Remember when comedy was funny?
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fiver
Well-Known Member
he overplayed it sometimes,, but their radio show was pretty good.
of course it was a different time back then, and things were more in vogue with the way it was.
I don't think Chaplin was all that funny [certainly not a genius]
Harold Lloyd's stuff has all stood up to the test of time, it's a shame about losing almost all of his films negatives in a fire.[celluloid combustion in his vault]
of course it was a different time back then, and things were more in vogue with the way it was.
I don't think Chaplin was all that funny [certainly not a genius]
Harold Lloyd's stuff has all stood up to the test of time, it's a shame about losing almost all of his films negatives in a fire.[celluloid combustion in his vault]
Bret4207
At the casting bench in the sky. RIP Bret.
A lot of stuff was over the top. Look at the Stooges, Milton Berle or Little Rascals. It was a different time. It was fresh. I watched about 45 seconds of "Three's Company" the other night. I followed that up with 45 seconds of "Mash". In the day they were immensely popular and considered hilarious. They stink. Some stuff stands the test of time, like Barney Fife or Bob and Ray or Victor Borge. Other stuff, particularly if it needed a laugh track, just wasn't that good. Remember "The Jeffersons" or "Sanford and Son"? Horrible! It was funny when it was new, but you look back and you wonder what you saw in it. Bob Newhart did some fantastic stand up, as did Jonathan Winters, but if you watch enough of it you find a lot of stuff they did that just wasn't that good. Perspective lent by time I guess? Foster Brooks still gets me though!
358156 hp
At large, whereabouts unknown.
Danny Kaye was a genius, but I think he overplayed things a bit too much, trying to reach another level. I believe that was why he seemed to fade away too early. Still, he's one of my all-time favorites. I never did find Chaplin funny myself, and I burned out on Abbott & Costello.
RicinYakima
High Steppes of Eastern Washington
IMHO, humor does not stand the test of time, unless you were there and it was fresh. Until the 1970's, everyone had a "role" in life and when someone stepped out of that role, it could be made into humor. After Red Foxx and Eddie Murphy it all became about how vulgar you could get away with. I still watch Johnathan Winters and Rodney Dangerfield for a laugh on YouTube. Johnny Carson and Jay Leno did nothing for me.
Pretty sure Walter is a member here. Or 6.....
Bret4207
At the casting bench in the sky. RIP Bret.
I watch Red Skelton on occasion. Some of it is hilarious, mostly the ad libbed stuff. And I still can watch Harvey Korman and Tim Conway on Carol Burnett and laugh myself sick, especially when Conway gets one of the other people to crack up. I don't why it's funny, maybe it's because they aren't supposed to laugh?
Danny Kaye, incredibly talented guy, always gave me the creeps. My grandmother adored him...and Liberace. Lord how she loved Liberace! And Kate Smith, figure that one out! Different times. Heck, back then a male dancer like Gene Kelly, Donald O'Connor or Fred Astair wasn't even suspected of being anything other than a red blooded American man. Now if you dance at all.........
Danny Kaye, incredibly talented guy, always gave me the creeps. My grandmother adored him...and Liberace. Lord how she loved Liberace! And Kate Smith, figure that one out! Different times. Heck, back then a male dancer like Gene Kelly, Donald O'Connor or Fred Astair wasn't even suspected of being anything other than a red blooded American man. Now if you dance at all.........
KeithB
Resident Half Fast Machinist
Korman and Conway were hilarious. I do like some Monty Python stuff but that is more satire than stand-up comedy. Charlie Weaver ("Letters from Mama") had his moments. Danny Kaye was a licensed pilot. It seems to me that humor that is based on contemporary politics doesn't hold up well, humor based on the human condition seems to last longer.
Most of what passed for humor in the late 1960's through the 1980's was actually satire.
You have to witness satire at the time it comes out.
20yrs later it's just stupid.
Abbott & Costello's "Who's on first" will still be funny after baseball has faded away in 500yrs.
That is if the U.S. of A. and/or the world still exists.
You have to witness satire at the time it comes out.
20yrs later it's just stupid.
Abbott & Costello's "Who's on first" will still be funny after baseball has faded away in 500yrs.
That is if the U.S. of A. and/or the world still exists.
