100 Years of Boston Comedy

Arts journalist Nick Zaino explores Boston’s long history of comedy, from vaudeville to YouTube, highlighting some of the personalities that have defined laughter in America for 100 years.

Fred Allen found inspiration at the Boston Public Library to start his vaudeville career. Bob and Ray started their radio run in Gloucester at WHDH. Rusty Warren and Tom Lehrer shocked crowds in song. Norm Crosby and Bill Dana played the swinging supper clubs. Jay Leno, Paula Poundstone, Steven Wright, Conan O’Brien, Bo Burnham, Ziwe – all are part of the fabric of Boston comedy lore. Their history is a mirror of the history of American entertainment.

This is a free one-hour presentation with time allotted afterward for a lively Q&A and discussion with Nick, where you can dive deeper into the fascinating history of Boston’s comedy legends.

Nick Zaino is a veteran arts journalist who has covered comedy for The Boston Globe since 2001, and also written for The Los Angeles Times, WBUR’s ARTery blog, The Boston Phoenix, The Buffalo News, and other outlets. He is currently writing a book as a companion piece to the 100 Years of Boston Comedy presentation, and will launch Boston Comedy Radio, a streaming station dedicated to recorded comedy by Boston-related artists, in 2024.