May 1, 2015

Richard Pryor Statue Unveiling This Weekend In Peoria

Richard Pryor will be honored in his hometown with the unveiling of his statue this weekend. The city of Peoria, Illinois and the African-American Hall of Fame will officially dedicate the larger-than-life bronze sculpture titled “Richard Pryor – More than just a Comedian” on Sunday, May 3rd.
February 9, 2015

The Latest From Aries Spears and Wil Sylvince, News from Lisa Lampanelli, and Is Kevin Hart Pitching Househusband Headphones?

Jeffrey Gurian is a writer and comedian in New York who loves to Jump Around. Follow his regular column, right here, to find out what’s happening in comedy, and who Jeffrey Gurian ran into this week in and around New York. This week, Jeffrey reports from The Stand, Gotham Comedy Live and Westbury New York.
January 25, 2015

Jeffrey Gurian Remembers the Great Joe Franklin

Joe Franklin, tv and radio host, and media personality passed away Saturday night at the age of 88. Joe was an important part of television and radio, especially in New York City for the past six decades but his influence stretched way beyond New York. Franklin gave so many great performers their first breaks, talking with over 300,000 guests if that's possible. One of them was New York based comedian and writer, Jeffrey Gurian who not only sat down with Franklin on his show, but considered him a friend, and spent some time with in him his final hours before he passed. Jeffrey was kind enough to share some of his memories of Joe with us.
October 23, 2014

Mike Epps Tells Kimmel About Playing Pryor

This summer, it was announced that Mike Epps would be playing Richard Pryor in a biopic, but we haven't heard much else about it, so Mike Epps filled us in on some details on Jimmy Kimmel's show last night. It's going to be directed by Lee Daniels, and Oprah is playing the grandmother.
October 10, 2014

A Comic’s Life: Bob Newhart Writes Back

Dan Perlman is a young writer and comic, who has been performing comedy for 4 years . He performs nightly in New York City, and tours around the country at festivals, clubs and colleges. "Before I Forget" is a series of articles by Dan, which chronicles some of his thoughts and stories along the way, keeping notes of some of the high notes, and the low notes of a young comedian just getting started in his career. This week, he writes about being in middle school, writing to his comedy heroes, and getting a letter back, from Bob Newhart.
August 29, 2014

Neal Brennan Talks About The Approval Matrix, Comedy Kale and Why Journalists are Hypocrites

Neal Brennan—a standup veteran, writer, director of Inside Amy Schumer, and co-creator of Chapelle's Show—has now taken on yet another venture: he's the host of Sundance's new show The Approval Matrix. Currently in its third week, the show is based on the much-loved back page of New York Magazine, which grades pop culture topics on a scale of “brilliant to despicable,” and “low-brow to high-brow.” With only three episodes under his belt, Brennan has already managed to offend masses, calling Louie C.K. “the kale of comedy” and stating that he believes “affirmative action has no place in art.” Neal sat down with us to discuss his new job, his comments about kale, and why he thinks journalists are hypocrites (uh-oh).
August 11, 2014

Paul Provenza and Ron Funches Hit Up NYC Clubs

Jeffrey Gurian left the Just For Laughs Festival in Montreal weeks ago, but he's still jumping around New York, and anywhere else that comedy calls. Follow his column to find out what's happening in comedy, and who Jeffrey Gurian ran into this week in and around New York.
May 4, 2014

Mel Brooks: 40 Years After ‘Blazing Saddles’

Mel Brooks 40th anniversary of Blazing Saddles has a Blu-ray edition out Tuesday, May 6. He made a recent appearance at the Turner Classic Film Festival to give everyone the inside poop of what he thinks is the funniest movie of all-time.