Laugh Tracks Legends of Comedy with Randy and Steve

Alan Arkin

Meet Alan Arkin, a sly comic actor who turned his fine eye for characters into a legendary career that spanned 50 years and won him many awards, including an Oscar at age 72 for Little Miss Sunshine. From his beginnings as a folk singer, to a stint with the Second City Improv troupe, to an iconic role in Catch-22, to late-in-life triumphs on the big and small screens, Arkin always imbued his supporting characters with first-rate humanity. As always, find more clips below and thanks for sharing our shows!

Want more Alan Arkin?

Like many iconic comics before (and since), Alan spent time at the Second City Improv Troupe and was a big part of their classic early sketches. Here is Alan, as Noah, auditioning animals fo the ark. https://youtu.be/GaqaFcG0sy0?si=6R41wo-M_gDu0DEa

Little Miss Sunshine was a surprise hit back in 2006 with it's oddball family road trip capturing the public imagination. A big part of that was Alan's portrayal of the grandfather and his interaction with Abigail Breslin who played the title character. https://youtu.be/10WeBvmN0C0?si=3uAPgM2sja5kdImz

Joseph Heller's antiwar novel Catch 22 was a cultural touchstone, and Alan's portrayal of Captain John Yossarian was key to the success of the movie adaptation. Here is Yossarian discovering the meaning of Catch 22. https://youtu.be/oRIFdh0QG7A?

Alan's last major role was as Norm Newlander, longtime agent to acting coach Sandy Kominsky (played by Michael Douglas). Their scenes together were warm and witty, imbued with wisdom that comes with age. https://youtu.be/gUgxPOIkVFQ?si=TDsZYl6thZbbQKis

 

Whoopi Goldberg

No, "EGOT" isn't a Tolkein or Star Wars character. In fact, EGOT status is far more rare, with fewer than a dozen winners of the Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, AND Tony Awards to date, including this week's legend, the very funny, very pointed, and very bawdy Whoopi Goldberg. From an early one-woman tribute to Moms Mabley, to movies including The Color Purple, Ghost, and Sister Act, to a long run on ABC's The View, Whoopi has been a ubiquitous part of pop culture for nearly 50 years -- and she shows no signs of slowing down! As always, find extra clips below and thanks for sharing our shows!

Want more Whoopi?

Since 2007, Whoopi has been part of the panel on ABC's daytime talk show The View. Her mouth has landed her in hot water a few times, but more often it lands on comedy gold. https://youtu.be/VRI5IMOCwnY?si=mzSde7lZU30_MewT

Whoopi won her first Oscar playing a psychic in the hit movie Ghost. As an intermediary between Patrick Swayze and his still-alive girlfriend Demi Moore, Whoopi brought a perfect balance of sensitivity and sass to the role. https://youtu.be/oAb2_-uv41Y?si=Rr2tlkK1UtVMVdz5

Whoopi had a great run of hit movies in the 80s and 90s, none more beloved than Sister Act, a fish out of water classic in which Whoopi's "lounge singer on the run" gets placed by the Witness Protection Program into a convent. Here's Whoopi "freestyling" a mealtime blessing. https://youtu.be/-5lFiIvUZ_c?si=cj9zw1-MD1P3Pfac

Keenan Ivory Wayans

The Wayans family has been associated with film and television comedy since the 1980s and Keenan Ivory Wayans is the patriarch of that talented group. After almost graduating with an engineering degree, Keenan pivoted to Hollywood with his good friend Robert Townsend, starring in the superb satire about the life of black actors called "The Hollywood Shuffle". From then on Keenan would mix film triumphs ("I'm Gonna Get You Sucka'!) with groundbreaking tv work ("In Living Color"). His comedy is urban, raunchy, and very, very funny. In recent years, Keenan has worked more behind the camera, often featuring family members in his casts. Find more clips below as always, and thanks for sharing our shows!

Want more Keenan?

Keenan has spent so much time as a sketch actor, director, and producer that it's easy to forget he is a fine standup as evidenced by this 1983 set on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson. https://youtu.be/OU91m_TtTTw?si=3V7_Pk2gVqRS4x22

Keenan found a kindred spirit (and early comedy writing partner) in Robert Townsend and their work bore fruit in the form of the 1987 satirical gem "Hollywood Shuffle". Here's a sample, featuring their take on the "Black Acting School". https://youtu.be/HoqmCwp95Q8?si=b9aFZqJpCI09J59C

In 1990 Keenan launched his signature show "In Living Color". Conceived of as an edgier SNL, with a multiracial cast, In Living Color launched the careers of Jim Carrey and Jamie Foxx, as well as Keenan's siblings Marlon and Damon. This bit about a sketchy shopping service is one of the show's enduring classics. https://youtu.be/55aHvFD-I80?si=hbBGhkZTEHOQA5L-

Soupy Sales

If you'd like some pie with your coffee we can't help, but if it's a pie in the face you crave let us introduce you to a modern master of that slapstick art -- Soupy Sales! After starting as a teen dance television show host in Cincinatti (ala Dick Clark), Soupy switched to hosting a children's show -- a gig that on-and-off would serve him for four decades. Soupy's show was goofy, including lots of interplay with a cast of puppet co-stars and yes, lots of pies in the face for Soupy and his guests. He also scored a minor dance hit in the 1960s with "The Mouse" and later in life worked in radio and on the nostalgia circuit. And as for those pies -- once Soupy estimated he had taken 25,000 cream pies to the face and judging by the video evidence that exists we aren't doubting it. Besides it we did -- yep, we'd deserve a pie in the face as well! Find more clips below and thank for sharing our shows!

Want more Soupy?

Soupy was so associated with taking a pie in the face he included a song about it on one of his many children's albums. https://youtu.be/4js5cKeAslw?si=nIL8OxnloChQuW3-

Soupy worked with a menagerie of puppet characters and none was more beloved than Pookie, a lion who could pitch punchlines to Soupy with ease. https://youtu.be/kcb87xi8cVg?si=mjuJ_MgGfuRa8b1R

In the 1960s, Top 40 radio still had space for novelty records and Soupy scored a hit in 1965 with "The Mouse". https://youtu.be/kP1_F9zEF7o?si=m_xgQtLx2hiXgcgP

Rick Mercer

Meet a longtime favorite from North of the Border -- Rick Mercer! Over a career now over 30 years, Rick has had a hand in creating some of Canada's best loved satirical shows, including This Hour Has 22 Minutes, Made in Canada, and The Rick Mercer Report. Rick's gifts at blending news, parody, sketch comedy, and "person in the street" interviews have earned him multiple Gemini Awards (the Canadian Emmy), membership in the Order of Canada, and a Lifetime Artistic Achievement Award from The Governor General's Performing Arts Awards. Not bad, eh? As always, find extra clips below and thanks for sharing our shows!

Want more Rick Mercer?

Canadians love to poke fun at Americans and few have done it better than Rick, whose "Talking to Americans" bit from This Hour Has 22 Minutes finds him showing Americans to be a bit clueless -- using our own words for evidence. https://youtu.be/7ZE0TuKTpo4?si=YBr4h3PSjXFVfkrt

A big part of Rick's enduring popularity are his rants -- short and pointed bits of satire (in the style of the Dennis Leary MTV commercials). https://youtu.be/225Mx6ya7SQ?si=CWLSM4MwMN6ny-pZ

Rick Mercer is a master at interview work and when he is paired with a wildman such as long-time Hockey Night in Canada commentator Don Cherry it's comedy gold. The topic? Why men's suits, of course! https://youtu.be/EFPuMzza9hk?si=LCqBq0Kjc0XCDVs0

 

Andy Kaufman

Meet Andy Kaufman whose performance-art style comedy had the power to amuse, mystify, and (sometimes) offend during a short but brilliant run in the 1970s and 80s. A master of oddball characters, Andy first gained national fame with a groundbreaking spot on SNL in 1975, then in 1978 he took on the role of Latka the foreign mechanic on the smash TV sitcom Taxi. But fans who bought a ticket for his live show found themselves in a spectacle of edgy crowd work including a long-running bit in which Andy would wrestle female audience members for the "Intergender Wrestling Championship of the World." Was it all a put on? With Andy, who ever knew exactly where the line was drawn? As always find extra clips below and thanks for sharing our shows!

Want more Andy?

Andy's breakout tv role was as Latka, a foreign mechanic, on Taxi. To take advantage of his range of characters, writers gave Latka multiple personality syndrome. But they all came from Latka, whose indecipherable accent was a staple at office water coolers during the show's run. https://youtu.be/NRKxPrFXbO0?si=ov1HyZXabHbyMfk_ 

Anyone who watched SNL in its early years remembers groundbreaking sketches and appearances and Andy's 1975 spot sure qualifies! https://youtu.be/Yxp23Gkvn9g?si=k-0shn_WLRLR4OJq

Andy had a thing for pro wrestling, eventually sparking a feud with Jerry "The King" Lawler that landed in David Letterman's lap in 1982. Was it all a fake? Andy never broke character! https://youtu.be/FL9PGJslS6A?si=Xxjc_YVHni8bxoGD

 

 

Bill Dana

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

Jay Leno

A standup stalwart who stepped into the Tonight Show hosting gig when Johnny Carson retired, Jay Leno held that spot for 20 years. So when he finally retired, then unretired, then retired again (after some Succession-worthy intrigue) did Jay pick up the fishing pole? Nope! Instead he continued with frequent standup gigs, became a game-show host (You Bet Your Life), and launched a show about his friends and their cars (Jay Leno's Garage). As always find extra clips below and thanks for sharing our shows!

Want more Jay Leno?

Late night television went to war after Johnny Carson retired with battles over his successor. In that scrap, Leno was often pitted against the prickly David Letterman who many felt should have succeeded Carson. That feud led to a memorable ad during the 2010 Super Bowl featuring Jay, Dave, and "mediator" Oprah Winfrey. https://youtu.be/-KSKkmypTZM?si=le0WGVwrG5Fd3FyE

When Jay moved to Los Angeles and became part of the comedy scene there in the late 1970s it was only a matter of time before he scored the Holy Grail of guest spots -- a slot on Johnny Carson's Tonight Show. Here's that first appearance from 1977 (and dig the green leisure suit). https://youtu.be/qvmQZ1jQjQk?si=NkLFMQagKE2sN1Iu

One of Jay Leno's signature bits on The Tonight Show was "Headlines" in which Jay would read real headlines from local papers -- always with some bizarre or inappropriate typos. It was a hit and spawned a number of book spinoffs. https://youtu.be/L-xm_zjXFMw?si=ePezelqI_O89TRts

Jay Leno is a workhorse -- he doesn't seem comfortable unless he has several projects in the fire. After he retired from The Tonight Show, one of those irons involved his love of old cars (he has a huge collection). This episode of Jay Leno's Garage featured Martha Steward reminiscing about her old Edsel station wagon. https://youtu.be/KaGqElpspm0?si=G2tosPABBwNoLmGE

 

Bob Hope and Bing Crosby ”Road Movies”

Bob Hope and Bing Crosby were both Hollywood icons, but when they teamed up to do a series of irreverent "buddy" comedies, they created another Legend -- the "Road To. . ." series. The plots were thin -- mostly an excuse to have Bob and Bing team up to break the 4th wall, unroll loads of snarky adlibs, and create some classic physical shtick. With Dorothy Lamour along for the ride, the films were a hit, and an template for decades of "buddy" pictures to follow. As always, find extra cuts below and thanks for sharing our shows!

Want more Bob and Bing?

For most of the Road movies, the lead female role was played by the great Dorothy Lamour. Here are Bob, Bing, and Dorothy in a scene from Road to Rio. https://youtu.be/gTEvHqkQZ3c

An enduring bit of physical shtick from the Road movies is "patty cake" in which Bob and Bing find an excuse to play the children's game -- starting a faux fist fight in the process and escaping whatever peril they were in. https://youtu.be/LQ-HhecZqjE

Bob and Bing were gleeful violators of the old acting code that you never "break the 4th Wall" -- meaning you don't talk to the audience. Here's a fun supercut of some of their best "4th Wall" offenses from The Road to Bali. https://youtu.be/uFOKJzKt3Iw

Tina Fey

Whether Tina Fey is selected to follow Lorne Michaels as SNL honcho or not, her legendary status is more than secure, including a long-running stint as SNL head writer and Weekend Update anchor. But there is so much more to Tina, including work at The Second City, starring in and producing award winning hit sitcoms (30 Rock and Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt), and teaming up with Amy Poehler to make an unbeatable awards show hosting duo. Add to that a Mark Twain Prize for American Humor and shelves full of Emmy and Golden Globe awards and you've got yourself a legendary career right there!

Want more Tina?

Tina was SNL's first female head writer, and when she was added as Weekend Update anchor her star became even brighter. Here is some of Tina's best from the anchor desk. https://youtu.be/l3vAVhaIEIk

After leaving SNL, Tina developed and starred in the hit comedy 30 Rock, about the backstage antics at a show that looked a lot like SNL. As Producer Liz Lemon, she held it all together -- plus dropped in some snarky one liners of her own. https://youtu.be/9dYW_m5I074

When Tina and Amy Poehler signed on to host the Golden Globes they were seen as a safer choice than long-time host Ricky Gervais. Ha! They threw down with the best of them -- here is some of their best.https://youtu.be/Sy6CfQCiBUk