समाचार

Occasionally I’ll look through the entertainment section of my local free weekly newspaper and notice some familiar names in the ads for the local comedy clubs. I’m sometimes curious about the lives of these names on the signs of “The Ha Ha Hub” or “The Chuckle Hut”. While taking the commuter train I’d look up at a billboard for a local casino and see the name Bob Zany highlighted every few months. Now Bob has chronicled his comedy career with the help of director Jay Kanzler in the documentary Close But No Cigar. The title not only references the omnipresent stogie Bob smokes on stage, but his attempts to grab that ultimate cigar of show business super stardom.

Zany is first seen at work delivering zingers at an audience like a counterman tossing deli subs. He decides (along with Jay behind the camera) that the best way...