Sous le spot

Richard Pryor delivers monologues on race, sex, family and his favorite target—himself, live at the Terrace Theatre in Long Beach, California.

A 1983 stand-up comedy film featuring the comedy of Bill Cosby. Filmed before a live audience at the Hamilton Place Theatre, in Hamilton, Ontario. Cosby gives his comedic views on people who drink too much and take drugs, going to the dentist, marriage and parenthood.

I'm from Hollywood is about the adventures of late performance artist Andy Kaufman in the world of professional wrestling. This film includes interviews with Taxi co-stars Marilu Henner and Tony Danza and interviews with comedian Robin Williams, wrestler Jerry Lawler, wrestling commentator Lance Russell, and Kaufman's best friend, Bob Zmuda. Other people seen in the film include TV host David Letterman and Jimmy Hart of Continental Wrestling Association. The film's title refers to a phrase spoken by Kaufman to the Memphis wrestling audience.

The story of Henry, a stand-up comedian with a fierce sense of humour and Ann, a singer of international renown. In the spotlight, they are the perfect couple, healthy, happy, and glamourous. The birth of their first child, Annette, a mysterious girl with an exceptional destiny, will change their lives.

Chevy Chase makes his film debut in this riotous collection of live skits. Directed by Ken Shapiro and featuring Chase, Richard Belzer and others, The Groove Tube mocks TV Land and its trappings by spoofing kids' shows -- from a marijuana-smoking Koko the Clown who resides in Make Believe Land, to Safety Sam, the penis with a plan who gleefully informs the audience of the perils of casual sex.

The controversial bad-boy of comedy delivers a piercing look at his life, lifting the metaphorical smokescreen that he feels has clouded the public view, commenting on everything from the dangers of smoking to the trials of relationships, and unleashing a nonstop litany of raucous anecdotes, stinging social commentary and very personal reflections about life.

Monty Python perform many of their greatest sketches at the Hollywood Bowl, including several from pre-Python days.

My Breakfast with Blassie is a movie starring Andy Kaufman and professional wrestler "Classy" Freddie Blassie. It is a mostly improvised parody of the popular art film My Dinner with Andre and is set in a restaurant where Kaufman and Blassie have a discussion over breakfast. Also featured is Kaufman's partner Bob Zmuda, who plays a nosy fan. Lynne Margulies, who would later become Kaufman's girlfriend, also plays a role; in fact, she and Kaufman met for the first time on camera.

A filmed version of the Broadway show starring comedienne Gilda Radner, complete with the characters she made famous on the TV show "Saturday Night Live."

Amnesty decided not to present a benefit show in 1978 in order to consider how to make better use of the performing talent so favourably disposed to assist it in raising funds. Peter Luff left Amnesty in 1978 and the organisation's new fund-raising officer, Peter Walker, was deputed to work with Lewis on reconfiguring the show to raise more money and greater awareness of Amnesty. Lewis proposed to Cleese that in addition to the comedy performances the show should feature some contemporary rock musicians. Cleese delegated this responsibility to Lewis who recruited Who guitarist Pete Townshend to perform, as well as New Wave singer-songwriter Tom Robinson.

Following the success of the 1979 show and the financial benefits accruing to Amnesty from the spin-off movie, TV special and record albums – Cleese, Lewis and Walker planned the next show to be a more spectacular event. Cleese focused on broadening the comedic talent to be presented at the show. In addition to the Amnesty show stalwarts drawn from the Oxbridge/Monty Python/Beyond The Fringe orbit, he invited newcomers such as Rowan Atkinson’s colleagues from the BBC TV show Not the Nine O'Clock News including Pamela Stephenson and Griff Rhys Jones; comedian Victoria Wood and regional comic Jasper Carrott. Lewis secured a return appearance by Billy Connolly and a debut appearance by "alternative" comedian Alexei Sayle who Lewis had recently discovered and was managing. Building on the success of Pete Townshend's 1979 appearance Lewis recruited other rock musicians to perform at the 1981 show including Sting, Phil Collins, Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck, Donovan and Bob Geldof.

A wild, zany spoof of American TV, complete with "on-the-spot" exposes, "remote" broadcasts, sensational interviews and a wide variety of commercial take-offs. Some of the topics covered in the film include "Miracle Stoves," "The Microwave De-Generation," "Death-Breath,", "Saturday Night Specials," "The Mexican Vegetable Genocide," "Sheep Tips," "Love Doll Dating Services," "Cruising for Jailbait," "Underwater Real Estate" and others. The format of the movie closely resembles that of current popular "magazine" TV shows, featuring anchorpersons in studio settings and investigative reporters "in the field."

Your backstage pass for when the cameras stop rolling! Monday Night Raw has delivered pulse-pounding excitement to TV viewers for over 20 years. But what happens when the telecast ends? For the first time ever, see what happens after the screen fades to black! Watch WWE's most colorful personalities cut loose for the live audience! From Stone Cold Steve Austin beer bashes, hilarious improv, red-hot matches and heartwarming tributes, it's all here!

Comedian Jaron Myers asks a girl he's never met (Reagan Drake) to be his date to his comedy show. And as a surprise to her, and the audience, there is a dinner table on stage where they had their first, unscripted, date in front of a live audience.

While Rudy Ray Moore is best remembered today for his outrageous blaxploitation movies, such as Dolemite and The Human Tornado, he started out as a standup comedian who broke barriers for off-color comedy on such "party" albums as Eat Out More Often. Rude is a performance film which captures Moore on-stage at a comedy club, delivering the rhyming rap routines and epic tales of sexual conquest that first made him famous.

Kroll Show is an American sketch comedy television series created by and starring comedian Nick Kroll.

The State is a sketch-comedy television show combing bizarre characters and scenarios to present sketches that won the hearts of its target teenaged audience.

Mock the Week is a British topical celebrity panel game hosted by Dara Ó Briain. The game is influenced by improvised topical stand-up comedy, with several rounds requiring players to deliver answers on unexpected subjects on the spur of the moment.

Comedy Now! is a Canadian comedy television series which debuted in 1997 featuring the newest in Canadian comedic talent. The show has won numerous Gemini Awards as well as many international awards. It is broadcast in Canada on The Comedy Network and CTV. In the United States, the program airs on Comedy Central. The show has started the careers of notable Canadian comedians, including Brent Butt, Gavin Crawford, Shaun Majumder, Russell Peters, and Harland Williams and has showcased comedians like Eric Tunney.

Based on Scott Aukerman’s popular podcast of the same name, COMEDY BANG! BANG! cleverly riffs on the well-known format of the late night talk show, infusing celebrity appearances and comedy sketches with a tinge of the surreal. In each episode, Aukerman engages his guests with unfiltered and improvisational lines of questioning, punctuated by banter and beats provided by bandleader, one-man musical mastermind Reggie Watts, to reinvent the traditional celebrity interview. Packed with character cameos, filmic shorts, sketches and games set amongst an off-beat world, COMEDY BANG! BANG! delivers thirty minutes of absurd laugh-loaded fun featuring some of the biggest names in comedy.

It's a comedy revolution -- unite in uproarious laughter with the "fluffy" comic in the Hawaiian shirt! Filmed at the Stand Up Live club in Phoenix, this series features Gabriel Iglesias and a bunch of his funny comedian friends performing routines, plus music from Grammy Award winners Ozomatli, the house band. Iglesias begins each episode with a set of all-new material before introducing a guest comic, some of whom include Cristela Alonzo, Tommy Chunn, Noe Gonzalez, Maz Jobrani, Rudy Moreno, Carlos Oscar, Paul Varghese and Thea Vidale. Martin Moreno is the show announcer and guest commentator.

Gotham Comedy Club, a popular comedy venue in the Chelsea neighborhood of Manhattan, is the setting of an hourlong series that is shot in front of an audience at the club. Each episode features routines by several comics -- a list that has included such names as David Alan Grier, Gilbert Gottfried and Artie Lange -- in what the network says is an unedited and uncensored format. In addition to the big names of the field who take the Gotham stage, the show also features up-and-comers who want to make a name for themselves in the stand-up comedy business.

A weekly variety showcase for the best sketch, characters and stand-up homegrown at the UCB Theatres in LA and NYC. Hosted by Upright Citizens Brigade co-founders Matt Besser, Amy Poehler, Ian Roberts and Matt Walsh and filmed with a live audience at UCB Sunset in Hollywood.

A 1971 comedy and variety sketch show co-produced by ATV in the UK and ABC TV in America, filmed at Elstree Studios. It featured opening and closing credits by Terry Gilliam, guest appearances by Spike Milligan, Bob Todd, John Junkin and Frances de la Tour, and also material written by Barry Levinson and Larry Gelbart.

Some of the funniest people in British comedy deliver a hilarious stand up presentation in the guise of a lecture in this stand-up competition. Not only have they got to impress the audience with their usual comedy chops, they will also be marked on their oratory skills by experts in the field of their lecture topic.

Packed with plenty of take-away trivia, Guessable involves two celebrity teams competing to identify the famous name or object inside a mystery box. Sara Pascoe hosts the show with John Kearns on hand as her assistant. Alan Davies and Darren Harriott are the team captains, in a format that puts a twist on classic family games.

Laser Fart began as a joke submission during a light month in 2004. Creator Dan Harmon was able to keep it alive with a Jack Black cameo in episode 2. On the third episode, Harmon teamed up with samurai lensman David Hartman and Channel 101 history was made. Laser Fart delighted audiences with its ironically epic feel and came breathtakingly close to breaking The 'Bu's record for longest running show. Then, in July of 2005, a weary Harmon wrote a ridiculous, slapdash script and the always hungry audience moved down the buffet, never looking back. This coincided with the "takeover" of 101 at the hands of a new generation of leaner, meaner (well, nicer), post-ironic underdogs like J.D. Ryznar, Ryan Ridley, Justin Roiland and the once-cursed Valley Pals. Laser Fart stands as a 101 legend and a cautionary tale: No artist has immunity, no show has true momentum. We can all go at any time.

Five established comedians take on the challenge of mentoring and training five celebrities to perform a stand up comedy routine in aid of the Stand Up to Cancer charity.

This variety series from writer, comedian and internet sensation, Ziwe is a no-holds-barred mix of musical numbers, interviews and sketches that challenge America’s discomfort with race, politics, & other cultural issues.

Comedian David O'Doherty gets to know celebrities on cycling adventures across the UK in a fun-filled interview show that delivers lots of laughter, proper conversation and stunning scenery.