You guys are nothing but a pack of cards.
FT 50th Anniversary
1966 - 2016
If you're reading this, you are probably aware that the site you are viewing now has a new domain name.
After over 20 years of service, the original co-webmasters of firesigntheatre.com are handing the site reins over to Phil Proctor's daughter Kristin Campbell, and official Firesign archivist & shipping monkey Taylor Jessen. They've done a great job on site redesign.
This site now becomes an adjunct to the official Firesign site, and a place where content built up over 20+ years can still be viewed. As time and opportunity permits, we will hopefully refresh this site with updates and a bit of redesigning as well.
For more details, see this press release.
NEW! In psychedelic 1967, between their first and second albums, Firesign wrote a dozen original half-hour radio plays in full Goon Show mode, with puns on overdrive. Performed in front of a live audience at the Magic Mushroom club on Ventura Blvd. in Los Angeles, they were simulcast on KRLA during Peter Bergman's Radio Free Oz show. Considered lost for half a century, these mythical broadcasts are finally being officially released from the best available recordings, fully remastered and with historical appreciations from original members of Firesign and their archivist. So break off a hunk of the old 'shroom! It's like having the '60s in the palm of your mind...
48-page paperback book with DVD-ROM, including all 11 of the surviving Magic Mushroom plays, plus original promos and the 10/29/1967 episode of Radio Free Oz ("The Bridey Murphy Come As You Were Halloween Party"). Remastered audio, never-before-published photos and ephemera from the archives, and brand new illustrations by Mahendra Singh!
Price: $35 for domestic orders, $45 for International orders.
CLICK HERE to order from the Firesale Store.
Fighting Clowns of Hollywood
Seven hours of live Firesign Theatre
Most never before released
80-page supplemental PDF
Download it at Bandcamp
Stocking Stuffers
For Your Consideration
Phil Proctor has alerted us to the availability of two books from Bear Manor Media, which may be of interest to fans this holiday season:
Americathon: The Skits Behind The Screenplay
Return with Proctor and Bergman through their memories of the surreal silliness that resulted in the creation of their famous comedy albums, TV or Not TV, Give Us a Break, and What This Country Needs, and the films, J-Men Forever (1979) and Americathon (1979).
Available in either hard cover or soft cover editions, from Bear Manor Media.
POWER: Life On the Edge in L.A.
In the summer of 1990, working as a producer for NPR's Heat – with John Hockenberry, Ted Bonnitt contracted Proctor and Bergman to create a weekly five-minute comic serial lampooning the culture of Hollywood. This book contains the original audio scripts, which are as pertinent now as ever!
Available in soft cover from Bear Manor Media.
Firesign Theatre (Or What's Left Of It!)
Library of Congress Lecture - Available For Viewing!
On Thursday September 28, 2017, Phil Proctor and David Ossman presented "An Evening with the Firesign Theatre (Or What's Left Of It!)" at the Library of Congress in Washington, DC. They presented their sketch titled "The History of the Art of Radio, Revised," and they discussed the history and impact of the Firesign Theatre with video clips, slides and reminiscences.
The event was captured on video, and we are pleased to announce that the Library of Congress has just made it available for viewing on their web site:
http://www.loc.gov/today/cyberlc/feature_wdesc.php?rec=8134&loclr=eanw
Extra added bonus: the day before the event, Proctor & Ossman participated in a radio interview with Larry O'Connor on WMAL radio. Here's the link:
Phil Proctor's Memoir, Where's My Fortune Cookie?
Available Now on amazon.com!
Phil Proctor, co-founder of the legendary, surrealist comedy group The Firesign Theatre, has fashioned the most outrageous, eclectic autobiography intergalactically conceivable. It covers his Amish/Irish origins, leading inexplicably to work on Broadway, radio, TV, film, and with the Firesign Theatre, creating the most revolutionary comedy recordings ever made. Phil, with Peter Bergman, Phil Austin and David Ossman, predicted reality TV, hackers, computer viruses, virtual reality, the fall of the Soviet Union, 9/11 and more.
Details on this Firesign Theatre Press Release page.
Everything You Know Is Wrong
The Declassified Firesign Theatre
2-DVD Set
Read all about it in the PRESS RELEASE
UPDATE: The DVDs arrived from the manufacturer just before Christmas. As of 12/27/16, all pre-orders have been shipped. New orders can be placed in the FIRESALE STORE
Trepany House presents:
The Firesign Theatre's "Surprise!" 50th Birthday Party!
Join the legendary LA based comedy group The Firesign Theatre, as they celebrate their 50th Birthday. Born at local radio station KPFK on November 17, 1966, the Firesign Theatre, including original members Peter Bergman, Phil Austin, David Ossman and Philip Proctor, are widely regarded as one of the most influential groups in the history of recorded humor.
Founding members Ossman and Proctor will be joined by "surprise" celebrity guests, and will play and perform highlights of their amazing career, as well as exciting new material.
This program will be recorded for broadcast/podcast purposes. This show at the Steve Allen Theater at the Center for Inquiry will be history in the making. Don't miss it!
More information: http://trepanyhouse.tix.com/Event.aspx?EventCode=918757
New David Ossman Book: MARSHMALLOWS & DESPAIR
Marshmallows & Despair is David Ossman's shocking, awesome, poetic coverage of 21st Century War and Politics, tales of neo-noir nights in strange places, poems of aging, dying, and seeking refuge.
This definitive collection celebrates Ossman’s 79th birthday and features a captivating cast that includes Beat St. Jack, Banana Clip Republicans, Funny Skydivers, as well as an Elegy to Rock Snot.
You’ll be sold on Presidential Butts In Butter, exposed to Heisenberg at Holmes Harbor, visit the House of Garden Gnomes, and celebrate the Tulku’s Birthday.
Enjoy a healthy dose of Ossman's Firesign humor matched with his own outrage, anguish and hope.
Available via davidossman.com ... Autographed copies are available WHILE THEY LAST!!
Phil Austin 1941-2015
[6/19/2015 - From Phil Proctor to all our Dear Friends and Firesign Fans:]
"Nick Danger has left the office.
Our dear friend and Firesign Theatre partner for over 50 years succumbed to various forms of cancer early this morning at his home on Fox Island, Washington, with his wife Oona and their six beloved dogs at his side. It is a tremendous and unexpected loss, and we will miss him greatly; but in keeping with his wishes, there will be no public memorial.
Rest in Peace, Regnad Kcin."
Obituaries: L.A. times, Variety, Broadway World, New York Times, among others.
We have set up a Memorial Guestbook page on this site.
Everything They Knew Was Wrong:
Firesign Theatre and the Mitchell Brothers
Mike Tiano on the unlikely intersection of
a Firesign Theatre film and a Long Beach porno theater:
"One of the great comedy teams that sprung from the 1960s counterculture is the Firesign Theatre. It was formed around Peter Bergman's show Radio Free Oz on Los Angeles station KPFK, where Phil Austin, David Ossman, and Phil Proctor came into Bergman's orbit and formed a team that created off the wall, improvisational comedy culled from popular culture, historical events, and literary works.
Having been influenced by the likes of the Goon Show, Spike Milligan and Bob and Ray, the Firesign Theatre eschewed punchline-based jokes and obvious sketch comedy. Instead what they went on to create could be best described as a cinema of the mind, as evidenced by their side-long (and later album-long) pieces released on LP by Columbia Records throughout the 1970s..."
2014 - Four Firesign Books
There are now four - count 'em four - books of Firesign Theatre plays, scripts and related material available for purchase:
All of these titles, and much more, are available in The Firesale Store.
12/16/13 - Eat or Be Eaten Re-Released
One of the last remaining out-of-print Firesign titles, Eat or Be Eaten, has returned to CD! Loaded with extras, this re-release is now available exclusively from Laugh.com.
Laugh.com's new CD reissue includes the complete original album, 28 minutes of unreleased bonus tracks, a bonus Quicktime movie of EOBE with subcode graphics (part of the original 1985 CD+G release), never-released EOBE game art, and extensive new liner notes by Firesign archivist Taylor Jessen.
Available Now Through Laugh.com.
Peter Bergman 1939-2012
We are very sad to report that Peter Bergman, a founding member of the Firesign Theatre and the driving force behind Radio Free Oz in all its incarnations, passed away in the early morning hours of Friday, March 9, 2012 due to complications from leukemia.
Obituaries: L.A. times, N.Y. Times, NPR (Fresh Air), Washington Post, Plain Dealer (Cleveland), among others.
We have set up a Memorial Guestbook page on this site.
The 2012 "Big Brouhaha" celebrating Peter's life and work, held at the Kirkland Memorial Center in Seattle, WA., was captured for posterity and a DVD of the event is in the works. Check back here for details.
Duke Duke Duke Duke of Madness Madness Madness!
For the first time ever, every Firesign Theatre radio broadcast of note from 1970 to 1972 is now available for purchase!
Duke Of Madness Motors is a book+DVD combo containing every episode of the three Firesign radio series from the era: Firesign Theatre Radio Hour Hour, Dear Friends and Let's Eat!
Available directly from firesigntheatrelegacy.com through the Firesale store.
It's A Beautiful Frame, Friends ...
Back by popular demand: the Ralph Spoilsport license plate frame, available exclusively through the Firesale store.
You can get it in a package deal with the Bozos bumper sticker (in honor of the 40th anniversary of the release of I Think We're All Bozos On This Bus.
While you're in our store, take a look around. We've added a number of new and exclusive items ... and there are bigger deals to come!
Follow Firesign on Facebook and Twitter
Throughout Firesign's recording career, they've shown a remarkable ability to make prescient observations on social and technological trends, giving listeners a present of the future. So it should come as no surprise that Firesign would take advantage of current social networking platforms to keep its fans informed and tuned in to what's happening with the group.
They have a group page on Facebook where Firesign group members and their minions keep the conversation going in the digital age. Also, keep tabs on Firesign news and announcements via their @FiresignNews Twitter feed. These information outlets are in addition to the news alerts and press releases that are maintained right here on this site.
Firesign Theatre - Creative Rights
Here at Firesign Central World Headquarters, we occasionally receive requests from performance groups and organizations regarding access to Firesign plays and sketches, and how to obtain the rights to perform said Firesign works in public. We anticipate an influx of these requests now that there are three new books of Firesign plays and sketches available, in addition to Anythynge You Want To.
We therefore direct your attention to this page, which contains our policy and contact information.