Left to right: Phil Proctor, Peter Bergman, Phil Austin, and David Ossman in 2001

The Firesign Theatre is a comedy troupe consisting of Phil Austin, Peter Bergman, David Ossman, and Philip Proctor. Image File history File links Firesign_Theatre. ... Image File history File links Firesign_Theatre. ... The word comedy has a classical meaning (comical theatre) and a popular one (the use of humor with an intent to provoke laughter in general). ... Phil Austin (often Philip) (born April 6, 1941 in Denver, Colorado) is a comedian and writer. ... Peter Bergman (born November 29, 1939, in Cleveland, Ohio) is a founding member of The Firesign Theatre. ... David Ossman (born December 6, 1936 in Santa Monica, California) is the oldest member of The Firesign Theatre. ... Philip Proctor (often Phil) (born July 28, 1940 in Goshen, Indiana) is a member of The Firesign Theatre. ...

Formation

The troupe began as live radio performers in Los Angeles, California on radio stations KPPC and KPFK during the mid-1960s. d Los Angeles and L.A. redirect here. ... KPPC-FM was a Pasadena, California FM radio station best known during the period 1967–1971, when it was one of the leading underground radio stations in the United States, presenting a freeform mixture of experimental and historical music with countercultural ideas. ... KPFK (90. ...

The group's name is an astrological reference: the membership comprises all three "fire signs," born under Aries (Austin), Leo (Proctor), and two under Sagittarius (Bergman and Ossman). The name is derived from Fireside Theatre, an early television series that ran on NBC from 1949 to 1955, followed by Jane Wyman Presents the Fireside Theatre (1955–58); it may also be a reference to the "Fireside Chat" radio shows of Franklin Delano Roosevelt, a parody of which can be heard in one of the Theatre's Nick Danger adventures. Hand-coloured version of the anonymous Flammarion woodcut (1888). ... Aries may refer to: Aries (astrology) Aries (constellation) Aries (artist) Aries, Panama, a city Aries (rocket) Aries (music - trance DJ & artist) Dodge Aries, an automobile ArieÅŸ, a river in Romania Algorithms for Recovery and Isolation Exploiting Semantics, algorithm designed to work with a no-force, steal database approach It is... Look up leo, Leo, LEO in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... For the astrological sign, see Sagittarius. ... The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American television network headquartered in the GE Building in New York Citys Rockefeller Center. ... Franklin Delano Roosevelt (January 30, 1882–April 12, 1945), 32nd President of the United States, the longest-serving holder of the office and the only man to be elected President more than twice, was one of the central figures of 20th century history. ...

Style

The Firesign approach to comedy was strongly influenced by The Goon Show; all four Firesign members have spoken of their admiration for this show. Said Ossman: The Goon Show was a popular and influential British radio comedy programme, originally produced and broadcast by the BBC from 1951 to 1960 on the BBC Home Service. ...

We all listened to The Goon Show, Peter Sellers, Spike Milligan and Harry Secombe, at various times in our lives. We heard a lot of those shows. They impressed us when we started doing radio ourselves, because they sustained characters in a really surreal and weird kind of situation for a long period of time. They were doing that show for 10 years, all the way through the '50s. So we were just listening to them at the end. It was that madness and the ability to go anywhere and do anything and yet sustain those funny characters. So when we first did written radio, where we would sit down and write half hour skits and do them once a week, which we did in the fall of 1967, we did things that were very imitative of The Goon Show and learned a lot of voices from them and such. Richard Henry Peter Sellers, CBE (8 September 1925 – 24 July 1980) was an English comedian, actor, and performer, who came to prominence on the BBC radio series The Goon Show and later became a film star. ... Terence Alan Milligan, KBE, (16 April 1918–27 February 2002), known as Spike Milligan, was an Irish writer, artist, musician, humanitarian, comedian, and poet. ... Sir Harry Donald Secombe, CBE (8 September 1921–11 April 2001) was a Welsh entertainer with a noted fine tenor singing voice and a talent for comedy. ...

The Theatre specializes in audio recordings, having had comparatively little presence in stage performance, television or movies. Their first four albums in particular are considered classics of recorded comedy. Each of those four albums features a different one of the four members in a leading role but were indeed a running story.

While their stream of consciousness style has the feel of improvisational comedy, most of it actually is tightly scripted and memorized. They have employed a writing method that demands the consent of all four members before a line can be included. Much of their work has been copyrighted under the name "4 or 5 Crazee Guys," reflecting their collective sentiment that there is a "fifth guy in the room" who actually is doing all the writing. In literary criticism, stream of consciousness is a literary technique which seeks to portray an individuals point of view by giving the written equivalent of the characters thought processes. ... Improvisational comedy (also called improv) is comedy that is performed with a little to no predetermination of subject matter and structure. ...

Other projects

Between September 9, 1970 and February 17, 1971, The Firesign Theatre performed a one-hour live show on radio station KPFK in Los Angeles titled Dear Friends. These live shows were recorded by the group and then edited into a slightly shorter shows which the group syndicated to radio stations across the country on 12-inch white label LPs. The group later collected what they thought were the best segments from the Dear Friends radio program for their fifth record, Dear Friends. is the 252nd day of the year (253rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1970 (MCMLXX) was a common year starting on Thursday. ... February 17 is the 48th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1971 (MCMLXXI) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display full calendar) of the 1971 Gregorian calendar. ... KPFK (90. ... d Los Angeles and L.A. redirect here. ... Between September 1970 and February 1971, The Firesign Theatre performed twenty one episodes of a live radio program titled Dear Friends on KPFK radio in Los Angeles. ...

In 1972 and 1974, Straight Arrow Press, Rolling Stone's book publishing arm, published two books authored by The Firesign Theatre. These books, The Firesign Theatre's Big Book Of Plays and The Firesign Theatre's Big Mystery Joke Book, contain scholarly information, satirical introductions, and parodic histories, as well as transcriptions of many of the performances from their first seven albums. A later work, also authored by the group and published by a small press, was titled The Apocalypse Papers and was limited to an edition of only 500 copies. Straight Arrow Press (Straight Arrow Publishing Co. ... This article is about the magazine. ... The Firesign Theatres Big Book Of Plays is a collection of transcriptions written by The Firesign Theatre for the title tracks of each of their first four albums. ... The Firesign Theatres Big Mystery Joke Book is a collection of transcriptions and scripts written by The Firesign Theatre for some of the tracks on their first six Columbia albums. ...

The group cowrote the screenplay to the offbeat comedy Western Zachariah, released in 1971. The film was loosely inspired on the novel Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse. i like western films The Western is an American genre in literature and film. ... Year 1971 (MCMLXXI) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display full calendar) of the 1971 Gregorian calendar. ... Siddhartha is an allegorical novel by Hermann Hesse which deals with the spiritual journey of an Indian man called Siddhartha during the time of the Buddha. ... Hermann Hesse (pronounced ) (2 July 1877 – 9 August 1962) was a Swiss-German poet, novelist, and painter. ...

Later work

During the mid-1970s, the group more or less split in half: Firesign productions continued, but Proctor and Bergman also performed as a duo, and Austin and Ossman worked individually and together in a few stage shows and most notably in the writing and production of In the Next World, You're on Your Own. In the mid-1980s, Ossman temporarily left the group to produce shows for National Public Radio. Proctor and Bergman are the comedians Philip Proctor and Peter Bergman, two of the four members of The Firesign Theatre. ... “NPR” redirects here. ...

Their recordings through 1975 were originally released by Columbia Records. Columbia Records is the oldest brand name in recorded sound, dating back to 1888, and was the first record company to produce pre-recorded records as opposed to blank cylinders. ...

Homages

On several occasions, the director of ACE Jeff Rosenbaum has organized performances of Firesign Theatre radio plays on stage at the Starwood Festival and WinterStar Symposium, performed by organizers and guest speakers/entertainers of the event under the name "Firesign Clones". The personnel have included Rev. Ivan Stang of the Church of the SubGenius (host of the Hour of Slack Radio Show), and noted occult authors Ian Corrigan and Donald Michael Kraig.^[1][2] Jeff Rosenbaum is the executive director and a founder of the Association for Consciousness Exploration (ACE). ... Logo from 1999 Starwood is a festival presented by the Association for Consciousness Exploration (ACE), along with many volunteers during a week in the month of July. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Rev. ... J. R. Bob Dobbs The Church of the SubGenius is a postmodern religion, originally based in Dallas, Texas, which gained popularity in the 1980s and 1990s subculture, with a large presence on the Internet. ... The Hour of Slack is a one-hour radio program produced by the Church of the SubGenius. ... Ian Corrigan is an American Neopagan writer, teacher, musician and ritualist whose work has influenced both the Wiccan and Druidic branches of the Pagan movement. ... Donald Michael Kraig (1951 - ) is an occult author and ceremonial magician. ...

Comedy writer Bob D. Caterino called the Firesign Theatre "The Beatles of Comedy." The White Album, see The Beatles (album). ...

Discography

Firesign Theatre commercial releases

• Waiting for the Electrician or Someone Like Him
  • (Columbia CS-9518 — January 1968)
    • (re-released by Mobile Fidelity MFCD-762 — 1992)

• How Can You Be in Two Places at Once When You're Not Anywhere at All
  • (Columbia CS-9884 — July 1969)
    • (re-released by Mobile Fidelity MFCD-834 — 1988)

• Don't Crush That Dwarf, Hand Me the Pliers
  • (Columbia C 30102 — July 1970)
    • (re-released by Mobile Fidelity MFCD-880 — 1987)

• I Think We're All Bozos on This Bus
  • (Columbia C-30737 — 1971)
    • (re-released by Mobile Fidelity MFCD-785 — 1989)

• Dear Friends
  • (Columbia KG-31099 — January 1972)
    • (re-released by Mobile Fidelity MFCD-758 — 1992)

• Not Insane or Anything You Want To
  • (Columbia KC-31585 — October 1972)

• The Tale of the Giant Rat of Sumatra
  • (Columbia KC-32730 — January 1974)

• Everything You Know Is Wrong
  • (Columbia KC-33141 — October 1974)

• In the Next World, You're on Your Own
  • (Columbia PC-33475 — October 1975)
    • (Written by Austin and Ossman but performed by the entire group)

• Forward Into The Past
  • (Columbia PC-34391 — 1976)

• Just Folks . . . A Firesign Chat
  • (Butterfly FLY-001 — April 1977)

• Nick Danger: The Case of the Missing Shoe
  • (Rhino RNEP-506 — 1979)

• Fighting Clowns
  • (Firesign/Rhino RNLP-018 — 1980)
    • (re-released by Mobile Fidelity MFCD-748 — 1993)

• Lawyer's Hospital
  • (Rhino RNLP-806 — 1982)

• Shakespeare’s Lost Comedie
  • (Firesign/Rhino RNLP-807 — 1982)
  • (re-released in expanded edition as Anythynge You Want To Firesign Theatre Records MSUG090, 2001, 2005)

• The Three Faces of Al
  • (Rhino RNCD-5812 — 1984)
    • (An official Firesign Theatre release but without David Ossman)

• Eat Or Be Eaten
  • (Mercury 826 452-2 — 1985)
    • (An official Firesign Theatre release but without David Ossman)

• Shoes for Industry: The Best of the Firesign Theatre
  • (Sony/Legacy 52736 — August 1993)

• Anythynge You Want To
  • (Whirlwind Media — 1993)

• Back From The Shadows
  • (Mobile Fidelity Mfcd-2-747 — 1994)

• Pink Hotel Burns Down
  • (LodeStone Media MSUG006 — December 1996)

• Give Me Immortality or Give Me Death
  • (Rhino R2 75509 — September 1998)

• Boom Dot Bust
  • (Rhino R2 75983 — October 1999)

• Bride of Firesign
  • (Rhino R2 75390 — September 2001)

• Radio Now, Live|Radio Now Live!
  • (Whirlwind Media — July 2001)

• Papoon For President
  • (Laugh.Com — 2002)

• All Things Firesign
  • (Artemis Records — March 2003)

Waiting for the Electrician or Someone Like Him was the first comedy album recorded by The Firesign Theatre. ... Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab (MFSL, or MoFi) is a company that produces audiophile releases of classic CDs and vinyl records. ... How Can You Be in Two Places at Once When Youre Not Anywhere at All was the second comedy album recorded by The Firesign Theatre. ... Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab (MFSL, or MoFi) is a company that produces audiophile releases of classic CDs and vinyl records. ... Dont Crush That Dwarf, Hand Me the Pliers is The Firesign Theatres third comedy recording for Columbia Records. ... Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab (MFSL, or MoFi) is a company that produces audiophile releases of classic CDs and vinyl records. ... I Think Were All Bozos on This Bus is a comedy recording made by The Firesign Theatre in 1971. ... Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab (MFSL, or MoFi) is a company that produces audiophile releases of classic CDs and vinyl records. ... Dear Friends is The Firesign Theatres fifth album to be released on Columbia Records. ... Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab (MFSL, or MoFi) is a company that produces audiophile releases of classic CDs and vinyl records. ... Not Insane or Anything You Want To is the sixth album released by The Firesign Theatre on Columbia Records. ... The Tale of the Giant Rat of Sumatra is a comedy album recorded by The Firesign Theatre and released in early 1974 on Columbia Records. ... This is also the name of a Weird Al Yankovic song on the Bad Hair Day album. ... In the Next World, Youre on Your Own was the last comedy album recorded by The Firesign Theatre for Columbia Records, released in 1975. ... Forward Into The Past is a 1976 compilation album by The Firesign Theatre. ... Just Folks . ... Rhino Entertainment Company is an American specialty record label. ... Fighting Clowns is a 1980 album by The Firesign Theatre. ... Rhino Entertainment Company is an American specialty record label. ... Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab (MFSL, or MoFi) is a company that produces audiophile releases of classic CDs and vinyl records. ... Rhino Entertainment Company is an American specialty record label. ... Rhino Entertainment Company is an American specialty record label. ... Anythynge You Want To is a 2001 comedy album by The Firesign Theatre. ... The Three Faces of Al is a comedy album by the group Firesign Theatre. ... Rhino Entertainment Company is an American specialty record label. ... Mercury Records was a record label founded in Chicago, Illinois in 1945 by Irving Green, Berle Adams and Arthur Talmadge. ... Sony Records is a record label courtesy of Columbia, Epic and American Recordings. ... Anythynge You Want To is a 2001 comedy album by The Firesign Theatre. ... Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab (MFSL, or MoFi) is a company that produces audiophile releases of classic CDs and vinyl records. ... Give Me Immortality or Give Me Death is a comedy album by The Firesign Theatre that was released in 1998 on Rhino Records. ... Rhino Entertainment Company is an American specialty record label. ... Boom Dot Bust is a comedy album recorded by The Firesign Theatre and released in 1999 on Rhino Records. ... Rhino Entertainment Company is an American specialty record label. ... Rhino Entertainment Company is an American specialty record label. ... All Things Firesign is a compilation CD released in 2003 by Artemis Records. ... Artemis Records is a New York-based independent record label, founded in July 1999, by current chairman/CEO Danny Goldberg. ...

Non-commercial releases (radio, promotional LPs)

• Dear Friends — Syndicated Radio Program
  • (1970–1971)

• A Firesign Chat With Papoon
  • (Columbia AS-41 — November 1972)

• Let’s Eat — Syndicated Radio Program
  • (1974)

• The Proctor-Bergman Report
  • (1977–1978)

• The Cassette Chronichles
  • (Rhino RM-73 — 1980)
    • (A six cassette collection of The Firesign Theatre’s presidential and campaign commentaries which aired on NPR during the 1980 election season.)

Between September 1970 and February 1971, The Firesign Theatre performed twenty one episodes of a live radio program titled Dear Friends on KPFK radio in Los Angeles. ... A Firesign Chat with Papoon is a promo album redorded by Phil Proctor and Peter Bergman and released under the name of The Firesign Theatre on Columbia Records. ... Rhino Entertainment Company is an American specialty record label. ...

Firesign Related Albums

• TV or not TV
  • (Columbia Columbia KC-32199 — 1973)
    • (an album by the team of Phil Proctor and Peter Bergman)

• How Time Flys
  • (Columbia Columbia Kc-32411 — 1973)
    • (a “solo” album written and presented by Ossman, but with all members performing, among others)

• Roller Maidens From Outer Space
  • (Epic KE-32489 - March 1974)
    • (a "solo" album written and presented by Austin, with other members performing)

• What This Country Needs
  • (Columbia PC-33687 — September 1975)
    • (an album by the team of Phil Proctor and Peter Bergman)

• Give Us a Break
  • (Mercury SRM-3719 — 1978)
    • (an album by the team of Phil Proctor and Peter Bergman)

• Daily Feed 1988 Newsreel — The Daily Feed
  • (DC Audio — 1988)
    • (a “solo” cassette by Austin)

• The George Tirebiter Story Chapter1: Another Christmas Carol
  • (Sparks Media — 1989)
    • (a “solo” cassette by Ossman)

• George Tirebiter's Radiodaze
  • (Sparks Media — 1989)
    • (a “solo” cassette by Ossman)

• The George Tirebiter Story Pt.2 Mexican Overdrive / Radiodaze
  • (Company One — 1989)
    • (a “solo” cassette by Ossman)

• A Capital Decade Daily Feed 1989 Newsreel — The Daily Feed
  • (DC Audio — 1989)
    • (a “solo” cassette by Austin)

• The George Tirebiter Story Pt.3 The Ronald Reagan Murder Case
  • (Midwest Radio Theatre Workshop — 1990)
    • (a “solo” cassette by Ossman)

• Down Under Danger
  • (Sparks Media — 1994)
    • (a “solo” cassette by Austin)

• Tales Of The Old Detective And Other Big Fat Lies
  • (Audio Partners — 1994)
    • (a “solo” cassette by Austin)

• David Ossman's Time Capsules
  • (Otherworld Media — Omw 1996/1 — 1996)
    • (a “solo” cassette by Ossman)

• George Tirebiter's Radio Follies
  • (Twin Cities Radio Theatre Workshop — July 1997)
    • (a “solo” cassette by Ossman)

TV or Not TV is the 1st episode of the TV series The Honeymooners. ... Roller Maidens From Outer Space is a 1974 comedy album by Phil Austin, one of the members of the comedy group Firesign Theatre. ... Epic Records is an American record label, owned and operated by Sony BMG. // Epic was launched originally as a jazz and classical music label in 1953 by CBS. Its bright-yellow, black and blue logo became a familiar trademark for many jazz and classical releases. ... Give Us A Break is a 1978 comedy album by comedy duo Proctor and Bergman, one half of the comedy group Firesign Theatre. ... Mercury Records was a record label founded in Chicago, Illinois in 1945 by Irving Green, Berle Adams and Arthur Talmadge. ...

Bibliography

• Firesign Theatre. The Firesign Theatre's Big Book Of Plays. San Francisco: Straight Arrow, 1972.

• Firesign Theatre. The Firesign Theatre's Big Mystery Joke Book. San Francisco: Straight Arrow, 1974.

• Firesign Theatre. The Apocalypse Papers, a Fiction by The Firesign Theatre. Topeka: Apocalypse Press, 1976.

• Firesign Theatre. Backwards Into The Future: The Recorded History of the Firesign Theatre. Albany: Bearmanor Media, 2006.

The Firesign Theatres Big Book Of Plays is a collection of transcriptions written by The Firesign Theatre for the title tracks of each of their first four albums. ... Nickname: Location of the City and County of San Francisco, California Coordinates: , Country United States of America State California City-County San Francisco Founded 1776 Government  - Mayor Gavin Newsom Area  - City  47 sq mi (122 km²)  - Land  46. ... Year 1972 (MCMLXXII) was a leap year starting on Saturday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Firesign Theatres Big Mystery Joke Book is a collection of transcriptions and scripts written by The Firesign Theatre for some of the tracks on their first six Columbia albums. ... Nickname: Location of the City and County of San Francisco, California Coordinates: , Country United States of America State California City-County San Francisco Founded 1776 Government  - Mayor Gavin Newsom Area  - City  47 sq mi (122 km²)  - Land  46. ... A blonde haired, very skilled worker with a 70s look. ... Coordinates: , Country United States State Kansas County Shawnee Founded December 5, 1854 Incorporated February 14, 1857 Government  - Mayor Bill Bunten (R)  - City Manager Norton Bonaparte Jr. ... Year 1976 (MCMLXXVI) was a leap year starting on Thursday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Nickname: Location in the state of Georgia Country United States State Georgia County Dougherty Government  - Mayor Willie Adams, Jr. ... Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday (link displays full 2006 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Miscellaneous

• In September 1967 The Firesign Theatre performed an adaptation of Jorge Luis Borges' short story entitled "La Muerte y La Brujula" ("Death and the Compass") on Radio Free Oz.

Jorge Luis Borges (August 24, 1899 – June 14, 1986) was an Argentine writer. ...

References

• Firesign Theatre. Firesign Theatre. 19 Jan. 2006 <http://www.firesigntheatre.com/>.
• "FIREZINE: Linques!." Firesign Theatre FAQ. 23 Jan. 2006 <http://firezine.net/faq/>.
• Marsh, Dave, and Greil Marcus. "The Firesign Theatre." The New Rolling Stone Record Guide. Ed. Dave Marsh and John Swenson. New York: Random House, 1983. 175–176.
• Smith, Ronald L. The Goldmine Comedy Record Price Guide. Iola: Krause, 1996.

Further reading

• Wiebel, Jr, Frederick C. (2005). Backwards into the Future - The Firesign Theatre. Albany: BearManor Media ISBN 1-59393-043-7

External links

• The Firesign Theatre
• Phil Austin's Blog of the Unknown
• Planet Proctor
• Firesign Theatre FAQs
• Chromium Switch, The Original Fanzine
• The World's Biggest Firesign Theatre FAQ
• Firesign Theatre Lexicon