On VineI haven’t really delved into Vine, but I quickly learned that comedian Jason Nash pretty great at it.
Whether playing an overly excited Tapas waiter or a dad that’s really into soda, he manages to convey complete characters within a few seconds.
RIPWith her wacky do, wild get ups, signature voice and jokes like “Housework can’t kill you, but why take the chance?” Phyllis Diller was pretty awesome.
While working as a mother of five, she broke huge barriers in the (still) male dominated world of comedy.
She was vibrant, honest and seemed like she’d be tons of fun to drink lots of cocktails with at some old midtown haunt.
She didn’t find fame til later in life after years of being a poor and often unfulfilled housewife. She made other wives laugh and with the encouragement of her husband took steps towards a life on stage. Quite inspirational, really.
Jimmy FallonCan’t claim to be the biggest Jimmy Fallon fan, but one of TV’s greatest theme songs plus The Doors? Pretty genius.
Plus, I pretty much live in a world of Very Hungry Caterpillars and Wockets in Pockets.
Far Side CreatorFellow getting older-ers, think of all the common daily occurrences from our not too distant pasts that have simply ceased to be:
We wrote physical hand written, intricately folded notes in class and none of us had cell phones.
We’d go to the video store, stare at the wall of horror movies and hope the slasher we wanted for our sleep over wasn’t checked out. (Otherwise it was to the new releases and What’s Eating Gilbert Grape because Dazed and Confused was out).
We not only listened to the radio, we recorded our favorite songs.. on cassette!
Phone calls on corded phones could last hours even if we had seen our friends moments ago.
Paper magazines were coveted weekly glimpses at fashion that simply couldn’t be found anywhere else..
And, if you can believe it, all people in America looked forward to getting the newspaper(!) even if it was just to read the latest Far Side.
I don’t know maybe it was a nostalgic wave of how things used to be that had me bizarrely waking up this morning with my first thoughts of Gary Larson.
I mean what happened to him? He was the one funny man everyone could agree on (before Seinfeld) but no one knew his face. And then he just retired. Not Jay-Z Tom Ford “retired” but for real.
I hope he’s living fat and happy off that one-a-day calendar money because he really made a lot of people’s days better.
from The TripFor those of you, who like me, have been dying to see the BBC show, The Trip, starring Coogan and Brydon, here’s a clip of dueling Michael Caine impersonations.
I’ve just learned that the show is being made into a movie and am thrilled (though I’d still like to find a DVD of the original series).
on Youtube and Current TVFor a guy that looks like just some kid I would have been friends with in high school, or alternatively just some kid I wouldn’t have been friends with in college, Brett Erlich is one funny guy.
You might recognize him from the better than it needed to be Rotten Tomatoes TV show, but I prefer these Viral Video Film School videos, available on youtube and on current TV.
Tackling such themes as Stunt Fails, Adorable Puppies, and Scary Robots, these little shorts have also introduced me to such things as “haulers” (people who who what they just bought during a shopping trip on youtube) and “cash gifting” (a scam where people online ask you to send money for no real reason).
Mike Birbiglia (2006)While some of the material is Two Drink Mike, a stand up album from funny man and self deprecating charmer Mike Birbiglia is redundant from other performances of his I’ve recommended (What I Should Of Said Was Nothing, Sleepwalk With Me), it’s still a great listen that tackles subjects like panda sex to pizza dreams and makes me laugh out loud.
Champions of VHS Since 2004I am a huge fan of the Found Footage Festival and force anyone I can watch the dvds so when I learned they had a blog, I knew it would be golden. My only complaint is that I wish there were more.. more discontinued merchandise, more semi celebrity meetings, more guys that take hot dogs, more movies called Fart!
Click here for the rest of Found Footage Blog
The Great Stone FaceBuster Keaton has been called “as beautiful but as inhuman as a butterfly” a fitting and poetic description of my personal favorite comedian of his time and genre. While his life was not all roses (he struggled with alcoholism) his work was influential and bring happiness to many.
His heyday was the 1920s but he continued to work well into his later life. My personal favorite appearance is as one of the “Waxworks” in Sunset Boulevard.
Click here for the rest of Buster Keaton
Famed DancerWhen Jadin Wong passed away at 96 recently, it was proclaimed “the end of an era”. I was introduced to the brassy, ballsy, eccentric and spectacular woman in a clip from a Budd Mishkin interview where, at 90, she was still dancing and told the world that she “kicked tush”. From nightclubs to Broadway to comedy to film, her career was varied and pioneering.
Click here for the rest of Jadin Wong