Steven Wright

Class of 1978

The 1978 graduate is among the most recognizable stand-up comedians for his droll delivery and unique ability to twist the ordinary like a Salvador Dali painting.

Wright, who comes from Burlington, said he spent two years getting an associate's degree at Middlesex Community College in Bedford before enrolling at Emerson.

"The people I met at school, the other students, were such interesting characters and so creative," he said in an interview last month.

-- Joyce Pellino Crane, Globe Correspondent (Excerpt from "Laugh Track")

At left, Wright's yearbook photo.