''Madhouse Brigade'' is a half-hour sketch comedy series conceived and written by Alexander "Sandy" Marshall, and produced by Alexander Marshall, Dale Keidel and Jim Larkin. It aired in U.S. syndication in 1978 and 1979, and won Marshall an Emmy Award in 1980 as Best Writer of an Entertainment Series.
This independent production included appearances by future
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 (streaming service), Peacock. ...
cast member,
Joe Piscopo
Joseph Charles John Piscopo ( ; born June 17, 1951) is an American actor, comedian and conservative radio talk show host. He was a cast member on ''Saturday Night Live'' from 1980 to 1984, where he played a variety of recurring characters. His f ...
, Ty-D-Bowl Man,
Dan Resin
Dan Resin (February 22, 1931 – July 31, 2010) was an American actor.
Early life
Resin was born in South Bend, Indiana. He was three years old when his parents divorced. Resin met his future wife in the seventh grade. He graduated from I ...
as well as
Frank Nastasi, also known as the man behind "White Fang" on
The Soupy Sales Show. Other cast members included Karen Rushmore, Carlos Carrasco, J.J. Lewis, Bob "Rocket" Ryan and
Nola Fairbanks
Nola Fairbanks (born Nola Jo Modine; December 10, 1924 – February 8, 2021) was an American actress. She was also the aunt of actor Matthew Modine.
Early life
Fairbanks was born Nola Jo Modine in Santa Paula, California, on December 10, 1924, t ...
.
Sketches included a fashion show featuring clothing made of food; commercial parodies involving a dog food spokesman getting carried away and eating the product; diapers for adult "Campers"; a sleep aid that makes your "Partner" go to sleep;
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Nazi Germany, Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his death in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the le ...
as a stand-up comedian; and musical performances that included the original love songs "It's Time to Start Unloading You" and "Love Stinks the Most".
The Madhouse Brigade theme song and musical arrangements were by musical director Tony Monte.
External links
New Yorker Magazine Abstract, October 9, 1978about Madhouse Brigade
on Joe Piscopo
on Tony Monte
{dead link, date=January 2018 , bot=InternetArchiveBot , fix-attempted=yes on Alexander Marshall's Emmy wins
1978 American television series debuts
1970s American sketch comedy television series