Splitsider

Posts tagged as from the archives

Three Pythons Reunite to Discuss, Argue, and Quip in 1989

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 150,000 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.

Depending on how you count these things, the last official Monty Python production, Monty Python’s The Meaning of Life, turned 30 a few weeks [...]

Looking Back at Bob Hope's Early Work

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 150,000 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 just a few short days, on May 29th, Bob Hope would have been celebrating his 110th birthday. Before you get too upset that [...]

Steve Allen Tries it Again in 1980 with Steve Martin's Brother Billy

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 we last saw Steve Allen on From the Archives, it was 1964 and he was broadcasting the an audience-less version of his [...]

Don Rickles is Not Don Rickles in The Don Rickles 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 tradition of the standup-helmed sitcom goes back a long ways, and for good reason: it often works. From Newhart to Seinfeld, from Welcome [...]

Harry Shearer's First Post-'SNL' TV Special

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.)

Harry Shearer, who today is probably best known for being the voices of hundreds of characters on The Simpsons, quit Saturday Night Live in [...]

Going Back to Stuckeyville: Looking Back at 'Ed'

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 150,000 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.

What if David Letterman produced a show featuring a guy from The State, one of the funny actors from Modern Family, and the Mac [...]

Looking at Some of Jonathan Winters' Earliest TV Appearances

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 150,000 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).

Improv on TV is a mixed bag. Whose Line is it Anyway? did short form improv (and will again in the future) for years [...]

Jerry Seinfeld on Jean Shepherd, the Voice Behind 'A Christmas Story'

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.)

You may not recognize the name Jean Shepherd, but I'd bet that if you were growing up at some time during the last [...]

The Episode Where David Letterman Had 13 Cameras

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.)

As all of my surface dwelling readers are already aware, the winds of change are once again blowing around the gates of late night [...]

Looking Back at '30 Rock' with Tina Fey, Robert Carlock, and the Writers

30 Rock is gone. After seven seasons, Liz Lemon is no more. On Wednesday night, her real-life writers, Tina Fey, Robert Carlock, Colleen McGuiness, Josh Siegal, and Dylan Morgan reunited at the Paley Center in New York to reminisce and discuss just how a show like 30 Rock came to be. In a panel moderated by New Yorker television critic Emily Nussbaum, we learned all about the show's origins, stories that never got to be told, how Tina felt about Studio 60, and who at TGS Jenna Maroney almost had an affair with. (Be warned, there are a couple tiny spoilers for the 30 Rock series finale in here.)

[...]

Mitch Hurwitz Discusses 'Sit Down, Shut Up', His Follow Up to 'Arrested Development'

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 150,000 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.)

Hey, did you know that there are some new episodes of Arrested Development that came out? I'm just kidding; I know you already watched [...]

Garry Shandling Gives You a Tour of Las Vegas in His First Standup Special

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 150,000 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, Garry Shandling is probably best known for being the creator of two of the most important television shows in [...]

Watching 'Not Necessarily Television' Skewer 1985's Pop Culture

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.)

Not long ago on the site, writer Nell Scovell wrote about her early experiences in "the greatest Writer's Room you've never heard of," [...]

Watching a Comedic Voice Evolve: The Rare, Early Clips of The Muppets

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 the late Jerry Nelson, the puppeteer who performed as Robin the frog, Sgt. Floyd Pepper of the Electric Mayhem, and Snuffleupagus, was asked a [...]

-->