I remember watching a lot of stand-up when I was younger. I remember knowing who Jerry Seinfeld and Ellen Degeneres were before they had TV shows (before Ellen’s sitcom I mean). I remember seeing this weird comic named Geechy Guy. I think I might remember Emo Phillips from that time but I’m not sure. I definitely remember John Pinette (who died today, which is what sparked this search).
Thing is, I remember watching it in the “front room” which was where our TV was before we got cable in 1991. And even when we did have cable we didn’t have HBO (HBO had a stand-up series). I feel like it was on a broadcast station, not Comedy Central or anything. I just don’t remember watching stand-up in the new room that had cable.
I’m looking all over and I just can’t find any info but now I am wondering if it was a syndicated version of “An Evening At The Improv” which was on A&E. The reason I think it might be syndicated is that a syndicated version would not only have been on a broadcast station, but it’d be a lot cleaner than a cable show, and my parents were pretty strict about what we watched. I was a pre-teen, and we watched the show together.
If nothing else, it’s possible that my parents let us rent stand-up tapes from the video store but I really feel like it was on TV.
Were you far enough north that you might have gotten a CBC station?
In the time period in question, they aired the Montreal Comedy Festival (under the title Just For Laughs, which is the parent show of the hidden camera show of the same name, which is called JFL Gags up here). I’m pretty sure Seinfeld and Ellen played it, and I know Pinette and Emo did (it’s where I first saw both of them). I have no idea about Geechy Guy.
There used to be a series called Comic Strip Live from around that same time period, and it ran on network TV (on Fox). Could that be what you were thinking of? That’s where I first saw John Pinnette, Steve O (not the Jackass guy), Dom Irerra, John Mendoza, Rondell Sheridan, and Bruce Baum would sometimes do stand-up, and also have short films featured on it.
ISTR two different broadcast comedy shows in the 80s, but I can’t quite remember their names.
One was where I saw Rosie O’Donnell when she was just starting out, dressed in a sweatshirt, jeans, and IIRC hair in a ponytail. I think it was called “Comedy Tonight”. Its theme was very short - E G G E G. It was not the same show as the PBS series. It was syndicated, not on one of the big three networks.
I remember another show where the host was a younger comedian, heavy-set, blonde and mostly bald on top who always wore a 3-piece suit. I think the show was named after him, and I think his first name was Bill (not Engvall). I first saw Pam Stone on it. She wore a pink sweater and her hair was in a flip.
Yes, that’s got to be it!! Not sure I remember short films but I kept thinking it was on Fox. Looking at the [sadly short] article, I totally remember Wayne Cotter!
In the mid 80s to early 90s stand-up comic shows were *everywhere *on broadcast and cable. A microphone stand in front of a brick wall became a TV cliche. They were like reality shows now…
See I sort of thought so too since my family would have only watched them if there was nothing else on. But the only references I could find to such shows were HBO, A&E and BET. Before Comedy Central.
One I can think of that hasn’t been mentioned yet was MTV’s Half Hour Comedy Hour hosted by Mario Joyner. And I’m pretty sure the three networks used to variously run some late at night (like after 1AM) on Fridays & Saturdays before basic cable took off.
I remember all the comedians wore the same “uniform” back then. Gym shoes, jeans, no shirt, just a T shirt and a sport jacket with the sleeves rolled up. And of course the obligatory bottle of water on a barstool.
You’re certainly welcome. Those shows got me into stand-up. I study it religiously. And, as mentioned elsewhere on these boards, performed for about 6 years.
I visited his page before I posted and hoped to find some insight but it’s surprisingly lacking.