These real-life comics take retro trip to the '70s in 'I’m Dying Up Here' - Los Angeles Times
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These real-life comics take retro trip to the ‘70s in ‘I’m Dying Up Here’

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Funny now, funny in 1973

These real-world comics take a trip back to the comedy heyday of the Sunset Strip of the early ’70s for Showtime’s new series “I’m Dying Up Here.”

Andrew Santino (Bill Hobbs)

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A fixture at L.A.’s Comedy Store, Santino has been seen performing stand-up on Comedy Central as well as starring in the sitcom “Mixology.” Here he plays Bill Hobbs, a talented if occasionally self-sabotaging favorite at the fictitious club Goldie’s.

Andrew Santino.
(Matt Winkelmeyer / Getty Images for SXSW)

Al Madrigal (Edgar Martinez)

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A correspondent during Jon Stewart’s run on “The Daily Show,” Madrigal also co-founded the podcast network All Things Comedy. He portrays Edgar Martinez, a comic whose often easygoing approach is helped along by the periodic use of marijuana and acid.

See our complete summer TV preview »

Al Madrigal.
(Matt Winkelmeyer / Getty Images for SXSW)
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Erik Griffin (Ralph King)

Maybe best known as Montez Walker from the cultishly adored Comedy Central series “Workaholics,” Griffin is another regular at the Comedy Store. He plays the level-headed and likable Ralph King, a comic and Vietnam vet who has also taken on some TV writing.

Erik Griffin.
(Matt Winkelmeyer / Getty Images for SXSW)

Jon Daly (Arnie Brown)

A sketch and improv comedy specialist who wrote for and appeared on Comedy Central’s “Kroll Show,” Daly is a regular at the Upright Citizen’s Brigade theater in L.A. He portrays Arnie Brown, a struggling comic who does odd jobs around Goldie’s.

Rick Overton (Mitch Bombadier)

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A veteran stand-up who dates back to the ’80s comedy club boom, Overton transitioned into writing on “Dennis Miller Live,” where he was nominated for an Emmy in the ’90s. He’s built a long career as a character actor; he appears in a supporting role here as Mitch Bombadier.

Read more stories from our summer television preview here.

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The birth of modern stand-up on the Sunset Strip has its moment in ‘I’m Dying Up Here’

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