UPDATE, From Mark DiShera:

Everyone who expressed an interest seemed like they would give my records a great new home. I was going to put the names in a hat and draw one. But I was contacted by Jamie Bendall, Atlanta based comic and owner of The Punchline. Jamie said he wants to display the covers in the club and hold some listener appreciation parties for fans of vintage comedy.

The Punchline was my home club for almost my entire career. I have a thousand good memories (and hundreds of freebie chicken sandwiches) to look back on from that great club. Any of you who had the pleasure of working for Ron Dinunzio and Dave Montesanto, the original owners, know what a pleasure those two professionals were to deal with. Jamie is now carrying on the proud Punchline tradition, and is a very funny guy to boot. Having my records rest at a place that was like a second home to me just seems fitting. Thank you all for your interest and Brian and Traci for your help in this.

Comedian Mark DiShera writes:

I spent about 15 years on the road doing small clubs following the comedy boom that cable TV spawned in the 80’s. In the towns I played I would usually waste a day in the used record store looking for strange comedy albums. I’ve got a collection of about 100 that I need to pass onto a working comic, now that I have sold out and gotten a respectable day job.

The stuff ranges from the 50’s to the 80’s and of course contains some superstar gold records from the likes of Richard Pryor, Bob Newhart, Steve Martin, George Carlin, etc. But it is the more obscure stuff that is really fun to listen to.

DiShera stresses that he doesn’t want the lot to go to a collector or to an eBay freak– Ideally, the albums would go to a comedian who would actually enjoy listening to the recordings. Which is why he contacted us.

Which is why he is offering the entire collection for free— you pay shipping.

Click here for the UPS shipping calculator or here for the USPS shipping calculator. NOTE: They’re going to need the following information: The box would be 13 x 13 x 17 inches and would weigh approximately 60 lbs. It will ship from Homewood, AL, and the zip would be 35209. (We calculated for fun and we seem to recall the figure was hovering around $30 or so.)

It is indeed an eclectic collection of humorous vinyl, a few of which have been highlighted on our popular Vinyl Word feature over our magazine’s past eight years. Like Brother Dave Gardner, whom DiShera describes as “hip and quick and weird as his contemporary Lenny Bruce.” Or Dick Davy who, “in the mid sixties was a white southern guy performing for all-black audiences… doing only clean, smart, topical, political humor.”

Also included: Six discs from the granddaddy of weird, Jonathan Winters. DiShera says, “Anyone influenced by Robin Williams, Emo Phillips, Steven Wright or any other surreal comics needs to hear the grandfather of them all.” Some folks might not associate Woody Allen, Martin Mull, Lily Tomlin, Victor Buono, Pat Harrington, Mel Brooks, Flip Wilson, Selma Diamond or Andy Griffith with standup, but comedy albums by each are among the recordings in this collection.

DiShera’s personal favorites (whose albums he “almost wants to keep!”) are Jackie Mason and Franklyn Ajaye.

He says he’ll throw in a price guide book that includes interesting info on all the performers. (The guide says there is no such thing as a valuable comedy album!) The priciest among them is a Brother Theodore recording that might fetch $25. The value, he reiterates, “is really only in the appreciative listening of a fellow comic who will learn and grow as a performer from hearing this vintage work.”