Jamestown, NY (WBEN) Big names and bigger laughs are in Jamestown this weekend as the National Comedy Center holds its annual Lucille Ball Comedy Festival Thursday through Sunday.
Journey Gunderson with the National Comedy Center says there will be shows each day. "Bill Murray is coming to Jamestown with His Blood Brothers Band. He's singing lead. It's a rock and blues band, and in that show, you also get four stand up comedians who are phenomenal, one of which is Andy Huggins, which a lot of people have discovered online. He's in his mid 70s, and it's becoming a sensation. Tony Deyo, who is a fan favorite, Jackie Fabulous, who became famous on America's Got Talent, and Ryan Goldsher," says Gunderson. That will be at the Northwest Arena.
SNL head writer Streeter Seidell will also give a talk about the long running sketch series on Sunday. "The guy behind iconic sketches like the Beavis and Butthead sketch, close encounters with Kate McKinnon, the Chad series, and, of course, everyone's new favorite, Washington's Dream, which has become one of the most viewed, viral and thought to be one of the funniest sketches in Saturday Night Live history," says Gunderson. There's also a Saturday Night Live 50 exhibit showcasing the creative papers from the first five years of the show.
Gunderson says there's another exhibit featuring a classic comic. "We also have a new Joan Rivers exhibit, we have her 65,000 jokes in a card catalog. She maintained her entire career from the 1950s through 2014 we're cutting the ribbon and dedicating that exhibit on Saturday, August 9, with Melissa Rivers in town that's inside the National Comedy Center," says Gunderson.
The festival marks the birthday of Jamestown native and comedy legend Lucille Ball, born in 1911.