Comedy History 101

Harmon Leon

Harmon Leon and Scott Calonico dive into the history of comedy; bringing podcast listeners some of their favorite comedy influences, cult classics, and all things comedy history.

  • 1 hour 1 minute
    CH101 Select: Kliph Nesteroff: A History of Showbiz and the Culture Wars

    CH101 Select: Kliph Nesteroff is one of the leading comedy historians and the author of the new book: Outrageous: A History of Showbiz and the Culture Wars.


    And we talk about his book, censorship in comedy, how every generation declares that "comedy is over" - and how the old guard often refuses to accept culture shifts in the comedy biz.

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    15 November 2024, 2:03 pm
  • 50 minutes 34 seconds
    The Grateful Dead Counterfeiter

    A teenage hustler makes his living selling counterfeit tickets at Grateful Dead shows, hawking his fakes on every Shakedown Street around the country.


    A cat-and-mouse game ensues between Steven Marcus - the head of Grateful Dead ticketing and this teenage counterfeiter, which comes to a head at a Madison Square Garden Dead show.


    But as the heat turns up - an unexpected tragedy puts an end to the game for both of them.


    CH101's first audio documentary.

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    31 October 2024, 1:00 pm
  • 1 minute 16 seconds
    Trailer: The Grateful Dead Counterfeiter

    Trailer For Our Upcoming Audio Documentary: The Grateful Dead Counterfeiter


    A teenage hustler makes his living selling counterfeit tickets at Grateful Dead shows. A cat-and-mouse game ensues between the head of Grateful Dead ticketing and this teenage counterfeiter. But as the heat turns up - an unexpected tragedy puts an end to the game for both of them.


    Dropping this week on iTunes & comedyhistory101.com

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    29 October 2024, 6:12 pm
  • 42 minutes 51 seconds
    The Mary Tyler Moore Show's Trailblazing Sitcom Writer Susan Silver

    Susan Silver is a trailblazer in the world of sitcom writing. She began her career on The Mary Tyler Moore Show—during an era when comedy writing was overwhelmingly dominated by men. Starting as a casting director on the iconic show Laugh-In, she went on to write for The Bob Newhart Show, Maude, The Partridge Family, and Square Pegs.


    Like a showbiz Zelig, Susan’s path has crossed with icons such as Elvis, Jim Morrison, Lenny Bruce, and Clint Eastwood.


    Susan is also the author of Hot Pants in Hollywood, and we deep dive into her comedy history.

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    23 October 2024, 1:00 pm
  • 1 hour 11 minutes
    The Comedy Store w/ Joey Camen

    Joey Camen is a Comedy Store OG. He first started performing at the iconic club in Los Angeles in 1974, alongside such up-and-coming comedians as David Letterman, Sam Kinison, Jay Leno, Jim Carrey – and the legendary Richard Pryor.


    Joey has appeared on WTF and is also a renowned voice actor who got his start as one of The Smurfs. We dive into his voice work, Comedy Store history, and his Nov 9th solo show at United Solo in NYC.

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    15 October 2024, 1:12 pm
  • 57 minutes 27 seconds
    Paul Bellini & Kids in the Hall

    Paul Bellini is noted as being the unofficial 6th Kids in the Hall, alongside Dave Foley, Bruce McCulloch, Kevin McDonald, Mark McKinney, and Scott Thompson.


    Paul was one of the key writers for the Kids in the Hall's TV series and is also known onscreen as 'the guy in the towel.' Paul was there from the very start, at the legendary sketch group's early Toronto shows, and he gives us a deep dive into his history of Kids in the Hall, his collaboration with Scott Thompson, and the healing power of dark, twisted comedy.

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    2 October 2024, 12:00 pm
  • 46 minutes 26 seconds
    The Golden Girls & Roseanne w/ Writer Stan Zimmerman

    Stan Zimmerman was a writer for The Golden Girls, Roseanne, Gilmore Girls, and the feature film, A Very Brady Sequel. He is also the author of the new book: The Girls: From Golden to Gilmore.


    We do a deep-dive on TV comedy writing, pitching, and what it was like working on the Russian version of Roseanne.

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    25 September 2024, 11:54 am
  • 57 minutes 25 seconds
    Arrested Development & Golden Girls w/Jim Vallely

    Jim Vallely was a writer/producer on the iconic comedy show: Arrested Development – which earned him an Emmy.

    Jim also worked on The Golden Girls, Two and a Half Men, The John Larroquette Show, and got his start on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson - with his comedy duo: The Funny Boys.

    We do a masterclass deep-dive with Jim on comedy writing, producing, and what it was like having Larry David as a neighbor.

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    16 September 2024, 12:00 pm
  • 44 minutes 24 seconds
    Grease, Airplane, Rocky Horror Picture Show w/ Casting Director Joel Thurm

    Joel Thurm was the casting director for such iconic movies as Airplane, Grease, Rocky Horror Picture Show, as well being the head of NBC casting for a solid decade. He is also the author of the new book, Sex, Drugs, and Pilot Season.

     

    We do a deep dive into casting in Hollywood, turning down Tom Cruise and Madonna, and insider stories on Taxi, David Hasselhoff, and what role Bob Hope played in getting Seinfeld on the air.

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    4 September 2024, 4:06 pm
  • 29 minutes 14 seconds
    Moms Mabley with Rhonda Hansome

    Moms Mabley bridged the gap between vaudeville and modern standup comedy. She was the first successful female standup comedian who had a career that spanned over 50 years.


    Our guest Rhonda Hansome, who has appeared on SNL, The Arsenio Hall Show, and has performed with Aretha Franklin and Diana Ross, recently portrayed Moms on stage, and we do a deep dive into the history of this iconic comedian

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    29 August 2024, 12:45 pm
  • 39 minutes 7 seconds
    Ch101 Select: The Kids in the Hall with Paul Myers

    CH101 Select: The Kids in the Hall are one of the most iconic sketch comedy groups in history. We do a deep dive into their origin story with Paul Myers - who knew KITH in their early days.


    Paul is the author of The Kids in the Hall: One Dumb Guy, the executive producer of the documentary The Kids in the Hall: Comedy Punks, as well as the brother to Mike Myers - and he gives insights into what it was like to see the group emerge onto the Toronto comedy scene.

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    21 August 2024, 4:09 pm
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