Fans of the late Richard Jeni and connoisseurs of great comedy are in for a real treat on Aug. 2 when the DVD Richard Jeni: The Beach Crowd is released– a 75-minute tour de force performance compiled from raw footage captured during two weekend performances at the famed Comedy and Magic Club in Hermosa Beach, CA. Jeni had a brief, yet amazingly productive career that yielded five one-hour stand-up comedy specials for HBO and Showtime. His special Platypus Man (1994) won a Cable ACE Award for Best Stand-up Comedy Special and was parlayed into a television series.
The Beach Crowd takes viewers on an intimate journey into his lightning fast mind as he interacts seamlessly on the fly with his audience. Most of the time comedy consumers only get to experience a performer’s polished act but this DVD presents an exclusive opportunity to watch Jeni build and fine tune his material. Jeni often had a problem every comedian would love to have – too much ‘A” material to fit into the time constraints or context of television specials. Jeni took his own life in 2007; he was 49.
The Beach Crowd will be available at richardjeni.com. You can check out a preview here. And check out clips from all five of his comedy specials, below.
