Journalist/Comedian Harmon Leon dives into comedy cult classics, comedic influences, and all things comedy history.
From the archives: In 1961, Dick Gregory was the first African American comedian to headline a white club.
A pioneer in the world of stand-up comedy, Gregory's material mocked the bigotry and racism of the time. Gregory is equally known for his activism as well as his comedy. He's one of the most influential comedians in comedy history; inspiring the likes of Dave Chappelle, Eddie Murphy, and Chris Rock.
Our special guest is Wayne Federman author of the new book: The History of Stand-Up: From Mark Twain to Dave Chappelle.
Wayne's impressive creds include Curb Your Enthusiasm, The Larry Sanders Show, Silicon Valley - as well as head monologue writer for The Tonight Show. We do some serious deep cuts into the history of stand-up comedy.
Remember in Goodfellas when mobster Henry Hill took his date, Karen, to The Copacabana? That was pretty true to form. The mob actually owned the legendary club. We saw this recently in the movie The Irishman - when Don Rickles was on stage performing for Crazy Joe Gallo.
We dive into the mob’s connection with The Copacabana - where you’ll learn such interesting tidbits as what happened to comedian Allan Drake’s wife when she had an affair with a mobster. Spoiler Alert: It doesn’t end well…
