The Unknown Comic

The Unknown Comic is the stage name of Canadian-American actor and stand-up comic Murray Langston (born 1945, Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, Canada), best known for his comic performances on The Gong Show, usually appearing with a paper bag over his head. Langston lives in Bathurst, New Brunswick, Canada.

Murray Langston was born in Canada and left home at the age of 15 because his parents, disabled and financially strapped, could not afford to raise him and his younger siblings. He emigrated to the United States by joining the U.S. Navy, serving during the Vietnam war but never seeing battle action as a sailor.

Langston began his show business career in 1970 when he appeared on Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In, doing impressions of a fork, a tube of toothpaste and a grandfather clock. Later, at the suggestion of Redd Foxx, he teamed with comedian Freeman King, and, after appearing on several episodes of The Midnight Special, they were spotted by producers and soon became regular performers on The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour. Langston and King performed music and comedy sketches with the hosts and guest stars.

After more than 100 appearances with Sonny and Cher, Langston began to make appearances on other prime time television shows, including The Hudson Brothers Razzle Dazzle Show, The Wolfman Jack Show, and The Bobby Vinton Show.

He worked with Foxx, Joan Rivers, Jim Carrey, Ruth Buzzi and many other comedians. Langston also created comedic situations for Candid Camera and appeared in several of his own segments.

Early in his career, Langston invested in a nightclub restaurant called "SHOW-BIZ", where several now-famous people worked as waiters and waitresses including Debra Winger, Michael Keaton (known as Michael Douglas at the time), David Letterman, Gallagher, Tim Reid, Freddy Prinze and Redd Foxx but the club closed within two years, taking his savings. Strapped for cash, he accepted an offer to appear on The Gong Show. However, he was reportedly embarrassed about appearing on the show, so with permission from the director, he put a paper bag over his head, fitted it with holes for his eyes and mouth, memorized a few old jokes, and burst onto the show as "The Unknown Comic". The character, a frenetic speed-jokester in smarmy attire, was a hit, and soon developed a cult following. The Unknown Comic (Langston) appeared on more than 150 Gong Shows and also entertained as a celebrity judge on several other television shows. He also wrote for The Gong Show for a short time. Soon, he was appearing regularly in Las Vegas and made the rounds of many popular talk and variety shows. In the early '80s, Langston revealed himself as the Unknown Comic on an episode of Real People (the bag on his head was pulled off by the show's hosts), as well at the conclusion of a match on the celebrity edition of the game show Bullseye.

In 1984 Langston wrote and acted in the film Night Patrol.

Langston later produced The Unknown Comedy Hour for Playboy TV, followed by The Sex and Violence Family Hour, starring a very young Jim Carrey. He also wrote the screenplays for the films Night Patrol (1984), Up Your Alley (1988), and Wishful Thinking (1997), and was co-host of "The NEW Truth or Consequences" (1987). He also had a role in the 1989 children's TV series E.M.U-TV as Murray the Technical Director.

Twice divorced by the early 1990s, Langston decided to semi-retire from show business to concentrate on raising his daughters as a single father. His elder daughter, Myah Marie, is a singer-songwriter who wrote and published more than 50 songs by the age of 19; she has recorded with notable pop stars including Britney Spears. His younger daughter, Mary, lives with Langston on their hillside ranch near the mountain town of Tehachapi, California, about 70 miles from Los Angeles.

He most recently reappeared as The Unknown Comic in the film Confessions of a Dangerous Mind; Langston wrote, directed and performed in Dirty Jokes: The Movie and wrote and performed one man's response to the hit live performance show The Vagina Monologues; his version was called The Weenie Man-o-logs.

Langston occasionally appears doing stand-up in Las Vegas and is writing a book of memoirs. He is active in charity work, particularly for children's advocacy causes.