Laugh Tracks Legends of Comedy with Randy and Steve

Franklyn Ajaye

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!

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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.../...

Beavis and Butt-head

Huh-huh, huh-huh-huh. Yes, it's time to meet Beavis and Butt-head, the legendary creations of Mike Judge who went on to MTV stardom, movie hits, and several revivals by providing boneheaded stupidity and lots of it, with some rock and roll thrown in for good measure. Based on a composite of middle-school morons Judge knew, Beavis and Butt-head shocked pundits and reviewers with its crude humor, but audiences begged to differ. So get out the Winger albums -- it's time for B and B! As always, find extra clips below and thanks for sharing our shows!

Want more B&B?

This is short but fun -- Butt-head provides his all purpose verdict on music, food, people, tv, etc. that suck. https://youtu.be/UcbXCMvpmWo?si=2_20aWuoG1cEaY5n

The clear breakout star of Beavis and Butt-head was "The Great Cornholio" who appeared when Beavis had too many stimulants (candy and caffeine in his case). Here's the transformation process in action.https://youtu.be/9oPTTfNuolc?si=PLWOAsUJCUECeeWl

When Paramount rebooted Beavis and Butt-head for it's 30th Anniversary, as with most cartoons the characters were stuck in their original time frame. But not always as in this gem where a current-day B&B apply for a job with Amazon! https://youtu.be/7eU8ovtnzvw?si=FnkqxUdfoMEZctZG

Bob Rivers (Twisted Tunes)

Meet Bob Rivers, long-time Seattle morning disc jockey, Radio Hall of Fame inductee, and for our purposes most importantly the man behind Twisted Tunes! Over the course of a 40 year radio career Rivers wrote and produced hundreds of razor sharp parodies of popular hits. Part of Bob's genius was his ear for voice talent, so his AC/DC parodies really sounded like AC/DC and the Beatles bits sounded like the Beatles. After a "Twisted Christmas" album hit the charts, Bob began releasing more tunes and they grew to have their own life separate from the radio show. When he retired in 2014, he was recalled in the press as a morning host who didn't need to shock -- he just unleashed superior wit and musicianship to get his laughs. As alway, find extra clips below and thanks for sharing our shows!

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Bob was a master of stylistic satire and his take on Soundgarden's "Black Hole Sun" is parody perfection. https://youtu.be/9hNkfvW64VU?si=V5ypF_XYpQr4a-80

Bob once said he believed the OJ Simpson murder trial generated more Twisted Tunes than any other single event. This one, "OJ's Dirty Laundry" is a fine parody of Don Henley's then-big hit. https://youtu.be/As5swSslDVM?si=Mz8rc6IQf2JD9ocd

Perhaps the most popular Twisted Tune was Bob's parody of Joan Osborne's "What if God was One of Us?". https://youtu.be/wwnXsdCbUYI?si=BRxPbvGkxdxPmO46

It doesn't happen often, but even in retirement Bob still pops out a Twisted Tune and the one he did for Covid showed he'd lost nothing off his fastball! https://youtu.be/RgAbsDKHaW0?si=5TkunrGaWZ5OUv5b

Joe Piscopo

It's Ebony and Ivory, baby, and we've got the Chairman of the Board to sing it for you today! Well, ok, we actually have Joe Piscopo with his superb Frank Sinatra impression that he frequently deployed on Saturday Night Live in the early 1980s. His SNL run also included one of the most cringe inducing (in a good way) SNL characters ever -- Doug Whiner. After a few missteps along the way after SNL (bodybuilding!), Joe developed a touring act that focuses on his musical impressions and has become a long running talk radio host in New York. As always find extended cuts below and thanks for sharing our shows!

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Joe Piscopo has the misfortune to join SNL just after the original cast and Lorne Michaels had all departed. Lucky for him, Eddie Murphy was also along for the ride and they were the only two kept the next year when they became breakout stars and were featured in what is often voted one of SNL's best sketches ever -- take it away Stevie Wonder and The Chairman of the Board. https://youtu.be/U3-2Z2rmG0w?si=OTAogohQXoxAqq1K

While his mimicry made him a star, Joe stood out in other sketches, none more so than as Doug Whiner, half of "The Whiners", a couple who meet every minor problem with a gale force blast of -- well, whining! https://youtu.be/xH8yt71CDNU?si=9N7fFa3SAD4vW7Dd

Joe had always reveled in his New Jersey background -- in later talk radio incarnation he was known as "Jersey Joe". So is it any surprise that the centerpiece of his 1985 comedy album and special titled New Jersey would be another favorite son. https://youtu.be/otfMyWmkWfY?si=WQQwWhZzmDwToUSh

Sorry for the rough picture quality, but we had to throw in a little bonus this week -- an extended cut of Joe as Sinatra absolutely wrecking rock songs including Under My Thumb. You'll never hear it the Rolling Stones way again. https://youtu.be/U3-2Z2rmG0w?si=MYrFx2hnvRZVg5Ai

 

Holiday Humor

Happy Holidays from Randy and Steve! Instead of a single artist this week, we're going to dip into a little holiday comedy that will bring a smile to your face. Allan Sherman? Check! Elmo and Patsy? Check! Adam Sandler? Check! Doc Mo She (???) Check!!! You get the picture. And you also get our thanks for letting us be part of your holidays this year. As always, find extra cuts in the comments (and these are gems) and thanks for sharing our shows!

Want more Holiday Humor?

Jeff Foxworthy was a titan of standup comedy back in the 1990s and as all entertainers do, he adapted his shtick to the holidays and issued his version of the 12 Days of Christmas -- adding his "redneck" flavor to the proceedings. https://youtu.be/h8ISVIOgPJA?si=3yR6c1r-ARhM30UG

We love Allan Sherman here and one of his best parodies was his take on the 12 Days, featuring some of the cheesier gifts of the moment. https://youtu.be/DgrkqDJFQoo?si=P3dWLQc1XKLJil-T

Dave Thomas and Rick Moranis have created many fine comic characters, but none more beloved than those hosers from the Great White North, Bob and Doug McKenzie. Their take on 12 Days has a distinctly Canuck feel! https://youtu.be/c3aCw-RurOk?si=KQq8pBgYaZi0NDKW

If there was an all-time Christmas novelty tune, Elmo and Patsy's "Grandma Got Run Over By a Reindeer" would surely be in the mix. A folk duo from Marin County, Elmo and Patsy cut this tune for fun, but it soon found its way onto radio playlists -- it was different, it was funny, and it was FCC clean! For DJs that was a Christmas miracle! https://youtu.be/MgIwLeASnkw?si=x1M2atIIojTp3VKl

You don't usually associate Psychobilly/Roots wild man Mojo Nixon with Christmas tunes, but he weighed in with a naughty disc (Horny Holidays) back in 1992 and it had his great read on "Mr. Grinch"!https://youtu.be/A1YVehEGG6E?si=kFpqbEns4eQ0IQkJ

The Christmas Jug Band is made up of some of the finest Marin County musicians and they come together once a year for a few fun and popular holiday concerts. They can handle the traditional holiday tunes -- and they can deliver this, a fun little ditty about Santa losing a prized possession!!https://youtu.be/D9zli5IC6qE?si=lWtM5I_OIDYjtD4-

We always leave room for some Hanukkah humor, and it's getting easier to find each year as a new generation of Jewish humorists takes over. The absolute icon of the genre is Adam Sandler's Hanukkah Song and here it is in all its SNL glory. https://youtu.be/KX5Z-HpHH9g?si=_AwmyvJ0035RHGDK

Tom Lehrer wrote some of the best satirical songs ever, but his initial career was brief. So it was a delight for fans when his box set contained a few new tunes, including "I'm Spending Hanukkah in Santa Monica"! https://youtu.be/R_3FjHEbdhc?si=uUUf3gGxy7XF6bIs

Hanukkah Hip Hop? Of course we've got you covered! We saw a video of this years ago at a Dr. Demento lecture -- it's Doc Mo She, The Hanukkah Homeboy, letting you know what he's all about. https://youtu.be/Er8a7gOPe5Q?si=qNlRPZwWLLKIbtIj

Julia Sweeney

Saturday Night Live has always had cringeworthy characters and none moreso than Pat Riley, the androgynous, uncomfortable, and very funny creation of Julia Sweeney, this week's legend. With deep improv roots, Julia was on SNL for four years in the early 1990s, but after life dealt her a bad hand with a cancer diagnosis, she pivoted to one-woman shows, including God Said Ha! (about her medical journey) which later had a movie version produced by Quentin Tarantino. Since then, Julia has continued with one-woman shows and juicy supporting roles including as Andy Bryant's micromanaging mother. As always find extra clips below and thanks for sharing our shows.

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Julia's most famous character was the androgynous and cringe inducing Pat Riley who she created at the Groundlings Improv Company, then took to Saturday Night Live and the big screen. Here Pat interacts with another legend -- the great Catherine O'Hara -- and the results are comedy perfection. https://youtu.be/Y6PcTOKSP0A?si=5FABnp5ebnNCJBpi

Julia turned her greatest challenge -- a cancer diagnosis -- into her greatest triumph, the one-woman show God Said Ha! It's an intimate, tender, emotional, and very funny look at an often taboo topic. This snippet will give you a flavor, but the whole film is well worth your time.https://youtu.be/NcxWc6bpA-w?si=yvpfM5nKX7j7k9iG

In recent years Julia has continued with one-woman shows, but she has also taken some great character roles such as that of Aidy Bryant's nagging mom in the Hulu Original series Shrill.https://www.metacritic.com/.../season-1/episode-2-date/

 

 

 

Don Knotts

For five decades Don Knotts charmed the public from early work as an ensemble player on The Steve Allen Show to his long run as Deputy Sheriff Barney Fife on The Andy Griffith Show to more family-friendly Disney movies than you can count, Don turned his "nervous man" personal into comedy gold. Later in his career, Don found a niche in small, but juicy supporting roles on Three's Company and in movies such as Pleasantville -- and he also reunited with Andy Griffith for the Matlock series. As always find more clips below and thanks for watching our shows!

Want more Don Knotts? Don's greatest triumph came when he was cast as Deputy Sheriff Barney Fife, a lovable bumbler, in The Andy Griffith Show. Here is one of Don's all time great bits as Barney gets into an argument with Jim Nabors as Gomer Pyle. https://youtu.be/A1D78Y60gvo?si=oiL3o2wJBbWfQrqP

In the 1960s Don starred in a run of family-friendly movies including The Incredible Mr. Limpet, The Love God, The Reluctant Astronaut, and our fave -- The Ghost and Mr. Chicken. Here are some highlights of Don in that film, playing the high strung Luther Heggs. https://youtu.be/fkSk-Zz9Bno?si=HHYinseQbbAZtUdn

In 1979 Don returned as a tv series regular playing the lovable landlord Ralph Furley on the comedy hit Three's Company. https://youtu.be/NEE05Egqjlo?si=3PwAyPNpQxq7IquY

Late in his career, Don appeared in a number of juicy supporting tv and film roles including a mysterious and slightly sinister tv repairman in the comedy-drama Pleasantville.https://youtu.be/Mii7EcFsGho?si=T1UFxJ0hwBphv-3U

Rip Taylor

Grab some confetti and settle in to meet Rip Taylor -- The King of Confetti! A flamboyant slinger of "rim shot" jokes, Rip initially punctuated his act with exaggerated crying when his gags bombed. Ed Sullivan was a fan (he booked him over 20 times) and dubbed Rip "The Crying Comedian". Much later when bombing on the Merv Griffin show, instead of crying Rip was moved to tear up his joke cards and toss them in the air like confetti. The audience went nuts and from then on it was confetti instead of crying -- and a career that saw long runs in Las Vegas, many game and talk show appearances, and supporting film roles including Indecent Proposal (a rare dramatic turn) and Wayne's World (a great comedic turn). As always find more clips below and thanks for sharing our shows.

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The New York Times once described Rip as a cross between Captain Kangaroo and Liberace, wound up to warp factor 7. Pretty good description! https://youtu.be/50pFJU99wUw

Ed Sullivan gave Rip his big TV break and had him back over 20 times. Here's an early Rip performance sans mustache and with crying, not confetti, as the shtick. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2rm4g_ZGx-c

Rip was over the top, so in 1978 when producing madman Chuck Barris had an idea for another show that would do for beauty pageants what the Gong Show he tapped Rip to be the host. So back from the glory days of shlock tv -- here's a bit of the $1.98 Beauty Show! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fF7yrbl_X6E

Chevy Chase

He's Chevy Chase. . .and you're not! From early work with the National Lampoon Radio Hour to his time as the first anchor of SNL's Weekend Update, to a varied (and variable) movie career, Chevy Chase has blended snark and slapstick to the delight of fans. Films such as Fletch, National Lampoon's Vacation, and Caddyshack were box office hits while other projects such as a Fox late night show were bombs. And there were many stories of Chevy and his coworkers scrapping (sometimes literally) along the way. So fans were surprised when Chevy reemerged as Pierce Hawthorne in the NBC sitcom Community. That didn't end well either, but it was a welcome callback to the time when we all stayed up late waiting for the words "Live from New York, It's Saturday Night!" As always find extra clips below and thanks for sharing our shows!

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Chevy's tenure at Saturday Night Live was stormy, but maybe that was inevitable as he became the breakout star of the first season with his pratfall filled opens and his Weekend Update anchor gig. Here's Chevy with one of his most notorious impressions -- that of perpetually clumsy President Gerald Ford. https://youtu.be/_bvxZgCryUE?si=nYQ8kyW-I4log8Nh

Chevy's first two films were rom-coms which confused his fans who were expecting sharper edged comedy. That came in 1980 courtesy of Caddyshack, a Lampoon production that included great work from Bill Murray, Rodney Dangerfield, and Ted Knight. All together now -- Be The Ball! https://youtu.be/I3akC_INsFc?si=iY_iB8Msu6xrNUBk

Chevy pretty much fell off the radar in the early 2000s, so it was a surprise at the end of the decade when he was cast as older community college student Pierce Hawthorne in NBC's Community and gained a new generation of fans. https://youtu.be/srIhtTPUJ_g?si=DcgRiITlDt1j7Rzi

Kate McKinnon

Meet Kate McKinnon, one of Saturday Night Live's greatest "most valuable players" in this miniprogram. From early work in a college sketch troupe, to a breakout role in The Big Gay Sketch Show, Kate next made the leap to Saturday Night Live where her versatility and mimicry made her a legend. At the same time, Kate began to establish herself in movie comedies including the all-female Ghostbusters reboot and this year's smash hit Barbie in which Kate plays -- you guessed it -- "Weird Barbie". As always find extra clips below and thanks for sharing our shows!

Want more Kate?

Kate was a treat as Weird Barbie in 2023's smash Barbie movie. Here's a sample. https://youtu.be/66cMkxolaHM?si=y6mZX9IgwlJwASw3

One of Kate's standout characters from SNL was Colleen Rafferty, a woman with unusual alien encounters! https://youtu.be/OuRnPvJe7C8?si=2o1PEDqMNN7ebHOM

One of Kate's best SNL impressions was Trump advisor and "fake news" inventor Kellyanne Conway, here envisioned in a therapy session with husband George. https://youtu.be/0B96ZM3C-h4?si=rmFi9lvHGxANyC7g

Kate's versatility allowed to play both female and male roles -- such as her take on Covid guru Dr. Anthony Fauci. https://youtu.be/IqgyBN0OIns?si=A4bw-XYnxjdaqOTm

This one is delightful. Kate plays the Devil who it turns out invented podcasts. And who better as a guest on the Devil's own podcast than Alan Dershowitz! https://youtu.be/3c5neBXQwf8?si=WDS_X0KZYR2Phatt

When Paul Feig recruited an all-female cast for a Ghostbusters reboot a few years ago, a key role went to Kate who played eccentric and slightly disturbing physics specialist Dr. Jillian Holtzman -- here recounting an unfortunate lab incident. https://youtu.be/X5FgreIMIQo?si=30YyVm-kU7cpAnZX