Laugh Tracks Legends of Comedy with Randy and Steve

Martin Mull

Meet Martin Mull, actor, writer, musician, and purveyor of sly snark for over 50 years. Martin started out in life wanting to be a painter. He succeeded, but lucky for us he also took a long detour into comedy. From his earliest musical comedy albums, to his breakout roles in "Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman" and "Fernwood Tonight" to his classic "HIstory of White People in America", Mull always turned a sharp eye onto American schlock. As always, find extra cuts in the comments at laughtracksradio.com and thanks for sharing our shows!

Garfunkel and Oates

Art Garfunkel and John Oates seem destined to live in the shadows of Paul Simon and Daryl Hall, but Riki Lindholme and Kate Miccuci -- known to comedy fans as "Garfunkel and Oates" -- are well on their way to building a legendary comedy career. This dynamic duo blends upbeat music and superb vocals with gleefully snarky and profane lyrics that nail what it's like to be young and navigating a big city. As always, find additional cuts in the comments at laughtracksradio.com and thanks for sharing our shows!

Lord Buckley

Put the espresso on and grab your shades and beret -- this week we are going back to the beat era and the coolest cat of all, Lord Buckley. His unique style blending hipster word play, jazz inflected music, and cosmic retellings of classic stories would be groundbreaking today, much less in the 1940s and 50s. From recasting Jesus as a hipster ("The Nazz") to a surreal appearance with Groucho on "You Bet Your Life," Lord Buckley always left a smile and a playful sense of "just what exactly WAS that?" As always, find extra cuts in the comments at laughtracksradio.com and thanks for sharing our shows!

Steve Allen

Say "Hi Ho Steverino" to Steve Allen, comedian, writer, compser, and creator of the OG of late night talk shows -- "Tonight" -- way back in 1954. Through several talk shows, 8000 musical compositions, over 50 books, and a Peabody-award winning PBS show ("Meeting of Minds"), Steve was a thinking person's comic and one of the earliest inductees into the Television Hall of Fame. As always find extra cuts in the comments at laughtracksradio.com and thanks for sharing our shows!

Johnny Yune

Meet Johnny Yune, godfather of Korean stand-up comedy in this miniprogram. The name may not ring an immediate bell, but if you watched the Tonight Show in the late 70s and early 1980s, caught any of a number of variety shows from that era, or had a thing for Kung Fu parody flicks, you know his comedy. An extended first set on the Tonight Show back in 1979 (Charlton Heston was late!) was Yune's big break and he made the most of it, eventually hosting his own Americanized talk show in Korea and a local talk fest in LA. As always find extended cuts in the comments at laughtrackscomedy.com and thanks for sharing our shows!

Homer & Jethro

Henry "Homer" Haynes and Kenneth "Jethro" Burns ruled the country comedy world for decades with parody versions of hit songs (paging "Weird Al") and a stage act that showcased their superb musicianship as well as their comedy chops. An early takedown of Johnny Horton's "Battle of New Orleans" called "The Battle of Kookamonga" topped the Billboard charts, won a Grammy award, and remains a favorite on the Dr. Demento radio show. From there, Homer & Jethro went on to variety shows and the nightclub circuit, eventually being inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame. As always, find additional cuts in the comments at laughtracksradio.com and thanks for sharing our shows.

Orson Welles

This time out we have a masterpiece of "found comedy" courtesy of film icon and gloriously overstuffed ego Orson Welles. Welles' place in the comedy pantheon was secured by material he never released -- outtakes from different commercial recording sessions (which he had undertaken to replenish his perpetually depleted funds). Leaked by long-suffering crews, these audio gems were passed around among aficionados but thanks to the internet Orson's rants are now part of the permanent record. As always, find extended cuts in the comments at laughtracksradio.com and thanks for sharing our shows.

 

Dana Carvey

Meet Dana Carvey, master of standup comedy and impressions, and a stalwart of one of Saturday Night Live's best casts. From his youthful win at the San Francisco International Standup Comedy Competiton, to his long run at SNL, to a late career return to the standup stage, Dana has charmed audiences with his impish wit. And his razor sharp takes on everyone from dim Austrian weightlifters to a cable access second banana to a rather scoldy church lady continue to earn big laughs today. As always, find extended cuts in the comments at laughtracksradio.com and thanks for sharing our shows!

Burns and Schreiber

Jack Burns and Avery Schreiber, better known as Burns and Schreiber were mainstays of tv and nightclub comedy throughout the 1970s with an act that drew from their Second City training to create memorable and hilarious sketches. Their best known bit, which they updated frequently, had Jack's annoying conventioneer climb into Avery's cab, commenting on everything and anything along the way. Both men also had very visible post-team careers including Jack's run as producer of ABC's Fridays and Avery's crunchy run as the spokesperson for Doritos! As always find extended cuts in the comments at laughtrackscomedy.com and thanks for sharing our shows!

Mitch Hedberg

Mix surreal and offbeat one liners with an indelible stage presence and you get Mitch Hedberg, an icon of alternative comedy. Mitch's cadence was low-key and jazzlike while his subject matter took on the absurdities of everyday live. The result was like bringing the best Far Side cartoons to life. As always, find extended cuts in the comments at laughtracksradio.com and thanks for sharing our shows!