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40 Random Bits of Trivia That Are Like Amphetamines for the Comedy Nerd

Stand-up, sketch, TV and movies. If it’s funny (or tried to be funny) we have it here!

40 Random Bits of Trivia That Are Like Amphetamines for the Comedy Nerd

November 15, 2024

This list is making us feel like overconfident salespeople. We’re doling out so many facts about comedy in its various forms that it feels like they’re all dangling from the inside of our trench coat.

Whaddya want, buddy? You want stand-up? We got that. You want sketch? We got that. You want a 2013 Adrien Brody-led Dirty Harry parody movie called Flirty Harry? You bet your ass we got that too!

40

Sammy Petrillo

COMEDY NERD Richard Pryor and Dennis Miller both got mentored by Sammy Petrillo. Petrillo was Jerry Lewis' double, and also did on-stage comedy in a double act with Suzie Fiore. CRACKED.COM — Source

39

Schitt’s Creek

CRACKED EUGENE & DAN LEVY'S SCHITT'S CREEK. A massively successful father/son creation, the Canadian comedy ran for 6 seasons and swept all the major comedy categories at the 2020 Emmys. Eugene won for outstanding lead actor in a comedy, and Dan took home outstanding supporting actor. — Youtube / TV Insider

38

Jim Norton

COMEDY NERD CRACKED.COM JIM NORTON THINKS THAT DOING COMEDY WON'T HELP IF, SAY, YOU'RE DEPRESSED. al Channels Coast to Cozst % Commercial-Free Mus MUS In fact, he says, you should realize that doing comedy is only going to make your depression worse. You'll walk up onstage, the crowd won't like you, you'll go home, you'll be suicidal, you'll get addicted to it, and you'll make it a lifestyle. — Source

37

Yuk Yuk’s

Comedy hotbeds YUK YUK YUK'S The stand-up comedy club was founded by Mark Breslin in 1976. Since then, most Canadian comedy greats got their start at Yuk's. Norm MacDonald, Jim Carrey, Seth Rogen, Howie Mandel, Russell Peters, Tom Green, and many more. CRACKED — Yuk Yuk’s Blog
The Globe and Mail

36

Rodney Dangerfield

Comedy Late Bloomers Rodney Dangerfield got noticed at 45 years old. Не actually began comedy at 19, but quit to support his family. After 15 years of selling aluminum siding, he gave comedy another try and booked The Ed Sullivan Show at 45. CRACKED — Public Domain/Wiki Commons
Ed Sullivan Show

35

Richard Lewis

COMEDY NERD David Brenner (guest host of the Tonight Show) mentored Richard Lewis. Не even gave Lewis a loan so he could afford to quit his job and start a new comedy career. CRACKED.COM — Source

34

Bridesmaids

COMEDY NERD GRACKED.COM SIX MEMBERS OF THE MOVIE'S CAST WERE MEMBERS OFTHE GROUNDLINGS BRIDAS MAIBU Melissa McCarthy, Kristen Wiig, Annie Mumolo, Maya Rudolph, Wendi McLendon-Covey, and Ben Falcone all performed together in the LA comedy group, The Groundlings. — Source: Groundlings

33

Chris Rock

COMEDY NERD Chris Rock wanted to make a comedy show with Cardi B, but it didn't take off. Не noticed her when she wasn't big yet, and thought she had great talent for comedy- but the show never got picked up. CRACKED.COM — Source

32

Bill Murray

Bill Murray suggested a day of mourning for American comedy when Kung Fu Hustle came out. GRACKED.COM There should have been a day of mourning for American comedy the day that movie came out, Murray said, because it was the supreme achievement of modern comedy. — GQ

31

Strangers with Candy

COMEDY NERD BEHIND-THE-SCENES FACTS Strangers with Candy made Comedy Central history. 26 CRACKED.COM The show was Comedy Central's first original, live-action, non- sketch series. Yeah, that's a lot of qualifiers, but pretty cool nonetheless. — IGN

30

David Zucker

David Zucker, comedy legend Best: Airplane! More laughs per minute than AlRMi any other movie, this spoof is everything that every comedy should striv

29

Demetri Martin

CRACKED Demetri Martin left NYU Law School for The Comedy Cellar. After turning down Harvard twice, and leaving Yale for a full scholarship to NYU Law, Martin saw the Comedy Cellar right across the street, dropped out and never looked back. — Source

28

Animal Planet

Disastrous Comedy 2002 Comedians Unleashed Not to be confused with Comics Unleashed, this was Animal Planet's attempt at a stand-up comedy show. Here's the kicker: It was only animal-themed jokes. They only aired one episode. CRACKED — Source

27

The Second City Toronto

Comedy hotbeds THE SECOND CITY TORONTO You wouldn't think a Canadian branch would get as popular, but Toronto's Second City produced SCTV from 1976 to 1984, and included John Candy, Rick Moranis, Catherine O'Hara, Eugene Levy, Joe Flaherty, Andrea Martin, and Martin Short. CRACKED — The Second City
The Second City

26

Ricky Gervais

Comedy Late Bloomers Ricky Gervais was 40 when The Office premiered. Originally a singer in the new wave pop group Seona Dancing, Gervais began writing comedy with Stephen Merchant in his 30s before The Office premiered in 2001. CRACKED — BBC
Harvard Business Review

25

Patton Oswalt

COMEDY NERD CRACKED.COM PATTON OSWALT IS APPARENTLY ADDICTED TO MOVIES, AND WROTE A BOOK ABOUT THAT. It's named, Silver Screen Fiend, and according to the description, it's about how silver screen celluloid became Patton's life schoolbook, informing his notions of acting, writing, comedy, and relationships. — Source

24

Del Close

COMEDY NERD CRACKED.COM Del Close never told tales like these at Second City. Improvisational comedy guru Del Close made an improbable team with Suicide Squad creator John Ostrander. Nevertheless, they birthed cult-favorite Wasteland-a weird horror anthology comic book from the 1980s. — DC Universe Infinite

23

Workaholics

COMEDY NERD The Comedy Central show Workaholics had cameos from The Black Keys. Dan Auerbach and Patrick Carney played two guys involved in a small claims court case that had to do with, uh, the sale of a hovercraft. CRACKED.COM — Source

22

Trevor Noah

COMEDY NERD Trevor Noah has had plenty of comedy mentors, including, say, Jay Leno. Leno told him to not to stop touring because, he says, it's like a muscle that you might not be able to rebuild. CRACKED.COM — Source

21

Premium Blend

PREMIUM BLEND Stand-up comedy was cheap and early Comedy Central needed cheap programming. Premium Blend featured short sets by soon-to-be-famous comics, launching acts like Mitch Hedberg, B.J. Novak, and Demetri Martin into their own Comedy Central Presents specials. CRACKED.COM — IMDB

20

Derrick Comedy

Donald Glover was discovered through YouTube. While studying at NYU, Glover co-created a sketch comedy group called Derrick Comedy. The group was a hi

19

Adam Scott

BEHINO-THE-SCENES FACTS THE MOVIE WAS ADAM SCOTT'S FIRST VENTURE INTO COMEDY. STEP BROTHERS Despite mainly being known as a comedic actor, Scott didn't start his career that way. Step Brothers was his first time starring in a comedy and he says the experience helped him prepare for future projects like Party Down and Parks and Recreation. CRACKED.COM — Source

18

Chucky

CHUCKY Chucky hiding in the toilet is a shout-out to the 1985 comedy-horror, Ghoulies. CRACKED.COM — Source

17

Dot Comedy

Disastrous Comedy 2000 Dot Comedy As the internet was still this new and exciting thing, ABC tried to capitalize by having a terribly unfunny host show off silly computer products, like a mouse that doubles as a deodorant stick. It aired one episode and was canceled two days later. CRACKED — Source

16

William Shatner

CRACKED WILLIAM SHATNER ONCE PERFORMED STAND-UP COMEDY AS CAPTAIN KIRK. Shatner reports it went terribly. — William Shatner Once Did Stand-Up Comedy in Character as Captain Kirk / Cinemablend

15

The Golden Girls

CRACKED BEA ARTHUR & BETTY WHITE The Golden Girls castmates were polar opposites, and although it made for great comedy on screen, White said that Arthur found her sunny disposition annoying, and they rarely spoke off-camera. — The Richest / People / Waldina

14

Jeff Bridges

Serious actors and directors doing comedy Jeff Bridges in The Big Lebowski After a lifetime making dramas, Bridges stumbled upon comedy gold with the Coen brothers by just playing a heightened version of his mellow self. Yes, he also appeared in the Barbra Streisand-led om-com The Mirror Has Two Faces, but we don't talk about that movie. Nobody does. CRACKED.COM

13

Key & Peele

KEY& PEELE THEY BOTH DRAW INSPIRATION FROM COMEDY ICONS. Keegan-Michael Key cites Richard Pryor and Peter Sellers as his comedy dads, whereas Jordan Peele grew up loving Steve Martin and Martin Lawrence. CRACKED.COM — Source: Ranker
Photo Credit: Angela George/Wiki Commons

12

Pete Davidson

COMEDY NERD CRACKED.COM JON STEWART AND PETE DAVIDSON ORGANIZED A COMEDY EVENT FOR 9/11 CHARITIES. It was held on September 12, 2021, and featured a long list of comedy legends. All the proceeds went to 9/11 charities. — Source

11

Louis C.K.

COMEDY NERD Louis CK used to do absurdist comedy, but he can't stand those jokes now. I used to hear my act and go 'This is shit and I hate it.' I'd been doing the same hour of comedy for 15 years and it was shit, I promise you, he said. CRACKED.COM — Source: 13 Times Comedians Flat-Out Regretted Their Old Jokes

10

Bob Saget

COMEDY NERD CRACKED.COM SURE, BOB SAGET WAS BEST KNOWN FOR ACTING AND COMEDY, BUT НЕ LOVED DIRECTING. Directing was basically his passion - he started doing it at college, and won a Student Academy Award in 1978. He'd directed four feature-length movies. — Source

9

Tim Allen

COMEDY NERD CRACKED.COM TIM ALLEN TRIED TO MAKE A COMEDY WITH GEORGE LOPEZ CALLEDAMIGOSIN 2006. The movie would feature Allen and Lopez, both known for playing sitcom dads, as in-laws who have to overcome their differences to raise a grandson together. — Source

8

Adam McKay

COMEDY NERD CRACKED.COM Не was depressed while making Talladega Nights. WO The Ferrell NASCAR comedy was McKay's biggest opening and the #1 movie in America. It was everything you would want out of that experience, says McKay. And in the classic Hollywood fashion, I'm at the lowest point I've been at for a while. — Vanity Fair

7

Judd Apatow

what's the deal withGIRLS? Just another comedy from JUDDAPATOW CRACKED.COM Like seemingly every other comedy in the 2010s, Apatow had a hand in producing Girls. Dunham on their first meet: After an hour, he said: 'Well, it doesn't seem like we're going to kill each other. I guess we should — New York Times

6

Kathy Griffin

Kathy Griffin ... LOTS OF THEM CRACKEDCO In terms of pure numbers, Kathy Griffin has been putting in the work. Her unfiltered style of comedy has ea — Source: ScreenRant

5

Beetlejuice

15 Early Drafts For Horror Movies That Are Totally Bonkers - Beetlejuice was almost completely devoid of comedy - The fantasy comedy horror was origin — Source: 6 Classic Movies That Were Almost Ruined By Horrifying Ideas

4

Johnny Knoxville

Johnny Knoxville's embarassing Special Olympics comedy The Ringer Had the biggest box office opening weekend sales drop ever Opening Sales: $2.376,98

3

Amy Schumer

Mike Tyson rudely heckled Amy Schumer while she was performing at the Comedy Central Roast of Charlie Sheen. She responded by ROAST CHFRLIE jokingly a

2

Adrien Brody

In 2013, Academy Award winner Adrien Brody played a parody of Dirty Harry called Flirty Harry in the movie InAPPropriate Comedy. His character only

1

Lucille Ball

Who is this ravishing Hollywood starlet? She was the first woman to run a major TV studio. Comedy legend Lucille Ball. oo CRACKED COM

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