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FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 20, 2009
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NEWS ABOUT: comedy

comedy stories: 164 news summaries

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 Daily Show's 
 John Oliver 
 Gets Series 

Comic to host stand-up variety show

Nov 18, 09 1:56 PM CST
(Newser) - Comedy Central has ordered six episodes of a new series starring Daily Show correspondent John Oliver. Each installment of John Oliver's New York Stand-Up Show will feature performances from four comedians of Oliver's choosing—Janeane Garofalo, Brian Posehn, and Paul F. Tompkins are confirmed. "It's the most worthwhile way... More »

MORE ABOUT:
comedy • stand up comedy • The Daily Show • comedian • John Oliver

 'Kramer' Parodies Racist Rant 

Curb episode jokes about comedian's tirade

Nov 17, 09 2:48 PM CST
(Newser) - Michael Richards makes fun of the racist fit that derailed his standup career on the latest episode of Curb Your Enthusiasm. The show has a black character deceive Richards—playing himself—as part of a ruse by Larry David. Richards corners the character and begins to scream: "If only... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Larry David • Curb Your Enthusiasm • Seinfeld • comedy • racism • Michael Richards

Ha. Ha.

 Hollywood's Least 
 Funny Comics 

These guys get no respect, and they deserve it

Nov 16, 09 1:40 PM CST
(Newser) - You rarely see Carrot Top or Gallagher anymore, but showbiz is still full of guys who just aren’t funny. Sarah Bell of Newsweek points out the worthiest tomato targets:
  • Larry the Cable Guy: A really, really poor man’s Jeff Foxworthy, minus any actual jokes.
... More »

MORE ABOUT:
entertainment • television • Deal or No Deal • comedy • stand up comedy • Jay Leno • late night talk show • late night host • Howie Mandel • Dane Cook • Larry the Cable Guy • Carlos Mencia • Jeff Dunham

 Catholics 
 Rip Larry for 
 Whizzing 
 on Jesus 

Urine taken for 'miraculous tears' by Curb characters

Oct 30, 09 4:05 AM CDT
(Newser) - The US Catholic League has complained about an episode of Curb Your Enthusiasm that shows Larry David accidentally urinating on a painting of Jesus hanging in a bathroom. Other characters then think the painting is miraculously crying. "Was Larry David always this crude?" asked angry league president Bill Donahue.... More »

MORE ABOUT:
parody • satire • Larry David • Curb Your Enthusiasm • comedy • Catholic League • Catholic • Jesus Christ

OBITUARY

 Comic Soupy Sales 
 Dead at 83 

Always willing to take a pie in the face, he battled a variety of illnesses

Oct 22, 09 10:54 PM CDT
(AP) - Soupy Sales, the rubber-faced comedian whose anything-for-a-chuckle career was built on 20,000 pies to the face and 5,000 live TV appearances across a half-century of laughs, died tonight at 83. A longtime friend said Sales died at a hospice in New York, which he entered last week as... More »

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entertainment • television • Detroit • obituary • comedy • Frank Sinatra • pie • Shirley Maclaine • Soupy Sales • Tony Curtis

 Juno's Ellen Page 
 to Write Comedy 
 for HBO 

She'll team up with Alia Shawkat, Sean Tillman

Oct 8, 09 4:49 PM CDT
(Newser) - Ellen Page is expanding her horizons: the Juno and Whip It star will write and produce Stitch N’ Bitch, a new comedy for HBO. Page is collaborating with Arrested Development’s Alia Shawkat and Sean Tillman, also known as the musician Har Mar Superstar. The comedy centers on two hipster... More »

MORE ABOUT:
HBO • Los Angeles • Brooklyn • comedy • Arrested Development • Ellen Page • Alia Shawkat • Sean Tillman

Movie Review

 Love Kills Laughs 
 in Invention of Lying  


Oct 2, 09 8:54 AM CDT
(Newser) - Critics agree: The Invention of Lying should have been better. It’s got a great concept, and the subversive moxy to call religion a fib, but then turns into a standard romantic comedy. Here’s what they’re saying:
  • It’s a “wickedly funny idea” with the
... More »

MORE ABOUT:
comedy • movie review • Ricky Gervais • Jennifer Garner • romantic comedy

(Newser) - Most critics are still wondering why Megan Fox was chosen to host Saturday Night Live's 35th-season premiere, but they do understand the general fascination with her appearance. She helped out during her monologue, showing off nude shots of herself...as a centaur. A sampling of reactions:
  • After showing off
... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Saturday Night Live • entertainment • television • comedy • Megan Fox • season premiere • Jenny Slate

(Newser) - The Simpsons season premiere tomorrow night will feature rare double duty by a guest. Seth Rogen, a self-described "obsessed" fan, not only voices a character but co-wrote the episode. "I can die a happy man," he says. The show, in which Homer has to get in shape... More »

MORE ABOUT:
comedy • The Simpsons • Seth Rogen • Fox network

 Franken Gets 
 Funny Again 



Senator has crowd chuckling at Iowa fundraiser

Sep 14, 09 8:30 AM CDT
(Newser) - As a latecomer to the Senate this year, Al Franken’s been playing it straight—but he loosened up enough to venture a few jokes at an Iowa fundraiser yesterday, CNN reports. Discussing Sen. Tom Harkin’s new post as head of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee,... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Iowa • politics • Senate • comedy • humor • fundraiser • Al Franken • Tom Harkin • comedian • senator

 For Fake  
 Presidents, 
 Competition 
 Is Fierce 

Race is on for top Obama impersonator

Sep 8, 09 12:15 PM CDT
(Newser) - Think impersonating the president is a joke? For the professional actors trying to scratch their way to the top—to become First Impersonator—it's serious business, Slate reports. "I see this as a chance to grow as a dramatic actor," says one faux Obama. "Besides, it can... More »

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entertainment • satire • comedy • actor • George W. Bush • impersonator • President Obama

movie review

 This Extract Lacks Flavor 

Mike Judge effort offers a few laughs

Sep 4, 09 10:02 AM CDT
(Newser) - Mike Judge's Extract is a view of modern stupidity, the story of a regular guy among idiots, running a bottling plant and having trouble with his marriage. While it offers some chuckles, the Jason Bateman vehicle is no comic masterpiece:
  • “What’s most striking about Extract, beyond the
... More »

MORE ABOUT:
film • comedy • movie review • Mike Judge • Jason Bateman • Extract

glossies

 Real 
 Colbert: 
 'I Embody 
 the Bullshit' 

Earnest Colbert calls himself unambitious, religious

Sep 3, 09 8:50 AM CDT
(Newser) - It wasn't Stephen Colbert's on-screen persona who turned up for a recent Rolling Stone interview, but the real Stephen Colbert—a man as "preppy, earnest, and gentle" as Ned Flanders. In the interview, Colbert dishes on his style of deconstructing the news: "I take the sausage backwards, and... More »

MORE ABOUT:
parody • comedy • Jon Stewart • talk show • Stephen Colbert • The Colbert Report

 Comic's 
 Mother-in-Law 
 Sues Over Jokes 

Sunda Croonquist's mother-in-law seeks damages for Jew jokes

Aug 25, 09 4:44 PM CDT
(Newser) - The situation faced by comedian Sunda Croonquist sounds like it’s from one of her routines: mother-in-law sues comedian after being the butt of one too many jokes. But Croonquist’s mother-in-law is serious—she says her daughter-in-law makes her sound like a racist. She’s seeking unspecified damages and... More »

MORE ABOUT:
free speech • comedy • lawsuit • frivolous lawsuits • comedian • punitive damages • mother-in-law • in-laws

(Newser) - Britney Spears reads Letterman's top 10 list on tonight's show, ticking off the ways the world would be different if she were president, reports People. "We'd only invade fun places, like Cabo," she says in the pre-taped segment, in which she's clad in a black bikini. Other samples:... More »

MORE ABOUT:
television • Britney Spears • comedy • top 10 • David Letterman

Movie Review

 Nobody's Sold on The Goods  


Aug 14, 09 11:26 AM CDT
(Newser) - On paper, The Goods ought to be—well, good, given that it has plenty of funny people on both sides of the camera. Didn’t turn out that way. Here’s what critics are saying:
  • Seemingly pulled “straight out of Will Ferrell's discard pile,” the flick
... More »

MORE ABOUT:
comedy • movie review • Jeremy Piven • The Goods • Neal Brennan • James Brolin

(Newser) - Nobody’s No. 1 on O, the Oprah Magazine’s inaugural “Power List.” Indeed, no one’s any other number either.  “Power can be so many things,” the editors reason, so they’re honoring women who are powerful in different ways. A sampling:... More »

MORE ABOUT:
entertainment • theater • Al Gore • tennis • list • Oprah Winfrey • comedy • power • Venus Williams • Sarah Silverman • Donna Brazile • O, the Oprah Magazine • Anna Deavere Smith

(Newser) - As if its record 22 Emmy nominations weren’t enough, 30 Rock also recently landed a syndication deal. Tina Fey talks success—and Sarah Palin—with Broadcasting & Cable:
  • On possibly hosting the Emmys: "No, I think it's a hard job and a thankless one. I think
... More »

MORE ABOUT:
entertainment • NBC • NBC Universal • comedy • Tina Fey • celebrity • Comedy Central • award show • 30 Rock • Emmy Awards • Jay Leno • sitcom • Sarah Palin • syndication • The Jay Leno Show

movie review

 Giamatti Hot in Cold Souls 

Soul-searching film leaves critics mixed

Aug 7, 09 10:04 AM CDT
(Newser) - Paul Giamatti—who plays an actor named...Paul Giamatti—wows critics in Cold Souls, but some say the comedy as a whole, in which a man has his soul removed, leaves something to be desired.
  • "Cold Souls has its flaws, and it threatens to sag into a Paul-like
... More »

MORE ABOUT:
film • comedy • movie review • Paul Giamatti • Jay-ZTV

ANALYSIS

 Get Ready for 
 Massive Leno PR Blitz 

Get ready for Leno to be everywhere you look

Aug 5, 09 11:28 AM CDT
(Newser) - Get ready for Jay—lots and lots of Jay. Though nearly 80% of viewers are aware that the Jay Leno Show is on the horizon, NBC is going to beat you over the head until you're drooling for its 10pm venture, the New York Times reports. A 24-hour webcam has... More »

MORE ABOUT:
entertainment • NBC • advertising • comedy • celebrity • promotion • Jay Leno • late night host • publicity • public relations • primetime TV • The Jay Leno Show

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