MP3 interview with Neil Simon

You know him as the writer and playwright behind a bevy of classic comedies

Right click here to check out the interview in MP3 format

And click here to check out the collection of his work on DVD and VOD from Amazon

Jerry Stiller (SEINFELD!) and Anne Meara: 50 minutes of MP3 download fun!

Right click here to download part one

and here to download part two

It's a bevy of comedy history as this great team discuss their decades doing comedy.

Influenced George Carlin: The Ritz Brothers: Hotel Anchovy: Watch Online

This is the first Ritz Brothers film from 1934 which prompted the films distributor Twentieth Century-Fox to sign the team to a contract which would turn into a career that lasted until their swan song comeback in 1975 with "Blazing Stewardesses".

As mentioned the team influenced the late great George Carlin however don't expect cutting edge political and social comedy (remember Carlin was also influenced by the song and dance comic Danny Kaye) - it's more a glimpse into the classic days of vaudeville and you can watch it in streaming video below direct from Youtube.

If you likez what you see click here to check out a bevy more Ritz Brothers titles on disc over at Amazon.com

George Carlin: Mark Twain Prize for American Humour: Watch Online

It's the entire PBS broadcast in embedded video direct from Youtube. I've included all parts as a playlist so they'll play one after another.

Featuring: Richard Belzer , Lewis Black, Margaret Cho, Ben E. King, Dennis Leary, Bill Maher, Joan Rivers, Garry Shandling, Jon Stewart and Lily Tomlin

On the Set with The Three Stooges.

Click here to watch part one
Click here to watch part two

Runs approx 9 minutes total

The above home videos are from the production of the Three Stooges feature film "The Outlaws is Coming".

The actual film is a relatively enjoyable romp. Perhaps the best of their feature film outings with Curly-Joe DeRita and it co-stars Batman's Adam West - so what's not to like there?

Click here to check it out on DVD over at Amazon.com

70 minute Rare Stan Laurel Interview Recorded in 1957 - 1 week after Ollie died

Art B Friedman interviews Stan Laurel in August 1957,

Click here to download in MP4 direct from Google.com

Groucho Marx MP4 download on The Today Show (1963)

Click here to download in MP4 direct from Google.com
Runs approx 5 minutes

Laurel and Hardy: A Tribute to the Boys: Watch Online

Click here to view in embeded video direct from Google Video
Runs 93 minutes

Featuring Johnny Carson and a bevy more comedic greats on the legendary Laurel and Hardy

and click here to check out this nifty Laurel and Hardy movie figure set over at Amazon.com


Featuring:

Dom DeLuise ... Himself - Host / Narrator
Steve Allen ... Himself
Johnny Carson ... Himself
Blake Edwards ... Himself
Rich Little ... Himself
Walter Matthau ... Himself
Henny Youngman ... Himself

Why was the award Harry Shearer given named after Del Close?

So who was Del Close? He was the man who worked with some of the most famous names in comedy and whose fingerprints are on what's improv comedy as we know it today perhaps more than anyone else.

You can click here to check out his Wikipedia page however there's a great 60 minute look at Close by the The Sound of Young America as they speak with the Upright Citizens Bridage and a bevy more on the recent Dell Close festival in NYC where performers all over the city paid tribute to Close

Click here to play or right click to download in MP3

In 2005 a book on Close called "Guru" was published and Harold Ramis has expressed interest in directing it and having Bill Murray play Close so we'll have to keep our eyes open to see if that materializes.

FYI; Here's a list of folks he's worked with hroughout his career (I'm sure you'll know many of he names)

* John Belushi
* John Candy
* Stephen Colbert
* Andy Dick
* Chris Farley
* Tina Fey
* Aaron Freeman
* Tim Kazurinsky
* Shelley Long
* Bill Murray
* Mike Myers
* Bob Odenkirk
* Tim O'Malley
* David Pasquesi
* Amy Poehler
* Gilda Radner
* Harold Ramis
* Andy Richter
* Dave Thomas
* Stephnie Weir
* George Wendt

Shemp Howard starring in "Society Mugs" - 1946

A high society babe decides to call a male escort service to get a companion for a big ass society event when her husband leaves to fish for the day. Sure enough through comic misadventure she winds up with Shemp in one of the solo works he did sans Three Stooges pals Moe Howard and Larry Fine for Columbia Pictures.

It was first released on Sepember 19th, 1946 and runs approx 16 minutes

Three Stooges MP4: Nertsery Rhymes

Click here to download in MP4 format to your computer
Runs approx 19 minutes

This is the first Three Stooges short filmed.

Before Larry, Moe and Curly signed up with Columbia they worked for a mean called Ted Healy who basically threated the stooges how Moe treated Larry and Curly in their Columbia Shorts. He was the boss of the show onstage and off.

Needless to say there came a point when the stooges had enough of being the "second bananas" to Healy and they severed their relationship with Healy and moved forward to become one of the greatest comedy teams in the history of media.

Ted Healy brought together a new set of stooges called "Healy's Stooges" to work with him however they never achieved much success. Healhy died in a bar brawl as a result of head injuries however there is a bit of mystery and conjecture revolving around his death.

According to "The Three Stiiges Scrapbook", co-written by Moe's daughter Moe was espically heartbroken over the death of Healy who he still considered a friend dispite their history.

Check back on The Naked Gord Program for more early Three Stooges shorts staring Healy and The Three Stooges or click here to check out a bevy of them on DVD over at Amazon.com. The disc is OOP but there are a number of copies running as little as $3.50. Frankly this is such a good disc any of the 5 that are below $20 are worth it.

"The Show" - Larry Semon and Oliver Hardy

Click here to download in MP4 direct from Google Video
Runs: 21 minutes/Released: 1922

Of course you all know Oliver Hardy from his classic work with Stan Laurel however you may not know the name Larry Semon (1889-1928) was already known as a comedy mega star of the day who rivaled the fame of Charlie Chaplin and who regularly worked with Both Laurel and Hardy before they even worked together. He created films that were known to be special effect extravaganzas which often caused his short subjects to cost as much as a feature film .

There was also a persistent rumour that he faked his own death (paging Andy Kaufman)

Apparently he's quite popular in Germany (who knew!) since they've released a "Best of Larry Semon" DVD that you can check out by clicking right here.

Google Video: In this 1922 Larry Semon short, Larry , the stage hand, essentially runs around doing magic tricks for 10 mins and then chases Oliver Hardy for 10 mins. Hardly the funniest film ever made but still interesting. Sadly does not include music as the soundtrack may not be in the public domain.