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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.
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Tuesday Jan 16, 2024
Tuesday Jan 16, 2024
Meet the "Jazz Comedian" Franklyn Ajaye who is a fine jazz clarinetist along with a stellar career as a standup comic and character actor. Franklyn started in the 1970s with a series of excellent stand-up albums and roles in a number of popular movies including the iconic "Car Wash" in which he played a lovable motormouth known as "The Fly". Eventually tiring of American political life, Franklyn decamped to Australia where he has become a favorite on stage and screen. And he still takes an occasional role in an American hit such as that of Maya Rudolph's dad in Bridesmaids, or as part of HBO's Deadwood. As always, find extra clips below and thanks for sharing our shows!
Want more Franklyn?
Early in his career Franklyn made the rounds of tv talk shows and this clip from Merv Griffin is a good sample of his style. https://youtu.be/cog_NERLS6Y?si=QvxV4-U2QT052R6_
Franklyn cut three excellent standup albums in the 1970s, but he may be best remembered as Dee-Luxe Car Wash employee T.C. "The Fly" Elcott, in the classic 1976 comedy Car Wash. https://youtu.be/qE1u-W1uGz4?si=Fnyilj--PAgnjrCK
This is a fun piece from Franklyn's "Talking Vagabond Jazz" show about a bit of Star Trek lore loved by all pop culture aficionados. https://youtu.be/oM4bi3sU59w?si=ENw4W7TyLb5JyEVG
Here's a rare special that follows Franklyn on tour in Australia in 1990, and also features a bit of his clarinet at the start. https://www.reddit.com/.../jazz_comedian_franklyn.../...
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