For 50 years, the name Lorne Michaels has been associated with just one thing - producing Saturday Night Live. It's made his career and left him with a fortune. But before he attained fame in the U.S., he was part of a comedy duo named Hart & Lorne, who frequently appeared on the CBC. (Hart is Hart Pomerantz.)

They put out a very bizarre LP back in the 60s that is so Canadian, it's almost like there's maple syrup in the grooves. But was it funny? The article below contains links to tracks from this rare artifact and you can judge for yourself. 

What did they sound like? 

"The Comedy of Hart and Lorne might as well be a [Carl] Reiner/[Mel] Brooks album, just less funny and original. Michaels takes the Reiner part, soberly interviewing his more gregarious partner so he can deliver the punchlines. Pomerantz gets the Brooks role, playing a variety of big characters evident in the unimaginative naming of comedy tracks like “Airline Pilot,” “Bank Robber” and “Canadian Indian.”  

Lorne Michaels’ 1969 Comedy Album Is Bargain-Basement Mel Brooks

Hart Pomerantz, by the way, abandoned comedy for something far more secure. He became a lawyer and a group of people I worked with once hired him to represent us against a certain unnamed broadcaster that let half their staff go unfairly, and refused to make a decent severance offer. I remember a framed cheque in his office signed by Woody Allen, so he was clearly proud of his time in the biz. And yes, we did win that case.