Tag Archives: Bill Maher

Aubrey Plaza to Appear in NBC’s Star-Studded Special “Joan Rivers: A Dead Funny All-Star Tribute”

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Aubrey Plaza is preparing to help honor a late comedy legend…

The 40-year-old half-Puerto Rican actress and comedian will take part in an NBC special commemorating Joan Rivers, whose influence is still strong in the comedy world and pop culture at large more than a decade after her death

Aubrey PlazaThe star-studded special Joan Rivers: A Dead Funny All-Star Tribute will be broadcast on May 13 at 10:00 pm ET/PT, with an extended and uncensored version available the next day on Peacock, featuring today’s comedians putting their own topical spin on Rivers’ legendary cabinet of jokes.

The comedian passed away at the age 81 in 2014.

Filmed in November during the opening night of the 2024 New York Comedy Festival at the historic Apollo Theater in Harlem, the special features appearances, musical bits and stand-up comedy from the likes of Rachel Brosnahan, Margaret Cho, Nikki Glaser, Tiffany Haddish, Chelsea Handler, Neil Patrick Harris, Bill Maher, Howie Mandel, Joel McHale, Tracy Morgan, Patton Oswalt, Plaza, Sarah Silverman, Melissa Rivers, Jean Smart and Rita Wilson.

“Given that I’m dead, I assume someone will finally decide to honor me. Well, it’s about time,” said the late Joan in a letter she left for daughter Melissa Rivers.

“This tribute is everything my mother would have wanted — hilarious, unfiltered and filled with people she respected (and roasted). And as usual, she was still the funniest person in the room,” added Melissa in her own statement. “It’s incredibly moving to see so many iconic comedians come together to celebrate her legacy, especially the women whose careers she helped make possible by breaking down so many doors. I know she’d be thrilled to see how far things have come, and she’d still have notes. This is more than a tribute. It’s a reminder of the trail she blazed and the joy she brought to so many.”

Benefitting the charity God’s Love We Deliver, for which Rivers served on the Board of Directors, the special is executive produced by Melissa Rivers, Chris Convy, Erich Bergen and David Jammy on behalf of Done + Dusted. Michael Matuza is co-executive producer.

Tom Segura to Take Part in This Year’s New York Comedy Festival

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Tom Segura is ready to crack up the Big Apple. 

The 40-year-old half Peruvian American stand-up comedian, writer, actor, and podcaster has been added to the lineup of headliners for this year’s New York Comedy Festival. 

Tom Segura

The 16th annual edition will take place this November, featuring a roster that includes Segura, as well as late-night TV hosts Stephen Colbert, Bill Maher and Trevor Noah.

More than 200 comedians, sketch performers, TV hosts and podcasters will perform in more than 100 shows at various venues across the city.

Other headliners include Nate Bargatze, Nicole Byer, Comedy Bang! Bang!, Vir Das, Kathleen Madigan, Demetri Martin, Norm McDonald, Randy Rainbow, Benito Skinner, Jenny Slate, Kevin Smithand Jay Mewes, No Such Thing As A Fish, and Betches Media’s U Up? Live. 

More performers and shows will be announced in the coming months.

The NYCF this year is partnering with The Female Quotient(The FQ), a woman-owned business committed to advancing equality in the workplace. Through the partnership, the FQ will aim to increase female comedic representation both on and off the stage via its signature pop-up experience, The FQ Lounge. The venue will be inside the flagship Bloomingdale’s department store on 59th Street and Lexington in New York on November 7 and 8. 

“As we mark 16 years of the New York Comedy Festival, we celebrate the varied and diverse talent – both up-and-coming and established stars – who continue to come out to put on a great show each and every year,” said Caroline Hirsch, founder and owner of the New York Comedy Festival and Carolines on Broadway. “We’ve always supported and championed those in the industry, and we’re excited to continue to bring the very best comedic talent to entertain comedy fans this November.”

Louis C.K. Added to the Lineup for SiriusXM Comedy Greats

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Louis C.K. will be hitting the radiowaves…

The 47-year-old Mexican American comedian and actor has been added to the lineup for SiriusXM Comedy Greats, a new channel from the satellite radio company that will broadcast comedy 24/7 for the first time, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

Louis C.K.

In addition to Louis C.K., who recently earned six Emmy nominations, Jerry Seinfeld, Lewis Black, Amy Schumer, George Carlin, Ellen DeGeneres, Kevin Hart, Bill Maher, Eddie Murphy, Richard Pryor and Joan Rivers are also noted as some of more than a hundred notable comics of past and present that will be showcased on air.

The new channel will also feature regular countdown takeovers, hosted by guests like Bill Burr, Jim Gaffigan and Ed Helms, who will discuss their personal favorites and professional influences.

Additionally, Dan Akyroyd, Adam Carolla, Cedric the Entertainer, Bill Hader, George Lopez, Howie Mandel, Marc Maron and Russell Brand will share vignette-like stories about comedians who have changed their lives.

SiriusXM Comedy Greats will launch Aug. 13, with a special hosted by Jim Norton, in which he counts down the top 50 comedy greats of all time (selected by listeners and the SiriusXM comedy team). It’s available on channel 94, as well as online, on demand and through the SiriusXM app.

Louis C.K.’s Upcoming Tour Already Grosses $4.5 Million in Ticket Sales

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Here’s further proof that Louis C.K. is comedy’s current million-dollar superstar…

A mere two days after announcing his upcoming comedy tour, the 44-year-old half-Mexican American actor/comedian has already collected $4.5 million from the sale of some 100,000 tickets.

Louis C.K.

The lightning success could be due in part to Louis C.K.’s direct-sale approach. Instead of partnering with Ticketmaster like most artists do, the star of FX’s Louie is selling tickets to his shows directly on his own website. As a result, his tickets are much cheaper.

“Most tickets for comedians in a theater venue start at $50,” he tells Entertainment Weekly. “The cheapest ticket in most comedians’ markets is $45, which is, like, a horrible seat at a Bill Maher show, and then you have a ticket charge on top of that.”

By offering a flat rate and bypassing a ticket agency that adds an extra fee for its profit, he says, “My tickets are going to be $45 all over the country, and there’s no ticket charges because we’ve made deals with venues that don’t have lockdown affiliation deals.”

“I don’t do this for money,” he continues. “To me, it’s the number of tickets I sell that’s satisfying. I like knowing we sold out Chicago in an hour. That’s a good feeling. This year I’m going to have the lowest tickets on the road. I’m going to be the cheapest comedian ever!”

Previously, the funnyman successfully sold his stand-up special directly to fans on his website, inspiring Aziz Ansari and other comedians to do the same. Louis C.K. earned $1 million in just 12 days from his Live at Beacon Theater material and earned $5 million so far.