178 Fun Facts About Comedy

Who created Saturday Night Live?

Lorne Michaels created Saturday Night Live, which premiered on NBC on October 11, 1975, broadcast from Studio 8H at 30 Rockefeller Plaza.

Which comedian hosted the very first episode of SNL on October 11, 1975?

George Carlin hosted the October 11, 1975 premiere, then billed as NBC's Saturday Night; Billy Preston and Janis Ian were the musical guests.

What nickname was given to SNL's original cast?

The original cast was billed as The Not Ready for Prime-Time Players, a troupe that included John Belushi, Dan Aykroyd, Gilda Radner and Chevy Chase.

Which cast member, who joined in 2003, became the longest-serving in SNL history?

Kenan Thompson was already a sketch veteran when he joined in 2003, having been an original cast member of Nickelodeon's All That in the 1990s.

Who was the first recipient of the Kennedy Center's Mark Twain Prize for American Humor, in 1998?

He grew up in Peoria, Illinois, and won the Grammy for Best Comedy Album five times.

Who received the Mark Twain Prize in 2010 at age 40, then its youngest honoree?

Tina Fey was 40 when she accepted the 2010 Mark Twain Prize; Will Ferrell followed in 2011 and Ellen DeGeneres in 2012.

Which comedian became the first woman to host a late-night network talk show, on Fox in 1986?

Joan Rivers launched The Late Show on Fox in October 1986; she had been Johnny Carson's permanent guest host, and the move ended their friendship.

Which SNL alum earned an Academy Award nomination for the 2006 film Dreamgirls?

Eddie Murphy earned a Best Supporting Actor nomination as James 'Thunder' Early in Dreamgirls; his 1987 concert film Raw grossed about $50 million.

Which comedian walked away from a $50 million Comedy Central contract when he quit his own sketch show in 2005?

Dave Chappelle retreated to a farm near Yellow Springs, Ohio, after quitting, and later won the Mark Twain Prize in 2019.

Which 1950s sitcom pioneered the three-camera setup filmed on 35mm in front of a studio audience?

I Love Lucy (1951) shot with three 35mm film cameras before a live audience; the film prints, unlike kinescopes, kept the episodes sharp for endless reruns.

In 'Job Switching', Lucy and Ethel fall hopelessly behind a factory conveyor belt carrying what?

The belt carries chocolates; Lucy and Ethel stuff the candies into their mouths, hats and blouses to hide their failure from the supervisor.

On a 1990s NBC sitcom, which character's mother Babs revealed that his first name was Cosmo?

Kramer's mother Babs revealed the name Cosmo in 'The Switch', a sixth-season Seinfeld episode that aired in January 1995.

Which sitcom's writers worked under the rule 'no hugging, no learning'?

Seinfeld's writers banned sentiment under the rule 'no hugging, no learning'; the show 'about nothing' ended in 1998 with a finale seen by about 76.3 million viewers.

In Friends, what is the name of the coffee house where the group spends most of its time?

Central Perk is the Greenwich Village coffee house where Rachel takes her first job on the show, waitressing badly.

About how many US viewers watched the Friends finale in May 2004?

About 52.5 million US viewers watched the May 6, 2004 finale, the most-watched entertainment telecast since the Seinfeld finale six years earlier.

The US version of The Office is set at a paper company branch in which Pennsylvania city?

Dunder Mifflin's Scranton branch is the setting; Greg Daniels adapted the show for NBC, where it ran nine seasons and 201 episodes.

The original British version of The Office follows the Slough branch of which fictional paper company?

Wernham Hogg is the paper merchant whose Slough branch Ricky Gervais's David Brent manages; the show won the 2004 Golden Globe for best comedy series.

Fawlty Towers is set in a dysfunctional hotel in which English seaside town?

Fawlty Towers is set in Torquay; Basil was inspired by Donald Sinclair, owner of Torquay's Gleneagles Hotel, where the Monty Python team stayed in 1970.

How many episodes of Fawlty Towers were made in total?

Two series of six, written by John Cleese and Connie Booth, and that was it.

Which half of a famous comedy duo was born in Ulverston, England, in 1890?

Stan Laurel was born Arthur Stanley Jefferson in Ulverston in 1890; his partner Oliver Hardy was born Norvell Hardy in Harlem, Georgia.

A gold record of which comedy routine was placed in the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1956?

Who's on First?, Abbott and Costello's routine about players named Who, What and I Don't Know, was honored with a gold record in the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1956.

Commedia dell'arte, the early professional theatre with masked stock characters like Harlequin, originated in which country?

Italy's commedia dell'arte troupes toured Europe from the 16th to the 18th centuries, performing outdoors with masks and improvised dialogue.

The word 'slapstick' comes from the batacchio, a club-like stage prop made of what?

The slats clapped loudly on impact, so a stage beating sounded painful without hurting anyone.

The word 'vaudeville' is often said to derive from a French phrase meaning what?

A popular etymology traces vaudeville to 'voix de ville', French for 'voice of the city'; the circuit ruled American variety entertainment from the 1870s to the early 1930s.

Which silent film comedian's stoic expression earned him the nickname 'The Great Stone Face'?

Buster Keaton's deadpan earned the nickname; in Steamboat Bill, Jr. (1928) he stood still as a two-storey house front fell around him, saved by an open window.

In 1919, Charlie Chaplin co-founded which film distribution company to control his own movies?

United Artists was founded in 1919 by Chaplin with Mary Pickford, Douglas Fairbanks and D. W. Griffith so the stars could control their own films.

The 'Borscht Belt' resort circuit that launched generations of comedians was located in which mountains?

The Catskills resorts like Grossinger's and the Concord catered to Jewish vacationers from New York City and gave comics a summer-long stage.

The Comedy Store on the Sunset Strip occupies a building that was once which famous Hollywood nightclub?

Ciro's, the celebrity nightclub at 8433 Sunset Boulevard from 1940 to 1957, became The Comedy Store in 1972; Mitzi Shore took over the club after divorcing co-founder Sammy Shore.

The Second City improv theatre took its self-mocking name from New Yorker articles about which city?

A. J. Liebling's 1952 New Yorker pieces belittled Chicago as 'the second city'; the troupe founded there in 1959 embraced the insult.

In improv comedy, which two-word phrase is the cardinal rule for responding to a partner's offer?

'Yes, and' means accepting the offer and adding to it; rejecting an offer is called blocking, the fastest way to strand a scene.

The long-form improv structure known as 'the Harold' was developed by which ImprovOlympic co-founder?

Del Close developed the Harold in the 1960s and taught it at ImprovOlympic, the Chicago theatre he co-founded with Charna Halpern in the 1980s.

In 1972, Johnny Carson's Tonight Show moved from New York to which California city?

The Tonight Show moved to NBC's Burbank studios in May 1972; Carson hosted for 30 years, and about 50 million people watched his 1992 finale.

Which announcer introduced Johnny Carson every night with a drawn-out 'Here's Johnny!'?

Ed McMahon was Carson's announcer and sidekick for the full 1962-92 run; Doc Severinsen led the band from 1967 to 1992.

The word 'comedy' comes from Greek roots meaning 'revel' and what?

Komoidia combines komos ('revel') and oide ('song'), hence singing; Aristotle's Poetics traces comedy to the leaders of phallic processions.

In stand-up, what is a 'callback'?

Practitioners of the style range from Leslie Nielsen and Steven Wright to British comics like Rowan Atkinson.

The 'pan' in 'deadpan' is old slang for what?

'Pan' was 1920s slang for the face, so deadpan means an expressionless face; practitioners range from Buster Keaton and Bob Newhart to Steven Wright.

In stand-up slang, what is a comic's "tight five"?

It is the audition reel of stand-up, the material a comic trusts to work in front of any crowd.

In a comedy double act, what is the composed partner to the eccentric one called?

The straight man plays it composed so the comic can be outrageous; Bud Abbott and Dean Martin were two great practitioners of the role.

Which Marx brother went on to host the quiz show You Bet Your Life?

Groucho Marx hosted You Bet Your Life from 1947 to 1961, first on radio and then on NBC television from 1950, with George Fenneman as announcer.

Whose 1960 The Button-Down Mind was the first comedy album to top Billboard and win Album of the Year?

Bob Newhart, a former accountant, built the act on one-sided telephone calls; The Button-Down Mind of Bob Newhart won the 1961 Album of the Year Grammy.

Which comedian did New York's governor pardon posthumously in 2003 for a 1964 obscenity conviction?

Lenny Bruce, convicted of obscenity in 1964 for a Greenwich Village set, was pardoned by Governor George Pataki in 2003, 37 years after his death.

Which comedian's catchphrase was 'I get no respect'?

Rodney Dangerfield, born Jacob Cohen, opened his own Manhattan comedy club in 1969 and made 'I get no respect' his signature.

How many uninvited theatre companies turned up in 1947 to start the Edinburgh Festival Fringe?

Eight companies turned up uninvited alongside the first Edinburgh International Festival in 1947; the Fringe's Perrier comedy award followed in 1981.

When The Daily Show, created by Lizz Winstead and Madeleine Smithberg, premiered on Comedy Central in 1996, who anchored it?

Craig Kilborn held the desk first; Jon Stewart took over in 1999 and stayed until 2015, when Trevor Noah replaced him.

Cheers was nearly cancelled after its 1982 premiere ranked where among 77 shows?

The premiere finished 74th of 77 shows, yet Cheers ran eleven seasons and won 28 Emmys from 117 nominations.

The 1980 spoof Airplane! lifts its plot, characters and dialogue from which 1957 film?

The Zuckers and Jim Abrahams bought the rights to Zero Hour! (1957) and reused its plot nearly line for line; 'don't call me Shirley' ranks 79th on AFI's quotes list.

Which film topped the American Film Institute's 2000 list of the 100 funniest American movies?

Some Like It Hot topped AFI's 100 Years...100 Laughs list in 2000; its closing line, 'Well, nobody's perfect', was a placeholder Billy Wilder and I. A. L. Diamond never replaced.

Which comedian's first job was selling guidebooks at the newly opened Disneyland, on weekends and through summer break?

Steve Martin went from Disneyland guidebooks to filling arenas with tens of thousands of fans by the late 1970s, a following usually reserved for rock stars.

At the end of every Carol Burnett Show, Burnett tugged her ear as a silent message to whom?

The ear tug was a hello to her grandmother Mabel White, who raised her; the show ran on CBS from 1967 to 1978 and won 25 Emmys.

Who hosted the Academy Awards ceremony a record 19 times between 1940 and 1977?

Bob Hope, born in Eltham, London, hosted the Oscars 19 times; he made 57 USO tours and was named an honorary veteran by Congress in 1997.

The Simpsons first appeared in 1987 as short segments on which variety series?

The Tracey Ullman Show on Fox aired the first Simpsons shorts on April 19, 1987; the family got its own half-hour series two years later.

Robin Williams rose to fame playing an alien on which ABC sitcom?

Mork & Mindy ran on ABC from 1978 to 1982; Williams's alien Mork from Ork debuted in a February 1978 Happy Days episode before getting his own show.

For which film did Robin Williams win his only Academy Award?

Williams won Best Supporting Actor for Good Will Hunting (1997) as therapist Sean Maguire; his three other nominations were all for leading roles.

Robin Williams won a full scholarship in 1973 to which New York performing arts school?

Williams entered Juilliard's Drama Division in 1973 as part of Group 6 alongside Christopher Reeve, leaving in 1976 to do stand-up in San Francisco.

Which comedian co-created Seinfeld with Jerry Seinfeld?

David later starred as a fictionalized version of himself in Curb Your Enthusiasm.

Which web series did Jerry Seinfeld create and host from 2012 to 2019?

Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee began on Crackle in 2012, moved to Netflix in 2018 and ended with its eleventh season in 2019.

Jerry Seinfeld co-wrote and starred in which 2007 DreamWorks animated film?

Bee Movie (2007) had Seinfeld voicing Barry B. Benson; he returned to features with the Netflix comedy Unfrosted in 2024.

George Carlin's 'seven dirty words' routine was central to which 1978 Supreme Court case?

FCC v. Pacifica Foundation (1978) upheld 5-4 the FCC's power to regulate indecent broadcasts after a New York station aired Carlin's 'Filthy Words' monologue in 1973.

How many stand-up specials did George Carlin make for HBO?

Carlin made 14 HBO specials, from On Location: George Carlin at USC in 1977 to It's Bad for Ya in 2008.

How many Grammy Awards for Best Comedy Album did George Carlin win?

They ranged from FM & AM in 1972 to It's Bad for Ya in 2008.

During which years was Eddie Murphy a regular cast member on Saturday Night Live?

Murphy was on SNL from 1980 to 1984, breaking out meanwhile as a film star with 48 Hrs., Trading Places and Beverly Hills Cop.

Which animated character does Eddie Murphy voice in the Shrek franchise?

Murphy voiced Donkey from the first Shrek in 2001; he also voiced the dragon Mushu in Disney's Mulan (1998).

Chris Rock's HBO talk show, The Chris Rock Show, ran from 1997 until which year?

The Chris Rock Show ran on HBO from 1997 to 2000 and won a writing Emmy in 1999; Rock later created and narrated Everybody Hates Chris.

Which HBO special brought Chris Rock mainstream stardom and two Emmys?

Bring the Pain (1996) won two Emmys and made Rock a star three years after he left the SNL cast.

In the Sonic the Hedgehog film series that began in 2020, Jim Carrey plays which villain?

Carrey plays Doctor Robotnik, aka Doctor Eggman, in Sonic the Hedgehog (2020) and its sequels, after a decade in which he made few films beyond Dumb and Dumber To (2014).

For which 1996 film did Jim Carrey become the first comic actor paid $20 million upfront?

The Cable Guy (1996) brought Carrey a then-record $20 million after five straight hits including Ace Ventura and Batman Forever.

Adam Sandler was a Saturday Night Live cast member during which years?

Sandler joined SNL as a writer in 1990, was a cast member until 1995, and his 2019 return as host earned an Emmy nomination.

Which vampire does Adam Sandler voice in the Hotel Transylvania films?

Sandler voiced Count Dracula, owner of the monsters-only hotel, in the first three Hotel Transylvania films (2012-2018).

Will Ferrell co-founded which comedy website in 2007 with his former writing partner?

Funny or Die launched in April 2007 with 'The Landlord'; co-founder Adam McKay had been Ferrell's writing partner since their SNL days.

Will Ferrell's 2003 film Old School made him part of which nicknamed group of comic actors?

The Frat Pack, named after Old School's fraternity, included Ferrell, Jack Black, Ben Stiller, Vince Vaughn and the Wilson brothers.

Amy Poehler co-founded which improv troupe and theatre in the 1990s?

Upright Citizens Brigade formed in Chicago, moved to New York in 1996 and got a Comedy Central sketch show in 1998 before opening its own theatre.

Through 2021, how many times had Tina Fey and Amy Poehler co-hosted the Golden Globes?

Four times: Fey and Poehler hosted in 2013, 2014 and 2015, then returned for the bicoastal 2021 ceremony.

Which Sid Caesar TV series gave Mel Brooks his start as a writer?

Your Show of Shows (1950-54) put Brooks in a writers' room with Neil Simon and Carl Reiner, with whom he later created The 2000 Year Old Man.

Which spy spoof TV series did Mel Brooks create with Buck Henry?

Get Smart, created by Brooks and Buck Henry, ran on NBC and then CBS from 1965 to 1970 with Don Adams as Agent 86.

How many Tony Awards did the Broadway musical of The Producers win?

It ran from 2001 to 2007 and was itself adapted into a film in 2005.

Which David Lynch film did Mel Brooks's company Brooksfilms produce?

Brooksfilms produced The Elephant Man (1980), Lynch's second feature, keeping Brooks's name off the posters; the company also made Cronenberg's The Fly in 1986.

How many members did the Monty Python troupe have?

Six Pythons formed in 1969: Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle, Terry Jones and Michael Palin.

Which Python was the only American-born member and handled the animations?

Terry Gilliam, born in Minneapolis in 1940, was the lone American Python and made the cut-out animations linking the sketches.

Which Python died of cancer in October 1989, ending speculation about reunions?

Graham Chapman died of cancer on October 4, 1989, the eve of the troupe's 20th anniversary; he played King Arthur in Holy Grail and the title role in Life of Brian.

Which two members of The Three Stooges appeared throughout the act's entire run?

Moe Howard and Larry Fine were the constants from the 1920s to 1975, while the third slot passed among Shemp, Curly, Joe Besser and Curly Joe DeRita.

How many short films did The Three Stooges make for Columbia Pictures?

The Stooges made 190 two-reel shorts for Columbia between 1934 and 1959, after starting out in Ted Healy's vaudeville act in the 1920s.

Which Stooge suffered a debilitating stroke in May 1946?

Curly Howard suffered the stroke on May 6, 1946, during filming of Half-Wits Holiday; his brother Shemp returned to replace him and stayed until his own death in 1955.

After which 1933 film did Zeppo leave the Marx Brothers?

Duck Soup (1933) was Zeppo's last film; the brothers' Paramount contract expired at the same time and they moved to MGM for A Night at the Opera.

How many feature films did the Marx Brothers make?

The AFI put five of them among its top 100 comedy films.

With which singer did Jerry Lewis form a famous comedy duo in 1946?

Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis teamed up in Atlantic City in July 1946 and made sixteen films together before splitting in 1956.

For which charity did Jerry Lewis host an annual Labor Day telethon?

The Jerry Lewis MDA Telethon for the Muscular Dystrophy Association ran every Labor Day weekend from 1966 until Lewis's final hosting in 2010, raising more than $2 billion.

In which film did Jerry Lewis play the nerdy chemist Julius Kelp?

The Nutty Professor (1963), which Lewis directed and co-wrote, turns Julius Kelp into the swaggering Buddy Love; Eddie Murphy remade it in 1996.

How many episodes of the original Mr. Bean sitcom were made?

It ran on ITV from January 1990 to December 1995 and sold to 245 territories.

Rowan Atkinson developed the Mr. Bean character while studying for a master's degree where?

He described the character as 'a child in a grown man's body'.

Ricky Gervais fronted which 1980s new-wave pop duo that had a hit in the Philippines?

Seona Dancing, Gervais's duo with Bill Macrae, flopped in Britain but 'More to Lose' became a hit in the Philippines; he later managed the then-unknown band Suede.

With whom did Ricky Gervais co-create The Office, Extras and Life's Too Short?

Stephen Merchant co-wrote and co-directed all three series with Gervais, and co-hosted The Ricky Gervais Show podcast with Karl Pilkington.

Which BBC radio series made Peter Sellers famous alongside Spike Milligan and Harry Secombe?

The Goon Show ran on BBC radio from 1951 to 1960; Sellers went on to play Inspector Clouseau in five Pink Panther films in his lifetime.

How many different characters did Peter Sellers play in Dr. Strangelove?

Three: President Merkin Muffley, Dr. Strangelove himself and RAF Group Captain Lionel Mandrake; a sprained ankle kept him from a fourth, Major Kong.

Dr. Strangelove was loosely based on which 1958 thriller novel?

Peter George co-wrote the screenplay with Kubrick and Terry Southern.

Sam Malone, the owner of the bar in Cheers, was a former relief pitcher for which team?

Sam 'Mayday' Malone pitched in relief for the Boston Red Sox before drink ended his career; the show ran on NBC for eleven seasons from 1982 to 1993.

Which was the only Cheers season to finish number one in the Nielsen ratings?

Only the ninth season (1990-91) finished first; the show placed in the top 10 in eight of its eleven seasons.

In Frasier, what is the profession of Frasier's father Martin?

Frasier is a psychiatrist who returns to Seattle as a radio host; brother Niles is also a psychiatrist.

How many Primetime Emmy Awards did Frasier and its cast win, a record at the time?

Frasier won 37 Primetime Emmys across its 1993-2004 run, a record for a series until Game of Thrones passed it in 2016.

Which M*A*S*H episode was the most-watched TV broadcast in the US from 1983 to 2010?

Goodbye, Farewell and Amen drew about 106 million viewers on February 28, 1983, a record for any US broadcast until Super Bowl XLIV in 2010.

Which unit number was the mobile army surgical hospital in M*A*S*H?

The 4077th MASH was the unit; the series ran on CBS from 1972 to 1983, far longer than the Korean War it depicted.

Who developed the M*A*S*H television series from the 1970 film?

Larry Gelbart developed the series with producer Gene Reynolds; the 1970 film was itself based on Richard Hooker's 1968 novel.

Matt Groening named the Simpson family after his own relatives, substituting which name for his own?

Bart, an anagram of 'brat', stood in for Matt; Homer, Marge, Lisa and Maggie were Groening's parents and sisters, and he thought 'Simpson' sounded like 'simpleton'.

On what date did Fox's animated Simpson family debut as a half-hour primetime series?

The half-hour show debuted on December 17, 1989 with the Christmas special 'Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire' and became Fox's first series to reach the Nielsen top 30.

In which fictional Indiana town is Parks and Recreation set?

Pawnee, Indiana, is the fictional home of Leslie Knope's parks department; its snooty rival is neighbouring Eagleton.

How many episodes of Parks and Recreation aired over its seven seasons?

Parks and Recreation aired 125 episodes from 2009 to 2015; a pandemic reunion special followed in April 2020.

Who played NBC executive Jack Donaghy on 30 Rock?

Alec Baldwin played Jack Donaghy for all seven seasons (2006-13), winning two Emmys for the role; Hamm, Buscemi and Damon all guest-starred.

On which network did Curb Your Enthusiasm premiere in 1999?

It began as a one-hour special that Larry David and HBO envisioned as a one-off.

Which network rescued Brooklyn Nine-Nine the day after Fox cancelled it in 2018?

NBC picked it up about a day after Fox's May 2018 cancellation; it ran three more seasons there, ending in September 2021 after 153 episodes.

Who played Captain Raymond Holt in Brooklyn Nine-Nine?

Andre Braugher played the deadpan Captain Raymond Holt for all eight seasons; he died in December 2023, two years after the finale.

How many Emmy Awards for Outstanding Comedy Series did Modern Family win?

It won 22 Primetime Emmys in total across its 11 seasons.

In which city is The Golden Girls set?

The Golden Girls share a house in Miami; all four leads won Emmys, a feat matched by All in the Family and Will & Grace.

How many episodes of The Golden Girls were made across seven seasons?

Susan Harris's show made 180 episodes over seven seasons on NBC from 1985 to 1992.

Which singer performs the Married... with Children theme song 'Love and Marriage'?

Frank Sinatra's 1955 recording of 'Love and Marriage' opened every episode; the show was one of Fox's first primetime series when it debuted in April 1987.

What does Al Bundy sell for a living in Married... with Children?

Al Bundy sells women's shoes at Gary's Shoes in a Chicago mall, a comedown for the former Polk High football star with wife Peggy and kids Kelly and Bud.

Which bandleader appears as himself playing 'April in Paris' in the Wild West in Blazing Saddles?

Count Basie and his orchestra play 'April in Paris' in the desert as Sheriff Bart rides past, one of the film's many deliberate anachronisms.

Dan Aykroyd originally conceived Ghostbusters as a vehicle for himself and which late comedian?

After Belushi's death in 1982, Harold Ramis helped rewrite it to be set in New York.

Who sang the Ghostbusters theme, a 1984 Billboard No. 1 hit?

Ray Parker Jr.'s 'Ghostbusters' topped the Billboard Hot 100 for three weeks in 1984; Huey Lewis sued over its resemblance to 'I Want a New Drug'.

In which Illinois town was Groundhog Day almost entirely filmed?

Woodstock, Illinois, stood in for Punxsutawney, its town square doubling as the film's; Bill Murray and director Harold Ramis clashed over the script's tone throughout the shoot.

Which date does Bill Murray's weatherman relive over and over in Groundhog Day?

Phil Connors relives February 2, Groundhog Day, in Punxsutawney; Danny Rubin wrote the story as a spec script to get meetings with producers.

Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy was the directorial debut of whom?

Adam McKay, Ferrell's SNL writing partner, made his directorial debut with Anchorman (2004), set at a San Diego TV station and produced by Judd Apatow.

Which straight-to-DVD companion film was assembled from Anchorman outtakes?

Wake Up, Ron Burgundy: The Lost Movie, cut from an abandoned bank-robbery subplot and other outtakes, went to DVD in December 2004, five months after the original.

Who co-wrote the Bridesmaids screenplay with Kristen Wiig?

Annie Mumolo, Wiig's Groundlings colleague, co-wrote the script; both earned a 2012 Oscar nomination for Best Original Screenplay.

Which Bridesmaids cast member earned an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actress?

Melissa McCarthy's turn as Megan earned a Best Supporting Actress nomination at the 2012 Oscars, a rarity for a broad comedy.

Caddyshack was the directorial debut of which writer-director?

Harold Ramis directed Caddyshack (1980) as his first feature, having co-written Animal House; ESPN later called it 'perhaps the funniest sports movie ever made'.

Which animal does the greenskeeper battle in Caddyshack's subplot?

Carl Spackler's war on a dancing gopher, a puppet whose scenes were added after principal photography, became the film's signature running gag.

What is the name of the fictional school in Animal House?

Faber College, motto 'Knowledge Is Good', is where the Delta Tau Chi fraternity battles Dean Vernon Wormer; the University of Oregon stood in for it.

Which magazine's stories inspired Animal House?

National Lampoon ran Chris Miller's stories about his Alpha Delta Phi days at Dartmouth, and the 1978 film carried the magazine's name in its title.

Which Python turned Holy Grail into the Tony-winning 2005 musical Spamalot?

Eric Idle wrote Spamalot's book and lyrics, 'lovingly ripped off' from Holy Grail, which Gilliam and Jones had co-directed as their feature debut.

Which former Beatle arranged financing for Life of Brian after EMI pulled out?

George Harrison mortgaged his house and, with Denis O'Brien, formed HandMade Films to fund it, a move Eric Idle called the most expensive cinema ticket in history.

How many UK local councils outright banned Life of Brian on release?

A further 28 councils raised its rating from AA to X.

Which boxer appears in The Hangover after a script rewrite added a tiger subplot?

Mike Tyson plays himself, punching Alan and reclaiming his pet tiger; Todd Phillips added the subplot in a rewrite of the original script.

Borat is a fictional journalist from which country?

The Kazakh government denounced the 2006 film, then later embraced it in tourism campaigns.

Which Manhattan club appears in the opening credits of Louis C.K.'s sitcom Louie?

The Comedy Cellar on MacDougal Street, a showcase club opened in 1982, appears in Louie's title sequence and hosts many of the show's stand-up scenes.

In which city was the Just for Laughs comedy festival founded in 1983?

Montreal's Just for Laughs began in 1983 as a two-day French-language event; it went bankrupt in 2024 before ComediHa! bought its assets.

Who founded The Improv comedy club in New York's Hell's Kitchen in 1963?

Budd Friedman opened the Improvisation on West 44th Street in 1963 as an after-hours coffee house for Broadway performers before it became a stand-up venue.

How many hours did the Laugh Factory's record-setting continuous stand-up show run in 2010?

The Laugh Factory's marathon ran 80 hours straight in December 2010, a Guinness record at the time for the longest continuous stand-up show.

Who led the house band on Late Show with David Letterman?

Paul Shaffer led the CBS Orchestra, and before it the World's Most Dangerous Band, for Letterman's entire 1982-2015 run across NBC and CBS.

In 2013, David Letterman surpassed whom as the longest-running late-night talk show host?

Letterman passed Johnny Carson's 30-year tenure in 2013, having hosted Late Night and then Late Show since 1982; he retired in 2015 after 33 years.

For which animated sitcom did Conan O'Brien write from 1991 to 1993?

Conan O'Brien wrote for The Simpsons from 1991 to 1993, including 'Marge vs. the Monorail', after stints at Saturday Night Live and as Harvard Lampoon president.

On which cable channel did Conan O'Brien host Conan from 2010 to 2021?

Conan ran on TBS from November 2010 to June 2021, after O'Brien's seven-month run hosting The Tonight Show ended in January 2010.

How many episodes of The Colbert Report aired on Comedy Central?

The Colbert Report aired 1,447 episodes, four nights a week from October 17, 2005 to December 18, 2014.

Stephen Colbert's Report character chiefly satirized which Fox News program?

Colbert modelled the blowhard on Bill O'Reilly and The O'Reilly Factor, calling the character a 'well-intentioned, poorly informed, high-status idiot'.

Who plays Baldrick, Blackadder's servant, across all four series?

Tony Robinson played Baldrick in all four series (1983-89), forever hatching a 'cunning plan'; Rowan Atkinson's Edmund changed period each series.

Which two writers wrote the last three Blackadder series?

Richard Curtis and Ben Elton wrote Blackadder II, Blackadder the Third and Blackadder Goes Forth; Atkinson co-wrote only the first series with Curtis.

In which south-east London district is Only Fools and Horses set?

Del Boy and Rodney live in Nelson Mandela House, a Peckham tower block, though the exteriors were filmed in Bristol.

What three-wheeled vehicle do the Trotters drive in Only Fools and Horses?

The Trotters' yellow Reliant Regal Supervan, with 'Trotters Independent Traders' on its side, was a three-wheeler whose unreliability was a running joke.

Which two people founded the charity Comic Relief in 1985?

Richard Curtis and Lenny Henry launched Comic Relief on Christmas Day 1985 from a Sudanese refugee camp; its first Red Nose Day followed in 1988.

In which Wisconsin city did The Onion begin as a weekly print paper in 1988?

The Onion was founded in Madison in August 1988 by two University of Wisconsin students; it stopped printing in 2013 and revived the print edition in 2024 under new owners.

Who founded Mad magazine in 1952 along with publisher William Gaines?

Harvey Kurtzman edited Mad from its 1952 debut as a comic book until 1956, when Al Feldstein took over; circulation peaked above two million in 1974.

What is the perennial motto of Mad magazine mascot Alfred E. Neuman?

'What, me worry?' has captioned Alfred E. Neuman since the 1950s; the gap-toothed face itself circulated as a joke image decades before Mad adopted it.

Which 1973 National Lampoon stage revue starred John Belushi and Chevy Chase before SNL?

Lemmings, a 1973 off-Broadway Woodstock parody, starred John Belushi, Chevy Chase and Christopher Guest before any of them reached Saturday Night Live.

Who co-created Chappelle's Show with Dave Chappelle?

Neal Brennan, who had co-written Half Baked with Chappelle, co-created the show; it premiered on Comedy Central in January 2003 and ran two full seasons.

Who created, wrote and starred in In Living Color?

Keenen Ivory Wayans created the Fox sketch show in 1990, casting his siblings Damon, Kim, Shawn and Marlon, and it won the Emmy for variety series that year.

Which future star was a Fly Girl dancer on In Living Color?

Jennifer Lopez joined the Fly Girls in the show's third season (1991) after winning a nationwide audition, before leaving to act.

The Kids in the Hall reunited for which eight-part 2010 miniseries?

Death Comes to Town, an eight-part 2010 murder-mystery miniseries set in Shuckton, Ontario, was the troupe's first new series since 1995; their only film, Brain Candy, came out in 1996.

On which network did The Kids in the Hall's TV show run in Canada from 1988 to 1995?

The Kids in the Hall aired on CBC Television (and HBO, then CBS, in the US) from 1988 to 1995; an eight-episode revival arrived on Amazon Prime Video in 2022.

On which magazine cover did Ellen DeGeneres come out with the words 'Yep, I'm gay' in 1997?

Time ran the 'Yep, I'm Gay' cover on April 14, 1997, two weeks before 'The Puppy Episode' made her sitcom character the first openly gay lead on a US network show.

How many Daytime Emmy Awards did The Ellen DeGeneres Show receive?

The syndicated talk show ran from 2003 to 2022.

On which short-lived 1996 sketch series did Steve Carell gain recognition?

The Dana Carvey Show lasted seven aired episodes on ABC in 1996 but launched Steve Carell and Stephen Colbert; Carell was a Daily Show correspondent from 1999 to 2005.

How many episodes of The Big Bang Theory aired over its 12 seasons?

The Big Bang Theory aired 279 episodes from 2007 to 2019, created by Chuck Lorre and Bill Prady and filmed before a live audience.

How many Emmys did Everybody Loves Raymond win from 69 nominations?

It has been credited with reviving CBS's fortunes.

Whose Line Is It Anyway? began in 1988 as what?

Whose Line Is It Anyway? began on BBC Radio 4 in 1988 as a British radio programme, with Clive Anderson hosting both it and the Channel 4 TV version.

What was Billy Connolly's trade in the Glasgow shipyards before comedy?

Connolly served his apprenticeship as a welder in the Clyde shipyards before performing as a folk singer with Gerry Rafferty in the Humblebums.

What is Billy Connolly's Scots nickname?

'The Big Yin', Scots for 'the big one', stuck from his 1970s rise; he was knighted in 2017 and received the BAFTA Fellowship in 2022.

Which comedian was one of the first celebrities to openly champion plastic surgery?

Phyllis Diller had her first facelift in 1971 and joked openly about her many procedures; her wild hair and cackling laugh influenced Joan Rivers and Roseanne Barr.

Under what stage name did Lucille Ball begin her Broadway career?

Lucille Ball called herself Diane Belmont, after the Belmont racetrack, as a teenage chorus girl and model in 1920s New York before RKO signed her.

Which troupe signed 19-year-old Charlie Chaplin and took him to the United States?

He gained wide popularity in Keystone films in 1914 and adopted the Tramp persona.

How many times was young Charlie Chaplin sent to a workhouse before age nine?

Chaplin was sent to Lambeth Workhouse twice, first at age seven in 1896; when he was 14 his mother was committed to an asylum.

Which DuMont series is usually cited as American television's first sitcom?

Mary Kay and Johnny, starring real-life couple Mary Kay and Johnny Stearns, debuted on DuMont in November 1947 and was the first US TV show to put a married couple in one bed.

Which sitcom's final season swept all seven major comedy awards at the 2020 Emmys, a first for any series?

Schitt's Creek's final season swept all seven major comedy categories in 2020; Dan Levy and his father Eugene created the CBC show, which ran 80 episodes over six seasons.

The character Ted Lasso originated in promotional media for which broadcaster's Premier League coverage?

Sudeikis first played the clueless coach in 2013 NBC Sports promos for its new Premier League rights, then developed the Apple TV+ series with Bill Lawrence, Brendan Hunt and Joe Kelly.

Fleabag began as Phoebe Waller-Bridge's 2013 one-woman show, first staged in which city?

Fleabag premiered at the 2013 Edinburgh Festival Fringe, winning a Fringe First Award; the character sprang from a friend's challenge to write a 10-minute sketch.

Which director had the original idea behind Arrested Development's handheld, reality-TV style?

Howard also narrates the Bluth family saga, which Mitchell Hurwitz created for Fox in 2003.

Which Carl Reiner comedy gave Steve Martin his first starring film role?

The Jerk (1979), directed by Carl Reiner and co-written by Martin, was his first starring role and grossed more than $70 million in North America.

What was Joan Rivers's birth surname?

Joan Alexandra Molinsky was born in Brooklyn to Russian Jewish immigrants and rose to fame in 1965 as a guest on Johnny Carson's Tonight Show.

At which San Francisco club did Phyllis Diller make her professional stand-up debut in 1955, aged 37?

Diller debuted at The Purple Onion in March 1955, where Maya Angelou was already singing calypso; she had previously tried out jokes on fellow PTA members.

Why did many people initially think reports of Mitch Hedberg's 2005 death were a hoax?

The deadpan one-liner comic, dubbed 'the next Seinfeld' by Time, died of an accidental overdose aged 37.

Which satirist created HBO's Veep, starring Julia Louis-Dreyfus as Selina Meyer?

Armando Iannucci created Veep in 2012, adapting his Thick of It sensibility; it won Outstanding Comedy Series for its fourth, fifth and sixth seasons.