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Outfit for "Billy Quan" sketch on Almost Live!, ca. 1988
Order an ImageSeattle television comedy show Almost Live! aired from 1984 to 1999 on KING5 in Seattle. In its earliest years, the show was like a local version of the Tonight Show, but in 1989 the format changed to be a 30-minute sketch comedy show. Recurring sketch “Mind your Manners with Billy Quan” was inspired by Japanese and Chinese action movies. Sketch titles like “Yard Sale of Fury” and “Enter the Juggler” were nods to Bruce Lee films. Cameraman Darrell Suto played “Billy,” squaring off against John Keister as a perpetually rude villain. Inventive camera and editing work produced absurdly funny visual gags. Billy was the hero, but the sketch did rely on Asian stereotypes, such as the accent and faux-Chinese lettering used at the opening and close of the sketch.
ID Number: 2024.22.1
Date: 1988-1990
Physical Description: 1 Ensemble; cotton; Shirt: 33 in.H x 35 in.W, Pants: 39 in.H x 22.5 in.W
Credit: MOHAI, 2024.22.1