Complex sentence: According to the festival's co-founder John Pinder the idea of holding an international comedy festival originated in the early 1980s, inspired by a season at Melbourne comedy venue The Last Laugh which featured a large number of overseas comics.
Split into simpler sentences: According to the festival's co-founder, John Pinder, the idea of holding an international comedy festival originated in the early 1980s. It was inspired by a season at Melbourne comedy venue The Last Laugh, which featured a large number of overseas comics.