Category: Television

April 10, 1992: Sam Kinison Passed Away

On April 10, 1992, the comedian Sam Kinison died in a car crash when his car was hit by a pickup truck in California. Kinison, who had just married his girlfriend five days earlier, was 38 years old.

Although Kinison started out like his father as a Pentecostal preacher he eventually changed careers and began appearing in comedy clubs. His first national break came when he was in his early 30s in 1984 when he appeared on an HBO comedy special devoted to young comedians. His 1984 breakthrough performance on the HBO Rodney Dangerfield’s Ninth Annual Young Comedians Special introduced him to much of the world. Then, the following year, he had another big break with his first appearance on Late Night with David Letterman. The world of comedy was never the same.

Rodney Dangerfield introduces the new comedian Sam Kinison to the world in the following video. Check it out.

  • Darlene Love’s Final Letterman Performance of “Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)”
  • Warren Zevon: The Wind
  • Troubled Waters Plays “Me and Julio Down by the Schoolyard”
  • Bob Dylan Sends Off Letterman With “The Night We Called It a Day”
  • Norm Macdonald’s Touching (and Funny) Tribute to Letterman
  • John Fogerty Rocks One More Time for Letterman

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    Jonah Hill “Doesn’t” Let Oscar Nom Go to His Head (SNL video)

    Jonah Hill SNL
    Last night, Jonah Hill hosted Saturday Night Live, lending his comedy chops to some of this season’s funnier segments. One of the funny bits was his send up of himself and Hollywood egos. Hill, who received an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor for his role in the excellent serious film, Moneyball (2011), lets a camera crew follow him on the SNL set to illustrate that the nomination has not gone to his head.

    The behind-the-scenes clip starts at the 1:45 mark, but you might also watch his monologue that introduces the clip starting from the beginning (well, except for a short commercial NBC makes you watch; if you are at work, turn down your speakers first). The video segment includes a funny exchange with Oscar-nominated screenwriter Kristen Wiig, and if you stay to the end, you will see two-time Oscar-winner Tom Hanks appear on the stage with his awards, “The Kick-Ass Twins.” [2014 Update: Unfortunately, the NBC video no longer works. FYI, If you are looking for Jonah Hill’s more recent appearance on SNL in January 2014, check out this link, which works as of today.]
    If your sense of humor prefers someone getting hit in the groin, the NBC website has a digital short from the show of Hill repeatedly getting hit by a tennis ball.

    What did you think of Jonah Hill’s performance on Saturday Night Live this week? Leave your two cents in the comments.

  • That Time George Kennedy Gave a Great Movie Its Name
  • Gary Cooper’s Three Oscars
  • Critics Really Love “Her” (Short Review)
  • Paul Rudd as One Direction’s #1 Fan
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    Sexy and I Know It: Neil & Bruce Cover

    After hearing that Late Night with Jimmy Fallon was devoting a whole show to Bruce Springsteen, I had little doubt that they would reprise a Niel Young-Bruce Springsteen duet like they did on an earlier show with “Whip My Hair.”

    But last night, instead of a Born-to-Run-era Springsteen, the Boss got out his old bandana and came as Born-in-the-USA Springsteen. This time, they sang LMFAO’s “Sexy and I Know It,” with Springsteen in on the joke making fun of his former muscle-shirted self exchanging his usual “whoa, whoa, whoa” with “wiggle, wiggle, wiggle.”

    (May 2012 Update: The link from NBC apparently no longer works, but you may also see the video on YouTube here.) If you missed the show and wish to see the Springsteen interview as well as his performances with the E Steet Band of two new songs from the new album — “Death to My Hometown” and “Jack of All Trades” — as well as a rousing “E Street Shuffle” with the Roots, you may find them at Consequences of Sound and at Blogness on the Edge of Town.

    What do you think of the cover of “Sexy and I Know It”? Funny or just a retread of “Whip My Hair”? Leave your two cents in the comments. If you like the post, retweet it!

  • Springsteen and Fallon as Two Springsteens Stuck in a Traffic Jam
  • John Legend and The Roots Perform “Dancing in the Dark”
  • Bruce Springsteen on Jimmy Fallon: Wrecking Ball
  • New York Is Not “Invisible” When U2 Play on Fallon Debut
  • Late Night With Jimmy Fallon’s Last Waltz
  • All-Star “Fairytale of New York” on Jimmy Fallon

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    Animaniac’s “Presidents Song”

    Happy Presidents’ Day! If you are working on memorizing the names of all the U.S. Presidents, this song from the Animaniacs may help. But you will have to make up your own verses for Pres. George W. Bush and Pres. Barack Obama.

    If you cannot quite place the tune, it is “The William Tell Overture” by Gioacchino Rossini.

    Who is your favorite president? Leave your two cents in the comments.

  • A Visit to Millard Fillmore’s Home
  • George Washington’s Escaped Slave: Told By a Drunk
  • American Tune: We Came on a Ship in a Blood Red Moon
  • Abraham Lincoln The Singer
  • (Almost) Every Photo of Abraham Lincoln
  • John F. Kennedy Inauguration and Robert Frost
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    “Stars” Visit Beyoncé, Jay-Z, and Blue Ivy on SNL

    beyonce maya rudolph saturday night live snl prince

    This season some of the highlights from Saturday Night Live have come from returning show alum, like when Jimmy Fallon hosted the show. This week, the show had several highlights thanks to the return of former cast member Maya Rudolph as host. Although producers recognized it would be inappropriate for Rudolph to reprise her Whitney Houston impression, she did pull out her Beyoncé.

    In the skit, Jay-Z and Beyoncé welcomed several celebrity guests, including “Prince,” stopping by to give their respects to their new baby, Blue Ivy. Other guests stopping by include LL Cool J, Nicki Minaj, Taylor Swift, and Brangelina.

    One of the highlights of the segment is Justin Timberlake’s cameo as Bon Iver. His imitation is so good, one suspects that he must be a Bon Iver fan, which was confirmed by Timberlake’s appearance at the show’s closing with a sign, “I Heart Bon Iver.”

    What was your favorite part of the skit? Leave your two cents in the comments.

  • Paul Rudd as One Direction’s #1 Fan
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  • Jonah Hill “Doesn’t” Let Oscar Nom Go to His Head (SNL video)
  • “Get in the Cage” with the Real Nicolas Cage
  • What is that song in “Moneyball”?

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