Journalist/Comedian Harmon Leon dives into comedy cult classics, comedic influences, and all things comedy history.
CH101 Select: Just for Laughs is the largest comedy festival in the world. Based in Montreal, the festival has helped launch the careers of such comedians as Jerry Seinfeld, Mitch Hedberg, Jimmy Fallon, Ali Wong, Amy Schumer, etc...
Last year, the festival was canceled due to bankruptcy, but its back for 2025.
We talk to Darren Frost - a Canadian comedian who started performing at the festival in the mid-90s - on the history of Just for Laughs.
We dive deep into the life and career of the comedian who gets “no respect,” Rodney Dangerfield.
Author Michael Seth Starr joins Comedy History101 to talk about his new biography Nothin’ Comes Easy, revealing how Dangerfield clawed his way back into comedy at age 45, the origins of his famous catchphrase, how he rewrote his persona, and finally got the respect he deserved. From aluminum siding to The Ed Sullivan Show to Caddyshack, we trace the underdog rise of one of comedy’s most iconic voices.
We dive headfirst into the wonderfully weird world of comedian Andy Kaufman with director Alex Braverman, helmer of the new documentary Thank You Very Much.
The doc explores Kaufman’s legendary career of comedy as performance art, wrestling women, and the high art of confusing audiences. We talk Foreign Man, performance-as-prank, and what it’s like digging through Kaufman’s surreal legacy.
