Stand-up comedian Lenny Clarke has an oddly calibrated act – his material and his perspective is very much in an old-school Don Rickles vein, but his attitude is very much that of a quick-witted young comic. This contrast comes wrapped in a conversational, deceptively genial delivery, with just brief moments of clowning.

He was the most famous “saloon comic” in Boston during the 1980s, the heyday of the Boston comedy scene. The DVD release When Standup Stood Out (2006) details Clarke’s early career and affiliations with other famous Boston comics, such as Steven Wright and Denis Leary, his good friends.

Lenny is known for his Boston accent and role as Uncle Teddy on the series Rescue Me. Hailing from Cambridge, MA, he wrote and starred in a local television show (Lenny Clarke’s Late Show) in 1980, featuring Steven Wright and Denis Leary, in collaboration with Boston comedy writer Martin Olson.