comedian

Stories 101 - 120 | << Prev   Next >>

Springsteen Auctions Guitar, Lasagna for $300K

He headlined this year's Stand Up For Heroes event

(Newser) - The 8th annual Stand Up For Heroes comedy and music mash-up in New York this week raised more than $1 million, and more than half of that was thanks to Bruce Springsteen. He managed to auction off a heck of a night (a guitar he has played, an hour-long lesson...

Saturday Night Live Alum Jan Hooks Dead at 57

Comedian had 'serious illness'

(Newser) - Former Saturday Night Live star Jan Hooks died today at age 57, reports CNN . The actress and comedian had been battling a "serious illness," reports TMZ . Hooks performed on SNL from 1986-91, the era of Chris Farley, Phil Hartman, Dana Carvey, and Mike Myers, among others. Her role...

Sorry, Joan Rivers, People Took You Way Too Seriously

Charlotte Alter: Hypocrites who criticized her are now praising her

(Newser) - Look around today, and you'll find no shortage of breathless praise of Joan Rivers describing how bold and funny she was. The thing is, when she was alive, some of those very same outlets were criticizing her as mean, vulgar, and offensive, writes Charlotte Alter at Time . Rivers joked...

Joan Rivers Dead at 81
 Joan Rivers Dead at 81 
Sep 4, 2014 2:09 PM CDT

Joan Rivers Dead at 81

Comedian's daughter makes announcement

(Newser) - Joan Rivers is dead at age 81, daughter Melissa announced today. The comedian "passed peacefully surrounded by family and close friends," said the statement. (Read it in full here .) As the Daily News recounts, the news comes after Rivers stopped breathing during a routine throat procedure on...

Joan Rivers 'Resting Comfortably': Daughter

'Keep her in your thoughts and prayers,' says Melissa

(Newser) - Joan Rivers is "resting comfortably" in the hospital with family, daughter Melissa announced late yesterday. But amid reports that the 81-year-old comedian has been placed in a medically induced coma , Melissa Rivers offered no further details about her mother, who reportedly stopped breathing during a routine throat procedure. "...

Joan Rivers in Critical Condition
 Joan Rivers 
 'Stable but Critical' 
UPDATED
Aug 28, 2014 7:08 PM CDT

Joan Rivers 'Stable but Critical'

She stopped breathing during throat procedure, say reports

(Newser) - Joan Rivers stopped breathing during a throat procedure this morning and is in "stable but critical condition," reports E! Online . The 81-year-old comedian is now at Mt. Sinai Hospital in Manhattan, but the hospital isn't saying much. The Daily News reports that Rivers has been placed in...

30 Rock's Tracy Morgan in ICU After Car Wreck

His limo bus overturned on New Jersey Turnpike

(Newser) - Comedian Tracy Morgan was seriously injured in a six-vehicle highway accident overnight, reports CNN . The 30 Rock and Saturday Night Live star remains in intensive care after the accident about 1am on the New Jersey Turnpike, reports NBC Philadelphia . Morgan's limo bus overturned near Trenton with six passengers aboard,...

Comedian John Pinette Dies
 Comedian John Pinette Dies 
OBITUARY
Apr 7, 2014 1:04 AM CDT

Comedian John Pinette Dies

He played mugging victim in Seinfeld finale

(Newser) - Veteran comedian John Pinette has been found dead in a Pittsburgh hotel room. He was 50 years old. The comic, best known for his appearance as an overweight mugging victim in the final episode of Seinfeld, died of a pulmonary embolism, his manager tells the Hollywood Reporter . Pinette, a regular...

Tonight Show Fave, Comedian David Brenner Dies at 78

Standup pioneered observational comedy of Seinfeld

(Newser) - Other veteran comics could head straight to The Tonight Show couch to banter with Johnny Carson, but David Brenner had to do a stand-up routine when he was a guest. Finally, Carson told a puzzled Brenner why. "I like to sit back, smoke a cigarette and laugh for six...

Sid Caesar Dead at 91
 Sid Caesar Dead at 91 
obituary
Feb 12, 2014 2:48 PM CST

Sid Caesar Dead at 91

TV legend broke new ground with his 'Your Show of Shows' in 1950

(Newser) - One of TV's very first stars is dead at age 91, reports Variety . Sid Caesar hosted the groundbreaking variety program Your Show of Shows beginning in 1950 and, later, Caesar's Hour. As most of his obituaries quickly point out, among the writers who got their start with him...

Not So Funny? Comedians Have Psychotic Traits

Score higher compared to those in 'non-creative' jobs

(Newser) - Plenty of people would agree comedians are a bit crazy—but are they psychotic? Not quite, but they measure as having higher levels of psychotic personality traits than those in "non-creative" professions, a new study finds. Researchers had 523 comedians, 364 actors, and 831 people in the "non-creative...

SNL Finally Lands Black Actress

Sasheer Zamata gets the gig after New York audition

(Newser) - Saturday Night Live has landed a black female comedian, and her name is Sasheer Zamata. The venerable sketch comedy show announced today that she will debut on January 18 when Drake is hosting, Deadline reports. SNL was under fire for going five years without a black female cast member and...

'I'm Not Sorry' for Vets' Joke, Writes Comedian

Natasha Leggero bucks a trend, challenges her over-the-top critics

(Newser) - Empty public apologies are all the rage these days, but comedian Natasha Leggero is taking a different route. "I'm not sorry," she wrote on her Tumblr after taking heat for a joke she made on NBC on New Year's Eve about World War II vets....

Comedian Punches Reporter After Tweet-Diss

Dan Nainan arrested at DC comedy contest

(Newser) - A decidedly unfunny moment at DC's Funniest Celebrity competition, at least for one journalist: While professional comedian Dan Nainan was onstage as a headliner, Newsweek/Daily Beast correspondent Josh Rogin sent out a few critical tweets. ( Sample : "Dan Nainan makes his umpteenth joke about how Asians cant distinguish...

Court Forces Judge to Pick Between Gavel, Comedy

Vince Sicari picks comedy

(Newser) - Vince Sicari just did the most dangerous thing in show biz: Quit his day job. New Jersey's Supreme Court ruled unanimously that Sicari can't moonlight as a comedian and still be a judge, and given the choice, Sicari turned in his gavel. "I'm not surprised by...

N. Korean Comic Pulled Off Stage, Sent to Coal Mine

Lee Choon Hong mentioned 'sensitive issues' onstage: report

(Newser) - North Korean authorities weren't laughing over a comedian's "slip of the tongue"—and sent her straight into forced labor, the Daily Mail reports. Lee Choon Hong, known for her mimicry and satire, was performing for workers at a 150,000-acre farm project when she mentioned "...

Seth Meyers to Replace Fallon
 Seth Meyers to Replace Fallon 
May 12, 2013 1:27 PM CDT

Seth Meyers to Replace Fallon

'SNL' head writer heading over to new NBC 'Late Night' gig

(Newser) - Seth Meyers is trading in the "Weekend Update" desk to succeed fellow Saturday Night Live alum Jimmy Fallon over at Late Night, reports Entertainment Weekly . “We think Seth is one of the brightest, most insightful comedy writers and performers of his generation,” says NBC's entertainment chief....

Comic Jonathan Winters Dead
 Comic Jonathan Winters Dead 
obituary
Apr 12, 2013 12:21 PM CDT

Comic Jonathan Winters Dead

Improv legend who inspired Robin Williams was 87

(Newser) - Jonathan Winters, the cherub-faced comedian whose breakneck improvisations and misfit characters inspired the likes of Robin Williams and Jim Carrey, has died at age 87. Winters was a pioneer of improvisational standup comedy, with an exceptional gift for mimicry, a grab bag of eccentric personalities, and a bottomless reservoir of...

Ellen Honored as Trailblazer With Mark Twain Prize
 Ellen Honored 
 as Gay Trailblazer 
MARK TWAIN PRIZE
Oct 23, 2012 8:07 AM CDT

Ellen Honored as Gay Trailblazer

DeGeneres receives top honor in humor

(Newser) - Some of the nation's top comedians hailed Ellen DeGeneres as a trailblazer at the Kennedy Center last night as she received the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor, the highest US humor prize:
  • "For a lot of people, Ellen is their only homosexual friend. She's there in
...

Sarah Silverman's New Target: Voter ID Laws

Video lampoons push to keep minorities, students from voting

(Newser) - Sarah Silverman wants you to get a gun permit, because unlike a student ID, it'll give you the right to vote. In 2008, the comedian advocated "the Great Schlep " down to Florida to encourage grandparents to back Barack Obama; now she's illuminating new voter ID laws...

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