Joe, you have a very exacting sense of humor.
Each of the three comedians you mentioned took a huge chance.
Jim Kerry is a physical comedian, and that is as old as the hills. But he is just incredibly good at it.
Steve Martin is the pitiful comedian. That is also as old as the hills and it takes exacting skill to make the exact balance he makes, the one everybody tries and nobody can do as well as he does.
Chris Farley was the shouting comedian. His was the humor that every Jewish comedian tries and fails at. It has to be JUST right, and the Jews just make it obnoxious.
So, like the cat in the commercial, Joe’s tastes in humor are very simple. He wants the best there is.
My comedic specialty is, like that of the three above, as old as Cro-Magnon man.
It is called, “Injecting humor into serious subjects.”
If you don’t think a new twist on THAT is as hard as Farley’s making loud humor funny, ask any speech-writer.
But I do it GOOD.
In most speeches, you can tell when the “time to add a light touch” has been reached.
My humor is aimed at catching you off guard.
For my readers, reading what I say is like hearing somebody talk about something you had already been working out in your mind, but I have thought about it a lot and express it in a way you wish you had.
So there are you are, sharing my outrage and my disgust, getting right down to the guts of the matter. At that exact point I have the chance to inject the very essence of humor:
Surprise.
No joke is funny if you see the punch line coming.
But when someone is exposing the very thing that disgusts or offends you most, suddenly running into a punch line is like stepping on a land mine. I simply cannot resist an opportunity like that.
There is another element. There is a reason why professional speechwriters cannot take advantage of this opportunity the way I do here is because, for most people, humor on a serious subject is next door to heresy.
So you HAVE to signal your punch. You have to say, in effect, “Now this is a very serious subject, and I recognize that, but at this point I am going to lighten things up by making a joke so don’t take it as making light of this very serious issue that means so much to you.”
After an intro like that it’s a little hard to catch the crowd by surprise.
I need readers who trust me. That split second of surprise is precious. If you throw it away by asking yourself, “Should I laugh at this or is it heresy?” you lose it.
My humor is for people who can ride with the tide.
“I can’t believe it. Very few people can make me laugh. Jim Carrey, Steve Martin and Chris Farley. Now you. What are the chances? A guy that knows all the stuff that you know also turns out to be able to make me laugh. I think it’s the way you put things sometimes. I read you for a serious purpose. I never look to be entertained. And here it is. I can’t believe it. I’ll bet you’ve got a lot of friends. You should have. No, this is not sychophancy. Just plain straight talk.”
Comment by joe rorke — 10/18/2005 @
#1 by joe rorke on 10/19/2005 - 8:07 pm
I’m supposed to know something about words. In this case, I had to look up the word “exacting.” By God, you were right on the money, Mr. Whitaker. I am demanding. I do want the best. In your case, it never occurred to me that you INTENDED the humour. I thought it was just the way things came out of you, spontaneously, which is the way I communicate. As I said, I read your blog to learn from you and, yes, there is a lot to learn for many people if they are willing to learn. You gave me a great insight into myself. I had no idea that I was that demanding but when you laid it out I could see that you are correct. There is so much crap on the television set today that I can’t bear to watch. You’d better be good if you expect my attention to be focused on you. Yes, clearly, that is a demanding person. Judgmental? Me? Definitely. I am a terribly harsh critic.
“Joe, you have a very exacting sense of humour.” That says it all. As soon as you said it I knew it was true. Still, it seems to boil down to an opinion. I say these guys are good. Who does that make me? God? Close, but no cigar. I love to laugh. I’m an Irishman. But who is it that can make me laugh? Not Jerry Lewis, that’ for sure. Not the Three Stooges. I’m demanding. Give me the best. Raise the standards. By all means stay out of the sewer. That’s not comedy. That’s unnecessary filth.
I never thought there was any premeditation in your humour, Bob. But I sure appreciate your analysis. I’ll tell Momma about it tonight. I’ll tell her Bob nailed me right to the cross. Now that I think of it, maybe there’s two kinds of people: the Anything Goes people and the Not Anything Goes people. I will be lining up with the Not Anything Goes people.
#2 by Elizabeth on 10/20/2005 - 12:58 pm
I didn’t discover Steve Martin until probably 1985.
A couple of years later, I found out that he’d been born in
and lived in Texas until he was ten, which was when his family
moved to Southern California.
#3 by Bob on 10/20/2005 - 2:23 pm
Elizabeth, I was suprised to discover that Jim Henson, creator of the Muppets, was born and raised in rutal Mississippi. I thought from his Swedish character the chef that he was from Minnesota.
#4 by Bob on 10/20/2005 - 2:30 pm
Elizabeth, we used to say that girls became nurses so they could marry doctors.
So you’re probably Catholic because the Pope is a bachelor.
#5 by Elizabeth on 10/20/2005 - 8:22 pm
That Swedish Chef’s accent is so good I use it to identify Swedish
on the shortwave radio. I don’t think there was ever any content
to the Swedish chef, but, golly, Jim Henson really nailed down
the Swedish speech patterns!
I’m Catholic for lots of reasons. (There’ll be a book some day.)
I think occasionally about becoming a nun — as I get older, I think
more often about becoming a HERMIT (there are days!) — and I
realized really fast there ain’t no such thing as a Methodist
nun…(I’m not sour on marriage. I just haven’t been asked. Too
many Southern boys just ASSUME they’d have to turn Catholic to
marry one. NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO.)