ALAN KING: INSIDE THE COMEDY MIND {CATSKILLS} (TV)
Summary
One in this series of talk shows in which host Alan King chats with professionals about the art of comedy. In this program, King explores the lore of Catskills comedy with comedians Freddy Roman, Mal Z. Lawrence, and Dick Capri. The three guests are currently performing their "Borscht Belt" routines on Broadway in "Catskills on Broadway." Freddy Roman begins the program by recalling the difficulty he had convincing producers that "Catskills on Broadway" -- which is enjoying a successful run -- was a viable idea. Highlights include: Capri's reminiscences about his start in comedy and how the Italian comedian had to adapt his act to the Jewish Catskills audience; a clip of Freddy Roman in "The Big Room"; Roman's days as an NYU undergraduate and a shoe store owner before his emergence in the world of comedy; the three comedians' "killer" routines; a clip of Lawrence performing stand-up; the "crazy things" that happened in the Catskills; Roman's contention that "London audiences are very hip"; a clip of Dick Capri performing at "Ford Theatre Gala 1990"; pranks that comics play on Catskills' patrons, including Alan King's infamous "baker's daughter" gag; and King's story in support of his assertion that the late Phil Foster was "the funniest and cruelest of us all." Commercials deleted.
Cataloging of this program was made possible by The Hearst Corporation, 1998.
Details
- NETWORK: Comedy Central
- DATE: November 30, 1991
- RUNNING TIME: 0:23:06
- COLOR/B&W: Color
- CATALOG ID: T:29698
- GENRE: Talk/Interviews
- SUBJECT HEADING: Comedy; Stand-up comedy
- SERIES RUN: Comedy Central - TV series, 1990-1993
- COMMERCIALS: N/A
CREDITS
- Alan King … Executive Producer, Host, Interviewer
- Kiki Kazanas Steele … Supervising Producer
- Tom Werts … Producer, Director
- Frank Smiley … Co-Producer
- Uptown Horns, The … Theme Music by
- Freddie Roman … Guest
- Mal Z. Lawrence … Guest
- Dick Capri … Guest
- Phil Foster