Episode 34 of This Week in Comedy welcomes veteran comedian Lehmo for a wide-ranging conversation that moves from world records and television history to strange trivia, Australian comedy and everyday attempts to make strangers laugh.
Lehmo begins by recalling his decade as a chartered accountant and joking that creative accounting allowed the years 1991 to 1997 to somehow equal ten. He then explains how his childhood obsession with the Guinness Book of Records inspired a fringe show and several publicity stunts involving the record for most jokes told in an hour. After unofficial attempts in Adelaide and Melbourne, including one linked to Rove Live and Damian Cullinan, he completed an official attempt at Adelaide’s Rhino Room, telling 549 jokes in sixty minutes. Guinness later changed the rules and restored Tim Vine’s record, but Lehmo remains delighted that his name appeared in the book and that he still owns the certificate.
The discussion opens into memories of famous record holders including Robert Wadlow, Sridhar Chalal, Billy and Benny McCreary, and Lehmo’s childhood hero Peter Knights, who later launched Lehmo’s own book at the MCG.
The news section pays tribute to The Goodies’ Bill Oddie, who died aged 85. The hosts reflect on how Oddie, Graham Garden and Tim Brooke-Taylor became shared television icons through The Goodies before Oddie developed a second career presenting wildlife programs.
Other comedy news covers the return of Glenn Robbins and Mick Molloy’s Celebrity Intervention, the second season of Shaun Micallef’s Origin Odyssey, Andy Lee’s animated Do Not Watch This Show, and Working Dog’s stage adaptation of The Castle.
The episode also pauses for a beer tasting of Rocky Ridge’s Cali IPA, a 5.8 per cent West Coast IPA from Western Australia. The group praises its bright pink and teal can, fruity aroma and pronounced hoppiness, imagining it as an ideal drink for a warm afternoon despite Melbourne’s cold weather.
A comedy-history segment marks the birth of Burt Newton, an early Barry Humphries television special, the death of Peter Sellers, the release of Tony Martin’s Bad Eggs, and the brief run of The Comedy Sale.
The episode also recounts the bizarre 1973 Michigan funeral for 29,188 frozen pizzas recalled during a botulism scare, before closing with “Funny in the Moment” observations about South Melbourne and spontaneous public comedy.
Links:
Rocky Ridge Cali IPA: Click here
Hard Knock Knocks Comedy School: Click here