Seeing Red

| February 15, 2013

Funny-Freaked-Out-CatWhat is funny ?

It depends on the person.

You know what’s funny to you when you see it or hear it.

Just as beauty –

… comedy is in the eye of the beholder.

Yet – clever humor is universal. Clever humor takes thought and intellect …

slipping-on-banana-peelThere is a place in comedy for a basic pie fight – or slipping on a banana peel. But what about pure intellectual funny stuff ? Does that even have a place today ?

Appealing to the least common denominator in order to shock an audience into nervous laughter hardly takes much thought or indeed being clever.

Some like one liner jokes. Some like slapstick. Some like satire. It may be old TV reruns of Dick Van Dyke or Monty Python’s Flying Circus. three_stoogesMaybe situational comedy. It could be an old “Road Film” with the team of Bing Crosby and Bob Hope.

It may be watching someone slipping on a banana peel or the equivalent. It may be dogs chasing their tails. You Tube is full of bad falls and dumb pets.

I am absolutely floored by The Three Stooges and yet at the same time I just don’t get today’s “comedians” who base their “humor” on what barely made third grade boys on a playground snicker.

In the past you may have enjoyed comic strips like I did as a kid – with favorites such as Peanuts, BC and The Wizard Of ID.

modern-comedian-soul-for-saleComedy today does not seem to be very clever. It is based on shock. Nasty words. “Bathroom humor” …

Gone are the days of clever “verbal judo” with simple observations of life or a twist of language.

There does not seem to be contemporary equivalents to Bob Hope, Bill Cosby and even George Carlin. Carlin may have turned to a “grumpy old man” style as he matured and rode the rail on being shocking at times in his early career – but Carlin was clever his humor and stories were clever – even when his words teased and shocked.

bob_nelson_footballlOf course there are exceptions like Bob Nelson who first charmed us on a national level in an HBO special decades ago.

Comedians like Bob Nelson seem so rare to find these days. Rare – because even his most wacky and simplistic characterizations are so very clever. Clever in comedic timing, material and masterful execution.

Red-Skelton-Show_60sWhat I truly miss from my days as a 60s kid watching TV is
Red Skelton.

I have to admit, as the 70s rolled on his show became a bit corny and the writers ran out of gas. But he never lost his magic. He had a live career resurgence in the 80s.

This following segment from a 1982 live show illustrates how a pure, simplistic – yet clever – style of humor is not only timeless, but precious

This is up there in my top ten favorite comedy routines –

Red Skelton was always honored by loads of fans. He lived a long life full of laughs for us all. It was amazing to gain insight to what made him what he became.

It was a sad day when we learned he had passed from this earth …

Bill-Cosby_WonderfulnessWe need a modern Red Skelton.

We need to see Red!

Clever humor is indeed timeless.

I introduced my daughter a couple of years ago to an old Bill Cosby recording … and then his film of his one man show “Himself” … She is still addicted to them. This proves that old comedy is not generational – passe’ – or old fashioned.

Clever comedy lives forever.

Comedy surpasses generations when the comedy is clever.

Category: Tony Rollo Blog

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