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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
Wednesday Jan 04, 2023
Wednesday Jan 04, 2023
Back to the 1950s to meet an all-time tummler, a man known as the "human joke machine," Morey Amsterdam. A close brush with violence at one of Al Capone's Chicago speakeasies sent Morey packing for LA and a career than included being a comedy writer, stand-up star, and sitcom icon for his portrayal of comedy writer Buddy Sorrell on the Dick Van Dyke show. Morey even copped a role in the "beach movies" of the early 1960s! As always, find more Morey below and thanks for sharing our shows!
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Morey often used music in his act, delivering one-liner after one-liner in the context of a silly song. There isn't much early Morey that exists on tape, but this old clip (sorry for the quality) shows him belting his newest hit -- "Cheese and Cracker" with a host of groaning gags mixed in. https://youtu.be/JskPfuzGlVU
Morey's biggest claim to fame was his role as gag writer Buddy Sorrell on the Dick Van Dyke show. His writers room chemistry with Rose Marie (who played fellow writer Sally Rogers) was infectious and they were able to take their personas to other shows, such as this guest spot on the Hollywood Palace back in 1964 (and yes, that is Groucho hosting). https://youtu.be/cQik0KEpgZY
Morey stayed active well into his 70s, as evidenced by this spot on the "Here it is -- Burlesque!" special. Yes, he is still doing the same act he was in the 40s. And yes, the audience still loves him! https://youtu.be/qH0wjYQRm3U
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