menu_open Columnists
Tony Alpsen

Tony Alpsen

Vice

We use cookies to provide some features and experiences in QOSHE

More information  .  Close

That One Time Johnny Rotten Narrated a ‘South Park’ Mockumentary

South Park had a big 1998. For starters, the show received its first Emmy nomination for the episode “Big Gay Al’s Big Gay Boat Ride.” On top of...

yesterday 2

Vice

Tony Alpsen

The Stand-Up Comedian Who Wrote Jokes For JFK

By the time Sen. John F. Kennedy ran for president in 1960, a young comedian named Mort Sahl had established himself as one of the country’s top...

previous day 30

Vice

Tony Alpsen

4 Popular Terms and Phrases You Can Thank Comedy For

New phrases aren’t thought up by some committee of wordsmiths sitting around in an office all day long. People from many different walks of life...

previous day 2

Vice

Tony Alpsen

The Short-Lived Sitcom That Featured Sam Kinison and Bill Maher

By 1991, Sam Kinison had been doing stand-up comedy for 13 years and was ready to give a regular TV series a try. He stayed away from it in the past...

previous day 3

Vice

Tony Alpsen

3 Gene Wilder-Richard Pryor Movies We Missed Out On

Gene Wilder and Richard Pryor first appeared on screen together in the 1976 film Silver Streak. They would go on to make three more movies together:...

21.11.2025 2

Vice

Tony Alpsen

The Legendary Comedic Actor Who Turned Down ‘The Wizard of Oz’ and ‘It’s a Wonderful Life’

With Thanksgiving and Christmas fast approaching, many people will inevitably be revisiting their favorite holiday movies. Two television staples of...

21.11.2025 2

Vice

Tony Alpsen

The Martin Scorsese Movie Pete Davidson Wants to Remake With Eddie Murphy

Pete Davidson and Eddie Murphy became fast friends while working on their recent movie, The Pickup, which was released on Prime Video earlier this...

21.11.2025 2

Vice

Tony Alpsen

The Famous Writer Who’s Considered to Be One of the First Stand-up Comedians

Stand-up comedy as we know it today can be traced back to the late 1800s. It evolved from the types of collaborative comic sketches seen in minstrel...

20.11.2025 10

Vice

Tony Alpsen

4 Comedy Shows That Were Brought Back Shortly After Cancellation

For the most part, if a TV show gets cancelled, it’s safe to assume that it won’t be coming back any time in the immediate future. Networks...

20.11.2025 4

Vice

Tony Alpsen

Pauly Shore Auditioned For This Classic 1989 Comedy

Pauly Shore started his career in comedy when he was just 17 years old. The son of Comedy Store owner Mitzi Shore, he was exposed to stand-up comics...

19.11.2025 4

Vice

Tony Alpsen

The Stand-Up Comic Who Had the Highest-Selling Comedy Album

Mort Sahl’s 1958 album The Future Lies Ahead has been cited as the first “modern” stand-up comedy album. Why that is a bit of a mystery,...

18.11.2025 3

Vice

Tony Alpsen

5 Celebrities You Didn’t Know Worked on ‘It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia’

In the 20 years that It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia has been on the air, the show has welcomed a variety of guest stars. “Rowdy” Roddy Piper...

18.11.2025 3

Vice

Tony Alpsen

The Classic Sitcom Adam Sandler, Drew Barrymore, and Jennifer Aniston Want to Remake

Adam Sandler and Drew Barrymore first worked together in 1998’s The Wedding Singer. Since then, they’ve co-starred in two other movies: 50 First...

18.11.2025 3

Vice

Tony Alpsen

4 Comedians Who Didn’t Want to Be Comedians

What you do professionally isn’t always an indication of your goals in life. You could theoretically be a hilarious person and not know it, because...

17.11.2025 5

Vice

Tony Alpsen

The Comedian Johnny Rotten Called His ‘Kindred Spirit’

Throughout his career, former Sex Pistols frontman John Lydon (a.k.a. Johnny Rotten) has shown that he’s not fond of too many celebrities. This...

17.11.2025 4

Vice

Tony Alpsen

The ‘Cheers’ Star Whose Father Was a Hitman

By September 2, 1980, Charles Voyde Harrelson could rest assured that everybody would know his name, and not because he was a regular at some local...

17.11.2025 3

Vice

Tony Alpsen

The One Time a Member of the Three Stooges (Sort Of) Crossed Over With the Marx Brothers

The Three Stooges and The Marx Brothers have been compared to each other for longer than either of them probably would’ve ever cared to be. On the...

14.11.2025 3

Vice

Tony Alpsen

Did Mike Myers Really Want Another A-List Comedian to Play Dr. Evil?

Since Dr. Evil first appeared in Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery in 1997, the fictional character has been the subject of more internet...

14.11.2025 3

Vice

Tony Alpsen

The Oscar-Winning Director Whose Appearance on ‘The Golden Girls’ Helped Fund His Film Career

The Golden Girls, which featured an ensemble cast led by Bea Arthur, ran for seven seasons from 1985 to 1992 on NBC. The series centers around Arthur,...

14.11.2025 10

Vice

Tony Alpsen

The Disgraced Comedian Who Was Up For the Lead in ‘Cheers’

Glen and Les Charles spent so much time casting their hit sitcom Cheers that they eventually took the lines used in the many auditions out of the...

13.11.2025 7

Vice

Tony Alpsen

4 Big Name Comics Who Auditioned for ‘SNL’ and Didn’t Get the Gig

Saturday Night Live could hold the record for launching the most comedy careers of any show ever. It would be exhausting to count all the comedians it...

13.11.2025 4

Vice

Tony Alpsen

The Multi-Platinum Selling Rapper Who’s Been Paying Homage to ‘South Park’ for 25 Years

In the nearly 30 years that it’s been on the air, South Park has earned itself a good number of celebrity fans. Jerry Seinfeld was one of the...

13.11.2025 4

Vice

Tony Alpsen

45 Years Ago, A Famous Pop Star Nearly Played the Lead in ‘Airplane!’

Airplane! was released in the summer of 1980 to instant critical acclaim. To this day, you’ll still see it ranked among the greatest comedy films...

12.11.2025 2

Vice

Tony Alpsen

‘Being Eddie’ and 4 Other Documentaries About Comedians Streaming Right Now

Angus Wall’s new Eddie Murphy documentary, Being Eddie, premiered on Netflix on November 12. Per the Netflix press release, the documentary...

12.11.2025 5

Vice

Tony Alpsen

The Eddie Murphy-Bill Cosby Feud and the Softball Game That Brought Them Together

Eddie Murphy and Bill Cosby have never really seen eye to eye. The feud between the two comedy giants can be traced back, publicly at least, to a bit...

10.11.2025 3

Vice

Tony Alpsen

It’s a Great Time to Be a Laurel & Hardy Fan

Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy first appeared on screen together over a century ago. History would reveal them to be among the most influential comedy...

10.11.2025 20

Vice

Tony Alpsen

Sam Kinison’s Brother Reveals the Comedian’s Final Moments

Sam Kinison died on April 10, 1992, after he was hit by another car while driving in Southern California. The already-iconic stand-up comedian was...

07.11.2025 2

Vice

Tony Alpsen

The Old-School Rapper Who Wrote the Theme For ‘Real Time With Bill Maher’

From the moment HBO’s Real Time With Bill Maher first hit the air in 2003, audiences have heard some variation of the following theme song play at...

06.11.2025 2

Vice

Tony Alpsen

4 Comedy Urban Legends and Conspiracy Theories That Won’t Go Away

With everyone having Google in their pocket at all times, we’d finally have reached a point where we could put this whole urban legend thing behind...

06.11.2025 3

Vice

Tony Alpsen

The 1960s Comedy Eddie Murphy Wants to Remake

Earlier this year, Eddie Murphy announced that he would be playing Inspector Clouseau, the bumbling French detective first portrayed by Peter Sellers...

06.11.2025 2

Vice

Tony Alpsen

3 Comedians Who Screen Tested For Famous Animated Movies

Finding the right person to voice an animated character can be difficult. You might think you’ve picked the perfect person and realize after...

05.11.2025 3

Vice

Tony Alpsen

The One Time Richard Pryor Crossed Paths With Lenny Bruce

Richard Pryor began his career as a stand-up comedian in New York City when he was 23. Throughout the early 1960s, he performed regularly at...

05.11.2025 3

Vice

Tony Alpsen

The ‘SNL’ Star Who Designed the Crosby, Stills and Nash Logo

David Crosby, Stephen Stills, and Graham Nash first formed the folk rock band, appropriately called Crosby, Stills, and Nash, in 1968, after each left...

04.11.2025 3

Vice

Tony Alpsen

The Classic Comedy That Sam Kinison Was Cut Out Of

In 1986, Sam Kinison was riding high. Years after trying to make it in the comedy world, he’d received exposure a year earlier from his appearance...

04.11.2025 2

Vice

Tony Alpsen

The ‘Star Trek’ Star Who Directed ‘Three Men and a Baby’

Three Men and a Baby tells the story of three unmarried roommates—Ted Danson, Tom Selleck, and Steve Guttenberg —who suddenly have to take care of...

04.11.2025 3

Vice

Tony Alpsen

The Prolific Sitcom Producer Who Wrote the Theme to ‘Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles’

If you were conscious at all during the late ’80s and mid-’90s, there’s a fairly decent chance that you’ve heard the Teenage Mutant Ninja...

03.11.2025 5

Vice

Tony Alpsen

The Comedian Nearing George Carlin’s Stand-Up Record

Nearly two decades after his death, George Carlin remains one of the most prolific stand-up comedians of all time, with specials. He doesn’t have...

03.11.2025 4

Vice

Tony Alpsen

The ‘Sopranos’ Star Who ‘Bad Santa’ Was Written For

Terry Zwigoff’s Bad Santa premiered in 2003 and became an immediate box-office success. Described at the time as “It’s a Wonderful Life meets...

03.11.2025 2

Vice

Tony Alpsen

3 Spooky Offerings From the ‘South Park’ Creators That You Won’t Find on Streaming

A new South Park Halloween episode premieres on Comedy Central tonight, the latest in a long line of themed specials from Trey Parker and Matt Stone....

31.10.2025 2

Vice

Tony Alpsen

5 Ways To Make Your Own Edible Infusions

When it comes to making edibles, there are some rules you have to follow, and there are some choose-your-own-adventure aspects. You have to...

31.10.2025 10

Vice

Tony Alpsen

4 Unexpected Comedy Stars Who Contributed to the ‘Psycho’ Franchise

The Psycho series, with few unintended exceptions, is considered part of the horror genre. Alfred Hitchcock’s original film terrified audiences in...

31.10.2025 3

Vice

Tony Alpsen

The 1980s Sitcom Star Who Voiced The Opening Narration From ‘The Texas Chain Saw Massacre’

The narration at the beginning of the original Texas Chain Saw Massacre perfectly set the tone for what was to come. It struck fear in the hearts of...

30.10.2025 3

Vice

Tony Alpsen

What’s An Ad-Lib and What’s Not? 4 ‘Young Frankenstein’ Legends Examined

With Halloween around the corner, it’s the time of the year again when you may get the urge to rewatch Young Frankenstein, realize it’s on some...

30.10.2025 4

Vice

Tony Alpsen

4 Celebrities You Didn’t Know Voiced Characters on ‘South Park’

Unlike The Simpsons and Family Guy, South Park has never been very welcoming to celebrity guests. And to be fair, the ever-growing list of famous...

30.10.2025 3

Vice

Tony Alpsen

4 Horror Directors Who Also Made Comedies

In recent years, there has been much discussion about how closely related horror and comedy are. There is plenty of common ground: each genre works...

29.10.2025 2

Vice

Tony Alpsen

4 Comedians Who Guest Starred on ‘The Twilight Zone’

The Twilight Zone isn’t exactly something that springs to mind when you think of comedy. Spooky sci-fi stories, yes. Whimsical tales with ironic...

29.10.2025 3

Vice

Tony Alpsen

How ‘Christmas Vacation’ Sparked a Long-Running Misconception About Jason Voorhees

A quick question for the horror buffs: Which famous horror series features a lovable chainsaw-wielding serial killer in a hockey mask? If you answered...

28.10.2025 1

Vice

Tony Alpsen