red vinyl LP front cover
cover photo by Bob Willoughby
photo of front cover by Styrous®
In the late 50's and early 60's I discovered comedy on vinyl LP albums. The artists ranged in style and look all over the place; of course, there were the squeaky-clean and cute as buttons Kingston Trio, the goofy and fun Smothers Brothers, naughty Bell Barth, Shelly Berman, etc. Then there was Mort Sahl.
Mort Sahl is an American comedian, actor, and social satirist, considered the first modern stand-up comedian since Will Rogers. He pioneered a social satire which pokes fun at political
and current event topics using improvised monologues and only a
newspaper as a prop.
red vinyl LP back cover
photo by Styrous®
Morton Lyon Sahl was born on May 11, 1927, in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, the only child of Jewish parents.
His father, Harry Sahl, came from an immigrant family on the
Lower East Side of New York City, and hoped to become a Broadway playwright. He met his
wife when she responded to an advertisement he took out in a poetry
magazine. Unable to break into the writing field they moved to Canada
where he owned a tobacco store in Montreal.
The family relocated to Los Angeles, California where his father, unable to become a Hollywood writer, worked as a clerk and court reporter for the FBI.
red vinyl LP back cover detail
detail photo by Styrous®
Between 1950 and 1953 he tried to get jobs as a stand-up comedian in nightclubs throughout Los Angeles, but with no success. NBC,
where he once auditioned, told him he would never succeed as a comedian.
He even offered to perform free during intermissions for the chance to
show his talent. He recalls that period: "Despite all the folklore about
the faith of friends in the struggling young artist, my friends
constantly discouraged me."
He and a friend then rented an old theater, which they called Theater
X, for "experimental," and he began writing and staging one-act plays.
One of his plays was titled "Nobody Trusted the Truth." But unable to attract a large enough audience, they eventually closed the theater.
red vinyl LP back cover detail
detail photo by Styrous®
In 1953 he moved to the San Franicsco Bay Area. He once commented, "I was born in San Francisco." He auditioned for the hungry i, a nightclub in San Francisco. Its owner, Enrico Banducci,
took an immediate liking to Sahl's comedy style and offered him a job
at $75 a week (About $720 in 2020 money), which became his first steady
job as a stand-up comedian.
Bob Willoughby photo credit
red vinyl LP back cover detail
detail photo by Styrous®
red vinyl LP back cover detail
detail photo by Styrous®
red vinyl LP, side 1
photo by Styrous®
red vinyl LP label, side 1
photo by Styrous®
red vinyl LP, side 2
photo by Styrous®
Kate Smith introduced Mort Sahl on the Saturday, January 23, 1965 episode of the Hollywood
Palace on ABC (link below) and the PBS American Masters series did an episode about him in 1987 (link below).
red vinyl LP label, side 2
photo by Styrous®
Tracklist:
Side 1 Part 1
Side 2 Part 2
Notes:
Red vinyl
Side 1 Part 1
Side 2 Part 2
Notes:
Red vinyl
Mort Sahl – At Sunset
Label: Fantasy – 7005
Format: Vinyl, LP
Country: US
Released: 1958
Genre: Non-Music
Style: Comedy
Label: Fantasy – 7005
Format: Vinyl, LP
Country: US
Released: 1958
Genre: Non-Music
Style: Comedy
Viewfinder links:
YouTube links:
Mort Sahl ~
@ the Hollywood Palace (1965)
about the Kennedy Years (1987)
discusses Lenny Bruce
explains politics (1967)
Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour
Telephone Call to God @ the Hollywood Palace (1965)
about the Kennedy Years (1987)
discusses Lenny Bruce
explains politics (1967)
Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour
Woody Allen ~ Mort Sahl Changed The History Of Comedy
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