Splitsider

 

Watching an Alternate-Universe 'Cheers' That Shelley Long Never Left

The Paley Center for Media, which has locations in both New York and LA, dedicates itself to the preservation of television and radio history. Inside their vast archives of more than 120,000 television shows, commercials, and radio programs, there are thousands of important and funny programs waiting to be rediscovered by comedy nerds like you and me. Each week, this column will highlight a new gem waiting for you at the Paley Library to quietly laugh at. (Seriously, it’s a library, so keep it down.)

When Cheers was in its fifth season in 1987 there weren't really any shows out there that held a candle to it. After a [...]

The Short Films of Albert Brooks

The Paley Center for Media, which has locations in both New York and LA, dedicates itself to the preservation of television and radio history. Inside their vast archives of more than 120,000 television shows, commercials, and radio programs, there are thousands of important and funny programs waiting to be rediscovered by comedy nerds like you and me. Each week, this column will highlight a new gem waiting for you at the Paley Library to quietly laugh at. (Seriously, it’s a library, so keep it down.)

Albert Brooks, stand-up, author, actor, and comedy legend, was recently interviewed in the January issue of Vanity Fair which was guest edited by Judd [...]

A Rare Look at Woody Allen's Unaired Pilot About an Improv Comedy Team

The Paley Center for Media, which has locations in both New York and LA, dedicates itself to the preservation of television and radio history. Inside their vast archives of more than 120,000 television shows, commercials, and radio programs, there are thousands of important and funny programs waiting to be rediscovered by comedy nerds like you and me. Each week, this column will highlight a new gem waiting for you at the Paley Library to quietly laugh at. (Seriously, it’s a library, so keep it down.)

After 55 of these articles, it's nice to know that blindly searching for things in the Paley Center collection can still yield serendipitous gems. [...]

Late Night Becomes the Late Show as Letterman Says Goodbye to NBC

The Paley Center for Media, which has locations in both New York and LA, dedicates itself to the preservation of television and radio history. Inside their vast archives of more than 120,000 television shows, commercials, and radio programs, there are thousands of important and funny programs waiting to be rediscovered by comedy nerds like you and me. Each week, this column will highlight a new gem waiting for you at the Paley Library to quietly laugh at. (Seriously, it’s a library, so keep it down.)

In this, the final "From the Archives" of November, we present the final installment of our arbitrary theme looking at some of the more [...]

The Night Groucho Marx Took Over Dick Cavett's Show

The Paley Center for Media, which has locations in both New York and LA, dedicates itself to the preservation of television and radio history. Inside their vast archives of more than 120,000 television shows, commercials, and radio programs, there are thousands of important and funny programs waiting to be rediscovered by comedy nerds like you and me. Each week, this column will highlight a new gem waiting for you at the Paley Library to quietly laugh at. (Seriously, it’s a library, so keep it down.)

The other night I was listening to Alec Baldwin's interview with Dick Cavett on his show Here's the Thing, and I was trying [...]

Making the Strange Journey to Andy Kaufman's Funhouse

The Paley Center for Media, which has locations in both New York and LA, dedicates itself to the preservation of television and radio history. Inside their vast archives of more than 120,000 television shows, commercials, and radio programs, there are thousands of important and funny programs waiting to be rediscovered by comedy nerds like you and me. Each week, this column will highlight a new gem waiting for you at the Paley Library to quietly laugh at. (Seriously, it’s a library, so keep it down.)

When it comes to comedy today, audiences are kind of spoiled. With podcasts, cable channels, video sites, and every other vehicle for media out [...]

What I Learned from the Paley Center Archives This Year

It will come as no surprise to you to learn that I am a writer. (I sort of spoiled the surprise for you when I wrote a sentence down and then you read it.) More specifically, I am a comedy writer. When I started going to the Paley Center several years ago it was for entertainment, but it was also for my own education: to observe the comedians and performers of the past and to fill in the gaps of my own comedy history. However, when I came across what would become the subject of my first article for Splitsider, a short film made by Woody Allen [...]

Louis CK Discusses 'Louie,' Censorship, and Treating Others Nicely

The Paley Center for Media, which has locations in both New York and LA, dedicates itself to the preservation of television and radio history. Inside their vast archives of more than 120,000 television shows, commercials, and radio programs, there are thousands of important and funny programs waiting to be rediscovered by comedy nerds like you and me. Each week, this column will highlight a new gem waiting for you at the Paley Library to quietly laugh at. (Seriously, it’s a library, so keep it down.)

There are shows that come around every once in a while, like Deadwood or 30 Rock where you know you're getting the creator's voice, [...]

Watching Steve Allen Say Goodnight to Late Night, for the Second Time

The Paley Center for Media, which has locations in both New York and LA, dedicates itself to the preservation of television and radio history. Inside their vast archives of more than 120,000 television shows, commercials, and radio programs, there are thousands of important and funny programs waiting to be rediscovered by comedy nerds like you and me. Each week, this column will highlight a new gem waiting for you at the Paley Library to quietly laugh at. (Seriously, it’s a library, so keep it down.)

Today at "From the Archives," we continue our randomly selected theme as we look at some of the more rare finales in television history. [...]

Listen as Johnny Carson Presents the Best in Comedy from NBC's First 50 Years

The Paley Center for Media, which has locations in both New York and LA, dedicates itself to the preservation of television and radio history. Inside their vast archives of more than 120,000 television shows, commercials, and radio programs, there are thousands of important and funny programs waiting to be rediscovered by comedy nerds like you and me. Each week, this column will highlight a new gem waiting for you at the Paley Library to quietly laugh at. (Seriously, it’s a library, so keep it down.)

(Please note that this article was written under the mistaken impression that this article was the fiftieth edition of “From the Archives.” I have [...]

Carson's Final Nights on 'The Tonight Show'

The Paley Center for Media, which has locations in both New York and LA, dedicates itself to the preservation of television and radio history. Inside their vast archives of more than 120,000 television shows, commercials, and radio programs, there are thousands of important and funny programs waiting to be rediscovered by comedy nerds like you and me. Each week, this column will highlight a new gem waiting for you at the Paley Library to quietly laugh at. (Seriously, it’s a library, so keep it down.)

"All we've got are tonight and tomorrow and I'm gone. Boy, I haven't used that line since World War II…"

Johnny Carson hosted The [...]

Watching Conan Celebrate His First Christmas on TV with the Help of Some Puppets

The Paley Center for Media, which has locations in both New York and LA, dedicates itself to the preservation of television and radio history. Inside their vast archives of more than 120,000 television shows, commercials, and radio programs, there are thousands of important and funny programs waiting to be rediscovered by comedy nerds like you and me. Each week, this column will highlight a new gem waiting for you at the Paley Library to quietly laugh at. (Seriously, it’s a library, so keep it down.)

With each new installment of From the Archives I get to enjoy the searching and researching and recapping that goes into each new find [...]

Enjoy the 1981 Mel Brooks BBC Doc 'I Thought I Was Taller'

Mel Brooks was the subject of this wildly funny BBC documentary, I Thought I Was Taller, that originally aired in 1981 and has now surfaced on the shores of YouTube. The doc was released to coincide with the premiere of The History of the World, Part I. Finally, we get to see what it's like when Mel Brooks watches one of his own movies. Check out the rest of the hour-long special, embedded after the jump:

(via Classic Television Showbiz).

Television's First Comedy Hit Says Goodbye: The Final 'Your Show of Shows'

The Paley Center for Media, which has locations in both New York and LA, dedicates itself to the preservation of television and radio history. Inside their vast archives of more than 120,000 television shows, commercials, and radio programs, there are thousands of important and funny programs waiting to be rediscovered by comedy nerds like you and me. Each week, this column will highlight a new gem waiting for you at the Paley Library to quietly laugh at. (Seriously, it’s a library, so keep it down.)

For no good reason, all through November "From the Archives" will be looking at some of the most infrequently seen finales in television history. We [...]

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