By DAN TOMASELLO
LYNNFIELD — Boston comedy has a rich history according to veteran arts journalist Nick Zaino.
Zaino, who works as a freelance journalist for “The Boston Globe,” has been covering the Boston comedy scene for nearly a quarter of a century he told an audience gathered the Lynnfield Public Library July 19.
“Humor in New England didn’t start off well because of the Puritans,” Zaino mused. “They did not risk their lives in a transatlantic boat ride to settle in a harsh new land just to find mirth in God’s plan. If you told a joke that was profane or was considered ungodly, you would get in trouble.”
Zaino peppered his 90-minute presentation with numerous clips from radio bits and standup acts.
In the beginning… there was vaudeville
Traveling back in time to the 19th century, Zaino took the audience to B.F. Keith’s Theatre, a playhouse located across from the Boston Common that featured a number of vaudeville performances.
“It opened in March 1894 on Tremont Street,” he said. “It was billed in an advertisement in ‘The Boston Globe’ as ‘the most magnificent amusement palace on Earth.’ It offered family entertainment in an opulent setting. It was high-class vaudeville in contrast to the acts found in saloons and burlesque houses. Vaudeville is where the standup comedian was born.”
Eva Tanguay was “the queen of vaudeville,” Zaino said. Tanguay, who was born in Quebec, moved to Holyoke with her family when she was 6 years old.
“She was the top draw in vaudeville for roughly 20 years, starting in 1904 when she starred in a musical comedy called ‘The Sambo Girl,’” Zaino said. “A ‘New York Times’ review of that show called her ‘a full fledged star.’ The number ‘I Don’t Care’ became her signature song. She eventually became known as the ‘I Don’t Care Girl.’ Her vocal performance had an Edith Bunker vibe.”
Somerville native Fred Allen became interested in comedy while working at the Boston Public Library, he said.
“Not long after graduating from college, Allen was asked to perform at a talent show for Boston Public Library employees,” said Zaino. “He could juggle, so he practiced a few routines and learned a couple of jokes. He was a hit. Allen eventually started paying less attention to the juggling and more to the comedy. Allen made it as a vaudevillian in New York, and returned to Boston as a hometown hero.
“He became a comedy legend when he started working in radio. ‘The Fred Allen Show’ wasn’t just a steady stream of gags from his vaudeville act, as others had done before him. In his memoir about his radio days, ‘Treadmill to Oblivion,’ Allen felt, ‘a complete story told each week or a series of episodes about comedy situations might be a welcome change,’” Zaino said, adding, “He had a longstanding and fictitious feud with Jack Benny.”
The age of lampooning
Zaino said the legendary comedic duo of Bob Elliott and Ray Goulding got their start at WHDH while it was based in Gloucester. Winchester native Bob started out at the station as a disc jockey while Lowell native Ray was a newscaster.
“Bob and Ray both loved radio at an early age, and had similar absurdist sensibilities,” said Zaino. “Bob and Ray found absurdity in the mundane. They were very off-the-cuff, and they had perfect radio voices. They lampooned the news, soap operas, cooking shows, and everything radio had to offer.”
Zaino recalled that one of Bob and Ray’s most famous acts was “inept” news reporter Wally Ballou’s “Man on the Street” bit. He played a clip of Bob’s “Wally” interviewing Ray’s “Warren Smith,” who owned a cranberry bog. While discussing cranberries, sounds of a robbery and the suspects getting into a shootout with Boston Police can be heard in the background.
“What I love about that bit is there are three beats to it,” said Zaino. “There is not even a joke in the first minute, and it comes off as the most boring interview you ever heard. The second beat is Wally never heard of cranberry sauce. The third beat is the bank robbery going on in the background that Wally Ballou, award-winning reporter, doesn’t know about. Bob and Ray left Boston in 1951 after getting poached by NBC in New York. They were given a daily 15-minute television show and an hour every Saturday at 9:30 p.m. called ‘Inside Bob and Ray.’”
The Comedy Boom arrives
The legendary Jane Curtin was born in Cambridge and grew up in Wellesley. She “eventually left her studies at Northeastern in 1968 to join an improv ensemble called The Proposition that was in the style of Chicago’s famed Second City,” he said. “The Proposition was a high-minded group that started out playing to college crowds in Cambridge. Curtin left Boston for New York in 1972, and became a founding cast member of ‘Saturday Night Live’ in 1975.”
Andover native Jay Leno kicked off his standup comedy career by performing material at a talent night hosted by his employer – McDonald’s.
“Leno studied television production at Emerson College, but concentrated on comedy,” Zaino said. “He made trips to New York to establish himself. Leno quit his day job working at a car dealership in Allston in 1973, and became a full-time comedian. He spent more time in New York and spent a lot of time on the road. Leno left everything in his apartment behind after booking a flight to Los Angeles. He would catch on at The Comedy Store, where he would befriend David Letterman, whose show gave him a spotlight in the 1980s. He did his first ‘Tonight Show’ spot with Johnny Carson in 1977. When he came back to Boston in 1982 to perform at the opening of the Boston Comedy Club in Cambridge, he was a headliner. He got the job to host ‘The Tonight Show’ in 1992 over his friend Letterman.”
A large number of comedy clubs opened in Boston in the late 1970s and early 1980s, ushering in “The Comedy Boom,” Zaino said.
“When the clubs opened up, the comedians started coming,” said Zaino. “The floodgates opened up.’”
Sarcasm becomes king
The comedians who started gaining popularity in the 1980s included Lenny Clarke, Don Gavin, Kevin Meaney, Paula Poundstone, Steve Sweeney, Jimmy Tingle, Tony Viveiros and Steven Wright.
“Boston had a reputation for producing fast-on-your-feet and sarcastic comedians,” said Zaino. “I once asked Steven Wright what all of the comedians around at that time had in common, hoping for some insight from someone who knew all of the players. He told me, ‘They were on all the surface of the Earth at the same time’” in his trademark deadpan style.
Zaino said Bobcat Goldthwait and Janeane Garafalo were part of the “alternative comedy wave” after both relocated to the Boston area.
“Both were looking to deconstruct traditional standup formats,” said Zaino. “Wendy Liebman, Mario Cantone, Denis Leary and Laura Kightlinger were all part of the established group then. David Cross was performing in a sketch group, Cross Comedy, at Catch A Rising Star in Cambridge.”
Zaino said Brookline native Conan O’Brien was president of Harvard University’s humor publication, “The Harvard Lampoon,” during his sophomore and junior years.
“O’Brien went on to write for ‘SNL’ and ‘The Simpsons’ before hosting ‘Late Night with Conan O’Brien’ on NBC from 1993-2009,” said Zaino.
Younger comics willing to leave sooner
Zaino said the comics who kicked off their careers in the Boston comedy scene in the 1990s included Canton native Bill Burr, who he noted was the first comedian to headline a performance at Fenway Park last August. He also said Cambridge native Dane Cook, Peabody native Gary Gulman, Newton native Amy Poehler and New Jersey native Patrice O’Neal got their starts here in the 1990s.
“There was a generational difference with the younger comics: They were willing to leave much quicker,” said Zaino. “The ‘Boom’ comics were still around and filling clubs, so it was tough for the next generation to make a living. They were able to develop in Boston, and hit New York or Los Angeles with their talents sharpened.”
Zaino said Stoneham native Josh Gondelman, Brandeis University graduate Zach Sherwin, and Washington, D.C. native Baratunde Thurston got their respective starts in the Boston area during the 2000s. Hamilton native Bo Burnham, Stow native Chris Fleming, Dorchester native Sam Jay and Lawrence native Ziwe had their careers take off in the 2010s.
“Boston is still a great place for comedy fans,” said Zaino. “Boston comedy history is still being made. The best thing you can do is (see) it live.”
A woman in the audience asked Zaino if he is concerned that artificial intelligence will negatively impact standup comedy in the future.
Zaino is not worried.
“I have seen comedians use AI to make fun of how terrible AI is,” said Zaino. “I don’t feel it’s going to replace comedians unless people decide that is what they want. And if that is the case, I don’t want to live in that future.”