Sunday, February 3, 2008

George Carlin

A legendary stand-up comedian, George Carlin may be best known for his routine about the seven dirty words you can't say on radio or television. It was the subject of a U.S. Supreme Court case. His observations about politics, religion and modern culture have kept him on comedy's cutting edge for several decades. A love of language and wordplay are a constant theme throughout his work. You can see it on display in this bit about the difference between baseball and football.

Sunday, January 27, 2008

Woody Allen

Known now primarily as a film director, actor and writer, Woody Allen has devoted his life to comedy. As a a teenager he gained fame contributing one-liners to Walter Winchell's influential newspaper column. He then became a TV comedy writer working on Sid Caesar's legendary "Your Show Of Show's." Taking a giant risk, he abandoned the high paid world of television writing to try his luck as a stand-up comedian. The rest, as they say, is history. Here's a typical Woody Allen stand-up routine from an appearance on "The Dean Martin Show."