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‘Seinfeld’ director coming to Chautauqua Institution

David Steinberg, Comedian & ‘Curb Your Enthusiasm’, ‘Seinfeld’ Director, Joins National Comedy Center Week At Chautauqua Institution.

JAMESTOWN — The National Comedy Center and Chautauqua Institution have announced that comedian and director David Steinberg will be the featured guest Aug. 1 as part of Chautauqua Institution’s week of programs on “Comedy and the Human Condition,” presented in partnership with the National Comedy Center July 31-Aug. 4.

Recently, The New York Times called David Steinberg “a comic institution himself”. A legendary stand-up comedian of the ’60s through the ’80s, Steinberg’s directing credits include some of the most successful television comedies of the last several decades, including “Seinfeld,” “Friends,” “Mad About You,” “Newhart” and “The Golden Girls”. He is now in his ninth season directing “Curb Your Enthusiasm,” and has also directed for the hit series “Weeds.” Steinberg’s work has earned him several Directors Guild of America and Emmy awards and nominations.

Steinberg has resume that spans The Second City, Broadway, and a prolific television career. Known for his work on “The Smothers Brothers”, Steinberg’s satiric and controversial “sermons” caught the ire of President Richard Nixon and caused the show to be thrown off the air. One of Johnny Carson’s most popular guests and guest hosts, Steinberg appeared on “The Tonight Show” 140 times – second only to Bob Hope.

From 2005-2007, Steinberg was the executive producer, creator and host of “Sit Down Comedy with David Steinberg,” a one-on-one interview series (interviewees included Larry David, Martin Short and Bob Newhart, among others) shot live in front of an audience at UCLA. Steinberg is also the executive producer, along with Steve Carrell, of the documentary series Inside Comedy.

Additional programming during Chautauqua Institution’s and the National Comedy Center’s week on “Comedy and the Human Condition” includes comedian and author Lewis Black, “stand-up scientist” Sophie Scott and the author of A Carlin Home Companion: Growing Up with George, Kelly Carlin. The week coincides with the annual Lucille Ball Comedy Festival, produced by the National Comedy Center, in nearby Jamestown. The 2017 Lucille Ball Comedy Festival will take place Aug. 3-6, and features comedian Jim Gaffigan and more than 50 events at a dozen venues.

For full line-up and ticket information for Week Six, “Comedy and the Human Condition,” visit www.ciweb.org.

The pre-eminent expression of lifelong learning in the United States, Chautauqua Institution comes alive each summer with a unique mix of fine and performing arts, lectures, interfaith worship and programs, and recreational activities. Over the course of nine weeks, nearly 100,000 people visit Chautauqua and participate in programs, classes and community events for all ages — all within the beautiful setting of a historic lakeside village. According to a recent piece in the New York Times Travel section, “A week at Chautauqua is a microcosm of what we can make of our lives, if only we remember to slow down and pay attention.”

The National Comedy Center is a 501(c)(3) non-profit cultural institution in Jamestown that is developing the first national visitor experience dedicated entirely to the art of comedy. The Center, a $50 million project funded by public-private partnership, is comprised of three functions: the immersive exhibit experience / museum that is under construction now, a year-round calendar of live performance and discussion-leading programming on comedy, and an educational component supporting aspiring artists and providing comedic arts education. The National Comedy Center also operates the Lucille Ball Desi Arnaz Museum, and for the last 26 years has produced the Lucille Ball Comedy Festival with performers including Jerry Seinfeld, Jay Leno, Joan Rivers, Ellen DeGeneres, Trevor Noah and more than 100 other comedic artists.

For information on the National Comedy Center, visit www.NationalComedyCenter.org.

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