Happy St. Patrick's Day from the Dropkick Murphys and Lenny Clarke

The Dropkick Murphys are at the House of Blues supporting their new album, Going Out In Style, and Lenny Clarke is at Giggles tonight with Tony V supporting his new hair color. The Murphys tapped Clarke and his plunger, as well as Micky Ward from The Fighter, Bobby Orr, Milan Lucic, and Shawn Thornton from the Bruins, Kevin Youkilis of the Red Sox, and NESN's Heidi Watney for the video of the title track from the album. Clarke will be at Giggles tomorrow and Saturday, as well.

Check out the video:

Lenny Clarke:Thursday at 8PM with Tony V, Dave Russo, Graig Murphy, and Mark Riley. Friday and Saturday at 7:15PM and 9:30PM. With Artie Januario and Todd Kane. Giggles Comedy Club, at Prince's Pizzeria, 517 Broadway (Route 1), Saugus, Ma. 781.233.9950

Ken Rogerson: The Roast That Was Nearly A Benefit Show

Rogerson onstage at Giggles with his bike.

For a half an hour at Giggles last Monday night, the biggest comedians in Boston busted Ken Rogerson’s balls. Not to be outdone, Rogerson then busted his own. Literally.

Let me back up. This is a story of a random act of kindness in the local comedy community, a galvanizing moment you don’t often see publicly. Rogerson had no transportation to gigs. And probably more importantly, he has always wanted a Harley. He rode them as a kid, and on the set of Rescue Me a few years ago.

So Mike Clarke, brother of Lenny and and a few other comedians hatched a plot to pitch in and buy the Harley for Rogerson and surprise him with it.

All told, forty-two people, most of them comedians, chipped in about $100 apiece to buy the bike. They then rolled it into Giggles Monday night and filled the club with Rogerson’s friends, including Steven Wright, Lenny Clarke, Tony V., Mike McDonald, Steve Sweeney, Don Gavin, Jimmy Dunn, Jim McCue, Joe Yannetty, Robbie Printz, Dave Russo, Johnny Pizzi, and Brad Mastrangelo.

Rogerson was told he would be playing a charity gig, making $300. He was legitimately shocked when he walked in and saw the room filled with his friends and a Harley on the stage. Rogerson is not often speechless, but he was, at least for a few minutes, when Lenny, dressed in a hat he swiped from the corpse of Carnac the Magnificent, led him up to his bike and old him what was going on. You can see that on the videos.



You can also see that the evening quickly turned into an impromptu roast. As Wright was talking about Rogerson, you can hear Gavin shout, “Did he die?” Mike McDonald said this was the kind of gift anyone would want to receive, and wondered why the hell it went to Rogerson. McCue had one of the best lines of the night when, pushed into speaking, he took the stage and said, “This is the strangest way to tell someone they have cancer.”



Once everyone had a turn taking shots at Rogerson, everyone gathered for a group photo, and filed out to watch Rogerson start up his new toy. Rogerson was beaming out in the Giggles parking lot, posing for photos, feeling the bike roar. He then let out the clutch and the bike lurched, and a surprised Rogerson sped about ten feet into Sweeney’s Lexus, the only thing between Rogerson and busy Route 1 traffic.

Some of Boston's best pay tribute to Rogerson.

Rogerson crumpled to the ground, holding his head, and stayed still for a long moment. As I said when I wrote a short bit about this for the Globe, most of the comedians waited until it was clear Rogerson was more embarrassed than actually hurt before laughing. Most of them. Rogerson escaped with a few scratches, as did Pizzi, who had to leap out of the way. Sweeney’s Lexus was also unharmed, which made him wonder why they didn’t get Rogerson one of those instead of a bike.

Just as Rogeson lets out the clutch, he ages 30
years. This photo is not retouched in any way.

Afterwards, when Rogerson asked if Pizzi was okay, Pizzi asked if he were insured yet. “Because I’m suing,” he said.

“Johnny, everything I own is at George’s, stop by and pick something out,” said Rogerson. “It’s all in one room.”

Everything was a surprise to Rogerson. The bike itself, his friends, and how light the clutch was. It was hard to keep everyone quiet, but Rogerson said he didn’t suspect a thing. “I had no clue,” he said. “I have no words. Who expects this? And who expects to crash it the first thirty seconds? They had to tell the story about the ‘Rescue Me’ tour. It’s my second time crashing, and my third time on a bike in forty years. I’m embarrassed as hell.”

Rogerson, McDonald, and Sweeney after the crash.

Rogerson was happy Pizzi was okay, and that Sweeney’s car was fine. And he was clearly touched by his friends’ generosity. He’s sure he’ll get over the embarrassment quickly. “It’s not like it’s the dumbest thing I’ve ever done,” he said. “You’ve heard the stories from the 80s.”

Jimmy Dunn on TV, Comics Come Home

Jimmy Dunn will play Comics
Come Home Saturday

Jimmy Dunn has been doing stand-up comedy in Boston for more than fifteen years. He’s appeared on countless stages, and, as an avid sports fan, has written a book (Funnyball: Observations from a Summer at the Ballpark) and hosted his own NESN show, called Fan Attic, on which he watched old game footage.

But these days, most people who recognize Dunn remember him from commercials he wrote, produced, and acted in for Olympia Sports. I wrote about these spots for the Globe a couple of years ago, and Dunn is still producing them.

“I've become the ‘time to make the donuts’ guy,” he says. “Just got made at subway an hour ago. Especially if I have my Sox hat on!”

Commercials have become a bigger part of what Dunn does, and he has expanded to other clients, still drafting Boston comedian friends to co-star with him. “My newest client is Seacoast Harley-Davidson,” says the New Hampshire resident. “Working on a really cool campaign for them for the spring, doing some cool Internet stuff for another really high profile client that I can't name yet. Lots of projects over the winter that should drop in the spring.”

Saturday, Dunn will play one of his biggest audiences yet when he makes his debut appearance at Comics Come Home at Agganis Arena. Host Denis Leary picks the comics for the bill, and Dunn had an inside track. “The Clarke boys, Mike and Lenny have been lobbying for me,” Dunn says.

The show is a benefit for the Cam Neely Foundation for Cancer Care. Dunn is, of course, a fan of Neely, a former Bruins player and currently president of the Bruins organization. Dunn has met him a few times, and Neely once appeared on Fan Attic. Still, Dunn will be looking for an autograph. “Really cool guy,” says Dunn, “and yes, I'll have a stick with me!”

For more on Comics Come Home, read Jim Sullivan's piece in last week's Globe here.

Comics Come Home, November 13, 7:30PM at Agganis Arena. With Denis Leary, Adam Ferrara, Jim Norton, Lenny Clarke, Joe Yannetty, Pete Correale, Thomas Dale, Jimmy Dunn, and Steven Wright.

Comics Come Home line-up, November 13 at Agganis

A good chunk of the line-up for this year's 16th Annual Comics Come Home, which will take place November 13, 7:30PM at BU's Agganis Arena, was announced today. As always, Denis Leary hosts. On the bill so far: Jim Norton, Adam Ferrara, Lenny Clarke, Joe Yannetty, Pete Correale, and Thomas Dale. I'll update if and when any additions are announced.

Random Notes: Levy, Clarke, Crean, and Costello

Former Boston comic Dan Levy’s Comedy Central Presents premieres tonight at 10PM (see the clip below)… If you have HBO Comedy and you’re an insomniac, check out Rodney Dangerfield’s 1988 stand-up showcase special Nothin’ Goes Right at 1:05AM. The line-up features Cambridge’s own Lenny Clarke, as well as Bill Hicks, Dom Irrera, Robert Schimmel, Carol Leifer, Andrew Dice Clay and Barry Sobel. It repeats 2/18 at 4AM… The Off-Broadway comedy The Queen of Bingo comes to The Company Theatre in Norwell tomorrow (at 4PM and 8PM) and Sunday (3PM)… The line-up for Tuesday’s Rob Crean Show at O’Brien’s includes Anderson Comedy, Ahmed Bharoocha, MC Mr. Napkins, and Andy Ofiesh… Boston native Sue Costello has announced she will bring her one-woman show, Minus 32 Million Words, to Right Turn Live! in Arlington April 10 and 11.

Dan Levy’s Comedy Central Presents…

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Dan Levy - Justin Timberlake

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Lenny Clarke from Nothin’ Goes Right:

John Tobin on the new Boston Comedy Hall of Fame

There is a hall of fame for just about everything these day. Every sport has one, every form of music. So why not Boston comedy? Boston City Councilor John Tobin asked a similar question in a conversation with his friend, Spark Capital’s Todd Dagres. The two decided to create the Boston Comedy Hall of Fame, which will induct its first member, Steven Wright, at a local all-star ceremony at Showcase Live on December 15.

Wright was an obvious choice. The Boston scene was already swinging when Wright made his first appearance on “The Tonight Show starring Johnny Carson” in 1982, but his obvious talent led people to start looking for talent here. And since Tobin was looking for a comedian who “has made significant and lifelong contributions to the art of stand-up comedy,” Wright was perfect. “That was easy and unanimous,” he says. “Steven Wright is the obvious first choice in a long line of future inductees.” He adds that if Wright hadn’t agreed to it, they wouldn’t have gone forward.

The line-up for the show reflects Wright’s importance in the Boston comedy community. Tony V. will host the ceremony, which will include performances by Don Gavin, Barry Crimmins, Steve Sweeney, Mike Donovan, Mike McDonald, Lenny Clarke, Ken Rogerson, and Jimmy Tingle, with a video from “When Stand Up Stood Out” director Fran Solomita.

For now, there will be no brick and mortar Boston Comedy Hall of Fame, but Tobin says he “would love to see it at some point be a part of a larger complex dedicated to the history of Boston entertainment.” Wright will receive an Oscar-sized statue (to go with his actual Oscar) called the Thomas Wignell Award, named for a 19th century actor considered by some to be the first stand-up comedian.

Tobin, a co-founder of the Boston Comedy Festival, has always been a comedy fan and looked for ways to contribute above and beyond his duties as a City Councilman. “It’s just something that I have always been passionate about,” he says. “Comedy has had a big role in shaping me and I have nothing but admiration for the men and women who work hard and lend their voices to making people laugh and think.”

Tobin and Dagres have set up the project as a not-for-profit under the banner of “Stage Source,” which will set up a fund for comedians who fall sick and need assistance. Tobin is the executive director and Dagres is the president of the board, which Tobin expects to expand after this year’s ceremony.

Watch www.BostonComedyHallOfFame.com for future developments.