Great Comedians Never Discussed On This Forum

[Boing]

Has Emo split with Rod Hull then?
Shit,OBVIOUSLY,as Rod died fucking about with aerials about eight years ago.

[Bert Thung]

Bill Forsythe movies again. Gregory's 2 Girls must be the sequel with the least in common with it's original film. It's like it was directed by Jeremy Hardy. And can you get That Sinking Feeling on DVD?

EDIT - Started a seperate thread on Bill Forsythe here

http://www.cookdandbombd.co.uk/forums/index.php?topic=11437

[Garam]

I'm sure there's a Chappelle thread somewhere. Great comedian, anyway. When I first saw Chappelle's Show I thought he might get too successful and turn shit, but he had a panic attack and left for Africa, much to most of USA's chagrin and my delight. Apart from the 'tramp on the tram' anecdote, his last stand up 'Life is Worth is Losing' was hilarious.

I even quite like Half-Baked.

[Boing]

Funnily enough, I was going to mention Chris Rock in this thread. His stand-up is fantastic; even his first HBO show (an extra on the Never Scared DVD) has some cracking material. I find it interesting that he only tours once every few years - he must take time to make sure that each show is spot on.

"Mom, can we have some Big Ass Beans?"
"Sure! Have you got some Big Ass Money?"

Is Chris Rock the fat guy who pretends to be John Candy in shit movies?Fat guy,long hair,not funny?

IMDB.Forget it.

[Marty McFly]

you're thinking of chris farley.

..tossed salad, anyone?

[DanielFredBest]

I can't really think. And that doesn't help much when I'm trying to come up with obscure comedians. However, it was quite strange a thing to have found there is a DVD of Kevin Smith doing stand up. That means something important if you liked the Jay and Silent Bob movie, or Dogma. I am quite sad and so i like listening to DVD commentaries and some of Kevins proved to be quite funny. Do we talk much about David Baddiel? His, "You've got a haircut. Haircut! Haircut!" amused many a youth, years ago.

[Boing]

you're thinking of chris farley.quote]
Yeah,I IMDB'd Chris Rock,got a bit baffled,then realized fat man I'm thinking of was on Channel5 right then.IMDB'd Hollywood Ninja,hey presto,unfunny John Candy wannabe Chris Farley.John Belushi wannabe actually,as he was found one day in his underwear purple and dead from drugs.Ah well.
Spookily,Chris Rock plays a character called Joey in Beverly Hills Ninja.And the world keeps turning.

[Orias]

What about PROPER comedians like Jethro and Joe Pasquale?

You are Gary Bushell AICM5P.

[lipsink]

So what stuff of Alan Bennett would anyone recommend.? I've heard people compare his work to the draker tragedy elements of One Foot In The Grave. I'd really be interested in that.

[grundie]

No one ever mentions Kevin McAleer. No one does deadpan like he does.

"I went out for walk one night with lots of questions in my head, Who am I?, Where am I going?. Then an army jeep pulls up and the I discover the soldiers inside are asking all the same questions"

[purlieu]

So what stuff of Alan Bennett would anyone recommend.? I've heard people compare his work to the draker tragedy elements of One Foot In The Grave. I'd really be interested in that.

I only know his Talking Heads stuff, but both series are great, the first one moreso.


I know he's gone a bit shit, but I'm always surprised at how little Eddie Izzard gets mentioned around here.

[benthalo]

The absence of Alan Bennett is always a bit surprising. I read both sets of diaries last year which revived my interest, so he's always in my mind. His stage work tends to be more serious. The History Boys, for instance, is fairly pained. Actually, for my sins, I didn't come here and plug the Radio 3 broadcast a few months ago. But it was stunning.

Odd that people should mention Emo Phillips, as only the other day I watched his London Playhouse show filmed by Channel 4 in 1990. I never tire of him, and the 2001 comeback was pretty special. The whole school routine is a joy, with the teacher slowly explaining arithmetic. "Now what is our common denominator, Emo?" "A fondness for little girls?" His punchlines always go in a surprising direction, or arrive far earlier than expected.

Kevin McAleer. His stuff's very hard to come by, although I have got a Loose Ends appearance from 2003 knocking about. It'll take a bit of hunting out I fear.

How often does Ted Chippington get discussed? Not enough. There's a box set due fairly soon, so then we'll have no excuse.

[Catalogue Trousers]

Mike Harding, as I've said before. Oh, and The Crazy Gang.

[biniput]

The Crazy Gang

Now then, THIS is a group who have been influential in british comedy.  These really should be discussed in any way at all considering the words spent on here over people we are supposed to hate.  Have SOTCAA anything to go on?
Have heard that they influenced quite a few.  Surely some one here could elaborate on them somewhat.  Have never really seen anything anywhere on them?  why is this?

[Catalogue Trousers]

There's a rather nice introduction to some of their work here:

http://www.screenonline.org.uk/people/id/474070/index.html

It's certainly possible to see the Gang's influence on a lot of subsequent comedy - The Goons, "Professor" Bruce Lacey and The Alberts, and doubtless a good many more. They were definitely comedy pioneers in a lot of ways, and if anyone can supply more in-depth appreciation - SOTCAA or whoever - then I for one would be very grateful...

Edited to add:

Also, go here -

http://tv.cream.org/

- click on the "TV Cream Films" icon, then scroll down the resulting page till you find "Extreme Detail", and there's a lovely in-depth appreciation of The Gang's version of Alf's Button Afloat...

[Partridge's Love Child]

Still, whatever happened to Emo Phillips?

He did a comeback circa 2001, with short hair and glasses.[/quote]

During his 'missing' years, he's been producing films - most notably 'Meet The Parents'.[/quote]

I saw him at the Edinburgh festival that year, and it was probably the funniest thing I saw for the whole fortnight I was there.  However, what with his newer look and the fact that he'd filled out physically a little (not fat, just looked healthy instead of weedy) I thought that all the twisty armed physicality of his act was moribund.  The jokes were right on the money, though.

[another Mr. Lizard]

How often does Ted Chippington get discussed? Not enough. There's a box set due fairly soon, so then we'll have no excuse.

Idly leafing through this thread, I was all set to mention Ted as my own favourite 'comic no-one ever talks about', until I found you'd beaten me to it, bh.

There's a box set due? Really? I've got the 'Man In A Suitcase' album, the 'Non Stop Party Hits of the 50s, 60s and 70s' 7" and the Vindaloo stuff he did with the Nightingales and Fuzzbox, but didn't know there was much more out there.

I also recently discovered that I do a rather good impersonation of the man...

[humanleech]

Odd that people should mention Emo Phillips, as only the other day I watched his London Playhouse show filmed by Channel 4 in 1990.

And how exactly does one come by such an item, sir?

[benthalo]

There's a box set due? Really?

Well, Robert Lloyd of The Nightingales was interviewed on 6Music last year and mentioned that a multi-disc Chippington set is in the works. I can only imagine that it features a wealth of unreleased. I'm sure it was a Cherry Red thingy, but that could be the bollocks of memory.

[Ballad of Ballard Berkley]

I know I'm back-tracking a bit, but I really do think that Billy Connolly is the most consistently funny stand-up of 'em all. Now, I know he's been very patchy, ooh, for the last ten years, but up to and including his 1994 special, he made me laugh - proper, unforced laughter, mind - more than any other comedian around. His "An Audience With..." is absolutely impeccable. Effortlessly hilarious stuff.

I understand that people dislike him for fannying about with the Royals and dying his beard purple and turning up on Lotto adverts, but what really has that got to do with his comedy? He's an absolute master, and even people who don't find him particularly funny (and this is possible?) must surely agree that he is a great performer, verbally and physically. Non?

Very few comedies/comedians actually make me laugh out loud, but Connolly never fails. I mean, I bought the Day Today DVD recently, and while I still think it's a work of genius (a word I use with caution) it didn't make me laugh like Connolly does. So there.

Surely, I'm not alone?

Oh, and what about Jerry Lewis? So much more than the American Norman Wisdom, dontcha know...  

"Did Jesus Play for Tottenham Hotspur, Daddy?"
"And d'youknow, in a funny way he did..."

[smid]

Always controversial, how about Benny Hill...

Everybody seems to remember his dull period towards the end of his career, but he was quite a wordsmith in the early days and it wasn't all about slapping of heads and speedied up women chasing him. Ok, not as much as that period...

How about George Carlin.

Jasper Carrott?

Craig Ferguson?

Sean Hughes?

[Ignatius_S]

Emo producd the original version of Meet The Parents... Universal bought the rights just so they could shelve it and launch a starrier more upbeat remake.

A couple of my friends chatted to Emo backstage after one of his gigs (must have been on the 2001 tour) -  he told them that he did a lot of work on a script for Universal. Rather foolishly, he didn't work for any upfront cash but a share of the film's net profits instead - he's yet to see a penny.

Always controversial, how about Benny Hill...

The only really early stuff I've seen was a fake documentary about a juvenile delinquent that he made for a BBC Christmas special. Hill played all the parts (except for the narrator) and I was knocked out by it at the time.

How about George Carlin.

There is a Carlin thread but it's been a bit quite since his last special.

Craig Ferguson?

Never a fan, but I was in the States last month and was rather surprised to see that Ferguson has a network late-night chatshow.

Oh, and what about Jerry Lewis? So much more than the American Norman Wisdom, dontcha know...

I do enjoy listening to the Martin and Lewis radio shows but always found Lewis too  much on his own. In terms of his solo work, there's the odd flash of fantastic inspiration but not just enough!


Bob and Ray anyone?

[Ballad of Ballard Berkley]

I agree that solo Lewis is veeeeeeeeeerry patchy, and often over-reaching and self-idulgent (which I guess is what happens when you'er an insanely wealthy  egotist who produces/directs/writes and stars in your own movies), but The Nutty Professor, his most consistent film, is a wonderful, inspired, and - for a mainstream family comedy - very odd and daring piece of work. It looks beautiful too, as do all of his colour self-directed movies - awash with proto-psychedelic primary colours, they're like living cartoons (something Lewis' mentor Frank Tashlin was explicitly attempting to make with films like It's Only Money and so on).

If anyone's uncovinced of Lewis' artistry, then you could do worse than getting hold of The Bellboy, The Ladies Man, It's Only Money, Who's Minding the Store, The Errand Boy and The Patsy (and TNP, obviously) - all patchy, often unfunny, but sporadically dazzling.    

As for Craig Ferguson - I used to have a Bing Hitler concert on tape from the 80's, and remember thinking it was hilarious. But I used to think that about Phil Cool too.

And whatever happened to Steven Wright? I saw him turn up in the Aristocrats recently, but apart from that he seems to have disappeared off the planet. A brilliant, brilliant comic.

[Felatio Imperative]

Warren Mitchell as Alf Garnett is always overlooked. No prizes for guessing why. His performance was one of the best I've ever seen in comedy, so it's not really surprising that people couldn't, and still can't, make the distinction between satirical bigotry and the real thing.
Ditto Johnny Speight, the socialist working class writer turned professional Tory supporting racist.

[another Mr. Lizard]

If anyone's uncovinced of Lewis' artistry, then you could do worse than getting hold of The Bellboy, The Ladies Man, It's Only Money, Who's Minding the Store, The Errand Boy and The Patsy (and TNP, obviously) - all patchy, often unfunny, but sporadically dazzling.    

You've missed out my favourite Lewis film there, BoBB - can I add 'The Disorderly Orderly' to the recommendations?

[sproggy]

And whatever happened to Steven Wright? I saw him turn up in the Aristocrats recently, but apart from that he seems to have disappeared off the planet. A brilliant, brilliant comic.

Coffee and Cigarettes "Strange to meet you"

He was the only reason I watched it and the only reason I didn't completely regret it.

[Ballad of Ballard Berkley]

And whatever happened to Steven Wright? I saw him turn up in the Aristocrats recently, but apart from that he seems to have disappeared off the planet. A brilliant, brilliant comic.

Coffee and Cigarettes "Strange to meet you"

He was the only reason I watched it and the only reason I didn't completely regret it.

Ah yes, I forgot he was in that. With Roberto Benigni. I actually watched that just for Tom Waits (who was great), not realising that Wright was in it.

And yes, Mr Lizard, TDO should indeed be added to the list of Lewis classics. Bit too sentimental (and with the played-straight sub-plot about the suicidal object of  Lewis' affections - downright weird and misjudged) in places, but I s'pose you could say that about most of his films.

Anyone here a fan of Abbott & Costello? Must be some of you out there...

[humanleech]

I was in the park today, and I saw this old woman digging for food through a garbage can. Now I don't know about you people, but I have a lot of love for old women going through  garbage cans. They saved my lie so many times as a baby.

[another Mr. Lizard]

Anyone here a fan of Abbott & Costello? Must be some of you out there...

Yeah - as a big fan of vintage horror films, I really like a lot of their 'Abbott & Costello Meet..." series. Plus of course there's the mighty 'Who's On First?', and their less-well-known but equally brilliant 'The Susquehanna Hat Company' sketch. Very patchy output, but the best of their stuff is amazingly good.

[Ignatius_S]

I agree that solo Lewis is veeeeeeeeeerry patchy, and often over-reaching and self-idulgent (which I guess is what happens when you'er an insanely wealthy  egotist who produces/directs/writes and stars in your own movies), but The Nutty Professor, his most consistent film...

No complaints with The Nutty Professor - I also think it's all too easy to forget just how how commercially successful his solo films were and his technical innovation/influence.  Plus he's put in some sterling performances in his later years.

For me, Lewis' insistence on playing fundamentally the same character seriously hampered his artistic progression - but if you've got that causing that much box office action, why change a winning formula?

Yer absolutely right in your comments about Tashlin's influence. Sadly, according to one Lewis biog (Shawn Levy's) Tashlin's career petered out due to his connection to Lewis.