Journalist/Comedian Harmon Leon dives into comedy cult classics, comedic influences, and all things comedy history.
Lenny Bruce was a comedian who wasn’t afraid to speak his mind. And because of that, he became a martyr for free speech. Between 1961 to 1964, he was arrested on obscenity charges 8 times - for performing stand up comedy. You might have seen a fictional portrayal of Bruce on The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel.
In this CH101 episode we dive into the history of Lenny Bruce, censorship, and free speech in stand up comedy.
The late George Martin will always be best remembered for his legendary work as the producer of The Beatles. Did you know that the man who made the Fab Four sound amazing got his start as a producer of comedy albums?
Yes, the man behind creating the soundscape for A Day in the Life - also produced comedy albums for Peter Sellers, The Goon Show, and Beyond the Fringe (featuring Dudley Moore). Producing comedy is where Martin learned his chops to produce such Beatles classics as Strawberry Fields Forever.
Roseanne was supposed to be the big comedy breakout star of Trump’s America… and look how that turned out. So, why are there so few right-wing Republican comedians who can extend the comedic olive branch across both sides of the political aisle? And how come every time there’s a Republican version of The Daily Show - it fails?
We dive into the fine art of right-wing comedy and its proclivity to punch down rather than punch up….
Today’s episode jumps off from a story I did for the Observer - on the release of Nick DiPaolo’s right-wing comedy special that he deemed “Too dangerous for Netflix and too honest for Comedy Central.”
