Vancouver comedian Guy Earle and the restaurant he was performing at were fined a combined C$22,500 by the British Columbia Human Rights Tribunal after a 2007 incident where Earle mocked a member of the audience. [more inside]
posted by inturnaround on Apr 25, 2011 - 190 comments

A 1989 NYU student film (shot by Judah Friedlander) asks "Who is Chris Rock?" (via)
posted by Horace Rumpole on Apr 19, 2010 - 17 comments

Comedian and activist, Mark Thomas, has been touring the UK over the past year, compiling a set of policies that his audiences want to see implemented in Britain. As part of the publicity for the resulting book, The People's Manifesto, his publishers are offering to pay one lucky applicant's £500 deposit and campaign expenses to stand for public office at the upcoming general election, on the condition that they will base their campaign on the policies gathered in the book. [more inside]
posted by idiomatika on Feb 9, 2010 - 35 comments

Russell Brand talks to Dawn French about comedy, revealing a peculiar and compelling intelligence apparently gleaned from TV and substance abuse. Part 1, 2, 3, 4 [YT]
posted by mhjb on Nov 5, 2009 - 14 comments

Dennis Wolfberg was one of the most distinctive voices (literally) from the stand-up comedy boom of the early 90s. A former schoolteacher, he became a fixture on the fledgling network Comedy Central roughly fifteen years BCM (Before Carlos Mencia). His vocal style and inflections had a way of selling the most outlandish comparisons. He was a guest on both Letterman and Carson, and had guest-starred as Gooshie on Quantum Leap on multiple occasions until he tragically died from cancer in 1994. Some of his most memorable routines were his experience with Fiber One cereal and encounter with a sigmoidoscope,, his wife's pregnancy and his twins' Bris. His HBO special is available in its entirety on YouTube: part 1 - part 2 - part 3 (most of part 3 linked above).
posted by JHarris on Aug 8, 2009 - 26 comments

Virtual Vaudeville [shockwave] Watch a 3D simulation of legendary comedian Frank Bush in a vaudeville performance from a variety of perspectives. Switch between any of eight perspectives at any time and read the extensive hypermedia notes to gain a richer understanding of the performance in its historical context.
posted by tellurian on Sep 4, 2008 - 11 comments

The Chicago Sun-Times reports that Bernie Mac has died. Bernie Mac most recently seen at a Obam campaign event and King of Comedy has died at 50-years old. Known for his tv show based on his own life as caretaker of his sister's kids. .
posted by Duck_Lips on Aug 9, 2008 - 134 comments

Jerry Clower (Wikipedia article) started telling his funny stories to boost sales when he was a seed and fertilizer salesman. He went on to become a successful comedian and Grand Ole Opry star. [more inside]
posted by Daddy-O on Aug 7, 2008 - 16 comments

Charlie Chaplin Filter. [more inside]
posted by miss lynnster on May 26, 2008 - 22 comments

Thirty years of George Carlin specials. (Yep, NSFW. Duh.) [more inside]
posted by miss lynnster on Nov 12, 2007 - 49 comments

A recording of stand-up comedian Daniel Kitson's Edinburgh show from 2004, about dancing and other things. (4-part audio (click next), can also download from the podcast feed on this page, has rude words so possibly NSFW, funny)
posted by Ira.metafilter on Jul 12, 2007 - 8 comments

Comedian Mitch Hedberg died two years ago this Thursday. On March 29, see if a local deli will severely ruin their reputation as a tribute to his memory.
posted by myopicman on Mar 26, 2007 - 50 comments

Lost in translation. British Comedian Stewart Lee explores comedy in Germany and finds it stymied by the peculiarities of language and sentence construction. Mark Liberman at Language Log disagrees. And an extended essay by Josh Schonwald explores in greater depth how the German comedy scene is transitioning (PDF) from the more traditional kabernett to a burgeoning stand-up comedy scene, which is characterized by one observer as being in "the Bob Hope phase of comedy."
posted by madamjujujive on May 26, 2006 - 72 comments

Mitch Hedberg is said to have died of an apparent heroin overdose (Howard Stern confirms). Mitch was a fantastic comedian, and it's sad to think that he won't get the attention he deserved because he shares a death day with someone else. You can hear clips from his CDs Mitch All Together and Strategic Grill Locations on Amazon. (Previous MeFi thread on Mr. Hedberg)
posted by revgeorge on Mar 31, 2005 - 127 comments

Has it been 20 years already? "Andy himself stated that were he to fake his death, he would return 20 years later to the day. MAY 16TH 2004 IS THAT DAY."
posted by ric on May 9, 2004 - 24 comments

A very good tribute from the Guardian regarding the life and legacy of philosopher-comedian Bill Hicks.

It is compelling and significant that the final words on Hicks's last record, Rant In E-Minor, are a prayer: "Lift me up out of this illusion, Lord. Heal my perception, so that I may know only reality."
posted by moonbird on Feb 16, 2004 - 93 comments

Give It Up For The Axis Of Evil Tour Ahmed Ahmed travels a lot. Just the other day, says the heavily bearded Egyptian, he was at the airport. An older couple waiting for a flight came over and asked him where he was headed. "I told them, 'I have a one-way ticket to Paradise,' " he says. Pause for laughter. Yup, he says, airports are tough for him right now. They are for everyone, he adds. Nobody likes having to get there an extra hour early or being delayed by all the extra security. But just to make sure, he says, "I get there a month and a half early."
posted by turbanhead on Feb 21, 2003 - 18 comments

With the weighty world events, many of us are in dire need of a little levity. A double dose of comedienne Wanda Sykes and her prank calls might just do the trick...here are two audio clips -- Conjugal Visits and Tow Yard Complaint -- both are quite amusing, but not certainly NSFW. More info on Wanda. courtesy of Davezilla.
posted by madamjujujive on Feb 15, 2003 - 16 comments

Rodney Dangerfield Suffers Heart Attack: As this article illustrates, the man is a national treasure - here's hoping he makes a swift recovery.
posted by ryanshepard on Nov 25, 2001 - 10 comments

Tonight, I found a bevy of Bill Hicks mp3s. God, he was hilarious. He was more a truth-teller than a comedian. Luckily, there's still people out there that dig him too, including the great site at BillHicks.com. Among the many cool things at that site is a huge archive of audio clips of his standup and interviews.
posted by mathowie on Nov 19, 1999 - 0 comments