A bit older, I found Woody Allen movies on late night TV... the more adult-themed ones... but it was clear to me that this was a funny, nebbish little fellow, someone to watch. I also heard the albums of Bill Cosby... decades before the recent discovery of his scandalous past. His misdemeanors aside, I loved his early stand-up comedy as recorded for my listening pleasure. Way back, I bought a couple of Cos's "best of" albums, easily the funniest stuff I've ever heard. His impeccable knack for storytelling kept me in stitches as I listened. I also latched onto comics Robert Klein and Rodney Dangerfield at that time. I found these laugh-meisters through late evening radio shows when I was in my teens.
As a kid, and into my teens a bit, I enjoyed the Carol Burnett Show. The theatrical style of delivery - live before an audience - brought an immediacy to the sketches. While Burnett was the brains behind the operation, I loved how Harvey Korman and Tim Conway cooked up their shenanigans.
Around that same time, I learned to appreciate the dead-pan delivery of Bob Newhart on his various TV shows, and even a bit of his recorded stand-up routines. He's still among my favourites. There was also the loud and offensive Don Rickles, who still cuts me up... very old school and inappropriate, but hey, it works for me. The Monty Python troupe from England caught me off guard at first, but it didn't take long for me to develop a taste for their brand of absurd humour. While I enjoyed the antics of the whole group, it was John Cleese who really grabbed my attention. His stiff-upper-lip Brit "act" combined with ridiculous characters and situations translated into some of the best scenarios on the tube. Cleese took his shtick right over the top on his frantic sit-com Faulty Towers (or Farty Towels... whichever suits you), one of the best TV comedies of all time, in my estimation. And as we all know, the Python troupe extended their far-out universe into feature films, my dearest one being Monty Python and the Holy Grail. "That rabbit's dynamite!"
The David Steinberg Show was a Canadian 1970's precursor to TV's The Gary Sanders Show, operating in much the same manner, and featured guests like Candy, Flaherty, Short, and Thomas, who'd go on to fame with SCTV. The multi-talented Steinberg himself went on to direct episodes of TV classics Friends, Seinfeld, Golden Girls, and Curb Your Enthusiasm. I seem to recall a demented psychologist character who would, during a patient session, suddenly freak out at some imaginary attacker, shrieking "Booga, booga... get off!"
That same era brought comic John Byner's show Bizarre to the tube. I watched that religiously back in the day. Bizarre was unique for its mish-mash of comedy formats: stand-up, sketch comedy, impersonations, monologues, and TV parodies. Pretty ground-breaking for its time, I guess. And it was here that I first saw the hapless stuntman escapades of Super Dave Osborne. Ah, what a golden age of yuks....
Television remained my main source of comedy as I entered my 20's and 30's. Great shows like Frasier, Seinfeld, Kids in the Hall, Mr. Bean, Everybody Loves Raymond,and Home Improvement showcased the talents of their giggle-worthy stars. I still rank Kelsey Grammer, Ray Romano, and Tim Allen among my preferred TV funnymen. Steve Martin was a hit on Saturday Night Live back in the day, as were plenty of the sketch comedy show's other actors. Martin was hit and miss in the movies, though he sure had his moments early in his career.
Oh, and I mustn't forget the stage to TV transition by the now world-famous Second City troupe - SCTV. That group of comics later went on to write, direct and act in loads of memorable films. John Candy sure made his mark in box-office hits like Splash, Uncle Buck, and Trains, Planes and Automobiles. Not to mention the considerable talents of Andrea Martin, Catherine O'Hara, Dave Thomas, Joe Flaherty, Eugene Levy, Rick Moranis, Harold Ramis, and Martin Short. Yeah, you know a lot of those names. This gang birthed a whole wack of strange and memorable SCTV characters... Bob and Doug McKenzie, of course; Count Floyd, Johnny LaRue; Dr. Tongue; Edith Prickly; Floyd Robertson; Earl Camembert; Guy Caballero; the Shmenge brothers; Bobby Bittman; Perini Scleroso; Lola Heatherton; Moe Green.
Here's Andrea Martin doing her magic on SCTV:
I remember finding, back in the late 80's, a delightfully funny television show called Four On The Floor, a vehicle for the Canadian comedy quartet The Frantics. Though I loved catching all dozen or so episodes of its first season (in reruns, too), the powers that be cancelled the poor show. The Frantics troupe spawned the popular catch-phrase "Boot to the head!", which I, to this day, occasionally pull out to mock somebody's bone-head move.
A bit older, I caught Dangerfield, Eddie Murphy, Cheech and Chong, and Bill Murray on the silver screen. Though Murphy's funnyman status has trailed off, I still like those other comic actors, especially Murray's deadpan delivery, and the Dynamic Drug Duo's crazed adventures. Jim Carrey has had an up-and-down career, yet I still get a kick out of his early films, especially The Cable Guy and the Ace Ventura flicks. Well, alrighty then! All such different styles, yet I can appreciate a range of silliness.
A little late to the genius of George Carlin, I did finally in the 90's catch some of his comedy specials on TV. It's easy to see how he paved the way for the stand-ups of today with his blue jokes and absurd, sometimes bitter, observational humour. I also got a good primer on comics of that era via the many stand-up gigs on the box at the time... that's where I first saw guys like Steven Wright, the ultimate monotone mumbler... who I still like a lot. Yes, those brick wall and a microphone sets were a mainstay during that decade.
I took far too long to discover The Marx Brothers, but hey, their movies never showed up on TV in my town back when I was a kid. And it wasn't until the late 90's or 2000's when I got hooked on the Turner Classic Movies channel and began catching up on the hilarious antics of Groucho, Harpo, and Chico (I never cared for the occasional fourth "brother"). As clever as Groucho could be, I always found his maddeningly funny cohorts even better... check the video above.
Also late discoveries were the works of Buster Keaton, Charlie Chaplin, and Harold Lloyd. Their astounding stunts and theatrical finesse were the launchpad for great gags as well as sweet stories. I haven't seen much by these three pioneers of both film and comedy, but I intend to explore their filmographies further.
Larry David was first noticed for his co-writing on TV sensation Seinfeld (Jerry's cool, too), but I love his more recent Curb Your Enthusiasm show even more. That cringe-style of awkward comedy suits me perfectly. Larry's whiny old man character is both endearing and unpleasant.
Gary Shandling's style appealed to me, too... the sort of likable yet prickish fellow who got laffs at others' expense. I've caught his stand-up act and his Gary Sanders Show on the tube.... all worth their weight in gold.
For several years during the 2000's, I hit the local comedy club on a semi-regular basis to see the B-listers on the circuit. Just about every one of them was excellent, though I'm sure most won't get more than bit parts on TV or appearances at Just For Laffs festivals. Loads of talent out there, but the competition must be fierce.
In recent years, I've discovered the wacky Craig Ferguson through his late night show and stand-up specials. And I couldn't believe the underappreciated Mitch Hedberg, who sadly passed away at far too young an age. His low-key, off-the-wall one-liners seemed to throw audiences for a loop, but I caught his meaning every time. An acquired taste, I suppose.
Dave Chappelle, on the other hand, brought a bunch outrageous characterizations to the table on his TV show. I nearly passed out from laughter at some of his material. Like Tyrone Biggums the junkie doing a school presentation for Drug Awareness. "And lobsters!" (see above video)
If you like to laugh, I suggest you look up some of these comics on Youtube, Netflix, or wherever you enjoy your online hilarity. There's a whole world of comedy out there, and it's just a matter of exploring it to find the comedians who appeal to you most.
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