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Randy Hodgins and Steve McLellan’s lifelong love of comedy was kindled when they met more than 40 years ago in graduate school in Seattle. While managing family and professional work responsibilities, they hosted a one hour comedy radio program on Saturday mornings for 10 years on a small radio station in Olympia, WA and also co-authored two books on northwest popular culture – Seattle on Film (1995) and Wet and Wired (2000). Stuck at home during the early days of the pandemic with hundreds of comedy albums, cassettes and CD’s gathering dust on their shelves, they launched Laugh Tracks Legends of Comedy in May 2020, a weekly mini-program featuring a different comedy icon, with biographical bits and a nice slice of the comedy that made them famous. From standup stars, to stellar sketch teams, to novelty music maestros -- they are all part of our Legends.
Episodes
Tuesday Sep 05, 2023
Tuesday Sep 05, 2023
Bill Dana is best known for his Jose Jimenez character which charmed television audiences in the 1950s and 60s but there was so much more. A gifted comedy writer, Dana created some classic comedy bits including Don Adams "Would You Believe?" routine from Get Smart and the superb All in the Family episode where Archie Bunker had Sammy Davis, Jr. as a guest in his house. Dana was also a civil rights advocate (he retired the Jose character because of its stereotypes) and a comedy historian, co-founding the American Comedy Archives at his alma mater, Emerson College. Find extra clips below and thanks for sharing our shows!
Want more Bill Dana?
Back when a comedy routine could break into the radio Top 40, Bill struck comedy gold in 1961 when he released "The Astronaut" a Jose Jimenez bit that capitalized on the space race and raced up to number 19 on the Billboard charts. https://youtu.be/8YXKL86H6kU?si=AwogyYmDqOXeOSwF
Bill Dana became known to a wider audience as part of Steve Allen's superb comedy troupe, first as a writer, then as an actor. He created the Jose Jimenez character specifically for the show and his banter with Steve was an instant crowd favorite. https://youtu.be/9DMQJtKaXtM?si=y0iQJtKO24ZtK6JW
Back when a comedy routine could break into the radio Top 40, Bill struck comedy gold in 1961 when he released "The Astronaut" a Jose Jimenez bit that capitalized on the space race and raced up to number 19 on the Billboard charts. https://youtu.be/8YXKL86H6kU?si=AwogyYmDqOXeOSwF
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