Should Comedy Central do a Comedy Awards?

by Brian McKim & Traci Skene on September 11th, 2007

Certainly they should. Somebody should.

There hasn’t been a comedy awards show on television for a long time.

For 14 years or so, George Schlatter Productions put together a telecast that honored the best in standup (and the best in comedy in general– movies, television, etc.) and America got to see our funniest people honor their peers. (For the definitive online article on the history of the ACA, hit this.)

It started in 1987. It limped to an inglorious end when, in the final year of the ceremony, no award was given to a standup comic for actually doing standup comedy. Ironic, considering that the whole thing started in the middle of the standup boom, when standup was becoming a cultural phenomenon and Hollywood was figuring out ways to subsume the standup business and capitalize on its popularity. Doubly ironic since Schlatter was quoted as saying, “Of all the awards, the Standup Comic Audience Award is our favorite. It is a chance to honor the performers who spend much of their careers developing their craft and working in the comedy clubs all over America.”

An examination of the winners (and nominees) over the course of the first fifteen years provides a fascinating, telescoped history of standup in the modern era. Three out the first four award for Funniest Male Standup were given to Robin Williams. In 1999, Etta May tied Felicia Michaels and Robert Schimmel tied John Pinette for the top awards, the first ties. Schlatter cited “irregularities in voting” as the reason for dropping the award the following year. After a meeting with standup comics and others at the Melrose Improv, Schlatter announced that the award would be restored the award for the 2001 ACA. But it never was. (According to this account, the “voter irregularities” occurred when one of the male nominees “passionately promoted his nomination on a nationally syndicated radio show” driving thousands to vote for him via the ACA website. Schlatter said he was forced to “choose between the best performer and the best promoter,” and thus a “tie” was declared, making everyone angry and no one happy.

It’s about time that someone– Comedy Central? E!? HBO? TBS?– started doing it again. One of the main reasons that film actors, film actresses and directors are held in such high esteem is the broadcast of the annual Oscars ceremony. The opinion of comedians would soar if a similar ceremony were to be aired.

And ratings, it is safe to say, would be stratospheric. Look at the numbers that the Comedy Central roasts get!

from → News • View 1 Comment • Print-Friendly • Back To Top