Corporate Comedian
A “corporate comedian” is—according to the original definition—a professional comedian who performs at business functions. The comedian can make fun of the business and the industry that it’s in, but always in a light-hearted way. The term “corporate comedian” has been cited in print since at least 1986. Comedian and actor Bob Hope (1903-2003) was called “the first corporate comedian” in the December 21, 1998 issue of The New Yorker.
American stand-up comedian and political commentator. Jimmy Dore criticized television comedians on The Jimmy Dore Show YouTube video “John Oliver Smears Jill Stein With Anti-Vax Bullsh*t” on October 21, 2018:
“Their answer to that was ‘shut down third parties.’ So that’s what they’ve been doing ever since—marginalizing third parties. And now we bring a corporate comedian, John Oliver, on to do the same thing.”
Dore was talking about English comedian and political commentator John Oliver, host of HBO’s Last Week Tonight with John Oliver. Dore noted that American media is concentrated among only a handful of companies, and the comedians on these channels all told essentially the same jokes with the same viewpoints. They are “corporate comedians”—that is, corporate propagandists who use comedy to influence audience opinions. This is very different from the original definition of a “corporate comedian” as one who entertains corporate people (but doesn’t seek to influence their opinions).
Wikipedia: Jimmy Dore
James Patrick “Jimmy” Dore (born July 26, 1965) is an American stand-up comedian and political commentator.
3 August 1986, Sun Sentinel (Fort Lauderdale, FL), “Doctors of Deception” by Scott Eyman, pg. 6:
He is, in fact, Rey Baumel, a brother hoaxer of Messrs. Abel and Skaggs. The difference is that Baumel has adopted a slightly different profile and doesn’t carry through with the gags for quite as lengthy a period, thus minimizing the possibility of bruised egos. This probably has something to do with the fact that he has long been America’s number one corporate comedian, and is paid rather well by the people he’s hoaxing—around $5,000 per appearance.
Baumel has displayed Dr. Gonzalez all over the world, an average of three to four times a month, for companies including Ford, Merrill Lynch, Gulf Oil, Eaton Corporation, and for 10 of Fortune’s Top 50 Corporations.
Google Groups: wa.general
corporate comedian
TS
8/13/99
need something to brighten up your next business function?
www.iinet.net.au/~funnyguy/
Google Books
Show and Tell:
New Yorker Profiles
By John Lahr
Woodstock, NY: Overlook Press
2000
Pg. 200:
Dapper, streamlined, and cunning, (Bob—ed.) Hope was the first corporate comedian. He gave what one NBC vice-president called “a lot of extra value for his money.” He attended sales conventions, schmoozed the press, golfed with the corporate bigwigs.
From The New Yorker, “The C.E.O. of Comedy,” on December 21, 1998.—ed.)
OCLC WorldCat record
The Professor is In Meet corporate comedian Rodney Marks
Edition/Format: Article Article : English
Publication: CHARTER -SYDNEY- 71, Part 10 (2000): 98
Database: British Library Serials
OCLC WorldCat record
The road to success goes through the salad bar : a pile of bs (business stories) from a corporate comedian
Author: Greg Schwem
Publisher: Melbourne, Florida : Motivational Press, Inc., [2015] ©2015
Edition/Format: Print book : English
Database: WorldCat
Summary:
Offers humorous observations on American business past, present, and future
YouTube
John Oliver Smears Jill Stein With Anti-Vax Bullsh*t
The Jimmy Dore Show
Published on Oct 21, 2016
Corporate comedian John Oliver’s supposed “takedown” of Jill Stein was complete nonsense, particularly when he spread the lies about her position on vaccines.
1:10
“Their answer to that was ‘shut down third parties.’ So that’s what they’ve been doing ever since—marginalizing third parties. And now we bring a corporate comedian, John Oliver, on to do the same thing.”
Twitter
1 Voice, 1 Revolt
@1Voice1Revolt
.@jimmy_dore: thank you for coining the term “corporate comedian”!
12:07 PM - 23 Oct 2016
Twitter
Sergei
@MrToronto1
@iamjohnoliver Bill Maher, Stephen Colbert, Samantha Bee, Trevor Noah, Oliver are corporate comedian clowns. Shame!
8:42 PM - 23 Oct 2016
Twitter
Sheri Lynn Pritchett
@PoemTrees
#amyschumergottagoparty they called her a corporate comedian
11:39 PM - 23 Oct 2016
Ohio, USA
Twitter
Charles Clarke
@CharlesClarke81 Charles Clarke Retweeted Dr. Jill Stein
Dore on corporate comedian @iamjohnoliver “It takes a lot of courage to marginalize the already marginalized. Really stuck his neck out.” 😆Charles Clarke added,
Dr. Jill Stein @DrJillStein
Thanks to @jimmy_dore for illuminating the corporate narrative of @LastWeekTonight’s attack on me: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XdZQ0zzPxZA …
12:21 AM - 24 Oct 2016