Albert Brooks is mainly known for his movies that he’s written and directed but he started out in the late ‘60’s and early ‘70’s as a stand-up comedian and was very influential in that field. He didn’t tell jokes like most traditional stand-ups did back then, it was more of a sketch type stand-up act that would influence comedians like Steve Martin, Martin Mull and Andy Kaufman. He also did two comedy albums and produced films for the first season of Saturday Night LIve before embarking on his movie career. Today I’ve got six links to articles and videos about Albert Brooks’ early career and then there’s the MBIP Coming Attractions as to what’s going to happen here on the blog next week!
Albert Brooks Is Funnier Than You Think - This is a great and somewhat definitive feature article on Albert Brooks reprinted online from the July 1983 issue of Playboy. There’s lots of information about his early career and some great quotes and this is one of my favorites from the article: “If you don't succeed on your own ground, then there's no reason to succeed," he says. "Unless, of course, you really want a boat” Ha ha ha!
Comedy Prof Albert Brooks Spits It Out - This is the first feature article in Rolling Stone about Albert Brooks. It was originally published in January of 1974 and notes that his comedy is in a different light than some of the popular comedians back then in including Richard Pryor and Cheech and Chong.
Albert Brooks: The Works - This is a nice succinct biography and summation of his career.
Popdose Flashback: The Comedy Albums of Albert Brooks - In addition to stand-up comedy, Albert Brooks made two comedy albums that were also very influential in the world of comedy and broke new ground in that field. This is a wonderful article about both of the albums.
Albert Brooks: The Dais of His Life - This is a quick New Yorker article about Albert Brooks’ life and career.
Albert Brooks' Impersonation Kit on Johnny Carson's Tonight Show - 1983 - This is one of my favorite bits he ever did on The Tonight Show. I’ve probably watched it over 100 times and always laugh like a crazed hyena at it!
Last week I returned to the roots of Saturday Night Cheeseburger and this week I did it again! Last night I went to the classic Peoria bar, Castle’s Patio Inn for a cheeseburger dinner and had a great meal and a wonderful evening and you can read all about it on tomorrow’s post. Tuesday we continue with the seven months of steak tour and I tried a new steak entree at Noir in Peoria Heights. Wednesday I’m finally going to do another installment of the “Can I Eat My Lunch In Here?” series. I’ve been saying I’m going to do this for a couple of weeks and keep chickening out of it, but this week I promise I’m going to do this awkward segment! Thursday is yet another random People of Peoria segment and Friday we’re going to try another chilly dinner on the second “Frozen Food Friday” segment. And we’ll end the week with the third “Tasteless and Somewhat Crude Saturday Cartoon” episode. So get ready for all of that and have a super funny and runny Sunday! We’ll see you all tomorrow!
Related Posts: Sunday Links: The Twilight Zone, Their Satanic Majesties Request and Dick Clark.
I’ve been doing a weeklyMBIP feature on the radio show The Church Of Rock which is broadcast worldwide out of Oregon. Check out and like their facecrack page right here. Every week I pick a song and give a little talk about it before it airs. The hosts of the show are Rev. Derek Moody (some of you know him as Bloody Mess) and Sister Tracy. It’s a lot of fun and tonight we’re talking about The Ramones. The show starts at 9PM CST and my segment will air around 9:15PM. Rev. Derek and Sister Tracy are also interviewing Country Joe McDonald in addition to playing some great rock ‘n roll tunes tonight. Be there or be L7! You can listen by streaming from the KSKQ website right here!