Journalist/Comedian Harmon Leon dives into comedy cult classics, comedic influences, and all things comedy history.
The Purple Onion was a legendary comedy club in San Francisco. It was a small, basement club that had its heyday in the 1950s and 60s -and helped launch the careers of Phyllis Diller, The Smothers Brothers, Lenny Bruce, Woody Allen, and Richard Pryor.
Opened in 1952, the Purple Onion ran for roughly 60 years before closing its doors in 2012.
The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour ran from 1967-1970. It was considered the edgiest comedy show of the time. It also launched the careers of Steve Martin - who was a writer for the show, along with Rob Reiner and Bob Einstein aka Super Dave Osborne.
The Smothers Brothers constantly butt heads with the censors. But on November 12, 1987 President Ronald Reagan welcomed the duo into the White House.
What went down?
Find out more in this episode of Comedy History 101…
We continue with Part 2 of our history of the National Lampoon Radio Hour; the show that evolved into Saturday Night Live and featured such iconic comedy figures as John Belushi, Gilda Radner, Harold Ramis, Bill Murray, Christopher Guest, Richard Belzer, and Chevy Chase.
We cover our favorite episodes of the NL Radio Hour and how Lorne Michaels scooped up all the talent for SNL.
