Murray Roman (March 8, 1929 – November 6, 1973) was an American stand-up comedian and television writer whose career was cut short by a car crash. Many consider his style, and material, to be similar to

Lenny Bruce Leonard Alfred Schneider (October 13, 1925 – August 3, 1966), better known by his stage name Lenny Bruce, was an American stand-up comedian, social critic, and satirist. He was renowned for his open, free-wheeling, and critical style of come ...

Career

In addition to his stand-up comedy, Roman was a writer on ''

The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour ''The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour'' is an American television comedy, comedy and variety show television series hosted by the Smothers Brothers and initially airing on CBS from 1967 to 1969. The series was a major success, especially consid ...

'' television series and, as part of the ''Comedy Hour'' writing team, won a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for a Variety Series for his work in 1969. A noted sketch was "The Honey House", which mocked the 1968 hit song "

Honey Honey is a sweet and viscous substance made by several species of bees, the best-known of which are honey bees. Honey is made and stored to nourish bee colonies. Bees produce honey by gathering and then refining the sugary secretions of pl ...

", by

Bobby Goldsboro Robert Charles Goldsboro (born January 18, 1941) is an American pop and country singer and songwriter. He had a string of pop and country hits in the 1960s and 1970s, including his signature No. 1 hit "Honey", which sold over 1 million copies i ...

. The sketch featured a tour of the house where the eponymous Honey had lived and died, conducted by her husband, played first by

Tom Smothers Thomas Bolyn Smothers III (February 2, 1937 – December 26, 2023) was an American comedian, actor, composer, and musician, widely known as half of the musical comedy duo the Smothers Brothers, alongside his younger brother Dick Smothers, Dick. I ...

and then by

Dick Smothers Richard Remick Smothers (born November 20, 1938) is an American actor, comedian, composer, and musician. He was half of the musical comedy team the Smothers Brothers, with his older brother Tom. Early life Smothers was born in New York City ...

. According to American actor and comedy writer

Bob Einstein Stewart Robert Einstein (November 20, 1942January 2, 2019) was an American actor, comedy writer, and producer. He created and performed the satirical stuntman character Super Dave Osborne, and was also known for his roles as Marty Funkhouser in ' ...

, English musician

Keith Moon Keith John Moon (23 August 1946 – 7 September 1978) was an English musician who was the drummer for the rock band the Who. Regarded as one of the greatest drummers in the history of rock music, he was noted for his unique style of playing and ...

was a "huge fan" of Roman. Moon helped Roman obtain a contract with

Track Records Track Record (a.k.a. Track Records) was founded in 1966 in London by Kit Lambert and Chris Stamp, then managers of the rock group The Who. It was one of the first British-owned independent record labels in the United Kingdom. The most succ ...

Discography

* ''Out of Control'' * ''You Can't Beat People Up and Have Them Say I Love You'' * ''A Blind Man's Movie'' * ''Busted'' * ''Backtrack 13 (You Can't Beat People Up and Have Them Say I Love You)''

Television appearances

* ''

The Rat Patrol ''The Rat Patrol'' is an American action and adventure television series that aired on ABC between 1966 and 1968. The show follows the exploits of four Allied soldiers – three Americans and one British – who are part of a long-range deser ...

'', "The Tug-of-War Raid" (March 4, 1968), as Lt. Pohl *''

The Monkees The Monkees were an American pop rock band formed in Los Angeles in the mid-1960s. The band consisted of Micky Dolenz, Davy Jones (musician), Davy Jones, Michael Nesmith, and Peter Tork. Spurred by the success of ''The Monkees (TV series), Th ...

'', S2:E16, "Fairy Tale" (January 8, 1968), as Harold * ''

That Girl ''That Girl'' is an American television sitcom that ran on ABC from September 8, 1966, to March 19, 1971. It starred Marlo Thomas as the title character, Ann Marie, an aspiring (but only sporadically employed) actress who moves from her hometo ...

'', "This Little Piggy Had a Ball" (March 23, 1967), as Manager of Bowling Alley * '' ABC Stage 67'', "On the Flip Side" (December 7, 1966), as Hairy Eddie Popkin * ''

Batman Batman is a superhero who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. Batman was created by the artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, and debuted in Detective Comics 27, the 27th issue of the comic book ''Detective Comics'' on M ...

'', "Hizzonner the Penguin (1)" (November 2, 1966) and "Dizzonner the Penguin (2)" (November 3, 1966), as E.G. Trends * ''

'', wrote and occasionally appeared * ''Murray Roman's TV Show'', television special (1970), host

Influence

DJ Shadow Joshua Paul Davis (born June 29, 1972 in San Jose, California, San Jose, California), better known by his stage name DJ Shadow, is an American DJ and record producer. His debut studio album, ''Endtroducing.....,'' was released in 1996. He uses l ...

sampled Roman's record ''Busted'' in "Stem/Long Stem/Transmission 2", a track on his 1996 album '' Endtroducing''. DJ Shadow also sampled ''Busted'' on his single "Lost and Found (S.F.L.)".

Personal life

Roman married three times and had three daughters.

References

External links

*
The Forgotten Murray Roman @ WFMU
{{DEFAULTSORT:Roman, Murray Place of birth missing Place of death missing 1929 births 1973 deaths 20th-century American comedians 20th-century American male actors 20th-century American male writers 20th-century people from California American comedy writers American male comedians American male television actors American male television writers American stand-up comedians Primetime Emmy Award winners Road incident deaths in California