Obscure indie film star Zach Galifianakis is starring in a 30-minute, NYC-centric version of his stellar, houseplant-invoking web series, Between Two Ferns: A Fairytale of New York, that features Tina Fey, Jon Stewart, and Sir Richard Branson. Yes! Bring on the awkward, prickly questions about salary, facial scars, and crappy airline food! more ›

We haven't seen much of former Saturday Night Live star Horatio Sanz since Lorne Michaels & Co. gave him the axe in 2006. After laying his impressions of Rubeus Hagrid and Saddam Hussein to rest, Sanz dropped about 100 lbs and made some sporadic SNL cameos, returning to reprise his rendition of "I Wish It Was Christmas Today" with Jimmy Fallon, Tracy Morgan and Chris Kattan when Fallon hosted last December. But it looks like Sanz is returning to his sketch comedy roots; he recently teamed up with Upright Citizens Brigade director Todd Bieber in creating a new web series on UCBComedy's YouTube channel. more ›

Way back in 2006, Kanye West had a vision for a Saturday Night Live-esque adult comedy puppet show—unfortunately, Alligator Boots never made it farther than the pilot stage for Comedy Central. Then last September, behind-the-scenes footage of the show suddenly appeared online... and was removed just as quickly. But as we were reading Grantland's massive Aziz Ansari piece today, we saw a link to that video and decided to check it out. And hey, would you look at that: a pre-sex tape Kim Kardashian shows up wearing Princess Leia's metal bikini. more ›

Long before his lucrative turns as a bearded man-child and his time spent between two houseplants, Zach Galifianakis was an aspiring actor in New York City. These two silent films purport to feature Galifianakis as a boxer and an aspiring "hipster" in Williamsburg of the early 90s. His superb co-stars include old school Pepsi cans, a vintage Combos wrapper and a smoke-blowing jerk beamed in from 2012. more ›

Will Ferrell hardly needs an introduction. Last year he won the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor for his "impact on American society in ways similar to the distinguished 19th century novelist," which is to say he can pull off a heartwarming performance as an innocent elf as well as a boorish fraternity has-been, all while influencing the American electorate and cracking up his colleagues on SNL. more ›

Jerry Seinfeld just Tweeted, "Think I'm going to drop in Gotham tonight and play around with some new stuff." We believe this is a reference to Gotham Comedy Club on West 23rd Street, where he has given surprise performances before. more ›

It had to happen. more ›

Louis C.K.'s Beacon Theater comedy special/internet experiment turned out better than anyone could have expected: in the 12 days since the special was put online for $5, Louis has made more than a million dollars! And he announced on his website that he is donating $280,000 to five different charities: "The thing is still on sale. I hope folks keep buying it. If I make another million, I'll give more of it away. I'll let you know when that happens because I like you getting to know what happened to your 5 dollars and bringing awareness to the bla bla bla." Aww: come for the bag of dicks, stay for the benevolence. more ›

If you're a connoisseur of funny things you may already know that NYC's own Louis C.K. has a new comedy special out featuring his performances at the Beacon Theater last month. It's on his website for $5, and his thinking is akin to Radiohead's In Rainbows experiment: will people pay for something if they can steal it? Apparently if it's good enough, yes. The comedian tells David Carr that on Thursday night, 175,000 people bought the special, and he was expecting 200,000 total after the weekend. Minus production costs, "That's a $750,000 profit. And he owns the rights, and the long tail of buyers, in perpetuity." Not bad for the recipient of the America's Saddest Handjob. more ›

East Village resident and comedic deli thespian Todd Barry is filming his new Comedy Central special at the Gramercy Theater on December 1. Tickets are free for both the 7:15 or the 9:15 shows, and you can enter for them here. more ›

Before becoming all Brooklyn on Bored to Death, a young Zach Galifianakis was a struggling comedian honing his craft out West. And just like old footage of Jerry Seinfeld doing stand-up surfaced this year, here is Galifianakis in 1999, at just 30-years-old, doing his routine. It's noted on YouTube that this is just one year before he appeared on Letterman, "followed by his own aborted VH1 talk show, working on the road, film and TV appearances... and then came Hangover." more ›

Here's an amusing parody about how different media outlets come up with new headlines for the myriad Occupy Wall Street articles that must be churned out on a daily basis. Our favorite is probably the NY Post newsroom's process, which involves a lot of gibberish, rhyming and alliteration. Oh, and the Huffington Post, where an editor asks what the New York Times went with, and decides, "Yeah, just go with that but with a bigger font." more ›

In his hilariously-covered new memoir, former SNL comedian Darrell Hammond admits to heavy drinking, drug use, and even of practicing forms of self-harm during his tenure there. According to the Post, Hammond engaged in the behavior to escape painful childhood memories. "I kept a pint of Remy in my desk at work. The drinking calmed my nerves and quieted the disturbing images that sprang into my head…when drinking didn't work, I cut myself," Hammond writes. more ›

Celebrities love getting involved in politics, so of course Bill Clinton has a "celebrity division" of his William Jefferson Clinton Foundation. Somehow he didn't manage to bag Scarlett Johansson (who has been vocal about her love of both President Obama and Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer), but he did get Ben Stiller, Matt Damon, Sean Penn, Kristen Wiig, Kevin Spacey, Ted Danson, and Mary Steenburgen. more ›

Remember, just a few months ago, when Tracy Morgan was at the center of a pretty serious sh*itstorm over a nasty little homophobic rant during a stand-up act in Nashville? While he did issue a formal apology shortly after the incident, it turns out that people—like David Letterman—are still talking about it, much to Morgan's chagrin. more ›

Did you miss the Eugene Mirman Comedy Festival at the Bell House again? Yeah, we're still bummed about it too. What is that you say? There things to be excited about other than WTF with Marc Maron? Here's a few that we're pumped about. more ›

Last night, David Letterman returned from his vacation and addressed the alleged Al-Qaeda death threat: "I have a fatwa on me. And they say the guy that issued the fatwa is an Internet jihadist. Internet jihadist, and I said, 'Well, heck, who says Obama isn't creating jobs?'" He also said, "We have a great audience night in and night out but tonight you mean a lot to me. You people are more than an audience tonight, really. You're more like a human shield." more ›

Today, in honor of fantastically cranky, Rumsfeld-baiting comic Louis C.K.'s Emmy nomination, we're taking a little trip down memory lane, to a time when Louis was young, thin, and blessed with a full head of hair. more ›

30 Rock star (and the only man alive who would have a fire in his fishtank) Tracy Morgan is at the center of a major firestorm over allegations that he went on an ugly homophobic rant at a Nashville show. According to audience member Kevin Rogers's epic Facebook note, titled "WHY I NO LONGER 'LIKE' Tracy Morgan—A MUST READ:" more ›

Ilana Glazer and Abbi Jacobson have been working their way into the NYC alternative comedy scene via their web series and live comedy performances, both under the name Broad City. The series was nominated for Best Comedic Video by ECNY (Ilana was nominated for Best Emerging Comic), and has been steadily gaining a cult following over the past year and a half. You can catch these ladies live and in the flesh when they host the Broad City Season 2 finale celebration this Thursday at the 92Y Tribeca, where they will premiere a Broad City short film, in addition to screening several favorite episodes, four stand-up acts, and live music. more ›

Earlier this month East Village locals rallied against the UCB Theater's Hot Chicks Room, a bar attached to their new comedy venue. The name was discarded, the sign was taken down, and the NIMBYs target heart rates went back to normal... until the red curtains came up. more ›

A New Jersey stand-up comedian got the "last laugh" (har, Post) when she won a suit brought upon her by her mother-in-law two years ago. Sunda Croonquist had spent years using her marriage into a Jewish family as comedy fodder, but after a while her mother-in-law Ruth Zafrin wasn't finding her act so funny, and sued her over her "malicious" shtick. Husband Mark signed on as Sunda's lawyer, and courtroom hilarity most likely ensued. Now, a judge has ruled that Croonquist's jokes are protected speech. more ›