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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 Nov 26, 2024
Tuesday Nov 26, 2024
In the 1950s Leslie Nielsen was best known as a dramatic actor in movies and on television. But in 1980, that was about to change. Leslie took a role in a new comedy movie that was looking for a solid, deadpan type to be in the center of "joke-a-minute" action. That movie was Airplane! and it launched Leslie on a comedic career that would include the Police Squad tv show and the Naked Gun movie franchise. Along the way, Leslie became a master at poking fun at his own image, hosting Saturday Night Live and being a frequent guest on game shows and talk shows. While his later movies didn't reach the artistic or commercial heights of his early comedy career it didn't matter -- his Legend was secure. And nobody gets to call him Shirley. Find extra cuts below and, as always, thanks for sharing our shows.
Want more Leslie Nielsen?
Back when there were watercoolers, this bit got used a lot by office wits. https://youtu.be/ixljWVyPby0?si=fveuiJdk9qiwAShe
While Airplane! made Leslie a comedy star, the Naked Gun movies made him a box office titan. Here Leslie engages in a little old fashioned bribery with a source. https://youtu.be/uxviBxaSjyc?si=VvtVvpiiFP0_DAv9
In 1989 Leslie was tapped to host Saturday Night Live and, of course, they built on his ability to say the most outrageous things in a smooth and relaxed style. https://youtu.be/ooPJQZZ1ZCE?si=z1fcUZVRyQKktOJp
Leslie was a regular in talk shows in the 1990s including Conan O'Brien's where Leslie demonstrated his favorite prank. https://youtu.be/k1ztkOcJrNE?si=fklwI-QQC1ByzOcY
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