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Rock 'N' America
''Rock 'N' America'' is an American sketch comedy and music video show. In most markets that syndicated the program, it was usually aired Friday or Saturday evenings, usually at midnight or later. During Smith's run as host, much of the show's humor revolved around cheese logs and other stereotypes parodying the 1980s club lounge scene. One of the comedy bits featured Smith anchoring a fake newscast, in the style of ''Saturday Night Lives Weekend Update segment, using the sobriquet "Walter Cheeselog". In the middle of the series run, the original series host Rick Ducommun was replaced by Frazer Smith. The opening and ending credit music changed also, using a portion of the song "Automatic Sighs" (falsely credited as "Automatic Signs" during the end credits) by the band Strange Advance Strange Advance is a Canadian new wave band formed in 1982 in Vancouver, British Columbia. They were nominated for a 1983 Juno Award as Most Promising Group of the Year and again in 1985 a ...
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United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territories, nine Minor Outlying Islands, and 326 Indian reservations. The United States is also in free association with three Pacific Island sovereign states: the Federated States of Micronesia, the Marshall Islands, and the Republic of Palau. It is the world's third-largest country by both land and total area. It shares land borders with Canada to its north and with Mexico to its south and has maritime borders with the Bahamas, Cuba, Russia, and other nations. With a population of over 333 million, it is the most populous country in the Americas and the third most populous in the world. The national capital of the United States is Washington, D.C. and its most populous city and principal financial center is New York City. Paleo-Americ ...
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Sketch Comedy
Sketch comedy comprises a series of short, amusing scenes or vignettes, called "sketches", commonly between one and ten minutes long, performed by a group of comic actors or comedians. The form developed and became popular in vaudeville, and is used widely in variety shows, comedy talk shows, and some sitcoms and children's television series. The sketches may be improvised live by the performers, developed through improvisation before public performance, or scripted and rehearsed in advance like a play. Sketch comedians routinely differentiate their work from a "skit", maintaining that a skit is a (single) dramatized joke (or "bit") while a sketch is a comedic exploration of a concept, character, or situation.Sketch
definition 3b, Merriam-Webster online. Retrieved 5/4/2019


History

Sketch comedy has its origins in

1980s American Musical Comedy Television Series
__NOTOC__ Year 198 (CXCVIII) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Sergius and Gallus (or, less frequently, year 951 '' Ab urbe condita''). The denomination 198 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years. Events By place Roman Empire *January 28 **Publius Septimius Geta, son of Septimius Severus, receives the title of Caesar. **Caracalla, son of Septimius Severus, is given the title of Augustus. China *Winter – Battle of Xiapi: The allied armies led by Cao Cao and Liu Bei defeat Lü Bu; afterward Cao Cao has him executed. By topic Religion * Marcus I succeeds Olympianus as Patriarch of Constantinople (until 211). Births * Lu Kai (or Jingfeng), Chinese official and general (d. 269) * Quan Cong, Chinese general and advisor (d. ...
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1980s American Satirical Television Series
__NOTOC__ Year 198 (CXCVIII) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Sergius and Gallus (or, less frequently, year 951 '' Ab urbe condita''). The denomination 198 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years. Events By place Roman Empire *January 28 **Publius Septimius Geta, son of Septimius Severus, receives the title of Caesar. **Caracalla, son of Septimius Severus, is given the title of Augustus. China *Winter – Battle of Xiapi: The allied armies led by Cao Cao and Liu Bei defeat Lü Bu; afterward Cao Cao has him executed. By topic Religion * Marcus I succeeds Olympianus as Patriarch of Constantinople (until 211). Births * Lu Kai (or Jingfeng), Chinese official and general (d. 269) * Quan Cong, Chinese general and advisor (d. ...
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1980s American Sketch Comedy Television Series
__NOTOC__ Year 198 (CXCVIII) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Sergius and Gallus (or, less frequently, year 951 ''Ab urbe condita''). The denomination 198 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years. Events By place Roman Empire *January 28 **Publius Septimius Geta, son of Septimius Severus, receives the title of Caesar. **Caracalla, son of Septimius Severus, is given the title of Augustus. China *Winter – Battle of Xiapi: The allied armies led by Cao Cao and Liu Bei defeat Lü Bu; afterward Cao Cao has him executed. By topic Religion * Marcus I succeeds Olympianus as Patriarch of Constantinople (until 211). Births * Lu Kai (or Jingfeng), Chinese official and general (d. 269) * Quan Cong, Chinese general and advisor (d. ...
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Worlds Away (Strange Advance Album)
''Worlds Away'' is the debut studio album by Canadian new wave band Strange Advance, released November 1982. It featured two hit Canadian singles, "She Controls Me" and "Kiss in the Dark". Strange Advance was subsequently nominated for a Juno Award for Most Promising Group of the Year in 1983. The 7" single for "She Controls Me" contains a b-side track called "Lost in Your Eyes" which was later released on the ''Over 60 Minutes with... Strange Advance'' compilation. Tomas Mureika of AllMusic calls this album one of Canada's most underrated new wave debut releases. Four singles were released from this album, not including a dance mix of "Love Games" which was a club hit in England. According to a 2000 e-mail exchange with keyboardist Drew Arnott, Worlds Away was performed with Yamaha CS-80, Roland Jupiter-8, and Mellotron M400 synthesizers. Drums were performed with a Roland TR-808 augmented by live tom-toms and cymbals. Track listing Album credits Personnel *Darryl Kr ...
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Strange Advance
Strange Advance is a Canadian new wave band formed in 1982 in Vancouver, British Columbia. They were nominated for a 1983 Juno Award as Most Promising Group of the Year and again in 1985 as Group of the Year. Their first two albums, 1982's ''Worlds Away'''''' and 1985's '' 2WO'', were Canadian gold selling records. History 1982–1995: Formation and Canadian popularity Strange Advance was initially made up of Drew Arnott (keyboards, percussion, vocals), Darryl Kromm (lead vocals, guitars), and Paul Iverson (bass). The three met in Vancouver and founded the group in 1980. Initially called Metropolis, they changed their name after discovering a band in Germany using "Metropolis". The group's first album, '' Worlds Away'' featured the title track, "Worlds Away", which saw modest airplay in North American markets in 1983. The album was produced by Bruce Fairbairn, known for his work with Loverboy and Prism, but featured a very different sound from those groups. Rather than comm ...
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Weekend Update
''Weekend Update'' is a ''Saturday Night Live'' sketch and satirical news program that comments on and parodies current events. It is the show's longest-running recurring sketch, having been on since the show's first broadcast, and is typically presented in the middle of the show immediately after the first musical performance. Historically, one or two of the players are cast in the role of news anchor, presenting gag news items based on current events and acting as hosts for occasional editorials, commentaries, or other performances by other cast members or guests. In modern times, dedicated anchors are chosen among writing staff, often lead writers, in lieu of cast or featured players. Chevy Chase has said that ''Weekend Update'' which he started as anchor in 1975 paved the way for comedic news shows like ''The Daily Show'' and ''The Colbert Report''. History ''Weekend Update'' (1975–1981) Chevy Chase (1975–1976) ''Weekend Update'' was created by original anchor Chevy ...
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Saturday Night Live
''Saturday Night Live'' (often abbreviated to ''SNL'') is an American late-night live television sketch comedy and variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC and Peacock. Michaels currently serves as the program's showrunner. The show premiere was hosted by George Carlin on NBC on October 11, 1975, under the original title ''NBC's Saturday Night''. The show's comedy sketches, which often parody contemporary culture and politics, are performed by a large and varying cast of repertory and newer cast members. Each episode is hosted by a celebrity guest, who usually delivers the opening monologue and performs in sketches with the cast, with featured performances by a musical guest. An episode normally begins with a cold open sketch that ends with someone breaking character and proclaiming, "Live from New York, it's Saturday Night!", properly beginning the show. In 1980, Michaels left the series to explore other opportunities. He was r ...
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TV Guide
TV Guide is an American digital media company that provides television program Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertising, ... TV listings, listings information as well as entertainment and television-related news. The company sold its print magazine division, TV Guide Magazine, TV Guide Magazine LLC, in 2008. Corporate history Prototype The prototype of what would become ''TV Guide Magazine'' was developed by Lee Wagner (1910–1993), who was the circulation director of Macfadden Communications Group#Macfadden Publications, MacFadden Publications in New York City in the 1930s – and later, by the time of the predecessor publication's creation, for Cowles Media Company – distributing magazines focusing on movie celebrities. In 1948, Wagner printed New York City area lis ...
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Fee Waybill
John Waldo "Fee" Waybill (born September 17, 1950 in Omaha, Nebraska) is the lead singer and songwriter of San Francisco band The Tubes. Waybill has also worked with other acts, including Toto, Richard Marx, and Billy Sherwood. Early life and education Waybill moved to Scottsdale, Arizona in the 1950s and grew up in the Southwest Village area. He then attended Arizona State University, where he had planned to study oceanography. Ultimately, he discovered acting and decided to pursue that as a field of study. Waybill eventually dropped out of college and, while hanging out in the Verde Valley of Arizona, got to know his future bandmates, Roger Steen and Prairie Prince. Career Waybill, along with the Tubes, appeared in Robert Greenwald's '' Xanadu'' (1980), and Lou Adler's ''Ladies and Gentlemen, The Fabulous Stains'' (1982). In the latter film, he played the character Lou Corpse, the washed-up frontman of a band called the Metal Corpses. In 1984, a year after the Tubes released ...
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Rick Ducommun
Richard Ducommun (July 3, 1952 – June 12, 2015) was a Canadian stand-up comedian, actor, writer and producer. Career One of his earliest television appearances was on ''Star Search'' and as a technician accosted by a scantily-clad dancer near the end of the music video for O'Bryan's song "Lovelite", both in 1984. He finished second in the comedy category behind Brad Garrett. His credits include Bart (half of Biff and Bart) in the Canadian children's TV series ''Zig Zag'', Rick Dukeman in the music video show '' Rock 'N' America'', Tom Hanks' neighbor Art Weingartner in '' The 'Burbs'' (1989), the villainous monster "Snik" in the Fred Savage fantasy '' Little Monsters'' (1989), a barfly in the Bill Murray comedy '' Groundhog Day'' (1993), and Henry the chauffeur in ''Blank Check'' (1994). Ducommun acted in other films, such as '' No Small Affair'' (1984), '' A Fine Mess'' (1986), '' Spaceballs'' (1987), ''Die Hard'' (1988), '' The Experts'' (1989), ''The Hunt for Red October'' ...
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