Laugh Tracks Legends of Comedy with Randy and Steve Randy Hodgins and Steve McLellan

Pacific Northwest comedy fans will know this Legend, and others will be happy for the introduction. Almost Live! is a relic from an age when a local tv station could afford to produce its own comedy show, often besting the network offerings in terms of laughs per minute. Originating on Seattle's KING TV in the 1980s, Almost Live! originated as a talk show with comedy bits, but soon morphed into a half hour sketch show aired just before Saturday Night Live. The cast and the writing were superb, and the local flavor given to the sketches led to "water cooler" recaps throughout the next week. Eventually the show fell victim to budget cuts imposed by new out-of-state station owners, but it's a measure of Almost Live's impact that several partial reboots have been tried (with some success), there's a big YouTube library of shows and sketches, and a fun podcast tracks down the cast today. As always find extra clips in the comments, thanks for sharing our shows, and if you are driving in Ballard, keep your speed to 7 MPH.
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Part of Almost Live's charm is they could get all manner of local celebrities to get in on the fun. The Lame List featured top Seattle metal musicians proclaiming their opinion on current events. https://youtu.be/hGpBnB-jYa8?si=O9jxm7xo06IR4dPF
John Keister presided over Almost Live and his monologues and news parodies dipped deep in the well of Northwest Lore -- as in the case when WSU became a dry campus. https://youtu.be/NkaYaxRF2Dc?si=gLnbvxpS6DHvBhtF
Almost Live managed a tone of affectionate irreverence about all things Seattle -- especially the neighborhoods. Case in point -- The Ballard Driving Academy. https://youtu.be/nyz6mkvlEgA?si=8-_BQgHu8hDVU8v8
Like any good sketch troupe, Almost Live! cast members had their niches, and Pat Cashman excelled as a master of characters -- especially those commercial pitchman. Match that talent with the fact that an exotic rug store in Seattle's Pioneer Square was always "going out of business" and you get comedy gold. https://youtu.be/erCFOteg_t4?si=W2_HrYZQIEmrLxa9

OK, fans of public radio, it's time to put on your thinking cap because science class is here! Don't worry -- it's not that kind of science class because here at Laugh Tracks Legends we take our science clues from Ask Dr. Science, the creation of Dan Coffey and Duck's Breath Mystery Theater. Heard on more than 150 public radio stations in its heyday, the routine never varied. Asked a listener question by his assistant Rodney (the great Merle Kessler), Dr. Science would embark on the most tangential of explanations. Eventually the radio show spun off several books and a short-lived tv version. Why did we love him -- perhaps it's because "he knows more than you do!" Learn more about the show and it's inspirations this episode and as always find extra cuts below and thanks for sharing our shows.
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Part of the magic of Dr. Science was the vibe established by the theme, the bouncy announcer, and the interplay between Dr. Science and his assistant Rodney. Here's a full episode -- and many more are on YouTube. https://youtu.be/C4if77OAii8?si=m01rw-4Nlz7ovwau
Dr. Science scored a short-lived Fox TV series in 1987, featuring all five members of Duck's Breath. The final episode -- The National Science Test -- is classic. https://youtu.be/2YebJ6lzKpY?si=ayLSM_pjoPsWz3J7
We like to say "all comedy is derivative" and Dr. Science owes at least some of his mojo to Bob and Ray who featured a segment called Ask Mr. Science back in the 1950s. https://youtu.be/J96h5viahAA?si=dl6DY0WJlAT8r0FR

Meet Leo Bloom, The Waco Kid, Willy Wonka, Dr. "Fronk-un-steen" and so many more when you meet this week's Legend -- actor, writer, and director Gene Wilder. From a serendipitous meeting with Mel Brooks, Gene would build an astounding career with characters that always balanced the comedy with some human heart. Gene made just 37 movies over the course of his career, but for people born in the 1950s he was seemingly ubiquitous. Gene ended his most active years with a series of films with fellow Legend Richard Pryor, and he went into semi-retirement after the tragic death of his wife Gilda Radner. But occasionally, Gene would pop up on television in small but juicy role such as his guest spot on Will and Grace which earned him an Emmy for best guest actor in a comedy series. As always find extra clips below and thanks for sharing our shows!
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Gene was essential to Mel Brooks' raunchiest and most provocative movie -- Blazing Saddles. Here's the full clip of Gene's Waco Kid explaining the facts to Cleavon Little's Sheriff Bart. https://youtu.be/hYTQ7__NNDI?si=qlE_g3kh6KHxZJoM
Gene's breakout film role was as nervous accountant Leo Bloom in The Producers. Paired with Zero Mostel, the duo made a irresistible comedy movie team. https://youtu.be/QgJBvEMOpWQ?si=zccr3lJNF65XnTXW
Young Frankenstein is the pinnacle of Gene's work with Mel Brooks -- it's elegant, even touching in places -- yet filled with the clever and often naughty comedy expected from the duo. https://youtu.be/2p5AG0Tqh3A?si=nSahuc1C_0Po-U6G
Gene made a series of highly successful films with Richard Pryor including Stir Crazy in which their wildly different personalities come in handy when they are sent up the river for a robbery they didn't commit!https://youtu.be/oyU6En9HN8E?si=1M4iLuToIAhjsxmr

Come on brothers and sisters, let it all hang out. So sayeth Brother Dave Gardner who built a huge following in the 1950s and early 60s by telling long and sly stories, often in the mode of a Southern preacher -- but a hip one. Originally a musician, Dave brought a jazz cadence to his work. He also was a devotee of the demon weed, and a 1960s marijuana bust sharply curtailed his career. He remained a favorite on campuses and in clubs before a sharp turn into conspiracy theories, coupled with a Lenny Bruce-like shift into dispensing such theories from the stage sent him to the sidelines. But look at any used record store and you'll still find Brother Dave albums from his glory years, a pretty good indicator of how many he sold back in the day. Find extra cuts below and, as always, thanks for sharing our shows!



 
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Dave's signature bit was called The Motorcycle Story. He reworked it and retold it for his entire career, but here's the original incarnation. https://youtu.be/f-PtWvQuIdk?si=LWvajJG9Y9LlGoIt
 
Dave's stories were a wild mix of beatnik slang, southern asides, and flights of imagination. Here's one of his best and most popular, his reworking of Shakespeare's Julius Caesar. https://youtu.be/QpZPqAwXWZ4?si=tKd8zOHfWlYhuEX9
 
Brother Dave was mostly known as a storyteller, but he could deliver a punchline as well, especially when it came to contrasting southern and northern folks. https://youtu.be/hAGgupJv0Wk?si=r2_xPQ98q0pWFACV
 
Here's a little something extra. Dave was fond of telling his audience to just "let it all hang out". Around the same time The Hombres took that phrase and a great beat to the top of the Billboard charts, reputedly inspired by Dave's bit. Here it is in all it's one hit wonder glory!https://youtu.be/kRIr1PPz2uM?si=LSiEwuBgeWh6_zL_

"How are ya?" To fans of SCTV that can mean only one thing -- Bobby Bittman is in the house. The creation of Eugene Levy, Bobby is the epitome of a certain era of comic -- very loud, very full of himself, and very Vegas. Whether as a guest on the Sammy Maudlin show, his own special, or on other shows within the SCTV universe, a Bittman appearance would guarantee lame jokes, false sincerity, and a lot of shtick. Levy played the character throughout SCTV's six seasons and a few years after that show wrapped created a faux-documentary for Cinemax called The Enigma of Bobby Bittman. So take yourself back to the era when Johnny still ruled late night tv and the Vegas shtick masters still roamed the strip and prepare yourself for the comedy magic of Bobby Bittman. As always, find extra clips below and thanks for sharing our shows!
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Bobby always greeted fans with his catch phrase -- well, it was really just "How are ya?" but delivered in a way you could feel the bombast on it's way. This time out Bobby cuts a library PSA though he appears to have little familiarity with the services they provide. https://youtu.be/PDHiHIKIOFs?si=GLlLaE96kbfDYnaJ
Bobby's main hang on SCTV was on the Sammy Maudlin show, a parody of celebrity "love fest" talk shows. This is worth every minute of its run time -- it's the Sammy Maudlin 23rd anniversary special. You're welcome!https://youtu.be/eqsGIMHNNcI?si=UzDwgd9S-gv_ZKy3
Bobby (as played by Eugene Levy) had an ego that knew no bounds. The same could be said for John Candy's Orson Welles. Put them together in a show called The Mirthmakers and allow them to over-intellectualize about comedy and the result is SCTV magic. https://youtu.be/xA_xROmH-oc?si=d4ObQEELAhQKx3C4
Unlike SNL, SCTV often built entire shows around extended movie parodies and one of the best was Maudlin's Eleven, a razor sharp parody of the Rat Pack movie Ocean's Eleven. Painfully on point, and Bobby Bittman is right in the middle of it all. https://youtu.be/qbd25kYIiuQ?si=I5Ga1PRROENolfbt

How sweet it is! While we hope you say that after every episode, this week it's mandatory as we feature Jackie Gleason who ruled over variety television in the 1950s and 60s, as well as inventing iconic characters and sketches that influence pop culture to this day. Originally an MC and nightclub comic, Gleason caught the eyes of network execs who tapped him to host a variety show called The Cavalcade of Stars. The show was later moved from New York to Miami Beach and renamed the Jackie Gleason show, recognizing the star power of the host. It was on that show that Jackie invented his most enduring character, loudmouth bus driver Ralph Kramden who anchored the "Honeymooners" sketches. Not just a comedian, Gleason was a master actor, able to play both comedy and dramatic roles and he earned an Oscar nomination for his role as pool legend Minnesota Fats in The Hustler. He also could do broad comedy as his long run as Sheriff Buford T Justice in the Smokey and the Bandit movies proved. And what about those Saturday nights alone with your lover -- well Jackie had you covered there as well with a string of highly successful "romantic music" albums. It all adds up to a unique and legendary career. As always find extra clips below and thanks for sharing our shows.
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In pop culture Jackie Gleason and Ralph Kramden are joined at the hip. Through sketches on the Jackie Gleason show and a standalone sitcom, The Honeymooners were must see television and inspired another iconic show -- the animated Flintstones. Here is the full bit where Ralph decides he just won't mambo. https://youtu.be/_-FhWB1POWQ?si=sinTj3YRAqY3hbw8
While Ralph Kramden is Jackie's best known character, he had many other gems including sophisticated playboy Reginald Van Gleason who was responsible for delivering his "How Sweet It Is" catchphrase. https://youtu.be/f-aR6IoiN-Q?si=7rfepLuKmvT5fxmI
When the part called for broad comedy Jackie could deliver, as in his long run as the blustering Sheriff Buford T. Justice in the Smokey and the Bandit franchise. https://youtu.be/TjLUPXLPvKo?si=naEK5z7M86ODk8nR