Wacky Wednesday Comedy Showcase: Dick Shawn's Standup Act on the Johnny Carson Show

Comedian Dick Shawn was born Richard Schulefand in Buffalo, New York and raised in adjacent Lackawanna.  

He played a wide variety of supporting roles and was a prolific character actor. During the 1960s he played small roles in madcap comedies, usually portraying caricatures of counter culture personalities, such as deadbeat son Sylvester Marcus in It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World, the hippie actor Lorenzo Saint DuBois ("L.S.D.") in The Producers (1968), and as the voice of Snow Miser in The Year Without a Santa Claus.

In addition to roles in more than 30 movies and seven Broadway productions, Shawn made numerous television appearances, toured often, and periodically performed a one-man show that mixed songs, sketches, and pantomime. 

In this video clip of one of his appearances on The Johnny Carson Show, Shawn does a wacky wide-ranging monologue that includes the classic joke about a rabbi, priest, and minister giving their definitions of when life begins.

Enjoy!
 
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Wacky Wednesday Comedy Special: Jackie Mason, Mel Brooks and Carl Reiner in the 1960s

Today we take a deep dive into the comedy pool and come up with an undated video clip of two performances that brought back funny memories of the early days of comedy.

A very young Jackie Mason takes the stage in the first clip showing his interaction with the audience that would become very familiar in the 1960s.  

Then Dick Shawn introduces Mel Brooks and Carl Reiner in an early episode of the 2000 year-old man. They did their shtick many times on The Ed Sullivan Show and other TV variety programs but every segment was unique.

A SPECIAL NOTE FOR NEW EMAIL SUBSCRIBERS:  THE VIDEO MAY NOT BE VIEWABLE DIRECTLY FROM THE EMAIL THAT YOU GET EACH DAY ON SOME COMPUTERS AND TABLETS.  YOU MUST CLICK ON THE TITLE AT THE TOP OF THE EMAIL TO REACH THE JEWISH HUMOR CENTRAL WEBSITE, FROM WHICH YOU CLICK ON THE PLAY BUTTON IN THE VIDEO IMAGE TO START THE VIDEO.

Enjoy!

The Great Jewish Comedians: Dick Shawn Performs Standup Comedy on the Johnny Carson Show

Dick Shawn was born Richard Schulefand in Buffalo, New York and raised in adjacent Lackawanna. 

The best remembered roles of his career are the hot-headed Sylvester Marcus, son of Mrs. Marcus (Ethel Merman), in Stanley Kramer's It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World (1963) and easygoing Lorenzo St. DuBois/Adolf Hitler in the musical Springtime for Hitler, the play within Mel Brooks's movie The Producers (1968).

He had continued success with his stand-up comedy act that he successfully performed for over 35 years in nightclubs around the world. His award-winning one-man stage show, The Second Greatest Entertainer in the Whole Wide World, was sometimes performed with a unique opening. When the audience entered the theater, they saw a bare stage with a pile of bricks in stage center. When the play began, Shawn emerged from the pile of bricks. The startling effect of this required complete concentration and breath control because the slightest movement of the bricks could ruin the surprise appearance.

In addition to roles in more than 30 movies and seven Broadway productions, Shawn made numerous television appearances, toured often, and periodically performed a one-man show that mixed songs, sketches, and pantomime. 

In this video clip of his appearance on The Johnny Carson Show (hosted by Joan Rivers), Shawn does a monologue on Jews in athletics, announcing, and religion followed by a session on the interview couch with Rivers.

Enjoy!
 
SPECIAL NOTE FOR NEW EMAIL SUBSCRIBERS:  THE VIDEO MAY NOT BE VIEWABLE DIRECTLY FROM THE EMAIL THAT YOU GET EACH DAY ON SOME COMPUTERS AND TABLETS.  YOU MUST CLICK ON THE TITLE AT THE TOP OF THE EMAIL TO REACH THE JEWISH HUMOR CENTRAL WEBSITE, FROM WHICH YOU CLICK ON THE PLAY BUTTON IN THE VIDEO IMAGE TO START THE VIDEO.