Top Ten Cloves: Things About Steven Wright Being Inducted Into Boston Comedy Hall of Fame

News Item: John Tobin on the new Boston Comedy Hall of Fame

10. Steven's thinking about leveraging the Hall of Fame induction, into getting to fill Obama's Senate seat

9. Steven's unsure on, since it's a "virtual" Hall of Fame, to deliver his acceptance speech in person, or via hologram

8. It's a "virtual" Hall of Fame ... Something Steven is familiar with ... Last year, he made an investment, buying timeshares in a virtual Condominium ... He gets two-weeks in September

7. All of his friends, that used to work as clowns in the circus, are going to the ceremony ... But in separate cars

6. It's cutting it close to Christmas, a busy time for Steven ... He likes to wrap his Christmas gifts in sod, but it takes a ton of scotch tape to keep it on

5. Another Christmas fact about Steven ... He puts up two Christmas trees every year ... A real tree, and an artificial one ... And, every year, he gets gifts, from the real Santa, and a department store Santa Claus

4. The ceremony is taking place in the theatre at Patriot Place ... Steven's worried about Bill Belichick videotaping him, surreptitiously

3. Steven may protest the event, calling for the members of the Old Negro Comedy League to be inducted also

2. Steven is a little worried about being inducted into a "virtual" Hall of Fame ... Feels it may overexpose him in the Time-Space Continuum ... And it really pisses of the Sims people!

1. Steven's never really liked Hall of Fames ... Thinks the mirrors in them make him look too famous


Editor's Note

While we attempt to have fun with this, it is no joke.

Steven Wright is the inaugural inductee to the new Boston Comedy Hall of Fame.

From Nick Zaino's Boston Comedy - Funny Grown Here;

There is a hall of fame for just about everything these day. Every sport has one, every form of music. So why not Boston comedy? Boston City Councilor John Tobin asked a similar question in a conversation with his friend, Spark Capital’s Todd Dagres. The two decided to create the Boston Comedy Hall of Fame, which will induct its first member, Steven Wright, at a local all-star ceremony at Showcase Live on December 15.

Wright was an obvious choice. The Boston scene was already swinging when Wright made his first appearance on “The Tonight Show starring Johnny Carson” in 1982, but his obvious talent led people to start looking for talent here. And since Tobin was looking for a comedian who “has made significant and lifelong contributions to the art of stand-up comedy,” Wright was perfect. “That was easy and unanimous,” he says. “Steven Wright is the obvious first choice in a long line of future inductees.” He adds that if Wright hadn’t agreed to it, they wouldn’t have gone forward.

The line-up for the show reflects Wright’s importance in the Boston comedy community. Tony V. will host the ceremony, which will include performances by Don Gavin, Barry Crimmins, Steve Sweeney, Mike Donovan, Mike McDonald, Lenny Clarke, Ken Rogerson, and Jimmy Tingle, with a video from “When Stand Up Stood Out” director Fran Solomita.

Congratulations Mr. Wight!

You can visit the Boston Comedy Hall of Fame, for tickets and information HERE

Visit Steven Wright's website HERE

Bonus Bonus

Some early Steven Wright

1980's Stand Up Comedy "Steven Wright"

Boston Comedy ... Funny Grown Here

That's the new Weblog of Nick Zaino, intrepid writer, reporter, and chronicler of all things Stand-up Comedy.

Nick was the long-time beat reporter for The Boston Globe (as well as other publications), covering the enormous comedy scene in, and around, Boston.

Least you forget, Boston (primarily, the old Ding Ho, in Inman Square, Cambridge) launched the careers of people such as Barry Crimmins, Steven Wright, Paula Poundstone, Kevin Meany, Bob "Bobcat" Goldthwait, Lenny Clarke, Dennis Leary, Steve Sweeney, Jimmy Tingle and dozens of dozens more, and continues to be a hotbed of up-and-coming talent, the new and next generation of smart alecks.

Nick, for the past 10-years+ has been working the beat, covering the local clubs, the big headliners that would blow into town, and keeping tabs on who was where. and what was going on, locally, and nationally.

However, recently, as The New York Times continues to water down, and whittle away the once strong quality, dominant Boston Globe, the Globe, much like other newspapers, continues to cut back and cut back (as discussed with a mutual friend the other day, the Globe Arts Section is beginning to look like USA Today, with 50-word articles and lots of pictures!), and ultimately, recently, gave Nick his walking papers.

So, rather than wilt away, Nick is channeling his energy into doing what he has been doing, that being covering the Stand-up comedy scene, now, working for himself.

He's open to taking donations, advertising, sponsorships, or any positive assistance you can provide.

Go over to Boston Comedy ... Funny Grown Here, say hello to Nick, and sign-up for his feed.

It will help you to remember to laugh every day ...

Ding Ho Reunion For Laz

For those of you local to Boston and Greater Boston, there's a good deal coming Sunday and Monday that you should make an effort to attend.

It's a Ding Ho Reunion, to benefit comedian Bob Lazarus, who has been fighting a winning battle against Leukemia for the past year or so.

As Barry Crimmins put it, "Laz has been walloping the daylights out of leukemia, an unpaid, yet full-time endeavor. So the kids are putting on a couple of shows ..."

Spearheaded by Tony V and Jimmy Tingle, Sunday evening (4 May, and a second show has been added for Monday 5 May) at the Regent Theatre in Arlington, MA (in the heart of Arlington Center) is the Ding Ho Reunion, where you can catch Steven Wright, Barry Crimmins, Mike McDonald, Tony V , Ken Rogerson, Chance Langton, Bill Braudis, Jimmy Tingle, Piano Player Martin Olson, and, of course, Lazarus himself, as well as expected special guests.

And what is the Ding Ho?

It was the legendary comedy club in Inman Square, Cambridge, that launched stand-up comedy in Boston, and the careers of many performers you are familiar with.

From Cliff Garboden, in The Boston Phoenix;

Opening a comedy club in a Cambridge Chinese restaurant was a laughable idea unto itself. But around 1978, comic (and occasional Phoenix contributor) Barry Crimmins persuaded Inman Square restaurateur Shune Lee to let him book himself and other stand-up acts desperate for a venue. Those acts came to include Lenny Clarke, Jimmy Tingle, Bobcat Goldthwait, Denis Leary, Paula Poundstone, Steven Wright, and lots of other high-profile quipsters.

So, whether you want to end (or begin) the week laughing, get a fix for your compassion and generous spirit, or, if you just have a thing for people with Leukemia, the Ding Ho Reunion is where you want to be.

Be there or be square ...

Barry Crimmins Is Giving Away The Store!

Okay, a slight exaggeration, but Barry Crimmins is offering free - absolutely no strings - his first recording "Kill The Messenger", to any-and-all, for the downloading.












Recorded in 1991, this has Crimmins coming off the decade-plus that saw him run the legendary Ding Ho Comedy Club, in Inman Square, Cambridge, MA, as well as establishing himself as the best political satirist in the country.

He also would have been, around this time, fresh off tours with people like Steven Wright, Billy Bragg and Jackson Browne.

In October of that year, before the most memorable of the Clarence Thomas hearings had taken place, the Boston Baked Theater (later to become Jimmy Tingle's Off-Broadway Theater) in Somerville, Ma. filled to capacity two nights in a row for performance that were recorded by Green Linnet Records. Howard Zinn graciously introduced political satirist Barry Crimmins. The audiences were wonderful, Barry was on top of his game. Scathing humor lacerated deserving targets.The result was the critically acclaimed album, Kill the Messenger. Considering how many of the problems of 17 years ago still exist today, it's no surprise that this recording remains quite relevant. There is one one major change -- back then you had to spend plunging American dollars to buy Kill the Messenger. But as of today, this classic recording is available for free via download as a gesture of solidarity and generosity by former Green Linnet CEO Wendy Newton and (obviously) by Barry, as well.

So, go to the post "The too recent past", where the links lay, for you to download one cut, or all, of "Kill The Messenger".

Free! ... Nada! ... No strings, No catches! ... Again, absolutely FREE!

You'll be happy that you do so.

Otherwise ...

Visit The Barry Crimmins website

Barry Crimmins on The Garlic

Comedy Alert - The Optimistic Curmudgeon's Last Thoughts on 2007 Comedy Albums ...

"It’s difficult to make a really good comedy album, one you’ll want to listen to more than once. That’s why a lot of them get assigned to novelty hell."

Nick Zaino, over on The Optimistic Curmudgeon, is offering another look at last years' comedy albums released, following up on a column he wrote in The Boston Globe.

If you want to get away from Super Tuesdays', delegate counts or the flood of new Britney Spears news, this is a good read.

Check out "OC Review: A Few Last Thoughts on the Best Comedy Albums of 2007"