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July 2008
- Comedy Legend Skewers Left in Slapstick Carol
  
  newser | Politico | Jul 23, 08 2:15 PM CDT
  
  They're calling it “a spoof of A Christmas Carol and contemporary American culture,” from the director that brought you Naked Gun and Airplane! But what the press release doesn't say is that the director is David Zucker, a self-proclaimed “9/11 Republican,” and that American Carol is a brazenly right-wing send-up of Michael Moore as an America-hating Scrooge, to be converted by the ghosts of presidents past. More »
  
  Tags
  
  comedy • Michael Moore • right-wing media • Kelsey Grammer • Dennis Hopper • Jon Voight
- Late-Night Takes it Easy on Obama
  
  newser | New York Times | Jul 15, 08 7:16 AM CDT
  
  John McCain has been skewered by late-night comics throughout the presidential campaign, but Barack Obama has escaped relatively unscathed. As this week's New Yorker cover flare-up made clear, satirists are struggling to find an angle on the Democratic nominee. The New York Times speaks to half a dozen late-night hosts and writers, who cite everything from fear of racism to their own favoritism to explain the silence. More »
  
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  Barack Obama • television • comedy • David Letterman • Stephen Colbert • late night talk show • late night host
- Kimmel, Silverman Split Up
  
  newser | Vanity Fair | Jul 14, 08 5:15 PM CDT
  
  After 5 years together, Jimmy Kimmel and Sarah Silverman have broken up, reps for the newly minted ex-couple confirmed to Vanity Fair today. "Jimmy and Sarah have and will have no further comment," said a joint statement. Confessions of involvement with Matt Damon and Ben Affleck apparently didn't lead to the split of the talk-show host and actress. More »
  
  Tags
  
  comedy • actor • comedian • break-up • Matt Damon • Ben Affleck • Jimmy Kimmel • Sarah Silverman
- Bernie Mac's Act Too Salty for Obama
  
  newser | Chicago Sun Times | Jul 12, 08 4:12 PM CDT
  
  Bernie Mac landed in hot water for making off-color jokes about women while introducing Barack Obama at a Chicago fundraiser yesterday, reports the Chicago Sun-Times . His last quip—which had the word "ho's" in it—drew complaints from a heckler. When Obama came on, he chided the comedian playfully. “Bernie, you got to clean up your act. This is a family affair," the candidate said, adding, "I'm just messing with you, man.” More »
  
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  Barack Obama • comedy • fundraiser • comedian
- Friends Film Not Happening
  
  newser | BBC | Jul 4, 08 5:20 PM CDT
  
  Media reports of a coming Friends movie are false, the BBC reports. Warner Brothers' publicity director said there was “no truth” to stories of a film project that have circulated since the Sex and the City film became a blockbuster. Publicists for stars Mathew Perry and Courteney Cox say no film is currently planned. More »
  
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  television • movie • film • comedy • Jennifer Aniston • TV series • Friends • Matthew Perry • Lisa Kudrow • David Schwimmer • Matt Le Blanc
June 2008
- Obama's Race a Gift . . . for Comedians
  
  newser | San Jose Mercury News | Jun 27, 08 6:38 PM CDT
  
  In this election, at least one group is unafraid to play the race card: comedians. Entertainers may be the only ones who can talk candidly about the subject, the San Jose Mercury News reports. And boy, are they. “I'm voting for Barack Obama," said one comedian. "I did it because he's black. Not because he's intelligent, or well spoken or represents hope. Nope. You had me at Negro.” More »
  
  Tags
  
  Barack Obama • Obama 2008 • race relations • comedy
- Seinfeld: Death Was a Laughing Matter for Carlin
  
  newser | New York Times | Jun 24, 08 7:44 AM CDT
  
  Nine days ago death was just another thing to joke about for George Carlin, writes Jerry Seinfeld in the New York Times. The comics were talking about the deaths of Tim Russert and Bo Diddley, and Carlin said, “I feel safe for a while. There will probably be a break before they come after the next one.” More »
  
  Tags
  
  obituary • death • comedy • Jerry Seinfeld • George Carlin
- 'Genius' Carlin Broke Boundaries
  
  newser | Associated Press | Jun 23, 08 7:51 AM CDT
  
  George Carlin was an anti-establishment legend who constantly pushed the boundaries of free speech and comedy, writes Keith St. Clair for the AP. No doubt, his “Seven Words You Should Never Say on Television”—he was arrested for uttering them in 1972, and they eventually led to a Supreme Court ruling upholding the government's right to punish public obscenity—will be widely quoted today. "He was a genius," said the former partner of the comic, who died Sunday of heart failure. More »
  
  Tags
  
  US Supreme Court • comedy • arrest • comedian • George Carlin
- 70s Comic Icon George Carlin Dies
  
  newser | Reuters | Jun 23, 08 3:59 AM CDT
  
  Provocative comedian George Carlin died yesterday of heart failure in a Santa Monica hospital at the age of 71, Reuters reports. The counterculture hero, who long battled heart and drug problems, had been admitted earlier in the day complaining of chest pains. He was known for boundary-stretching, drug-referencing routines. One of his most famous schticks on seven "dirty words" led to a First Amendment battle in the US Supreme Court. More »
  
  Tags
  
  television • comedy • comedian • stand up comedy • George Carlin
- Ventriloquists Speak Up for Themselves
  
  newser | Wall Street Journal | Jun 20, 08 3:03 PM CDT
  
  Ventriloquism has been on the outs since the '70s, but its fortunes are starting to turn, the Wall Street Journal reports. Symbolizing the resurgence of the vaudeville favorite is Terry Fator, a winner of NBC’s America’s Got Talent competition, who recently picked up a yearlong headlining gig at the Las Vegas Hilton. More »
  
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  NBC • Las Vegas • comedy • documentary • documentary film • puppet
- Get Smart Not So Clever
  
  newser | Rotten Tomatoes | Jun 20, 08 12:15 PM CDT
  
  The film version of the 1960s TV spy parody Get Smart can’t decide if it's an action flick or a comedy, and it shows. It’s “an action comedy that represents the worst of both worlds,” Mick LaSalle writes in the San Francisco Chronicle —“as funny as a gently smiling mime” while “bloated, confused and convoluted” in the manner of bad action movies. More »
  
  Tags
  
  film • movie review • comedy • action movie • Steve Carell
- Love Guru Is Beyond Help
  
  newser | Rotten Tomatoes | Jun 20, 08 8:40 AM CDT
  
  Love isn't the right word to describe how most critics feel about The Love Guru , Mike Myers' first live-action comedy in 5 years. Myers stars as a self-help guru paid to revive the love life of a hockey player, but his mugging isn't enough to salvage "a collection of scattershot jokes clothes-pinned to such a slender plot," Colin Covert writes in the Minneapolis Star-Tribune. More »
  
  Tags
  
  movie • movie review • comedy • Jessica Alba • Michael Myers
- Deepak Chopra: 'Catch God With His Pants Down'
  
  newser | Newsweek | Jun 18, 08 2:24 PM CDT
  
  Real-life new-age guru Deepak Chopra is a big fan of Mike Myers' movie, The Love Guru, and writes that laughing at God is exactly what we need right about now. "More comedies should cross the line between vulgar lampoon and reckless disrespect. Let's catch God with his pants down—or more especially those who peddle faith in God so self-righteously," Chopra writes. More »
  
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  religion • comedy • humor • Deepak Chopra • The Love Guru
- Is Franken Too Vulgar for Politics?
  
  newser | Washington Post | Jun 18, 08 6:51 AM CDT
  
  Al Franken was cracking tasteless jokes for decades before entering politics, but it may be his opponent in the Minnesota Senate race who'll be accused of coarsening debate if he dares to brings them up, Michael Gerson writes in the Washington Post . Franken calls his work "provocative, touching, and funny" satire—but Gerson doesn't think it's worthy of the name. More »
  
  Tags
  
  Senate • comedy • Minnesota • satire • Al Franken • Norm Coleman
- Sex Robots Haunt Franken's Senate Bid
  
  newser | Bloomberg | Jun 9, 08 12:39 PM CDT
  
  It’s not easy being a comedian-turned-Senate candidate. Al Franken’s bid to replace first-term Minnesota Republican Norm Coleman has hit some speed bumps lately, Bloomberg reports. Though Franken has nabbed the party’s endorsement, he’s been dogged by bits from his past—like a 2000 Playboy article entitled Porn-O-Rama , which describes human-robot sex in graphic detail—and the GOP isn't hesitating to dredge up more. More »
  
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  Senate • comedy • Minnesota • pornography • Al Franken • Playboy
- Paul Sills, 'Orson Welles of Improv'
  
  newser | Chicago Tribune | Jun 3, 08 2:00 PM CDT
  
  For a performer, Paul Sills kept a pretty low profile. But make no mistake: The Second City co-founder was a massive influence not just on improvisational comedy, but on comedy and theater in general. Without Sills, who died yesterday at 80, there would be no Chicago improv scene, no Saturday Night Live , no 30 Rock , Chris Jones writes in the Tribune . More »
  
  Tags
  
  obituary • Chicago • comedy • theater • Saturday Night Live • 30 Rock
May 2008
- A Comic Star is Born?
  
  newser | Los Angeles Times | May 29, 08 9:00 PM CDT
  
  He didn’t plan it this way, but Danny McBride will end up in three of the summer’s biggest comedies, the LA Times reports. In The Foot Fist Way , Pineapple Express , and Tropic Thunder , viewers will see McBride get beaten, shot, blown up with a grenade, and tortured—all while laughing themselves silly. Pretty good for a guy who was working the night desk at a Holiday Inn before the Foot Fist shoot. More »
  
  Tags
  
  comedy • comedian • Ben Stiller • screenwriters • Pineapple Express
- SNL Finale Promises Fall Yuks
  
  newser | Washington Post | May 19, 08 2:55 PM CDT
  
  It’s been a long, sometimes-bumpy road for Saturday Night Live , Tom Shales writes in the Washington Post , but the 33rd season finale showed the cast—and guest John McCain—in fine comic form, and was a ratings success to boot. SNL generally thrives in highly political times, and Shales feels the current cast is well-equipped to make the best of this extraordinary election. More »
  
  Tags
  
  John McCain • television • McCain 2008 • comedy • Saturday Night Live • Nielsen Ratings • TV ratings
- McCain Pitches Old Geezer Jokes on SNL
  
  newser | New York Times | May 18, 08 9:10 AM CDT
  
  Although renowned for his fiery temper, John McCain turned up on Saturday Night Live last night to poke a little fun at his age. "What should we be looking for in our next president?" he asked. "Certainly, someone who is very, very, very old.” If elected McCain, 71, would be the oldest American president in history. More »
  
  Tags
  
  John McCain • presidential campaign • comedy • campaign • Saturday Night Live • cameo • Barbra Streisand
- Top 10 Reasons Hillary Clinton Loves America
  
  newser | CBS | May 6, 08 10:23 AM CDT
  
  Hillary Clinton took some time off the campaign trail on primary eve to appear on David Letterman. Here, the “Top 10 Reasons Hillary Clinton Loves America”: We have more Dakotas than every other country combined Canadian bacon: soggy and chewy; American bacon: crisp and delicious Thanks to the Internet, I can order new pantsuits 24/7 More »
  
  Tags
  
  Hillary Clinton • comedy • David Letterman • TiVo • Teddy Roosevelt

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