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Charlie Chaplin in the film The Champion

A comedian (French: comedienne) or comic is a person who seeks to entertain an audience, primarily by making them laugh. This might be through jokes or amusing situations, or acting a fool, as in slapstick, or employing prop comedy. A comedian who addresses an audience directly is called a stand-up comic.

A popular saying, variously quoted but generally attributed to Ed Wynn,^[1] is, "A comic says funny things; a comedian says things funny," which draws a distinction between how much of the comedy can be attributed to verbal content and how much to acting and persona.

Since the 1980s, a new wave of comedy, called alternative comedy, has grown in popularity with its more offbeat and experimental style. This normally involves more experiential, or observational reporting, e.g. Alexei Sayle and Malcolm Hardee. As far as content is concerned, comedians such as Tommy Tiernan, Des Bishop and Joan Rivers draw on their background to poke fun at themselves, while others such as Jon Stewart, and Ben Elton have very strong political and cultural undertones. Contemporary comedians include Conan O' Brien and Jonathan Ross.

Many comics achieve a cult following while touring famous comedy hubs such as the Just for Laughs festival in Montreal, the Edinburgh Fringe, and Melbourne Comedy Festival in Australia. Often a comic's career advances significantly when they win a notable comedy award, such as the Edinburgh Comedy Award (formerly the Perrier comedy award). Comics sometimes foray into other areas of entertainment, such as film and television, where they become more widely known; e.g. Eddie Izzard or Charlyne Yi. However, a comic's stand-up success does not guarantee a film's critical or box office success.

See also[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Comedians

• Comedy genres
• List of comedians
• Humour
• Comedy
• Satire
• List of humorists
• List of musical comedians

References[link]

Kathleen Edwards (born July 11, 1978^[1] in Ottawa, Ontario) is a Canadian singer-songwriter and musician. Her 2003 debut album, Failer, contained the singles "Six O'Clock News" and "Hockey Skates".^[2]

Personal life[link]

Edwards, the daughter of a diplomat,^[3] spent portions of her youth in Korea^[4] and Switzerland. Her father is Leonard Edwards, former Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs. At age 5, Edwards began classical violin studies that continued for the next 12 years.^[5] As a teenager she lived overseas, where she spent much of her time listening to her brother's records of Neil Young and Bob Dylan.^[6] Her brother also bought her first record, a Tom Petty album. After high school she decided not to attend college, instead opting to play local clubs to pay the bills. Her musical sound has been compared to Suzanne Vega meets Neil Young.

In 2011, she divorced longtime collaborator Colin Cripps and began a relationship with Justin Vernon, American singer/songwriter and front man of the band Bon Iver.^[7]

Albums[link]

In 1999, Edwards recorded a six-song EP entitled Building 55 and pressed 500 copies. By the fall of 2000, she was on tour across Canada managing her own gigs. In 2001, she wrote seven of the ten songs for her 2003 debut release Failer.

Edwards played at SXSW in 2002 and was signed to Rounder Records and MapleMusic shortly after. Failer was released in Canada in the fall of 2002 on MapleMusic Recordings. In January 2003 Failer was released by Rounder Records in the US and internationally. Rolling Stone declared her one of year's most promising new acts and Blender said that Failer's songs possessed "an indefinable pull that makes you love the characters they describe, no matter how fucked up they are." The New York Times praised Edwards as a writer whose songs can "pare situations down to a few dozen words while they push country-rock towards its primal impulses of thump and twang." She made her television network debut on "Late Show with David Letterman," where she performed "Six O'Clock News."

In 2005, Edwards released Back to Me, which also garnered considerable critical acclaim, and led to the release of the singles "Back to Me" and "In State". The track "Summerlong" also featured on the soundtrack of the movie Elizabethtown starring Orlando Bloom and Kirsten Dunst.

Edwards performing at the 2007 NXNE festival

In 2008, Edwards released her third studio album, Asking for Flowers. It was described by the San Francisco Bay Guardian as "her finest album to date",^[8] and was a shortlisted nominee for the 2008 Polaris Music Prize.^[9] In contrast with 2005's Back to Me, on which Edwards relied on her working band, Asking for Flowers predominantly features session musicians.

In fall 2010, Edwards began working on her fourth studio album in Wisconsin. Voyageur was released in January 2012. It includes the single "Change the Sheets," and was co-produced by Justin Vernon of Bon Iver.^[10]

She appeared on the Late Show with David Letterman on January 17, 2012, singing "Change the Sheets" from her new album Voyageur.

Musical collaborations[link]

In 2005, Edwards lent her vocals to the duet "The Plan", recorded with Matt Mays and El Torpedo for their self-titled album.^[11] In 2006, she was nominated for Juno Awards for Songwriter of the Year and Adult Alternative Album of the Year for Back to Me.^[12] In 2007, Edwards worked with John Doe, of the punk rock band X, on his solo album A Year in the Wilderness. She sings vocals on three tracks.^[13]

In 2008 Edwards sang backup vocals on Bryan Adams' album 11, and supported one of his tours. In 2009, she joined Adams on stage to sing one of Adams' songs, "Walk On By".^[14] In 2011 Edwards contributed vocals on Arkells' song "Agent Zero", off their second album Michigan Left.

Discography[link]

Studio albums[link]

Extended plays[link]

• 1999: Building 55
• 2003: Live from the Bowery Ballroom
• 2008: Live Session

Singles[link]

Guest singles[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Kathleen Edwards

• Kathleen Edwards

Michael Winslow
Birth name	Michael Leslie Winslow
Born	(1958-09-06) September 6, 1958 (age 53) Spokane, Washington
Medium	Stand-up, Film, Television, Personality
Nationality	American
Years active	1980-Present
Genres	Character comedy, physical comedy, improvisational comedy
Subject(s)	Pop culture, American culture
Spouse	Belinda Church (1985 - 1993) (her death) 3 children Angela Baytops (1997 - 2001) (divorced) Sharon Winslow (2003 - present)
Notable works and roles	Comedy Sound Smackdown Larvelle Jones in Police Academy Radar Technician in Spaceballs Stripe in Gremlins
Website	http://www.michaelwinslow.net/

Michael Winslow (born September 6, 1958) is an American actor and a comedian billed as the "Man of 10,000 Sound Effects"^[1] for his ability to make realistic sound effects using only his voice.

Early life[link]

Winslow was born in Spokane, Washington, the son of Robert and Verdie Winslow.^[2] He attended the Lisa Maile School of Acting, Modeling and Imaging. He also studied architecture.^{[citation needed]}

Career[link]

His first television appearance was on The Gong Show in which he squeezed in spot-on sound-alikes of Benji the movie dog, Jimi Hendrix, and Led Zeppelin's "Immigrant Song". He is best known for his role as Sgt. Larvelle "Motor Mouth" Jones in the Police Academy series of movies and TV shows. In 1985, Island released a 12" of Michael Winslow titled "I Am My Own Walkman". He also appeared as a radar operator in the movie Spaceballs. Winslow is also a motivational speaker. Since the fall of 2008, Winslow has hosted the motion picture television series called "Way Back Wednesday with Winslow" on the cable superstation WGN America, which features movies mostly released in the 1980s. Michael continues to perform stand-up comedy around the globe.

Michael Winslow debuted his own iPhone and iPod Touch apps in 2010, bringing his sound effects and comedy to a mobile platform. ThatsKungFu generates Winslow's kung fu fighting sounds when the device is swung in a fighting motion.^[3] NoizeyMan, regarded as the "World's Noiziest App", contains video, ringtones, sound effects, and mini games, all created by Michael Winslow.^[4]

Michael Winslow has had a varied and interesting career and among the people he has been associated with are Ronnie Lee Cunningham the former keyboardist and lead vocalist for seventies funk rock outfit LAW^[5] and actor David DeLuise.^[6]

References in other media[link]

• In The Simpsons episode "Marge Be Not Proud", Bart Simpson is caught stealing and is lectured by Homer, who concludes with the lines: "We live in a society of laws. Why do you think I took you to all those Police Academy movies? For fun? Well I didn't hear anybody laughing, did you? Except at that guy who made sound effects." Homer then laughs at himself while trying to impersonate Winslow and forgets what he was yelling at Bart about.
• Michael Winslow was parodied by Phil LaMarr in a MADtv skit mocking Hollywood Squares.
• The episode "Sausage Fest" of Robot Chicken featured Winslow's Larvell Jones from Police Academy as well as the other police officers when they join the Xavier Institute for Higher Learning to become X-Men. Michael Winslow voiced his character as well as the accompanying sound effects. Throughout the sketch, Jones' character seems to be making screeching sound effects whenever Professor Xavier rolls around on his wheelchair. Xavier realizes this and uses his powers to make Jones brain dead so that he cannot do this anymore, only to find out that his wheelchair was, in fact, screeching on its own. Winslow also performed an alternate ending theme for the credits of that episode.
• Winslow was spoofed on In Living Color, with David Alan Grier making sound effects. Although the biggest punchline was a narrator saying "You remember Michael Winslow from Spaceballs, as well as Police Academy 1, Police Academy 2..." and continues naming the Police Academy films up to a non-existent Police Academy 8 and 9.
• In the episode of The Office entitled "Dwight's Speech", Michael Scott imitates Winslow while vamping for Dwight Schrute at a sales convention.
• In the Family Guy episode "Family Guy Viewer Mail #1" Quagmire and his friends are in a haunted house and supposedly hear an Owl, which briefly frightens them, only to find out it was Winslow, who makes a guest appearance and performs several other sound effects.
• In the Psych episode "We'd Like to Thank the Academy" the characters explicitly reference the Police Academy films, and at various points Burton Guster attempts to imitate Winslow's sound effects, particularly a machine gun effect.
• Key & Peele portrayed Winslow and Bobby McFerrin as "The Kings of Mouth Noise" in a fight for top billing on a sound effects tour

Filmography[link]

• Cheech & Chong's Next Movie (1980)
• Underground Aces (1981)
• Nice Dreams (1981)
• Space Stars (1981) (voice)
• Tag: The Assassination Game (1982)
• Lovelines (1982)
• Police Academy (1984)
• Alphabet City (1984)
• Gremlins (1984) (voice)
• Grandview, U.S.A. (1984)
• Police Academy 2: Their First Assignment (1985)
• Police Academy 3: Back in Training (1986)
• Zärtliche Chaoten (Germany) (1987)
• Police Academy 4: Citizens on Patrol (1987)
• Spaceballs (1987)
• Buy & Cell (1987)
• Police Academy 5: Assignment Miami Beach (1988)
• Zärtliche Chaoten II (Germany) (1988)
• Police Academy 6: City Under Siege (1989)
• Far Out Man (1990)
• Extralarge (1993) (with Bud Spencer)
• Police Academy: Mission to Moscow (1994)
• Police Academy: The Series TV Series (1997-1998)
• The Trumpet of the Swan (2001) (voice)
• The Biggest Fan (2002)
• Lenny the Wonder Dog (2004)
• RoboDoc (2008)
• The History of the Typewriter recited by Michael Winslow (2010)
• Tosh.0 (2010)

References[link]

External links[link]

• Michael Winslow at the Internet Movie Database
• Official website
• acts/promotions
• Michael Winslow's NOW HEAR THIS!
• Winslow's MySpace
• Winslow on Radio 1
• Interview with Heeb Magazine, August 2009

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (April 2012)

"The Man" is a slang phrase that may refer to the government or to some other authority in a position of power. In addition to this derogatory connotation, it may also serve as a term of respect and praise.

The phrase "the Man is keeping me down" is commonly used to describe oppression. The phrase "stick it to the Man" encourages resistance to authority, and essentially means "fight back" or "resist", either openly or via sabotage.^[1]

History[link]

The earliest recorded use^{[citation needed]} of the term "the Man" in the American sense dates back to a letter written by a young Alexander Hamilton in September 1772, when he was 15. In a letter to his father James Hamilton, published in the Royal Dutch-American Gazette, he described the response of the Dutch governor of St. Croix to a hurricane that raked that island on August 31, 1772. "Our General has issued several very salutary and humane regulations and both in his publick and private measures, has shewn himself the Man." ^{[2][dubious – discuss]} In the Southern U.S. states, the phrase came to be applied to any man or any group in a position of authority, or to authority in the abstract. From about the 1950s the phrase was also an underworld code word for police, the warden of a prison or other law enforcement or penal authorities.

It was also used as a term for a drug dealer in the 1950s and 1960s and can be seen in such media as Curtis Mayfield's "No Thing On Me", William Burroughs's novel Naked Lunch, and in the Velvet Underground song "I'm Waiting for the Man", in which Lou Reed sings about going to Uptown Manhattan, specifically Lexington Avenue and 125th Street, to buy heroin.

The use of this term was expanded to counterculture groups and their battles against authority, such as the Yippies, which, according to a May 19, 1969 article in U.S. News and World Report, had the "avowed aim ... to destroy 'The Man', their term for the present system of government". The term eventually found its way into humorous usage, such as in a December 1979 motorcycle ad from the magazine Easyriders which featured the tagline, "California residents: Add 6% sales tax for The Man."

In present day, the phrase has been popularized in commercials and cinema, featuring particularly prominently as a recurring motif in the 2003 film School of Rock.^[3][4][5][6]

Use as praise[link]

The term has also been used as an approbation or form of praise. This may refer to the recipient's status as the leader or authority within a particular context, or it might be assumed to be a shortened form of a phrase like "He is the man (who is in charge)." One example of this usage dates to 1879 when Otto von Bismarck commented, referring to Benjamin Disraeli's pre-eminent position at the Congress of Berlin, "The old Jew, he is the man."^{[7][dubious – discuss]}

In more modern usage, it can be a superlative compliment ("you da man!") indicating that the subject is currently standing out amongst his peers even though they have no special designation or rank, such as a basketball player who is performing better than the other players on the court. It can also be used as a genuine compliment with an implied, slightly exaggerated or sarcastic tone, usually indicating that the person has indeed impressed the speaker but by doing something relatively trivial.

See also[link]

• Absentee landlord
• Big Brother (Nineteen Eighty-Four)
• New World Order (conspiracy theory)
• Ruling class
• The Establishment
• Power elite
• Corrections officer
• YTMND

Notes[link]

References[link]

• Lighter, J.E. (Ed.). (1997). Random House Dictionary of American Slang. New York: Random House.

Chris Gethard
Born	(1980-05-23) May 23, 1980 (age 32)
Occupation	Actor and comedian

Chris Gethard (born May 23, 1980) is an American actor, comedian and writer who lives in Queens, New York.

Life and career[link]

Gethard is the author of Weird NY, a book detailing the ghost stories and urban legends of New York, and the upcoming title A Bad Idea I'm About to Do which has been highlighted on This American Life.^[1] Previously, Gethard served as an editorial assistant for the popular Weird NJ and Weird US publications.

In addition to his books, Gethard is an improvisational actor who works largely out of Manhattan's Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre. He is in the longform improvisation team The Stepfathers. He organizes a monthly show entitled "The Nights of Our Lives". He has also been part of the UCB Theater's national touring company. An early noted work was entitled Darryl, a one-man show where he portrayed troubled baseball player Darryl Strawberry.

Gethard was featuredy on Variety magazine's "Ten Comics to Watch in 2010" list.

Gethard has appeared in multiple CollegeHumor.com videos. He has also appeared on Late Night With Conan O'Brien, Hope and Faith, and Comedy Central's Crossballs. In April 2010, he was tapped as the lead, alongside Horatio Sanz and Chris Parnell, in the Comedy Central sitcom Big Lake.

References[link]

External links[link]

• Chris Gethard at the Internet Movie Database
• The Chris Gethard Show website
• Chris Gethard's Blog, "Morrissey and Fist Fighting, Mostly"
• Upright Citizens Brigade Bio
• Videos at UCBComedy.com
• NY Times.com - Diddy Did It: Rapper's Guest Role At The "Chris Gethard Show"