Remembering Dennis Wolfberg

August 8, 2009 2:11 AM

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 (26 comments total)

Thanks for reminding me about Mr. Wolfberg. He was a favorite of mine when I was a kid.
posted by Optamystic at 2:34 AM on August 8, 2009

Jesus! I saw the sigmoidoscope clip years ago and I've always remembered it and never been able to track it down. Thanks so much for the clips, he's every bit as wonderful as I remember.
posted by milkwood at 2:41 AM on August 8, 2009

I love that sigmoidoscope bit. Very nice to draw some new attention to Mr. Wolfberg's work. I remember him fondly from the early days of the Comedy Network.
posted by Joey Michaels at 3:07 AM on August 8, 2009

Wolfberg was awesome.

The sigmoidoscopy bit had me laughing so hard my sides hurt. The man was a genius with inflection.
posted by bwg at 3:39 AM on August 8, 2009

JHarris: …roughly fifteen years BCM (Before Carlos Mencia)…

This is an interesting benchmark for placing dates, but I would recommend choosing a more cheerful, positive baseline for events. Like, say, BCWTOBTH (Before Comedy Was Taken Over By Talentless Hacks) or BNWDUA (Before Nuclear Winter Devoured Us All).
posted by koeselitz at 5:16 AM on August 8, 2009 [2 favorites]

Great post! Thank you, it brought back many good memories. Nice use of the nuclearlaxative tag as well :)
posted by HappyHippo at 5:38 AM on August 8, 2009

You'd think with networks trying to cut costs, shows like Standup Standup and Short Attention Span Theater would make a comeback. I sure hope so.
posted by Stylus Happenstance at 5:59 AM on August 8, 2009 [3 favorites]

You'd think with networks trying to cut costs, shows like Standup Standup and Short Attention Span Theater would make a comeback. I sure hope so.

This, please. I heart the Dennis Wolfberg and Steven Wright clips from days of yore ...
posted by tilde at 6:16 AM on August 8, 2009 [1 favorite]

We didn't have cable but I caught his act on Comic Strip Live many a late Saturday night
posted by Mick at 6:58 AM on August 8, 2009

Thanks for the post, JHarris, every day should begin with some belly laughs. Wolfberg was one of my favorites ... saw him live once and he was utterly hilarious.
posted by madamjujujive at 7:08 AM on August 8, 2009

In honor of this post, I'm going to type all my comments today with unexpected italics.
posted by Horace Rumpole at 8:35 AM on August 8, 2009 [3 favorites]

There were giants that walked the earth in those days, with the Chrysler Building inside of them.
posted by Halloween Jack at 9:20 AM on August 8, 2009 [1 favorite]

His description of child birth is simultaneously hilarious and frighteningly true.
posted by tommasz at 9:25 AM on August 8, 2009

His description of child birth is simultaneously hilarious and frighteningly true.

Likewise his description of the effects of FiberOne. I nearly spit my coffee out all over my keyboard. That was awesome. Thanks, JHarris.
posted by philotes at 9:46 AM on August 8, 2009

I've never heard of this guy but damn is he hilarious.
posted by exhilaration at 10:20 AM on August 8, 2009

I'd forgotten he'd died so early. I do think that he had the best eyebrows of any comedian I've ever seen.



this is fun!
posted by Spatch at 10:50 AM on August 8, 2009 [1 favorite]

Ah yes I remember him, thanks for the links. Great great routines.
posted by vito90 at 10:53 AM on August 8, 2009

Holy crow! I remember a lot of this stand-up from when I was a kid, but I had no idea what had ever become of Mr. Wolfberg. I'm kinda sad now. Thanks for the post.
posted by Amanojaku at 11:14 AM on August 8, 2009

Thanks for the post. I must have watched that special fifty times when I was a kid.
posted by Bookhouse at 4:27 PM on August 8, 2009

I forgot all about this guy *eyeball*
posted by DU at 5:20 PM on August 8, 2009

THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU!
posted by liza at 6:11 PM on August 8, 2009

If there were real justice in the world, people would propagate a Dennis Wolfberg meme, exactly like unnecessary italics. (But it would mean nothing from me, because I overuse italics already.)

koeselitz: "This is an interesting benchmark for placing dates, but I would recommend choosing a more cheerful, positive baseline for events. Like, say, BCWTOBTH (Before Comedy Was Taken Over By Talentless Hacks) or BNWDUA (Before Nuclear Winter Devoured Us All)."

I agree completely. The day Mencia somehow became popular was the day that hell began to bubble up and cover the earth. To steal a reference from another fixture of Comedy Central's early days.
posted by JHarris at 6:16 PM on August 8, 2009

Hands down my favorite comic. I remember, vividly, the feeling of knowing that I'd be laughing soon when his name wasw announced. I also remember him passing and the sadness I felt afterward. Thank you so much for this post, JHarris.
posted by Hypnotic Chick at 6:22 PM on August 8, 2009

To this day, I can't hear Penn Gilette's voice without thinking of his voiceover gig during the early days of Comedy Central.
posted by dr_dank at 10:10 PM on August 8, 2009 [1 favorite]

"NEXT UP it's Short Attention Span Theater at 8:30,

followed by Stand Up Stand Up with Wally Collins at 9,

Alan King Inside the Comedy Mind at 9:30,

Dr. Katz, Professional Therapist at 10,

Bob & Margaret at 10:30,

and then it's (undertone) Mystery Science Theater 3000 at 11,

all this HERE-- at Comedy Central!"

Uh....

Ditto dr_dank. I really miss the channel from those days. I wouldn't trade the modern Daily Show or Colbert Report for the world, and South Park is still usually excellent (arguably it's better than the early days). I used to bemoan the constant flux of stand up comedians, and it's true that many of them were forgettable, but Dennis Wolfberg made up for a lot. And then, of course, there was Mystery Science Theater 3000....
posted by JHarris at 1:44 AM on August 9, 2009 [1 favorite]

What a fantastic post! I was just thinking about Mr. Wolfberg recently myself. I confess that I've appropriated his descriptor "The Grim Reaper of x" on a number of occasions.

I always enjoyed his appearances on Quantum Leap, too, brief though they may have been.
posted by MrBadExample at 2:33 PM on August 9, 2009 [1 favorite]