Comedy Showcase is a series of one-off comedy specials featuring some of Britain's fledgling comedy talent. Its format is reminiscent of the much earlier Comedy Playhouse.

Series overview[link]

Episode list[link]

Series 1 (2007)[link]

Series 2 (2009)[link]

Series 3 (2011–2012)[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Comedy Showcase at channel4.com
• British Sitcom Guide

Louie Perry Anderson (born March 24, 1953) is an American stand-up comedian.^[1] Anderson created the cartoon series Life with Louie, has written three books, and was the initial host of the third revival of the game show Family Feud, from 1999 to 2002.

Early life[link]

Growing up in St. Paul, Minnesota, Louie Anderson was the second-youngest of 11 children in his family.^[2] A 1985 marriage to his high-school sweetheart lasted four weeks.^[3]

Television[link]

Anderson made his network debut as a stand-up comedian on "The Tonight Show" on November 20, 1981.

In late 1985, Anderson was cast as Lou Appleton alongside Bronson Pinchot on the pilot episode of Perfect Strangers for ABC (which was known in this early stage as The Greenhorn). When the show was picked up, Anderson was replaced by Mark Linn-Baker in the role of Appleton (whose first name was then changed from Lou to Larry) as the producers didn't think the chemistry between Anderson and Pinchot was quite right. The show ran for eight seasons on ABC.

In 1989, Anderson guest-starred on the first episode of the MuppeTelevision segment of The Jim Henson Hour.

In 1995, Anderson created and produced a Saturday morning series for Fox called Life with Louie.^[4] The series was based on Anderson's childhood with 10 siblings, a sweet-hearted mother and a loud, war-crazed father. It also detailed how he was picked on for his weight, and how he used comedy to deal with the teasing. The show was a 3-year hit on Fox, and won two Daytime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Performer in an Animated Program.^[4]

In 1996, Anderson created and starred in The Louie Show for CBS. The show had Anderson playing a psychotherapist in Duluth, Minnesota,^[5] and lasted six episodes before being canceled. Anderson later said he was dissatisfied and disappointed with the series, claiming that CBS changed it so much that by the end it wasn't his show anymore.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Family Feud

In 1999, Anderson landed the role of host of the new version of Family Feud,^[1] beating out Dolly Parton.^{[citation needed]} Anderson asked former Feud host Richard Dawson to come on the premiere show to give him his blessing, but Dawson declined.^{[citation needed]}

Anderson was let go from the show in 2002 and replaced by former Home Improvement star Richard Karn. Anderson said that the show would not last more than one season without him.^[6] The show remains on the air, although Karn was replaced by John O'Hurley in 2006, who subsequently was replaced by Steve Harvey in the fall of 2010.

Charity work[link]

Anderson put together a 9/11 tournament between the New York Fire Department (FDNY) and the New York Police Department (NYPD), putting up $75,000 toward both organizations for recovery from the September 11, 2001, attacks.^[6]

Shortly after 9/11, Anderson did a show in New York City for the NYPD and FDNY Widows' Fund. He is also the co-founder of the H.E.R.O. organization, whose mission is to empower people who are homeless or at risk of being homeless to "attain maximum self-sufficiency." H.E.R.O. works with a variety of local agencies to enroll clients in empowerment training to help them set goals for themselves and create action plans to accomplish these goals.

Recent activities[link]

Anderson has a regularly scheduled performance in Las Vegas at the Louie Anderson Theater at the Palace Station. For the last three years, he has starred in a New Year's Eve comedy show in Minneapolis, with business acquaintance Scott Hanson.

He has starred in his own comedy specials on HBO and Showtime^[7] and frequently appears on late night talk shows. He has made appearances on network television in Scrubs, Grace Under Fire, Touched by an Angel and Chicago Hope. He recently guest starred on the Adult Swim cameo-filled show Tom Goes to the Mayor. He also made an appearance on a 2001 episode of The Weakest Link, winning $31,000.

Anderson played in the 2006 World Series of Poker Main Event in Las Vegas.^[8] He was eliminated on the first day of play, during which he received a 10-minute penalty for foul language.^[9]

Anderson is a frequent guest on the morning show of Minnesota radio station KQRS-FM and is a close friend of its host, Tom Barnard.

Anderson was a guest on The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson as the voice of the robot Geoff Peterson on November 11, 2011. He appeared in the cold open pretending to be "guest host", then appeared again in the final segment, talking with Ferguson about how odd it was to have to promote his mother in law's book and have her on the show.

Anderson is currently business partners with Kyle Cease in his Stand-Up Comedy Bootcamp. The camp's goal is to teach people to become comedians; getting through writing blocks and confidence issues, and meeting top comedians.

Blackmail[link]

In the late 1990s, Anderson was blackmailed by a man named Richard John Gordon. Gordon extorted money from Anderson, threatening to reveal to tabloids that Anderson reportedly propositioned him in a casino in 1993.^[10]

Anderson initially paid Gordon $100,000 in hush money, fearing the story would threaten his starring roles in two family-oriented series, but when Gordon's demands increased to $250,000 in 2000, he informed law-enforcement authorities. Gordon, who was 31 at the time, was arrested^[10][11] and sentenced to 21 months in prison, a $4,000 fine, and 3 years probation.^{[citation needed]}

Bibliography[link]

Anderson has authored the following:^[4]

• Dear Dad: Letters from an Adult Child A collection of letters to his late father.
• Goodbye Jumbo... Hello Cruel World A self-help book for those who struggle with self-esteem issues.
• The F Word: How to Survive Your Family 49 family survival tips.

Notes[link]

External links[link]

• Official website
• Stand-up Bootcamp official website
• Video from ComediansUSA
• Louie Anderson at the Internet Movie Database

Mitch Fatel
Mitch Fatel at the ComedyZone
Medium	Stand up comedy, television
Nationality	American
Years active	1993–present
Genres	Stand-up comedy
Subject(s)	observational comedy

Mitch Fatel (born Mitch Fertel ^[1] in 1968^[2] in Manhattan) is a stand-up comedian in New York. He was raised in Yonkers, New York and began doing stand-up at the age of 15. In 1988 Fatel attended NYU/Tisch School of the Arts and majored in Film and Acting Studies.^[3] Around this time Mitch was an intern on The Howard Stern Show. When Mitch left the show he brought in a friend of his, John Melendez. John went on to take his place as intern and became known as "Stuttering John".

Fatel performs regularly at the famed Comedy Cellar. He has performed on the Late Show with David Letterman and Late Night with Conan O'Brien and worked as a correspondent on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. In 2006 Mitch took home honors as the "Best Stand-Up Comedian" at the Aspen Comedy Festival.

In 2004, he released a CD entitled Miniskirts and Muffins. Fatel had his own half-hour special on April 10, 2007 at 10PM on Comedy Central Presents which was ranked number 6 by viewers in the "Stand Up Showdown". Tracks from Fatel's CDs are often heard on XM Comedy 150 on XM Satellite Radio and on Sirius Satellite Radio's Raw Dog Comedy 104.

XM Satellite Radio broadcast a half-hour Mitch Fatel special performed live on July 16, 2005 in Manhattan. He released a second CD in 2005 entitled Super Retardo.

His radio show "Sex and Swinging with Mitch and Jessica" with his fiance Jessica Mayhugh debuted on Sirius/XM Channel 101 (Howard 101) on Monday March 28, 2012.

References[link]

1. ^ Howard Stern's Negligeé and Underpants Party PPV credits
2. ^ http://www.howardstern.com/rundown.hs?d=1145332800
3. ^ http://www.mitchfatel.com/press/#credits

External links[link]

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Mitch Fatel

• Mitch Fatel
• Mitch Fatel at the Internet Movie Database

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Michael Malone is an Emmy Award-winning American author and television writer, born in Durham, North Carolina. He is best known for his work on the ABC Daytime drama One Life to Live, as well as for his best-selling works of fiction Handling Sin (1983), Foolscap (1991), and murder mystery First Lady (2001).

Career[link]

Malone is well known for his successful stint writing the soap opera One Life to Live. He was the serial's head writer from 1991 to 1996 and garnered critical acclaim for his storylines, which included a tale involving the tight bond between an ostracized homosexual teenager and a preacher, the creation of villain/rapist Todd Manning and the character's gang rape of Marty Saybrooke, as well as the subsequent rape trial. Entertainment Weekly wrote: OLTL (circa late 1991-1994) was airing some of the most literate drama ever to hit daytime—too good to be called "soap opera." ^[1][2] One Life to Live was averaging 5 million viewers when Malone left in 1996. His next soap opera writing job was with Another World in 1997. He returned to write One Life to Live from 2003 to 2004.

While writing One Life to Live, Malone wrote a novel called The Killing Club, which was tied into the show. For months, viewers watched character Marcie Walsh (Kathy Brier) write the book. The book was published in February 2005 with the authors listed as Marcie Walsh and Michael Malone. To explain this, Marcie said she took the book to "Professor Malone" at Llanview University, who helped her re-write it. After Malone's departure from the show, Dena Higley continued this storyline, as a copycat killer murdered characters on the show exactly as had occurred in the book. In its first week of publication The Killing Club went to #16 on the New York Times bestseller list for Hardback Fiction. It later rose to #11.

Personal life[link]

Malone currently lives in Hillsborough, N.C. with his wife, Maureen Quilligan, a professor of English at Duke University.^[3] He is a former board member and a supporter of the Burwell School Historic Site. Malone sets many of his stories in Piedmont, including First Lady and the other Justin & Cuddy novels, in his region of North Carolina.

Writing credits[link]

Another World

• Head Writer: April 1997 - December 1997

One Life to Live

• Head Writer: 1991-1996 (hired by Linda Gottlieb); September 2004 - November 24, 2004
• Co-Head Writer: March 10, 2003 - September 2004 (with Josh Griffith)
• Story Consultant: February 3, 2003 - March 7, 2003 (hired by Brian Frons)

Bibliography[link]

• (1976) The Delectable Mountains: Or, Entertaining Strangers. Sourcebooks Landmark, ISBN 1-4022-0006-4.
• (1980) Dingley Falls. Sourcebooks Landmark, ISBN 1-4022-0007-2.
• (1983) Handling Sin. Sourcebooks Landmark, ISBN 1-57071-756-7.
• (1983) Uncivil Seasons. Sourcebooks Landmark, ISBN 1-57071-755-9.
• (1989) Time's Witness. Sourcebooks Landmark, ISBN 1-57071-754-0.
• (1991) Foolscap: Or, the Stages of Love. Sourcebooks Landmark, ISBN 1-57071-757-5.
• (2001) First Lady. Sourcebooks Landmark, ISBN 1-57071-971-3.
• (2002) Red Clay, Blue Cadillac: Stories of Twelve Southern Women. Sourcebooks Landmark, ISBN 1-57071-824-5.
• (2002) The Last Noel. Sourcebooks Landmark, ISBN 1-4022-0147-8.
• (2005) The Killing Club. Hyperion, ISBN 1-4013-0156-8. (co-credited with Marcie Walsh, based on a story by Josh Griffith)
• (2009) "The Four Corners Of The Sky" Sourcebooks Landmark^[4]

Short stories[link]

• "Red Clay" (can be found in Best American Mystery Stories of the Century, published by Houghton Mifflin)^[5]

(Recipient of the 1997 Edgar Award for Best Short Story)^[6][7]

• "Blue Cadillac"^[8]
• "Murdered for Love"^[9]
• "Delacorte"

Awards and nominations[link]

• Daytime Emmy NOMINATION (1992, 1994, 1995, 1996; Best Writing; One Life to Live)
• Daytime Emmy WIN (1994; Best Writing; One Life to Live)

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official fan site
• Burwell School Historic Site
• Review of Malone's short fiction

Matt Conn (born 30 October 1987) is an entrepreneur, geek and personality based in San Francisco best known for his role as founding member at RootMusic ^[1]as well as winning the Travel Channel television program "America's Worst Driver". ^[2]

America's Worst Driver[link]

On the series, Matt was penalized for being the worst driver in San Francisco by having his car destroyed by construction equipment. ^[3][4] In the finale, Matt was named the winner of the program, and had the car he was competing for destroyed by Robosaurus. ^[5]

Breakdown[link]

Source: ^[6]

     (OUT) The driver has won a new car, and is out of the running for America's Worst Driver.

Robosaurus, featured on "America's Worst Driver"

References[link]