The Firesign Theatre was an American surreal comedy troupe who first appeared on November 17, 1966, in a live performance on the Los Angeles radio program Radio Free Oz on station KPFK FM. They continued appearing on Radio Free Oz, which later moved to KRLA 1110 AM and then KMET FM, through February 1969. They produced fifteen record albums and a 45 rpm single under contract to Columbia Records from 1967 through 1976, and had three nationally syndicated radio programs: The Firesign Theatre Radio Hour Hour [sic] in 1970 on KPPC-FM; and Dear Friends (1970–1971) and Let's Eat! (1971–1972) on KPFK. They also appeared in front of live audiences, and continued to write, perform, and record on other labels, occasionally taking sabbaticals during which they wrote or performed solo or in smaller groups.
Don't Crush That Dwarf, Hand Me the Pliers is the Firesign Theatre's third comedy album, released by Columbia Records in July 1970. In 1983, The New Rolling Stone Record Guide called it "the greatest comedy album ever made". It was nominated for a Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation in 1971 by the World Science Fiction Society. In 2005, the US Library of Congress added the album to the National Recording Registry and called the Firesign Theatre "the Beatles of comedy."
David Ossman is an American writer and comedian, best known as a member of the Firesign Theatre and screenwriter of such films as Zachariah.
Everything You Know Is Wrong is the eighth comedy album by the Firesign Theatre. Released in October 1974 on Columbia Records, it satirizes UFO conspiracy theories and New Age paranormal beliefs such as Erich von Däniken's Chariots of the Gods and claimed psychic Uri Geller, which achieved wide public attention by that time.
Proctor and Bergman was a comedy duo consisting of Philip Proctor and Peter Bergman. The two started performing in 1973 while taking a break from the four-man comedy act The Firesign Theatre, with the comedy album "TV or Not TV", on which they based a short film in 1978. They reunited the Firesign Theatre in 1974, but resumed their duo act in 1975 during a second temporary split of the Firesigns, and continued to perform as a duo during several breaks of the Firesign Theatre until Bergman's death in 2012.
KPFK is a listener-sponsored radio station based in North Hollywood, California, United States, which serves Southern California, and also streams 24 hours a day via the Internet. It was the second of five stations in the non-commercial, listener-sponsored Pacifica Foundation network.
The Tale of the Giant Rat of Sumatra is the seventh comedy album produced by the Firesign Theatre and released in January 1974 by Columbia Records. It is a send-up of a Sherlock Holmes adventure, "The Giant Rat of Sumatra", which was not written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle but was referenced in his Holmes tale, "The Adventure of the Sussex Vampire", written in 1924.
The Firesign Theatre's Box of Danger: The Complete Nick Danger Casebook is a four-CD boxed set of most recorded material by comedy group the Firesign Theatre containing their fictional character Nick Danger, portrayed by Phil Austin. Danger is a parody of the hard-boiled detective genre, and is often announced as "Nick Danger, Third Eye", a parody of the term private eye. Danger stories involve stereotypical film noir situations, including mistaken identity, betrayal, and femme fatales. Danger originally appeared on the 1969 album How Can You Be in Two Places at Once When You're Not Anywhere at All, and was reprised in various live shows, radio appearances and albums, including the 1979 Nick Danger: The Case of the Missing Shoe, 1984 The Three Faces of Al, and 2001 The Bride of Firesign.
Parley Edward Baer was an American actor in radio and later in television and film. Despite dozens of appearances in television series and theatrical films, he remains best known as the original "Chester" in the radio version of Gunsmoke, and as the Mayor of Mayberry in The Andy Griffith Show.
Dear Friends is the Firesign Theatre's fifth album to be released on Columbia Records. It is a compilation album, collecting the Firesigns' choice of the best comedy sketches from their nationally syndicated radio program produced from September 1970 to February 1971.
Not Insane or Anything You Want To is the sixth album released by the Firesign Theatre on Columbia Records. It was released in October 1972 and includes some material that was recorded in the studio as well as some material that was recorded before a live audience. The full title is listed on the spine of the record album as Not Insane or Anything You Want To. The abbreviated title Not Insane appears on the front of the album cover, while Or Anything You Want To appears on the back cover. It is usually referred to simply as Not Insane.
Just Folks... A Firesign Chat is a 1977 comedy album by the Firesign Theatre. The material is based on previously unreleased material from their 1970–1972 radio shows Dear Friends and Let's Eat!. It was the only record the group made under a new contract with Butterfly Records, after the cancellation of their ten-year Columbia Records contract.
Give Us A Break is a 1978 comedy album by comedy duo Proctor and Bergman, one half of the Firesign Theatre.
A comedy album is an audio recording of comedic material from a comedian or group of comedians, usually performed either live or in a studio. Comedy albums may feature skits, humorous songs, and/or live recording of stand-up comedy performances, but the most common type of comedy albums are stand up, and are often made in conjunction with a DVD with recorded video of a particular comedy show.
How Time Flys is a comedy album written by David Ossman and featuring the voice talents of all four members of The Firesign Theatre plus several other contributors. It was originally released by Columbia Records in 1973.
Nick Danger is a fictional character created by the comedy group The Firesign Theatre, portrayed by Phil Austin. Danger is a parody of the hard-boiled detective, and is often announced as "Nick Danger, Third Eye", a parody of the term private eye. Danger stories involve stereotypical film noir situations, including mistaken identity, betrayal, and femmes fatales. Danger originally appears on the 1969 album How Can You Be in Two Places at Once When You're Not Anywhere at All, and is reprised in the 1979 Nick Danger: The Case of the Missing Shoe, 1984 The Three Faces of Al, and 2001 The Bride of Firesign.
He's based on the [Dashiell] Hammett Sam Spade character, but as I got more into writing him over the years, he's become much more like [Philip] Marlowe. I love [Raymond] Chandler's writing.
Lawyer's Hospital is the fourteenth comedy album by the Firesign Theatre. Released in 1982 on Rhino Records, it is a compilation of live performances, augmented by radio segments recorded for NPR and additional material from various sources.
Back From the Shadows was the twenty-fifth anniversary reunion tour of the comedy group the Firesign Theatre, performed at twenty cities across the United States in 1993. A live video CD recording of three performances was released as the group's nineteenth album in 1994 by Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab.
Dope Humor of the Seventies is a compilation album by the Firesign Theatre, released by Stand Up! Records in November 2020.
Duke of Madness Motors: The Complete "Dear Friends" Radio Era is a book and data DVD set collecting the complete works of comedy group the Firesign Theatre's 1970s radio shows Firesign Theatre Radio Hour Hour, Dear Friends, and Let's Eat.
