LOL WITH IT: Is Temple Philly's comedy college?

Temple's comedy team squares off with Penn State's at this weekend's Rooftop Comedy National Comedy Competition.

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LOL WITH IT: Is Temple Philly's comedy college?

POSTED: Friday, March 16, 2012, 12:00 PM

Filed Under: Comedy LOL With It

Every Friday, Ryan Carey dishes on the people and things that are giving Philly the giggles.

Former Temple University student Bill Cosby is one of the top comedians of all time. Contemporary comedy big-shots Paul F. Tomkins and Tim & Eric attended Temple. Bob Saget won a Student Academy Award for his film Through Adam's Eyes, which he produced at Temple's film school. And Temple grads Pat House, Doogie Horner, John Kensil and Aaron Hertzog are among the most frequently seen local comics working at clubs all over the city.

"It's unbelievable the amount of Philly comics currently in the scene who went to Temple," says comedian and Temple student Alex Grubard. "You can't major in comedy, but when it comes to Temple, there is an invisible comedy program: I can study Film Comedy in the Film department, I can take Humor Writing in Journalism, I can take Creative Writing in the English department, I can take Jewish Humor Past & Present in Jewish Studies."

This Sunday, you can see Temple U's comedy team rematch against Penn State in the Rooftop Comedy National College Comedy Competition. Last year the Penn State team went on to win the entire tournament, and its MVP, Brandon Scott Wolf, performed on Lopez Tonight.

Says Grubard, "Our team is pretty sweet. Everybody's got their own style and unique voice. We come from different areas of the school. Tim Ryan is a graduate student, Chris Whitehair is very charming and likeable. Everybody's pretty much been doing it at least two years. Everybody's got a different perspective. It's a good team."

Grubard and co. have organized a letter-writing campaign to request that Temple initiate America's first academic comedy major. If you'd like to help out, send a note to the Dean of Students Dr. Stephanie Ives 1755 N. 13th St., 304 Student Center Philadelphia, PA 19122-6084.

National College Comedy Competition: Sun., March 18, 6 p.m., $5, Helium Comedy Club, 2031 Sansom St., 215-496-9001, heliumcomedyclub/philadelphia.

(ryan.carey@citypaper.net) (@slackerDIYtoday)

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Featuring everything from event roundups to concert reviews and sex talk, City Paper's Critical Mass is a space for off-the-wall coverage of Philly's A&E scene.

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