San Francisco Comedy Blog

by Chad Lehrman

San Francisco comedian Mo Mandel really really wants your vote. After a recent appearance on the Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson and a 1st place finish in the San Jose Improv comedy competition, Mo is currently one of 3 finalists in Comedy Central’s Open Mic Fight. Go to comedycentral.com/openmicfight to watch clips of all 3 finalists and cast your vote.

At what point will you stop doing comedy competitions and give other comics a chance?

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Mark Day is a bald Scottish comedian living near San Francisco. With more than 17,000 subscribers to his YouTube videos, he is the 36th most popular director on the site.

Who are some of your main influences?

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by Will Franken

Will Franken is a comedian that walks around his house naked and talks in tongues. Sometimes the tongues aren’t always nonsense. Sometimes the tongues ask legitimate questions. We caught up with Will Franken and his many tongues during one such time.

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by Chad Lehrman

Gerald Nachman is the author of Seriously Funny: The Rebel Comedians of the 1950s and 1960s. He is also co-curator of a new exhibit about the hungry i, the legendary North Beach nightclub. The hungry i exhibit will be on display from March 28- August 27 at the San Francisco Performing Arts Library & Museum. (details at sfpalm.org/exhibits/HUNGRY/Hungry.htm)

Nachman calls the hungry i of the mid-1950s “the Comedy Central of its day.” The following description of the SF comedy scene is an excerpt from page nine of Seriously Funny:

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by Chad Lehrman

Continuing to make a name for himself as the “Indian Comedian,” Tapan Trivedi recently toured with the Gurus of Comedy and appeared at the Las Vegas Comedy Festival.

What does your family back home in India think about you being a comedian?

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The New Jew Revue, Sam Arno’s popular holiday stand-up comedy show, returns to the Bay Area on December 15th at the Throckmorton Theatre in Mill Valley. This year’s performers include Sam Arno, Debbie Campo, Melissa Gans, Jerry Goldstone, Norm Goldblatt, Nato Green, Moshe Kasher, David Kleinberg and Alex Koll.

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by Chad Lehrman

46 years into his show business career, Jay Wendell Walker lives up to his nickname as the “Heavy Weight Champion of Comedy,” taking home 1st place at the 31st Annual San Francisco International Comedy Competition.

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Robert Mac has appeared on Comedy Central’s Premium Blend and tours regularly at comedy clubs across the nation. He is also the owner of FOOT! Tours, a comedian-led walking tour company that was recently voted Best of San Francisco in the SF Weekly.

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by Chad Lehrman

Will Franken has been described in the press as “a one-man sketch comedy troupe,” “a surreal-estate agent,” “the smartest comedy I’ve ever seen,” “way too good for cable TV,” and my personal favorite, “best alternative to psychedelic drugs.” In this wide-ranging interview, Will talks about bringing his act to television, Islamic fundamentalists, and peanut butter topped hamburgers.

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by Chad Lehrman

Comedian and rapper Eric Schwartz (aka Smooth-E) will be in San Francisco November 2nd-5th, headlining the Green Room Comedy Club at Fisherman’s Wharf.

What are your favorite things to do in San Francisco?

I love going to the gay bars. Before you jump to any conclusions, like “I knew it,” let me explain.

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