Comedians can be dated back to 425 BC, when Aristophanes, an Ancient Greek comic author and playwright, wrote ancient comedic plays.
Saint Lawrence was executed on August 10, 258 by being burned alive on a giant gridiron. After being burned for some time, he said "I'm well done on this side. Turn me over!" He is the patron saint of cooks and comedians.
The word “comedian” was first used in English in 1580 for a writer of comedies.
In Shakespeare’s 1616 play Twelfth Night Olivia asks Viola “Are you a comedian?” This is one of the earliest examples of “comedian” used to mean “comic actor”.
John Emery was from 1798 until his death in 1822 a leading low comedian at Covent Garden. He was the first actor known to have been encored for his playing of a scene, that of Fixture's jealousy in Thomas Morton's A Roland for an Oliver (1819)
British music hall star Billy Bennett (1887-1942) was the first comedian to use the phrase “boom boom” to emphasize his comic couplets, possibly because it sounds like a drum-thud.
In 1981 the comedian Rowan Atkinson became the youngest performer to have had a one-man show in the West End.
Benny Hill (1924-1992) was the son and grandson of circus clowns. His television sketch show was broadcast on 97 TV channels worldwide and sparked a prison riot in California when ‘lights out’ was brought forward by one hour, meaning inmates would miss it.
Saint Lawrence was executed on August 10, 258 by being burned alive on a giant gridiron. After being burned for some time, he said "I'm well done on this side. Turn me over!" He is the patron saint of cooks and comedians.
The word “comedian” was first used in English in 1580 for a writer of comedies.
In Shakespeare’s 1616 play Twelfth Night Olivia asks Viola “Are you a comedian?” This is one of the earliest examples of “comedian” used to mean “comic actor”.
John Emery was from 1798 until his death in 1822 a leading low comedian at Covent Garden. He was the first actor known to have been encored for his playing of a scene, that of Fixture's jealousy in Thomas Morton's A Roland for an Oliver (1819)
British music hall star Billy Bennett (1887-1942) was the first comedian to use the phrase “boom boom” to emphasize his comic couplets, possibly because it sounds like a drum-thud.
In 1981 the comedian Rowan Atkinson became the youngest performer to have had a one-man show in the West End.
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| "Atkinson Rowan" by Gerhard Heeke - Photo taken by Gerhard Heeke.. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Commons - |
Benny Hill (1924-1992) was the son and grandson of circus clowns. His television sketch show was broadcast on 97 TV channels worldwide and sparked a prison riot in California when ‘lights out’ was brought forward by one hour, meaning inmates would miss it.
The comedian Joan Rivers maintained an organized collection of 65,000 typewritten jokes, cross-referenced by categories like "Las Vegas" or “Parents hated me”. The largest subject area is “Tramp,” which includes 1,756 jokes.
Eddie Izzard has performed stand-up in French, German, Spanish, Russian and Arabic.
Sources The New York Times, Daily Express
Eddie Izzard has performed stand-up in French, German, Spanish, Russian and Arabic.
Sources The New York Times, Daily Express
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