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Documentary Comedy
Documentary comedy is a form of comedy. The comic material used is presented in documentary style—usually, a report on a particular theme or issue—and with the same investigation and reporting methods used to gather the material. Well-known documentary comics include Dave Gorman, Danny Wallace, Tony Hawks, John Clarke and Bryan Dawe, Alex Horne, and Mark Steel. Often they are also done in a Gonzo journalism style, incorporating the documentarian as a comedic element or foil. All Gas No Brakes, Louis Theroux, Nathan Fielder, and John Wilson are prominent figures in this sub-genre. Docucomedy specials are also a common example of documentary comedy, interspersing traditional comedy with personal moments. However with the advent of social media comedy, the lines between traditional comedy and the presentation of authentic personal lives has been blurred It is not to be confused with mockumentary, a form of spoof in which a documentary is played "straight" but based o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Comedy
Comedy is a genre of dramatic works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. Origins Comedy originated in ancient Greece: in Athenian democracy, the public opinion of voters was influenced by political satire performed by comic poets in Ancient Greek theatre, theaters. The theatrical genre of Greek comedy can be described as a dramatic performance pitting two groups, ages, genders, or societies against each other in an amusing ''agon'' or conflict. Northrop Frye depicted these two opposing sides as a "Society of Youth" and a "Society of the Old". A revised view characterizes the essential agon of comedy as a struggle between a relatively powerless youth and the societal conventions posing obstacles to his hopes. In this struggle, the youth then becomes constrained by his lack of social authority, and is left with little choice but to resort to ruses which e ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dave Gorman
David James Gorman (born 2 March 1971) is an English comedian, presenter, and writer. Gorman began his career writing for comedy series such as '' The Mrs Merton Show'' (1993–1998) and ''The Fast Show'' (1994–1997), and later garnered acclaim for his stand-up shows, one of which earned him a nomination for a Perrier Award. He became widely known for his '' Are You Dave Gorman?'' stage show, which he debuted at the 2000 Edinburgh Fringe Festival, while its television adaptation was broadcast as ''The Dave Gorman Collection'' in 2001. Gorman followed ''Are You Dave Gorman?'' with several other stand-up shows or comedic concepts that were turned into television series, including '' Dave Gorman's Googlewhack Adventure'' (2003–2005), ''Genius'' (2009–2010), and '' Dave Gorman: Modern Life Is Goodish'' (2013–2017, 2025–present). He has also been a guest on other shows such as '' Have I Got News for You'', '' Taskmaster'', ''Go 8 Bit'', '' They Think It's All Over'', a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Danny Wallace (humourist)
Daniel Frederick Wallace (born 16 November 1976) is a British filmmaker, comedian, writer, actor, and presenter of radio and television. His notable works include the books '' Join Me'' and '' Yes Man'', narrating '' Thomas Was Alone'', voice acting as Shaun Hastings in the ''Assassin's Creed'' game series, and fronting the TV series '' How to Start Your Own Country''. Biography Early life Wallace was born in Dundee, Scotland. He is half Swiss. He attended Park Place Primary School, also growing up in Loughborough and Bath, England. He began writing reviews for video game magazines aged 13 for school work experience: a reviewer had become ill and so Wallace was given the opportunity to review a game. At 18 he started writing comedy, mainly through the magazine '' Comedy Review''. He specialised in media studies at the University of Westminster. Career At 22, he became a BBC producer. He was part of the production team behind British Comedy Award-winning '' Dead Ringers'', the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tony Hawks
Antony Gordon Hawksworth Order of the British Empire, MBE (born 27 February 1960), known professionally as Tony Hawks, is a British comedian and author. Early life Born in Brighton, Sussex, Hawks was educated at Brighton, Hove and Sussex Grammar School and Brighton College. Career After dropping out of a drama degree at Manchester University, Hawks appeared in the West End musical ''Lennon – A Musical Biography'' at London Astoria, The Astoria. By 1988, before he found chart success, he was already appearing in BBC Radio 4's ''Big Fun Show'' with Paul Merton, John Irwin and Josie Lawrence. Hawks first attempted to break into show business as a singer-songwriter, but it was with a novelty record that he had his first brush with fame; as leader of the trio Morris Minor and the Majors, he reached No. 4 in the UK Singles Chart with the Beastie Boys parody, "Stutter Rap (No Sleep til Bedtime)" in 1988. It went on to sell 220,000 copies, and reached a peak of No. 2 in Australia ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
John Clarke (satirist)
John Morrison Clarke (29 July 1948 – 9 April 2017) was a New Zealand comedian, writer and satirist who lived and worked in Australia from the late 1970s. He was a highly regarded actor and writer whose work appeared on the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) in both radio and television and also in print. He is principally known for his character Fred Dagg and his long-running collaboration with fellow satirist Bryan Dawe, which lasted from 1989 to his death in 2017, as well as for his success as a comic actor in Australian and New Zealand film and television. Early life and career Clarke was born on 29 July 1948 in Palmerston North, New Zealand, the son of Ted Clarke and Neva Clarke-McKenna. He moved to Wellington and attended Scots College before studying at Victoria University of Wellington between 1967 and 1970. Clarke first became known during the mid to late 1970s for portraying a laconic farmer called Fred Dagg on stage, film and television. Gumboot and singlet ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bryan Dawe
Bryan John Dawe (born 21 March 1948) is an Australian writer, comedian, actor, political satirist, songwriter, photographer and social activist. He is known predominantly for his long-running collaboration with fellow satirist, John Clarke, which lasted from 1989 until Clarke's death in 2017; Dawe has also achieved success as a painter and public speaker. Collaboration with John Clarke Dawe was a regular collaborator of fellow satirist the late John Clarke in the form of mock interviews, first for '' A Current Affair'' and then for '' The 7.30 Report''. Dawe would take on the role of interviewer, with Clarke playing the role of a prominent figure or politician. Unusually for topical satire of this type-such as one of Clarke's earlier ventures, ''The Gillies Report'' (1984-1985)-Clarke never attempted to explicitly impersonate the figures he represents and always performed them in his own voice and manner. The format generally involved Dawe trying to press for an answer and Cla ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Alex Horne
Alexander James Jeffery Horne (born 10 September 1978) is an English comedian. Horne is the creator of BAFTA award-winning TV series '' Taskmaster'', in which he takes the role of assistant to the Taskmaster Greg Davies. He is the host and bandleader of comedic band The Horne Section. Horne hosts the band's eponymous podcast and television series, and has appeared with them on BBC Radio 4, TV channel Dave, and ''8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown.'' Early life Alexander James Jeffery Horne was born in Chichester, West Sussex, England on 10 September 1978. He was educated at independent Lancing College (1991–1996) and at Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge, where he studied classics (specifically Latin and Greek) and graduated in 2001. While at Cambridge, he was a member of the Footlights, and he wrote for student newspaper '' Varsity'' as a sports journalist and satirist. Horne went on to complete a graduate degree in broadcast journalism at Goldsmiths, University of London. Ca ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mark Steel
Mark Steel (born 4 July 1960) is an English author, broadcaster, stand-up comedian and newspaper columnist. He has made many appearances on radio and television shows as a guest panellist, and has written regular columns in ''The Guardian'', ''The Independent'' and ''Daily Mirror''. He presents ''The Mark Steel Lectures'', ''The Mark Steel Solution'', ''Mark Steel's in Town'' and the podcast ''What the fuck is going on?'' Early life Steel was born in Swanley, Kent. He was adopted 10 days after he was born. His adoptive father worked in insurance and his mother was a housewife who supplemented the family's income through factory work and working as a lollipop lady. He had a close relationship with his adoptive parents. Steel told ''The Guardian: He grew up in Swanley, Kent, and claims he was expelled from school for attending a cricket course without permission: "I thought, fantastic! The punishment for not coming in is that I'm not allowed to come in." He traced his biologica ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gonzo Journalism
Gonzo journalism is a style of journalism that is written without claims of objectivity, often including the reporter as part of the story using a first-person narrative. The word "gonzo" is believed to have been first used in 1970 to describe an article about the Kentucky Derby by Hunter S. Thompson, who popularized the style. It is an energetic first-person participatory writing style in which the author is a protagonist, and it draws its power from a combination of social critique and self-satire. It has since been applied to other subjective artistic endeavors. Gonzo journalism involves an approach to accuracy that concerns the reporting of personal experiences and emotions, in contrast to traditional journalism, which favors a detached style and relies on facts or quotations that can be verified by third parties. Gonzo journalism disregards the strictly edited product once favored by newspaper media and strives for a more personal approach; the personality of a piece ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
All Gas No Brakes
All Gas No Brakes is an American YouTube channel originally created and previously hosted by independent journalist Andrew Callaghan, based on the book of the same name by Callaghan. The channel has 1.67 million subscribers and over 92 million views . The channel features Callaghan traveling around the United States conducting vox pop interviews at various events, such as conventions and music festivals. The interviews are noted for their surreal and humorous viewpoints on serious topics. Nic Mosher and Evan Gilbert-Katz worked on the channel providing camera, audio, editing, and production management. The show ran from September 9, 2019 to November 12, 2020. On March 9, 2021, Callaghan announced his departure from the show along with his crew consisting of Mosher and Gilbert-Katz. Therefore, the show ended after one season with the final episode airing on November 12, 2020. He cited contract issues by network Doing Things Media as the reason for his departure, claiming explo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nathan Fielder
Nathan Joseph Fielder (born May 12, 1983) is a Canadian comedian, actor, writer, director, producer, and pilot. He is known for his awkward persona and involvement in works blurring reality and perception. His accolades include an Independent Spirit Award and a WGA Award, as well as a nomination for the Primetime Emmy Award. In 2023, he was featured on ''Time'''s list of the 100 most influential people in the world. Fielder was interested in comedy from a young age, and as a teenager was involved in his school's improv group, which also featured fellow comedian Seth Rogen. He majored in business at the University of Victoria, which influenced his later work. After attending a comedy course at Humber College, Fielder started his career as a correspondent for CBC's '' This Hour Has 22 Minutes'' for the segment series ''Nathan on Your Side'' from 2008 to 2009. Fielder wrote and appeared on the American sketch show '' Important Things with Demetri Martin'' (2011). In 2013, Fielde ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
John Wilson (filmmaker)
John Michael Wilson (born October 7, 1986) is an American documentary filmmaker. He is the creator and director of ''How To with John Wilson,'' a comedy-docuseries on HBO. Early life and education Wilson was born in Astoria, Queens, and grew up on Long Island. He became interested in film as a teenager when his father gave him a movie camera. Wilson cites Les Blank, George Kuchar, and Bruce Brown as influences. Shortly after graduating from high school, Wilson completed a feature film called ''Jingle Berry''. He added the reference to ''Jingle Berry'' to his own Wikipedia page in season 2, episode 4 of ''How To with John Wilson''. While attending Binghamton University, Wilson made a short documentary, ''Looner'', about a balloon fetish community. At Binghamton, Wilson joined an a cappella singing group, the Binghamton Crosbys. Career In 2008, after graduating from college, Wilson worked for a private investigator. He has said this experience influenced his focus on th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
