Ritch Shydner on 'A History of Stand Up Comedy From The Civil War to Today'

Hail Satire! with Vic Shuttee

Conversation #186, recorded on October 18, 2021. Ritch Shydner has a long history in the stand-up comedy game, appearing on Johnny Carson's Tonight Show and the early days of David Letterman. He's gone on to be a prolific comedy writer, working with Jeff Foxworthy, Jay Leno, Bill Maher, Roseanne and even Norm MacDonald. His return to stand-up was charted in the 2010 documentary I AM COMIC, and he helped compile great stories of the road in the essential comedy text I KILLED. Now he's putting his mind for comedy history to good use with his new one-man show A HISTORY OF STAND-UP COMEDY FROM THE CIVIL WAR TO TODAY: 160 Years of Standup in 90 Minutes. This one-of-a-kind crash course in comedy is a link to the past of the an art form that has never been popular and somehow not often understood. He's got shows at Yard Theatre on Melrose in LA on Oct 21 and 22, and will be booking more events across the country in late 2021. Hail Satire! is hosted and produced by Vic Shuttee. Further credits at hailsatire.com - Big thanks to Robert Price for our original theme music, Pin Lim for photography and Brendon Duran for the Hail Satire! logo design.