Jay Leno’s getting a bad rap these days; he can’t help it if his network is clueless, and the stirring resentment over his mere presence is spilling over into unwarranted attacks on his style of comedy. The same might be said for Mort Sahl back in the day. Hailed as an influence by Leno, Lenny Bruce and Woody Allen, Sahl in the 1960s dressed in a casual sweater with a newspaper in hand, and delivered jazzlike, stream-of-consciousness zingers about racial politics, free love, misguided wars and whatever snapped into his sharp, quick mind. Usually, it riled the masses, but that didn’t stop Herb Caen from urging him to run for president of the United States. Dick Gregory, one of the first black comedians to address civil rights issues to a white audience, actually did run for president in 1968; he now calls the U.S. “the most dishonest, ungodly, unspiritual nation that ever existed in the history of the planet.” The two comedy legends appear Saturday, Jan. 23, at the 142 Throckmorton Theater. 142 Throckmorton Ave., Mill Valley. 8pm. $38–$48. 415.383.9600.Gabe Meline
.Jan. 23: Mort Sahl and Dick Gregory at the 142 Throckmorton Theater
