Yet another WashPo article on women in comedy, this one authored by Michael Cavna. The premise is in the lede:

Back in the estrogenated '90s, you couldn't swing Gallagher's sledgehammer over your head without hitting a slew of sitcoms starring female stand-up comics (Roseanne, Brett Butler, Margaret Cho, Ellen DeGeneres, et al.). With the first-season success of Sarah Silverman's Comedy Central show, we ponder: Why aren't there more women comics starring in their own prime-time comedies? If snarky blond David Spade can keep landing comedies, why not a snarky blonde like Amy Poehler or Maria Bamford

Bamford's people went into overtime, scoring two giant pieces in the Post in one weekend. They're earning their dough!

Our favorite part was the chunk about Bonnie McFarlane:

BONNIE McFARLANE

You know her from: Her HBO special and "Tough Crowd With Colin Quinn."

Deserves her own gig because: Her edgy brand of sly subversiveness might well get past skittish network censors and the hair-trigger FCC. (And her "Women Aren't Funny" essay is a minor masterwork.)

Sample riff: "Sometimes I wish I did have a drug addiction -- that would explain why I have nothing."

Of course, we would've appreciated it if the WashPo folks would've actually hyperlinked the masterwork to the publication in which it originally appeared-- SHECKYmagazine.com!

An article in the Scranton (PA) paper about a coupla Times-Trib staffers who dabbled in standup and subsequently chased the LCS dream in NYC provides some insight into the process.

Over the next few hours, things started to pick up. The sun emerged. Restaurants and stores around us started to open. We started to see life forms besides comics.

At 9 a.m., after nearly eight hours of waiting, the doors to Gotham Comedy Club swung open and the line started to move — slowly. A few minutes later, we were a half-block from the club but the line in front of us had gotten thicker. Still, with red tickets in hand, we were confident we’d get to audition.

Their gonzo journo adventure has an unhappy ending.

We wonder why someone with fewer than three solid years of experience in at least a secondary market would subject himself to the vagaries of the L.C.S. grinder. If you get through, what do you hope will happen? It's utterly pointless. In fact, it's kind of odd, and wildly unimaginative, on the part of the producers to use the timeworn American Idol model to search for talent for this show.

All you need to read from the latest package of drivel from the Washington Post's latest article on Why Women Can't Make It In Comedy:

"In all of the programming we do, we're always looking for something original and innovative," says Lauren Corrao, who heads original programming and development for Comedy Central. "But at the same time, it has to be provocative and edgy. That doesn't preclude a woman. It's just more of a male style of comedy."

And, yet, some women cling to the notion that the only way that "women are going to make it" is if "women are in power." Behold the powerful woman at Comedy Central who clings to the notion that good comedy comes exclusively from men.

The entire article by Paul Farhi is packed with the usual cliched quotes on Women In Comedy.

Just got the following email from Billy Horrigan, the

Hi, i was just sent a link to your article from February 26th about the winner of the American Eagle comedy contest being sent to his/her doom. Spot on. The only way it could have gone worse is if one of the 500 meatheads present got on stage and put a corona in my ass. Granted that I wasn't even funny, they didn't make it much easier. I was praying for the Coors Light train to show up and fucking mow everyone down. I would have been content dying.

Readers will recall the post that Horrigan refers to, in which we said the following:

And they're encouraging a boatload of college-aged faux comics (Shall we call them "Faux-Coms?") to enter an online contest, the winner of which gets to "perform live at Spring Break with American Eagle!" Gulp! It's not so much a prize as it is a punishment! There are seasoned comedians who want to slash their wrists (or, at the very least, throttle their agent and drop out of the business) after performing for a Spring Break audience!

(Horrigan assures one and all that he as no beef with the folks at American Eagle-- who couldn't have been nicer-- but with the rowdy spring breakers who turned his triumph into a hellish nightmare.)

We note that, judging from his email, Horrigan displays the proper attitude, gallows sense of humor and perspective that may just enable him to stay in the standup game.

We've been coming close here and there since August. This month, however, we finally edged over the million-hit mark. Near as we can tell, we passed one million hits on Tuesday afternoon, and we're going to settle somewhere in the 1.1 million range when the clock strikes April.

It's especially nice, since we're marking our eighth anniversary on Sunday-- we uploaded the first "issue" of SHECKYmagazine.com on April 1, 1999-- and hitting this milestone is just the kind of thing that provides us with incentive to keep going.

As we round the corner and head into year number nine, we would like to thank all of our readers-- the relative handful who've been with us since day one, the folks who may have just scrambled on board this past month and everyone in between.

Enter the twisted vortex of Aspen via Sean L. McCarthy's Boston Phoenix article on the reception accorded Shane Mauss at that sky-high resort's recent festival:

Hanging out with him that week was like taking a class in the cultural anthropology of buzz. You could see it in the way Aspen's well-to-do quoted his jokes about pussy and anal beads. He couldn't sit down to eat a meal without customers, waiters, and executives approaching his table-- respectfully, somewhat gingerly — to offer their congratulations.

A primer on hype and buzz surrounding a three-year veteran of standup comedy as he rides the roller coaster from Cambridge to Aspen to NYC/NBC.

The most revealing quote:

Soon, an HBO scout invited Mauss to audition for its annual US Comedy Arts Festival, held each February in Aspen, Colorado. "He was one of the last people booked," HBO talent executive Kathi Khoury said. "I had to fight for Shane," who didn’t have an agent.

If you don't have an agent... someone has to fight for you. Jokes, material, delivery, killing-- none of it matters. A "scout," someone deputized by the Festival itself, must fight for you to be included in that very festival... because you don't have an agent! That there is a system that is seriously flawed-- some might say broken.

Checking the email out of the office, the following came over the cyber-transom from anonymous:

I don’t know if you've received an LCS Minneapolis update but what a show!!!! Holy moly, the talent that was left on the stage after the envelopes were handed out is just as impressive as those lucky folks that are moving on.

Moving on from Minneapolis were Doug Benson, Tracey Ashley, Dan Cummins, Tommy Johnagin (audience choice capital one winner) and Chad Daniels!

Personally I wish that the oh so great Jackie Kashian, Auggie Smith and John Evans would also have been sent through but what can ya do?

Ant thought he was entertaining. No one brought him chicken wings, no one cared. They took FOREVER to deliberate; Dave Mordal was onstage for about 40 minutes while they were deciding. It was a very long night, but a great show and the entire staff of ACME Comedy Company were great to those of us that auditioned.

On to Tempe, which is the last one, from what we hear.

From $1.5 million collectible to scrap metal in a fraction of a second. Eddie Griffin performed that magic in Irwindale, CA, when he drove his boss's Enzo Ferrari into a concrete retaining wall at slow speed. He's filming a movie, "Red Line."

Watch the video here.

Watch a "making of" video here.

Variety says:

Westwood One is starting a national radio show with comic Dennis Miller.

Miller's inaugural radio talker, "The Dennis Miller Show," will air on more than 80 stations nationwide, including in seven of the top 10 markets, when it debuts Monday.

Top markets include Los Angeles (KRLA-AM), Chicago (WIND-AM), Detroit (WDTK-AM) and Houston (KTRH-AM).

We've been hearing the spots on WNTP here in the Philly market as well. It debuted last night.

His numbers will probably be higher than they were on CNBC. Radio works... it's red hot.

From the Totally Baked website:

On April 20th the world will be watching Totally Baked: A Pot-u-mentary - A comedy film that explores the truth about marijuana. Written and produced by one of the funniest people in America; Craig Shoemaker [...]

On April 20th, millions of people around the world will attend screenings in comedy clubs, theatres and privately hosted screenings on DVD. Be part of 420 on 4/20 at 4:20.

Nice marketing gimmick.

If you aren't hip to the lingo, check out Snopes.com's thorough explanation of the meaning(s) of 420.

From the Festival's MySpace site:

Harlem comedy, has been an evolving tradition from Vaudeville to Def Jam. Some of the loudest and most articulate voices in comedy have come directly from the urban tradition. The Mecca for these voices has been, and always will be, Harlem.

Burt Smooth, George Sarris and Jim Mendrinos are producing it. (Sarris and Mendrinos also co-produce the New York Underground Comedy Festival.

Go to HarlemComedyFestival.com to learn more.

According to the Dark Horizons website, Jim Gaffigan will star in "Life of the Party," a movie about scandalized silent film star Fatty Arbuckle.

It oughta be interesting to see how the story is told. Will it be loaded with salacious details? Will Arbuckle's name be vindicated once and for all? Will the outcome be ambiguous?

If Gaffigan turns in any kind of a competent performance, this is the kind of role that could earn him an Oscar nomination. Stay tuned.

MySpace friend G. Hamilton Braithwaite writes that, with the shifting of the Festival Jus Pour Rire to the Hyatt Regency Montreal (from the dear, old Delta), the new equivalent of the old Royal Vic is now the Residences Universitaires UQAM, a new building in the University of Quebec at Montreal system that offers rooms for $64 CD per night! Says Montreal resident GHB:

It's a brand new building situated two-and-a-half blocks away from the Hyatt. You can use an underground path via the Place des Arts subway station to cut through the underground. You'll pop up in the mall attached to the Hyatt, pick up a coffee along the way, and you get to do it all in air conditioned comfort!

Sounds good! Click on the above link to be taken to the UQAM Residences pages.

We checked out a map and he speaks the truth.

I know I’m prejudiced here but honestly, there is nothing better than a room full of comedians. Especially when they’re paying tribute to one of their own. A fallen one.

So begins Suzy Soro's blog entry detailing the Richard Jeni memorial at the Factory.

Left to right: Richie Minervini, Gable "Dark" Most (1/2 of The Most Brothers) and Jim "Klaus" Myers, in the green room at the Borgata Comedy Club.

There was a pretty good house for the final show of the week at the Borgata. And the green room was pretty tightly packed as well-- in addition to Minervini, Myers, BCC proprietor Ray Garvey and The Most Brothers, Michael Aronin and Kelly Terranova were in attendance.

The Male Half looks forward to his return engagement at the Borgata in a few weeks. He'll be there May 21-27 with Joe Starr.

Sen. Sam Brownback (R-Kansas) and Sen. Herb Kohl (D-Wisconsin) tried to outdumb each other in senate hearings on the matter of the XM-Sirius merger. Brooks Boliek, writing in The Hollywood Reporter, detailed Brownback's demand that the new entity subject itself to FCC regs if they hope to get approval for the marriage. Herb Kohl says he's disturbed that the joining of the two satellite companies would create an "unrivalled and unchallenged monopoly."

Both of you go to the stupid corner!

Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) threw in his two cents, expressing concern that Christian programming would be bounced when XM and Sirius meld.

Mel Karmazin (Sirius' CEO) handled them with typical aplomb:

Karmazin told the members of the Senate Judiciary Committee's antitrust panel that in its recent license renewal request to the Federal Communications Commission, the company promised to block programming that parents found offensive. In addition, subscribers could request a rebate for the channels they blocked.

(We're pretty sure he meant to say that he promises to provide the means to block programming, and not merely block it!)

Brownback, who is running for president, is apparently hallucinating if he thinks he even has a chance in hell of actually getting satellite radio to come under the FCC's purview.

(We suspect that Brownback and the others are ganging up on the satellite boys for no other reason than to force them to offer some form of a la carte programs, in much the same way that the're leaning on cable TV companies to do the same, and that he doesn't seriously think that anyone can force them to adhere to the FCC's standards. More often than not, with regard to the public airwaves, we side with the FCC-- and we also say that they should back away slowly from cable and leave it alone, as it is subscribers only! The same holds true for satellite radio-- birds up in the sky, paid subscribers down here on earth, no public airwaves equals no FCC rules or regulations. Simple! And, if they can all work out a model whereby we can pick and choose our programming and pay for only that programming we desire, well who can argue with that?)

Karmazin calmed Hatch by telling him that Christian programming is among the more popular offerings of Sirius (and, we assume, of XM as well), so market forces would assure their continued presence. (Why ever would Hatch think they'd dump the gospel music in the first place?)

Kohl is equally nutty if he thinks that the current situation-- where the two satrad companies are "competing" with each other, and slowly beating each other's brains out-- is preferable to one healthy company.

And, as Karmazin so calmly points out (probably with a roll of the eyes and a heavy sigh), there is no such thing as a monopoly any more in this day and age. Satellite, he says, already competes with iPods and terrestrial radio.

The man's got a point. The content/tech genie is out of the bottle. Cavedudes like Brownback and Kohl (and to a lesser extent Hatch) got to get with the program.

From FOS Randy Masters comes the following dispatch:

It was a fun night last night at Gotham Comedy Club. There were 33 comedians, and they each had only 3 minutes. After exactly 3 minutes, the microphone was mercilessly cut off (this happened at least 4 or 5 times throughout the night).

The show was sold out, but a nice chunk of seats had been removed to make room for 4 or 5 large cameras and cameramen, including a huge rotating camera on a rolling, weighted "seesaw dolly" (this camera came within inches of audience members' heads several times).

Kathleen Madigan, Alonzo Bodden, and a very slimmed down Ant were there moderating the proceedings (he later announced that he lost over 40 pounds on a celebrity fitness show). Before the show, Kathleen and Alonzo were milling about and were very approachable and friendly. They stopped, shook hands, and chatted with audience members who said hello (myself included). Ant popped out right before the show began and went directly to the judge's table.

Bill Bellamy opened, and he was very relaxed and funny. It's already clear that he will be 1000 times better than Count Shake-ula.

Also, during the show the producer would "halt" the judges periodically when they were about to introduce the next comedian. So at one point the exasperated Ant yelled, "Can we get some direction here??" The producer replied into the headset (he was right behind me), "We're having a pause before the next comedian-- just like we always do it."

Twice Ant yelled out for someone to brings him a plate of wings. But nobody ever brought him anything.

During the judge's deliberations Jessica Kirson came out and did a set. I have seen her several times and she never fails to get a great crowd reaction, but last night the audience members must have been tired, because a great number of people talked loudly and nonstop through her set. Jessica responded by saying: "I don't give a shit. I'm getting my check anyway."

She made the best of a bad situation, because people just wouldn't shut the hell up. I can't remember the last time I heard that much chatter (and loud chatter at that) during a professional comedian's set. Kudos to her for plugging away. Another time she said: "I've got 4 great things happening in my career right now, so you really don't realize how much I don't give a shit if you talk!"

During her set, the production crew lugged large pieces of equipment around her, and set up a 4-tiered stage behind her back while she talked. But she was a trouper throughout.

Bill Bellamy came back on and did a short set (the audience quieted down by then). After the judge's deliberations, Bellamy got "scolded" by Alonzo because he read off his list of "personal picks" as to who should win (after someone from the audience prompted him). Alonzo stopped him by saying: "Um, Bill, we really aren't allowed to do that. Sorry." Bill replied: "Well, this is just my personal opinion. We all have our American Idol picks, don't we?"

The comics were then brought out in groups of two.

And so.....the winners of the New York auditions are: Joe Devito, Arj Barker, Bob Smith, Dwayne Kennedy, Lois Bromfield, Pete Dominic, Jane Condon, Lori Chase, Amy Schumer and Chuck Nice.

Condon won the Capital One audience choice award, which was great since she had my vote, too! She is from Connecticut and was very, very funny.

All in all, a very fun night of comedy!!

The bulletin that's making the MySpace rounds is true, we are sad to say. Calvert DeForest, who gained fame as David Letterman's clueless foil Larry "Bud" Melman died Monday night.

DeForest took that fame on the road as a standup comic of sorts. The Comedy Factory Outlet in Philadelphia (specifically Outlet owner Clay Heery) was the first venue in the country to see DeForest/Melman's personal appearance potential, booking the diminutive actor on at least one occasion for a weekend at the comedy club in late 1983 or early 1984. The engagement was a wild success as savvy Late Night fans showed up with Toast On A Stick and hollered out catchphrases from the NBC talker while the seemingly befuddled DeForest hosted an evening of standup, reading his lines from cue cards prepared by Heery and C.F.O. regulars.

The above photo was taken at the wedding of the Female Half's sister and C.F.O. proprietor Clay Heery. From left to right: Unidentified DeForest bodyguard, The Female Half (clad in Maid of Honor finery) and DeForest.

NewsFromMe.com has a detailed biography.

Click here for lovingly staged and shot pics of the Hyatt Regency Montreal's lounge. We're somewhat disturbed that the description says it's "open daily from 3:30 PM to midnight." Do they know how much schmoozing, wheeling, dealing and just plain drinking gets done before 3:30 PM and after midnight? Are they trying to kill the comedy business? There may have to be some changes made/forced, some palms greased.

In the course of telling a story about how Steve Patterson blew off the evening's show (in order to fulfill a headline engagement at Ernie Butler's Comedy Nest across town), the Montreal Gazette's Bill Brownstein tells how four Torontonian comics made the cut and are heading to the big LCS Seminfinal.

For the record, of the 15 who did make it past the first round, four Toronto-based wits-- Deb DiGiovanni, Gerry Dee, Brian Lazanik and Dan Licoppe-- were selected for the semifinals in Los Angeles. Not to suggest that Patterson, who bolted Toronto for Montreal a few years ago, would have supplanted one of the others and would have made the cut, but the odds were good (25 per cent) and he did, apparently, slay with his first two-minute audition earlier in the day.

Read the whole thing.

Billy Horrigan has won the American Eagle Outfitters contest that we blogged about while we were waiting for our flight out of McCarran last month.

Horrigan is from Holliston, Massachusetts and majors in Philosophy at the University of Rhode Island. Horrigan was convinced by his 24 year-old sister to enter the contest and now plans to use this opportunity from American Eagle towards a career in comedy.

Congratulations, Mr. Horrigan.

From the same release:

American Eagle Outfitters will fly Billy Horrigan to Cancun, along with runner-up Ross Parsons, to perform in front of an audience of thousands of spring-breakers on March 21.

It's kinda like the punchline from the old joke-- "Oh... Thursdays... You're not gonna like Thursdays."

Dave had a stomach bug. Sandler was a guest. Sandler guest hosted.

Todd Barry is a guest tonight also.

Details here.

That's their story and they're sticking to it.

We don't know what we're going to do! Is it possible we won't be attending the Just For Laughs Festival this year? We're melting down... it's the end of an era!

They changed the HQ hotel for the Festival JFL-- It's no longer the Delta! It's been changed to the Hyatt Regency! Quelle horreur... or however you spell it! The Hyatt's way over on Jeanne Mance... or however you spell it. Way past Bluery... on the other side of Ste. Catherine. It's jolted the whole Comedy Festival World out of alignment.

We'll no longer be staying within convenient staggering distance of the Delta... or, rather, the festival's main venue will no longer be within convenient staggering distance of our beloved Royal Vic!

This changes things. Perhaps we'll hafta make an actual effort to get in the festival!

As things stand now, it's just wildly inconvenient... or too expensive... or an excruciating combination of both. Hmmm...

Carol Burnett is suing The Family Guy for $2 million.

The Smoking Gun has the offending clip.

Our verdict: The clip is hysterically funny. The lawsuit is totally without merit.

You decide.

From the State Deptartment's website:

The Departments of State and Homeland Security announced today that the requirement for citizens of the United States, Canada, Mexico, and Bermuda to present a passport to enter the United States when arriving by air from any part of the Western Hemisphere will begin on January 23, 2007.

If you leave the country and you want to re-enter by air, you're going to need a passport. This is how long they say it takes to obtain one.

This is how long AP says it's taking because of the surge in applications.

Planning on going to Montreal this summer, via air? Crunch the numbers.

Norm Clarke's column from the 14th had this item:

Two sources confirmed on Tuesday that the Sahara had surveillance cameras installed about two years ago in the dressing room of headliner Amazing Johnathan.

The hidden cameras were put in shortly after a small fire broke out in the comedy magician's dressing room in May 2005, said the sources, who worked on the Sahara's surveillance staff.

Management "went on a witch hunt," said one of the sources. The fire occurred about a week after Amazing Johnathan opened at the Sahara.

After four months, the cameras were removed from the dressing room and another room, when "they couldn't find anything to use against him," said a source.

Bookmark Norm! if you want to know what's going on in Vegas.

The Sahara has been purchased by... does it matter by whom? One need not be an expert in these matters to project that it will join the Stardust in Casino Heaven sometime soon. The revolution continues.

Editors note: We received the following shortly after posting the above, from Christopher Ritter, Johnathan's manager:

As manager of the Amazing Johnathan, I thought I would write in response to your recent story.

Although I can't comment at all on legal issues, I thought I would pass along my speculation that the Sahara will not actually be joining the Stardust in casino heaven anytime soon.

If anything, the working theory some insiders have is that the new owners of the Sahara will build up a new hotel across the street on the empty 17.5 acre SW corner of Sahara and the Strip. The idea being that they would have that completed before either imploding or remodeling the original site--and all of this would seem to be at least a few years away.

My understanding is that the keys won't even be changing hands to the new majority owner (31 year old Sam Nazarian) until January due to a provision in the late owner's will that stated that his heirs could not sell for a period of five years, an increment of time that will conclude this coming December.

As for the Amazing Johnathan, his contract with the Sahara is set to expire in December and at that point he will be retiring.

We are however, currently considering an offer to have him in star in a television project and on a side note, his memoirs are now about 99 percent complete.

He currently works five nights per week (dark Wednesdays and Thursdays) performing his 10pm show upstairs in the Conga Room.

May will mark his two year anniversary there at the Sahara.

Like Rita Rudner, Penn Jillette and Teller, he has been a resident Vegas headliner since 2001.

(Johnathan's tours of duty were at the Golden Nugget, the Flamingo, the Golden Nugget again, the Riviera and the Sahara)

Thank you for your blog. I've had it bookmarked for some time now and greatly appreciate your work.

Christopher Ritter

Jacques Steinberg's New York Times profile of Jim Gaffigan is worth the read. Steinberg hangs with the comic during a recent gig in North Carolina.

For an hour and a half after he left the stage... Mr. Gaffigan stationed himself in the lobby of the Blumenthal Performing Arts Center and promised to remain until he had met everyone who wanted to meet him.

Gaffigan fans will be pleased and his show tonight at the Westbury should have no trouble selling out.

Read our interview with the pale one here.

If the movie is anywhere near as great as the trailer...

Of course, it will be. It's directed by Jake Kasdan, who directed one of The Male Half's faves, Zero Effect. And it stars David Duchovny, whose dry sense of humor comes through in his late-night talk appearances.

"...originality scares me." might just become one of the all-time greatest cult catchphrases of all time. We bring the movie to your attention because it vividly illustrates (or at least we hope it does) the extremely absurd mindset of the TV suit who is trapped between/among art, commerce and six- to seven-figure salaries.

Damon Wayans, prepping for an upcoming special, got himself booked into the Bone in Bloomington.

"I'm doing an HBO special ('WayoutTV') so I need to make sure that it's special," Wayans said, adding that trying out material in Los Angeles, where "everyone is phony," doesn't satisfy that need.

"You can't get a good reading there, so I take it to the middle of the country," he said. "That's where there's a lot more clarity, and a different perspective on life."

We assume that's Illinois and not Indiana. (Scrolling halfway down the page is the outline of Illinois... then down to the bottom of the page, in the tiny type, is "Decatur, IL" But ya gotta hunt!)

It is an annoying habit of radio stations these days to never actually mention their location, or the name of the town they serve. (Not even during the weather! "It'll be raining all throughout the region tonight." WHAT REGION?!?!) Is it shame that drives them? We don't know why they'd want to keep that stuff a secret. Radio stations, whose signals might not range that far, might not feel it necessary to be so specific. But a website, which can be read worldwide, should give an exact and prominent identification of its area of interest.

According to the British website Chortle, British comedians Junior Simpson, Ava Vidal, Matt Kirshen and Spencer Brown are to take part in the hit American show Last Comic Standing.

As you all know by now, the producers of the NBC reality show have determined, after scouring the U.S. and Canada for three or four years, that there are not enough good, competent, telegenic comedians in North America to stock a fifth season of the LCS. Naturally, they're forced to scour the rest of the English-speaking world for comedians. The numbers in the U.K. and Australia will be about equivalent to that of an HGTV informercial pitching mushroom scrubbers at 3 AM Pacific Daylight Time, so their motivation must be something else. Perhaps they seek the next Ricky Gervais.

(Thanks to reader Randy Masters for the heads up!)

According to The Hill, Democratic Party's Caucus Chairman Rahm Emanuel (D-Ill.) has been telling the newest members of congress to pass on invites to appear on Stephen Colbert's The Colbert Report.

Apparently, Emanuel's warning has been ignored more than once...

...such as the time Rep. John Yarmuth (D-Ky.) got into a debate about the merits of throwing kittens into a wood-chipper, or when Rep. Zack Space (D-Ohio) explained that he is not his predecessor, convicted felon Bob Ney (R).

We're not regular viewers of the show, but it seems as though very few folks who are suited for public office are capable of appearing across from Colbert and maintaining their sense of humor or their dignity.

Note to voters: If an assistant producer at Comedy Central is able to talk your congressman into appearing on The Colbert Report, what else could someone talk your your congressman into? It's a handy litmus test come election day.

The rumors of Sinbad's death have been greatly exaggerated. The one-named comedian/actor is alive and well, we are able to confirm, via sources close to him.

According to the person we spoke to, who is one removed from Sinbad himself, a rumor started last week that the comic/actor had died of a heart attack. That rumor is enjoying at least its second revival, via the internet and other informal channels.

It is untrue.

See him in the flesh at the Lakeland Center Youkey Theater in Lakeland, FL, on April 14.


(Photo of Jim Gaffigan and Sinbad, taken at JFL 2004. By Brian McKim)

Helena Andrews' article in the Politico (the new online political pub hiring away all the writers from the MSM) explores direction of political humor should Hillary gain the White House.

The piece is sprinkled liberally (in the strictest sense of the word) with quotes from The Female Half of the Staff, Traci Skene, and also features two cents from John Edwards impersonator Frank King, SHECKYmagazine columnist Doug Hecox and Vegas-based impersonator Kathy Walker-Koch.

Wiig, who also does a spot-on Lynne Cheney, is a front-runner to take on the commander-in-Chanel role should Clinton win in November 2008, but the world might not be ready. Some comedians have an idea why.

There will be a service for Rich Jeni on Saturday, March 24, 2 PM at the Laugh Factory.

We were asked to take down the previous posting about the Brooklyn services... it seems that the info was not meant for public consumption and the service was not for the public. (The info continues to course through the WWW, mainly via email and MySpace.)

We have been assured, however that there will be services open to the public (most likely on both coasts) and that, when that information becomes available, we'll have it and we'll bring it to you. And we'll make sure that the information is verified and that the services are indeed for the public.

E!Online reports that the man with the hardest job in show business is finally recognized for his work with a nomination:

Meanwhile, while Vieira lost out on a View nod, she was once again nominated for her solo efforts as Outstanding Game Show Host for the syndicated hit Who Wants to be a Millionaire? She goes up against Jeopardy!'s Alex Trebek, The Price Is Right's Barker, Wheel of Fortune's Pat Sajak and a surprise entry, Ben Bailey from Discovery's Cash Cab, a trivia show that takes place in the back of a roving Manhattan taxi.

Not only does Bailey host a game show, not only does he do so while driving a two-ton Checker Marathon, he does so and manages to get his contestants to their destination through Manhattan traffic.

Of course, he hasn't a prayer to win the Emmy. Fellow nominee Barker recently announced his retirement, so the folks who decide such things will no doubt give him one last statue. Barker couldn't do Bailey's job without plowing into a school bus full of special ed students or knocking over a fire hydrant. Life is just so unfair.

An email from Rob Ross:

Hi. My name is Rob Ross and I used to be a standup comic. (I know that sounds like a Twelve Step intro.)

I worked out of NYC (The Comic Strip was my "home" club) from 1980 through 1990 and then moved out to L.A.

During that 10-year period I did a good amount of road work but worked mostly in the tri-state area around NYC.

My first Atlantic City gig was at the Comedy Stop at the Trop where I middled for Rich Jeni. I had worked with Rich a lot in the city but this was my first road gig with him.

I was incredibly saddened to hear about Rich's death. But more then that, it affected me on a professional level as well.

I've been a practicing psychotherapist in Los Angeles for the last eight years. Although I hadn't been in touch with Rich for many years, I still have a few friends out here from that time in my life.

I'd like to reach out to the comedy community in this area (Los Angeles) as a mental health professional who has the obvious life experience that might be helpful to working comics. Although I realize that one's work is not our only life issue, the life of a comic does lend itself to particular stresses.

I'd greatly appreciate it if you would print my contact info in SHECKYmagazine.com. I loved the time in my life when I was a standup. And I'd really like to give something back to the comedy community.

My office number in L.A. is (310)712-2515.
Thanks,
Rob Ross

There's a lengthy statement on RichardJeni.com that seeks to quell rumors, restore perspective and exhort fans and others to sign a guestbook.

An excerpt:

The family of Richard Jeni would like to put to rest any assumptions as to the cause of Richard's death. Despite the fact that the coroner's office has publicly stated that a suicide ruling will take two weeks, pending the results of an autopsy, Richard Jeni did take his own life.

Photo above depicts the sad skeleton of one of the buildings that made up the once-glamorous Stardust Hotel-Casino complex on the Vegas strip. We snapped it when we were in Vegas working at the Riv. Note the sun shining through the building. The dazzling landmark that was the Stardust neon sign was also being carefully dismantled, piece-by-piece, during our stay. The structures were stripped down to the bare frame in preparation for demolition, which ocurred last night.

Echelon, a 5,000-room resort will go up in its place.

SHECKYmag columnist Paul Ogata returns to his home state of Hawaii for one show (The Asian Kings of Comedy!) at the Hawai'i Theatre on March 23.

Appearing along with Ogata will be Edwin San Juan, Kevin Shea and Shecky Wong. Go to the Hawai'i Theatre website to purchase tix!

2007's New York Underground Comedy Festvial will take place September 28 through October 7, according to the Festival's website.

Fest Big Cheese Sarris has decorated the Fest website with a gaggle of cyber-features. We're partial to the Trivia Game feature, which features a question about The Male Half's early standup career. We also giggle uncontrollably when we see the image of the Vos-McFarlanes drive by in a convertible sports car. (It's animated... we can't do it justice.) Vos is question number one, The Male Half is question number three.

TBS is frantically trying to corner the comedy market, greenlighting series either starring or exec-produced by comedians. They've announced new shows that will involve, in one way or another, Bob Newhart, Jamie Foxx, Bill Engvall or Larry Miller.

Miller is executive-producing and starring in Uncommon Sense, a half-hour scripted comedy about a newspaper columnist in suburbia with a wife and two kids. The show, from Sony Pictures Television and currently in development, is co-written and executive-produced by Miller and Eileen Conn (Just Shoot Me).

Engvall's sitcom will debut this summer and Jim Gaffigan's My Boys has been renewed.

TBS/TNT suit Michael Wright says:

Our original programming strategy is to entertain the fans of Friends, Sex and the City and Everybody Loves Raymond, viewers who are looking for humor based on smartly drawn, relatable characters and good storytelling full of clever, contemporary humor.

Apparently, Mr. Wright isn't buying all that nonsense about the sitcom being dead. (As the Female Half says, "The sitcom is dead for just about as long as the Evil Twin is dead on your favorite soap opera.")

Word on the street in Los Angeles is that the most buzz during Pilot Season is being generated by the signing of Talent From Broadway! Good idea! That Christian Chenowith series is in its sixth or seventh season by now, isn't it? Has raiding Broadway ever EVER resulted in anything other than ratings pewter?

Meanwhile, TBS is hiring 40-year-old plus comedians and building sitcoms around them. Let's see who, quite literally, has the last laugh.

There are more than you think.

Eddie Izzard (who says he's "pushed hard to be able to just do dramas") stars in The Riches Mondays at 10 PM on FX.

He portrays a grifter (misspelled "grafter" in this Pantagraph.com review of the series, so don't be confused) who, along with his family, assumes the lives of a wealthy attorney, house included.

It appears from the FX schedule page that they're showing each episode twice, back to back. (Couldn't tell if they aired the premiere episode again, but missing the first one probably won't diminish one's understanding or enjoyment of the series. Yeah, we're a little late to this one, but we got distracted.)

When we posted about Brother Theodore on this site a couple of years ago, we recall thinking that his life would make a tremendous movie.

Apparently some folks in Los Angeles think his life would make a great live theater piece. Robert Trebor, who was a recurring character on the Xena and Hercules TV shows, will be appearing at the Skylight Theater on Vermont, every Saturday at 10 PM through April 14, as the rambling monologist in "The Return of Brother Theodore." Admission in a mere $15

Click here for details.

Who could have predicted it?

We could have. And we did. We won't even bother citing the post. In the nearly eight years we've been cranking out this magazine, we've seen network executives and programmers and TV critics wring their hands and bemoan the demise of the sitcom... and say that the format's dead (of course, they all have an alibi!) and each time, we point out how silly they are.

The Wall Street Journal's Sam Schechner is saying that the sitcom is back.

Comedy consumers rejoice: The television sitcom is showing signs of life.

The format has been battered on broadcast TV in recent years, with the number of sitcoms dropping by half since the fall of 2003. But with sharply lowered expectations, broadcasters are indulging in riskier shows -- and a growing number of them are becoming hits among critics, if not in the ratings.

On Thursday, NBC will debut "Andy Barker, P.I.," a private-detective spoof created by Conan O'Brien and Jonathan Groff, a former head writer for Mr. O'Brien's late-night talk show. It joins a small coterie of relatively new, critically...

(if you're not a subscriber, that's all she wrote. We saw it in our copy of the WSJ that we got in the lobby of the Courtyard in Tyson's Corner. We forgot to keep the article!)

It's like a force of nature. Folks love to laugh. The sitcom will always be with us, will always be huge moneymakers for networks and will always be the favorite of TV viewers for as long as there will be TV.

Of course, the suits will come along and, acting as executioner and coroner, they'll kill the sitcom, declare the genre to be played out. And they'll talk about "the zietgeist" or the mood of the nation or how reality is where it's at... and then, months later, they'll roll out an eye-popping number of new sitcoms and we'll all be happy again.

(Note:Scroll down this page for the original posting concerning the death of Rich Jeni)

The Male Half carried a Polaroid instant camera with him at all times from roughly 1981 through 1985 or so. This picture was taken at D.C.'s Comedy Cafe, on K St., circa 1983.

After the Polaroid was snapped TMHOTS would take it home, insert it into an ancient Smith-Corona, and type a caption on it.

(The Male Half had started taking road gigs, opening in D.C. and Baltimore and other cities. One of his first official road gigs, at the Cafe, entailed sharing a hotel room with Jeni and feature act Joe DeLion. Being the opener, the Male Half was given a cot. That's right... a cot.)

The Male Half says:

I also recall gigging at the Cafe with John Mulrooney about a year after the above pic was taken. During one of the shows on Friday, legendary porn star Candy Samples stopped into the club to catch a show. Mulrooney chatted her up after our show and she invited John to one of her afternoon performances at a nearby X-rated movie house/burlesque theater.

As I was the only one on the bill with a car (and as Mulrooney was obsessing about hanging out with dear friend Jeni-- headlining across town at Garvin's that weekend with Dave Kelley)-- I was recruited as chauffeur for the trip to the Samples show.

We picked up a reluctant Jeni (and an even more reluctant Kelley) and headed to the show.

Predictably, it was a faded, ancient Vaudeville theater with sticky floors (from, it is hoped, spilled soda pop) and the joint was packed with a couple hundred middle-aged men. We found seats at about the middle of the house-- Mulrooney wanted to sit up front, but that idea was vetoed by Kelley, who feared that the dancer might "dust our heads with her breasts" should we sit too close to the stage.

The house lights dimmed and out came Samples-- by then a forty-something woman with grotesuely large breasts and scary makeup-- wearing the classic many-sizes-too-small nurse's outfit. She scuffed around on the stage for a few stripper-type numbers (to... music, I think). And, after dimming the lights, she also did rather curious (and overtly sexual) things with one of those Glo-sticks. Afterward, much to Dave Kelley's dismay and deep-purple embarassment, she waded out into the crowd, stopping briefly to... dust Dave's head with her breasts!

After the "dancing" portion of her presentation, she threw the floor open to questions. Mulrooney, naturally, couldn't help himself. He called out, "What's the square root of 27?!?" To which Samples replied, instantly, and much to her credit, "54, double D!"

After the Q & A, the announcement was made that Ms. Samples would be available in the lobby for photographs. Of course, Jeni and Mulrooney couldn't resist. As a timid and worshipful clump of fans surrounded Samples, giving her a very wide berth, the two comics boldly breached the mote that surrounded her and immediately started yucking it up.

I took a photo of the two of them (with my own Polaroid) that is still floating around out there to this day-- either in Mulrooney's possession or among Jeni's effects-- that depicted the two comedians flanking the porn star, each one supporting one of her mammoth breasts with a strategically placed hand, each one sporting a ridiculous grin.

I never should have let that pic out of my sight.

A fascinating side story that involves Rich Jeni's death, journalism and blogging. Click on comments to read it.

And click here for Elayne Boosler's comments on HuffingtonPost.com

The word on the street, confirmed by us, via more than one party close to the deceased, is that Richard Jeni has chosen to end his life. His website contains only the words "richardjeni.com" in grey letters on a black background, and it's not a hyperlink.

It is said that he chose to do so because of seemingly intractable medical problems, the nature of which we are not privy to.

We will offer further information as it becomes available.

If anyone else has any information, they are advised to hit the comments button and contribute.

Our condolences go out to Richard's friends and family.

The Male Half and the Female Half will be appearing live for two shows at the Higher Ground in So. Burlington, VT, next Saturday, March 17... yes, we know-- it's St. Patrick's Day.

Come on out, all you Burlingtonians! We had a swell time there last January and we intend to have a swell time and packed houses this time around as well!

Proprietor Lee Selig knows his comedy and he has cultivated a knowlegeable standup fan base in northern VT and surrounding area! We're trying our damnedest to get the word out via all possible channels!

Standup fans of Norther New England/Extreme Upstate NY (and lower Quebec!) take heed: Brian McKim and Traci Skene will be at Higher Ground next Saturday night! (Tix are $12 in advance, $14 at the door. Shows are at 7:30 and 9:30 and the doors open at 7 and 9 respectively! Purchase them via the website! (Note: We earlier mistakenly posted that the second show was 10:30...we regret the error!)

Thanks!

Like2Laugh is an entity that is dedicated to "presenting talented comedians from Westchester County and New York City in local venues.quot; Toward that end, they're producing a clever way to package a lot of comedy into a string of dates at Caroline's. They are proposing to counter March madness by attempting to crown the March Comedy Madness Champion on four consecutive Tuesdays at Caroline's.

March 13th - 64 comics 1 minute
March 20th - 32 comics 2 minutes
March 27th - 16 comics 3 minutes, 8 comics 4 minutes
April 3rd - 4 comics 7 minutes, 2 comics 10 minutes

We don't post on all the contests we hear about, but this one sounds interesting if for no other reason than it keeps it all so... brief! (Brevity is a prime virtue when it comes to contests.) The producers also demonstrate a little bit of imagination by mimicking the bracket scheme of the event they're counterprogramming!

The entire conflagration will be hosted by Bryan Kennedy and Josh Filipowski and will feature the comedy of Abbi Crutchfield, Amy Schumer, Brad Aldous, Brooklyn Mike, Cerra Cardwell, Chris Jones, Clara Bijl, Colin Kane, Dan Siegel, Daniel Frigolette, Dante Nero, Dave Siegel, David Moore, Duncan Jay, Eric Andre, Eric Reynolds, Erica Watson, Erik Rivera, Evie Aronson, Geno Bisconte, Geoff Kole, Helen Hong, Jay Nog, Jay Servidio, Jeff Cerulli, Jeff Kreisler, Jennifer Hyjack, J-L Cauvin, Joe Dixon, Joe Pontillo, John F. O'Donnell, Julian McCullough, Ken Donnelly, Lance Weiss, Lee Camp, Liz Miele, Liz Simons, Luke Thayer, Matt Gallagher, Matt Goldich, Matt Little, Mike Amato, Mike Bochetti, Mike Bower, Mike Burns, Mike Dobbins, Mike O'Gorman, Mike Trainor, Mike Weingartner, Moody McCarthy, Nate Bargatze, Neil Charles, Nick Cobb, Omar Beer, Pat O'Rourke, Peter Keepnews, Phil Mazo, Ray Gootz, Rome, Ryan Connor, Ryan Reiss, Sasha Guillaume, Vincent Averill and Vincent James!

Tickets are $10 plus a two-drink minimum. (All Access Pass to ALL 4 SHOWS $20!) For reservations call (212)757-4100.

The only thing missing is a brass marching band and a mascot or two. Maybe next year.

Our long SHECKYmagazine nightmare is over! We dumped Earthlink today... only took about two hours on the phone to Bangalore to break the bad news to them.

We called Verizon last week and they sent us a sleek new combo modem/wireless router via UPS the other day. We hadda wait until 6 PM EST to actually jiggle the line and get this party started.

For those of you keeping score at home, we've been without DSL at SHECKYmag HQ for 51 days. We suspected all along that it was the modem that was hinky, but "Keith" and "Kevin" and "Elizabeth" on the other end of the horn dismissed our theory early on and set into motion a tragic series of events that included several dozen frustrating phone calls, a handful of mysterious "disconnections," and a coupla outright hangups after things got just mildly heated. All along, we were treated to scratchy, digitally distorted versions of Pachelbel's Canon in D Major that seemed to drone on forever and the occasional "We are sorry... " message from Ma Bell.

Now... we're back... and, from all indications, at lightning speed! (If the nimrods at Earthlink had only sent us a new modem, we'd be posting via their network right now!)

Please note: We'll always be accessible via editors("at sign")sheckymagazine.com and we always will be! use that address to send us inquiries and other stuff. And we can always be reached at likewecare("at sign")sheckymagazine.com for matters pertaining directly to what we have posted! And if something we've posted is particularly deserving of your immediate feedback, just click on that comment thingie at the bottom of the comment in question and leave a comment for all the readers to see!

Thanks! And we thank you also for your patience during this technological ordeal!

Just got an email from a reader in Edmonton. He sends along the following and says that it comes from the folks who run Yuk Yuks in that city. We have no reason to believe it's not real.

"From this point out Yuk Yuk's amateur nights will now be called "Crash and Burn Night". This means that if you are not doing well we will be playing sounds of disasters over top of your set. This rule stands for Amateurs and Professionals alike. Some of you may not feel comfortable with this. If so for lack of a better term...Too bad so sad."

To put it another way, the imbeciles who run Yuk Yuks in Edmonton have elected to turn their pro-am night into a Gong Show.

Is there a better time in your young comedy life to experiment or tinker with your onstage persona and your material than when you're doing the open mikes? And is there a more pressure-packed time than your first year or two? It's an anxious, thrilling time and the last thing a young sprout of a comic needs is some moron in the sound booth playing you off with the sound of howitzers and grenades.

And does a pro need some bitter douchebag in the back of the house deciding when the crowd has had enough?

Who's running that show up there in Edmonton? Is anyone running it? If there is anyone actually running the show, it's clearly someone who has zero respect for comedians and for the art/craft of standup. And a policy like this one could (should?) eliminate any self-respecting pro who might considering mounting that stage while this policy is in effect.

Coordinating talent is a tricky business, especially for an open mike. If the talent coordinator (or the club manager... or the bartender... or whoever it is who is that determines who goes on) truly wants to improve the pro-am night, he/she could hire a better emcee, cut the weaker acts down time-wise, give the stronger acts more time (thereby encouraging the pros to show up, rather than chasing them away), gently (and privately) tell some of the weaker acts to give it a rest for a few weeks, hold the occasional seminar to improve skills (we'll gladly come in conduct a mini-seminar for the local talent, if we're booked at your club!) or actually pay an act to close out the show. Videotaping the amatuers and letting them walk with a tape is another great way of upping the level of proficiency. It's also a great idea to let the acts perform wherever and whenever they want-- more stage time equals better comedians-- we've always been puzzled by the clubs who have a policy that forces a comic to choose between clubs. Publicly humiliating the acts is something that should be avoided at all costs.

(Editors note: When the occasional LCS nugget comes in over the cyber-transom, we'll just put it at the top of this posting and make it float to the top.)

We hear that Sean Rouse advanced from the Hollywood "auditions."

Someone named Dante posted the following on a comedy-related chatroom (we take no responsibility for the punctuation):

Last comic standing.....was awesome!

I won last night out of 34 killer comics...me, John Reep, Rick Overton, John Caponera, Dwayne Perkins and 2 female comics all moved on to the finals!!!! I won the $1000 Capital one audience choice award. However I was told that I would have won either way!!!!!!!!!

I am going to win the whole thing this year!!!!

Not sure if it's authentic. Dante, by the way, is an ancient Italian name and it means "One who can't quite grasp the subtleties of a non-disclosure agreement."

This gives us pause: "...I was told I would have won either way." What we have is a delightful stew of a contest and a reality show. A cockfight in Juarez probably has more integrity.

We like the fact that he named all the guy comics by first name and last name, but the others were "2 female comics." EDITORS UPDATE: Thea Vidale and Becky Pedigo are rumored to be the "2 female comics" alluded to in the post.

The above allegedly took place at the Hollywood Improv......Stay tuned!!!!!!!!

According to a Reuters report, the New York City council has "symbolically" banned the use of the word nigger. Meaning, of course, that they haven't banned use of the word at all, they just wanted to appear to be doing something that is unconstitutional, jaw-droppingly dumb and potentially dangerous while really only being jaw-droppingly dumb.

Use of the word by blacks exploded with the rise of rap music in recent years, and some black comedians like Chris Rock continue to use it in their routines.

"What, is there a fine? Am I going to get a ticket?" Rock mocked in a Reuters interview when asked about the City Council move. "Do judges say, '10 years, nigger!"'

Rock said politicians were trying to divert attention from real problems: "Enough real bad things happen in this city to worry about how I am going to use the word."

To answer Rock's question, no, there will not be a fine or a ticket, just a lot of bluster and drivel from politicians and "black leaders."

Many rap artists and young New Yorkers toss the word around as a term of endearment or as a substitute for black, angering some black leaders who consider those who use it as ignorant of the word's hate-filled history in slavery and segregation.

"This could be the beginning of a movement," councilman Albert Vann said.

Certainly! Can book burnings be far behind?

Are you smarter than a 5th grader?

That's the question being asked... and the title of the show upon which it is being posed. Hosted by Jeff Foxworthy, Fox TV's new game show allegedly garnered the highest numbers for a premiere in nearly nine years, according to Reuters.

So far, we're smarter than the fifth graders. (We're kicking mighty ass on the 1st and 2nd grade questions!)

The Arizona Republic TV writer gave it a good review. He cited some reasons to watch it, then he listed five more. One of the reasons listed was that it was hosted by Jeff Foxworthy, then said, "but, depending on your tastes, that might be a reason not to watch it." So great is the pressure on journos to heap scorn on standup comics that this poor bastard thought he couldn't get away with actually saying something nice about one of the most successful, popular and likeable comedians of this or any other era. (Somoene has less spine than a fifth grader!)

The show is fascinating to watch if for no other reason than it is a primetime network television show that portrays children (nay, it shows real children) as intelligent, socially adjusted and attractive. Fox may single-handedly save America.

From the MicroCinema site: "Hitmen, Clowns, Leprechauns, Living Suits, Killer Doughnuts and Angry Street Cleaners can all be seen in Filmmaker Chris Mancini’s MYOPIC VISIONS. With a unique vision of Science Fiction and Comedy, this compilation presents all of Chris’ award winning short films in one place for the first time.

The films have played such prestigious festivals as Slamdance, HBO’s U.S. Comedy Arts, London Sci Fi Film Festival, and many others."

We mention it here because Mancini started out life as a comic. And we mention it here also because Mancini started his comic life in Philly. His films (all of them, according to Mancini) contain at least one comedian. He's directed Jay Johnston, Paul F. Tompkins and Andy Kindler among others. Available by clicking on the cover art above left, or at finer retail outlets everywhere.