“If you don’t know where you’re going, any road will get you there” – George Harrison
Follow Joey Skaggs, cultural proctologist, on TikTok at joeyskaggs.artist.
Stan Mack’s Real Life Funnies, New Book
Cartoonist Stan Mack, a man with an uncanny sense of the ironic, has a new book coming out June 11, 2024, published by Fantagraphics. It chronicles his much revered Village Voice comic strip called Stan Mack’s Real Life Funnies, which appeared weekly from 1974 to 1995. It’s a beautiful book that appropriately pays homage to his insight and talent. The book is available for pre-order here.
Columnist and author Joe Enright just published this wonderful interview with Stan: Tales of New York – an interview with cartoonist Stan Mack, Red Hook Star-Revue, April 9, 2024.
Duping the Dopes
Update July 12, 2018: Roy Moore admits Sacha Baron Cohen tricked him too and threatens to defend his so-called honor.
Sacha Baron Cohen is back.
Sarah Palin Says Sacha Baron Cohen Tricked Her Into a Fake Interview for His New Show
by Alix Langone
Time
July 10, 2018
Former vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin took to Facebook Tuesday to let Sacha Baron Cohen know exactly how angry she feels about being duped for his new prank TV series.
Palin, who sat down with her daughter for an interview with Cohen, is outraged that the comedian, along with Showtime and CBS Corp., pretended to tap her for a “legit Showtime historical documentary.”
“Yup – we were duped. Ya got me, Sacha. Feel better now?”
Cohen, of Borat and Ali G fame, prank interviewed Palin for his upcoming show Who Is America?, which premieres on Showtime Sunday, July 15 at midnight, but will regularly air at 10 p.m ET.
Promo:
Palin posted. “I join a long list of American public personalities who have fallen victim to the evil, exploitive, sick ‘humor’ of the British ‘comedian’ Sacha Baron Cohen, enabled and sponsored by CBS/Showtime.”
He reportedly filmed numerous interviews with well-known politicians and public figures for the prank series, including former Vice President Dick Cheney, who was convinced to sign a “waterboard kit” on camera.
Read the rest of this article here.
Stand-up Comedians Regroup Against Trump’s Shade
Satire has always been our front line of defense against the insanity of our so-called leaders. But with Trump’s alternative reality reaching such exalted new heights, comedians need new strategies.
As we approach the first summer of the Trump presidency, comics are realizing their job isn”t figuring out the perfect way to skewer President Trump””their job is to find the humor that pushes us past him, his acrimony, and his chaos. If that”s even possible.
Funny, How? Inside Stand-Up Comedy’s Donald Trump Problem
by Burt Helm
GQ
June 2, 2017
The absurd usually makes for great comedic fodder. But when the source of that ridiculousness is the man tasked with, you know, running the United States…is it still funny? Everyone from Jerrod Carmichael to Michael Che to Lena Dunham is trying to figure that out.
On a Monday night in January, people looking to escape the gloom and chaos of Donald Trump”s first two weeks in office gathered at Brooklyn”s Knitting Factory for Michael Che”s Secret Show. Tickets to the special comedy event, which benefitted Planned Parenthood, went on sale five days after the inauguration and four days after the Women”s March became one of the largest-scale protests in American history (also, three days after the birth of “alternative facts,” two days after the President pushed false voter fraud rumors, and one day after the first reports of his impending refugee ban). The show sold out in under an hour. As soon as Cipha Sounds, a New York City-based DJ and comedian, took the stage and started spinning, heads in the crowd were bobbing, expectant smiles on their faces. “Out of the five fingers on your hand, which one do you feel represents your feelings toward Donald Trump?” asked Cipha, cranking the volume on CeeLo”s “Fuck You.”
“It”s not about an agenda. It”s more about bringing you guys a fun fucking show,” Che said, welcoming the audience. He brought up a comedy Dream Team: Kevin Iso, Mike Birbiglia, Amy Schumer, Colin Quinn, Lena Dunham, Leslie Jones, John Mulaney, and Che”s partner on Saturday Night Live”s “Weekend Update,” Colin Jost. But this was not a night for liberals to forget their woes. None of the performers could finish his or her set without referencing the political climate. They went dark; they looked for bitter laughs. Continue reading “Stand-up Comedians Regroup Against Trump’s Shade”
Veteran Crank Yankers Celebrate the Lost Art of the Prank Call
In the ’90s, Comedy Central’s Crank Yankers showcased popular comedians and kept alive the hallowed cultural tradition of the phone prank. Here, stars Adam Carolla and Jim Florentine reminisce and reflect.
“Crank Yankers’ Adam Carolla and Jim Florentine on the ‘Lost Art’ of the Prank Call”
by Jake Lauer
Paste
June 1, 2017
There”s something nostalgic about prank phone calls. They”re the product of a bygone era, and if you were born before the invention of caller ID, they were likely a part of your childhood.
“Maybe there”s a nostalgic feel to them because you can”t do them anymore, says Jim Florentine, one of the stars of Comedy Central”s Crank Yankers and the voice of fan-favorite character Special Ed. “Now you get harassment charges. It”s really a lost art.”
It”s been 15 years since comedians Adam Carolla and Jimmy Kimmel introduced the world to Crank Yankers, the hilariously offensive show where puppets, voiced by comedians, harass unsuspecting people with prank phone calls. The show was a huge hit, running for four seasons””three on Comedy Central and one on MTV 2.
Crank Yankers featured some of the biggest names in comedy, including Dave Chappelle, Sarah Silverman, Tracy Morgan and Dane Cook (before he became a household name). Carolla, who produced the show with Kimmel, voiced Mr. Birchum, a crotchety Vietnam War veteran who berated anyone who spoke with him.
Paste spoke with Carolla and Florentine about Crank Yankers”s 15th anniversary, the art of the perfect prank call and the unaired calls that went too far. Read more.