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Funny.
Aug 20, 2023 13:58:24 GMT
Post by Sheriff John Stone on Aug 20, 2023 13:58:24 GMT
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Post by Kapitan on Oct 6, 2023 20:30:20 GMT
Tim Conway's first appearance on Johnny Carson (in 1977). Conway is mostly before my time, but I knew him from reruns of the Carol Burnett Show. (Speaking of funny: Carol Burnett is one of the funniest people I've ever seen.)
Here he shows a lot of humor that's somewhere between understated and corny, showing great rapport with Johnny. A couple lines that cracked me up:
Was he called "Timothy" by his mother? "Well my real name is Betty, which, we had some problems...but no, I guess my real name is Tomas [TOE-mas], or really, Thomas, but my mother's Romanian, and, uh she couldn't say it."
He has six kids? "Well I can't sing or dance, and, obviously, with six kids, I have no sense of rhythm..."
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Post by Sheriff John Stone on Oct 6, 2023 21:25:09 GMT
Tim Conway was tremendous. I used to get a kick out him on The Carol Burnett Show when he would make the other cast members (especially Harvey Korman) crack up during their skits - which he did frequently! Here's one of my favorites, the famous "dentist skit":
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Funny.
Oct 6, 2023 22:10:40 GMT
Post by Kapitan on Oct 6, 2023 22:10:40 GMT
Tim Conway was tremendous. I used to get a kick out him on The Carol Burnett Show when he would make the other cast members (especially Harvey Korman) crack up during their skits - which he did frequently! Here's one of my favorites, the famous "dentist skit": In that Carson appearance, he talks about that. He says he and Korman had bets on cracking each other up, and Korman "put a few of my kids through school." He gives Korman some ribbing a few times through the interview. Hilarious. As you (all) may know, my taste in comedy has definitely moved more toward some of those giants of the eras before me, a broader kind of comedy, in some ways a sweeter kind (though in which there is a real glimmer in the eye at the risque jokes), and a less personal or confessional kind than has become more fashionable in the past couple decades. These days I love hearing jokes, bits, routines, that aren't just about the guy in the White House or running for office or the depths of my [says the comic] psyche. More and more, I love the universal. "Take my wife, please!" Henny Youngman, Tim Conway, Carol Burnett, Rodney Dangerfield, Woody Allen, Joan Rivers, and a million others.
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Funny.
Nov 25, 2023 15:01:11 GMT
Post by Kapitan on Nov 25, 2023 15:01:11 GMT
Last night I watched comic storyteller Mike Birbiglia's new special (on Netflix), The Old Man and the Pool. Birbiglia is a comic, but not really a standup type. He tells long comic stories, not primarily jokes. There are jokes mixed in, there are recurring lines and themes, but mostly his specials are a series of funny, interrelated stories. This one focuses on mortality, and his changing perspectives on it from when he was a child, a young man with health problems, and now a middle-aged (45) husband and father. Here is a review of the special.
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Funny.
Jan 4, 2024 13:14:17 GMT
Post by Kapitan on Jan 4, 2024 13:14:17 GMT
Last night I watched the new Dave Chappelle special, The Dreamer, on Netflix. I thought it was VERY funny--though be warned, it is definitely not for the sensitive or puritanical. (There must be 100 n-words in it. Actually both versions, the ----a and ----er versions.) And yes, he did yet again address his controversies with the media over trans issues in particular. At first I thought, "oh, God, here we go again ... let it go already!" But the way he did it this time felt to me a little different, and funnier.
For example (without spoilers), countless stories have accused him of "punching down" on those jokes. He has previously explained himself, saying it's not punching down unless you put people below you, and single people or groups out. If they're just part of the overall picture, that's just treating people as equals. Plus, it's comedy, not social science, therapy, school, etc. Sometimes it'll be offensive, or at least borderline offensive.
So this time around, without being quite so blunt, he'd say "now I'm punching down on [butt of jokes, as I said, no spoilers]," and say something that is on its face obviously terrible. But all the time, with that mischeivous glimmer in his eyes. They were often the kinds of jokes you'd laugh at first, and only (immediately) after, think "I really shouldn't laugh at that." To me, laughter wins. If you laugh, it's funny. By definition. And I truly don't feel any hatred whatsoever, so I think it's acceptable. (Jokes don't have to be statements you factually or philosophically or politically agree with, they just have to make you laugh.) Everyone's line in the sand is different, and that's the nature of life. No problems if others disagree.
While on Netflix, I moved on to rewatch Nate Bargatze's pandemic special, America's Greatest Average American. He couldn't be more different, except for one thing: he's funny enough to make me laugh out loud. He works clean, not so much as a "damn" or "hell," if I'm not mistaken. It's mostly standard fare for subject matter: his kid, his wife, exercise, and his own stupidity. But he's so, so funny! I really can't recommend him enough, especially if you prefer cleaner stuff.
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Post by Sheriff John Stone on Jan 27, 2024 20:16:37 GMT
Very funny bit from Martin Short:
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Funny.
Feb 20, 2024 14:45:10 GMT
Post by Kapitan on Feb 20, 2024 14:45:10 GMT
Today is the 64th birthday of one of the funniest people that casual comedy fans may not know: Joel Hodgson.
Hodgson is best known for being one of the creators and stars of Mystery Science Theater 3000, but he was also a standup prior to that (having been on Letterman, among others), writing with Jerry Seinfeld and for Jimmy Kimmel, and occasionally acting, including with a small recurring role in the fantastic Freaks & Geeks. Here he is in that role, where he's a disco-fanatic clothing store salesman trying to get two of the show's "geeks" a hipper look.
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Funny.
Mar 12, 2024 21:05:19 GMT
Post by Sheriff John Stone on Mar 12, 2024 21:05:19 GMT
I find Vaughn Meader's impersonation of JFK incredibly funny. Unfortunately, his story is a tragic one. His career basically came to an abrupt end the day President John F. Kennedy was assassinated. Meader then made a few unsuccessful comedy albums, toyed with acting, owned a small pub, became a country bluegrass singer/piano player, and went broke. Meader became addicted to drugs and alcohol and passed away at age 68 from COPD.
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