after his daughter, Chico and the Man, and Welcome Back, Kotter. Komack is credited with discovering and launching the careers of John Travolta and Freddie Prinze. Early in his career, Komack worked as a stand up comedian and also appeared as a regular in the series Hennesey. He also made a record album of his routine, James Komack at the Waldorf. He also recorded an album on RCA Victor in 1957 of music, not a comedy album, titled Inside Me, under the orchestra direction of Dennis Farnon, RCA LPM-1501. He was director of the Star Trek: The Original Series episode "A Piece of the Action".

Komack was widely believed to be the illegitimate son of Milton Berle. In his autobiography, Berle describes an encounter with the producer of a hit 1970s' show, and got pitched for a role in another series (probably "The Man" in Chico in the Man). Berle said he didn't know the guy already had a hit show and was probably trying to hustle him to get a leg up as a producer. He wrote that it wasn't until later that he learned that this was the illegitimate son whom he had pined for ever since he'd had an affair with a would-be movie starlet back in the 1920s. By the time he came around, the role was cast.

Komack died Christmas Eve 1997 from heart failure. Source: Wikipedia

01 House On 64th Street
02 Mavlick
03 Lady Chatterly's Lover
04 Prize Fight Announcer
05 The Beat Generation
06 The Man With The Golden Arm!



	Stand-up	Ember Records ELP-800
ENJOY!
His other albums on this blog are "tagged" at the bottom of this post

On: Saturday, February 4, 2012

CNN-HLN: Roseanne Barr is running for president. She hopes to become the Green Party candidate.

VS-UC Editorial:

Just to clarify, that's running for the President Of The United States (that's a real job in a place where many of us live, including me.) If elected, she promises to change her title from "President" to "Domestic Goddess Of The United States" (nickname: Dog-ess). Opponents are airing her performance of her Star Spangled Banner to raise awareness. She has chosen Professor Irwin Corey as her running partner, says Pauly Shore, her campaign manager.

Recall proceedings are already being planned, just in case something batshit crazy happens. Hey, Bush Jr. was elected, true?

On: Tuesday, January 31, 2012

Carl Reiner	Carl Reiner	Bronx, New York, USA
Mar 20 1922 -	Official Site	Wikipedia

Mel Brooks	Melvin Kaminsky	Brooklyn, New York, USA
Jun 28 1926 -	Fan Site	Wikipedia

Carl Reiner is an American actor, film director, producer, writer and comedian. He has won nine Emmy Awards and one Grammy Award during this career. He has the distinction of being the only person to appear on The Tonight Show with each of its five hosts. ~Source: Wikipedia

Mel Brooks is an American film director, screenwriter, composer, lyricist, comedian, actor and producer. He is best known as a creator of broad film farces and comic parodies. He began his career as a stand-up comic and as a writer for the early TV variety show Your Show of Shows. He became well known as part of the comedy duo with Carl Reiner, The 2000 Year Old Man. In middle age he became one of the most successful film directors of the 1970s, with many of his films being among the top ten money makers of the year that they were released. His most well known films include The Producers, Blazing Saddles, Young Frankenstein, History of the World, Part I and Spaceballs. In his later years he had a smash hit on Broadway with the musical adaptation of his first film, The Producers. He was married to the late actress Anne Bancroft.

Brooks is a member of the short list of entertainers with the distinction of having won an Emmy, a Grammy, an Oscar and a Tony award. Three of his films ranked in the American Film Institute's list of the top 100 comedy films of all-time: Blazing Saddles at number 6, The Producers at number 11, and Young Frankenstein at number 13. ~Source Wikipedia

01 The Cannes Film Festival, Adolph Hartler, Frederico Fettucini, Tippy Skittles

02 Dr. Felix Wheird

03 2000 And Two Year Old Man

04 The L.M.N.O.P. Ad Agency

	* * *
	Stand-up
Thanks Harryspeakup & Stephen L!

Audio Fidelity 6279

Thanks Dr Forrest's Cheeze Factory!

Other material on this blog is tagged to the right of this post

On: Monday, January 30, 2012

Foster Brooks	Foster Brooks	Louisville, Kentucky, USA
May 11 1912 – Dec 2001 age 89	Official Site	Wikipedia

Foster Brooks was a stand-up comedian who got laughs not necessarily because his joke were funny. Frequently they weren't. What was funny was his delivery. A former drinker, he would stagger out on stage, stammer, slur and belch his way through his set, then stagger back off stage. The best part about Foster Brooks was that he never broke character when it came to playing the "drunk guy", until he made this record.
Side one is Foster's drunk guy comedy set, but side two is something different. It's a side of Foster you wouldn't expect, unless you watched the Merv Griffin show a lot. Seems he fancied himself a bit of a singer. He warbles out "Please Release Me" and "My Way" and basically makes you want to die. And then there are the poems. His poems.
Foster Brooks was born in 1912 and began work in radio in the early 1930s. Eventually (once it had been invented) he moved to TV as a newscaster. In the '60s he did some bit part acting on TV and started to get to know some of the Hollywood elite of the day, like Dean Martin and Perry Como who found his drunk act to be quite hilarious. By the time he became a household name, he was almost 60 years old.
With this poem, "My Family", we get to know the real Foster Brooks, a big nice guy with a crazy beard and a liesure suit who loved being loved by a lot of people. This kind of sincere, irony-free material doesn't exactly play well these days, or did it ever? Anyway, he had fond memories of being naked in a tub with a bunch of dudes, so that's cool. ~Source: RecordRobot

01 Foster Brooks, Live At The Desert Inn