The comic arts; Episode 3 of 13

I am. Ladies and gentlemen that this is our look why are reconvening the case for comedy. Sir would you please make an opening statement. Why one person can be my temper and a comedian another cannot then again I have to go back to the musical ability. There is such a thing that there is a special kind of astigmatism in the eye of a comedian who sees everything about him slightly distorted. Michigan State University radio presents the comic arts and essay in sound on the humor of our times featuring the comic the humorist the joke writer the clown the Dauntless individuals who work in the world of comedy. It all begins sometime in the dim past of your wasted youth

begins with an incident like your schoolboy friends hearty laughter rewarding one of your outrageous quips. You find you uncommonly enjoy this reaction and you easily succumb to the temptation to play for more. And it goes on from there. Joke by joke. Year by year you get some laughs but you lay some eggs too. You come to realize your gag batting average couldn't make it in the three idli. Nevertheless you keep plugging away. You have absorbed numerous rebukes experience occasional humiliation and a fair amount of outright social disapproval and your penchant for humor proves rewarding in other ways too. Certain descriptive tags are increasingly linked with your name Joker wiseguy wag clown but you gladly take the lumps along with the last because you are hooked on humor and you love the big box. Sooner or later you talk to some of the professionals and this is

where you get your first close up look at the comic personality. This is where you find out about such fundamental comic phenomena as a special kind of astigmatism. And if you are fortunate enough to get that first lesson from a man who is both a great teacher and a great humorist like Sam Levinson Well at that point in life your education begins in earnest. This is one of those strange stories this is a tangential kind of thing. It just went off. I didn't school. I did it for the faculty. I did it at the end term luncheon for the faculty I was used to review of the events of the year. You know the funny things that happen. Teachers loved it we had a lot of fun until I found myself doing it outside of school and then it got out of control. I found out I was making more money on a side as they say than I was making in. So I thought I'd take a chance at it and I never went back. Why one person

can be my temper and a comedian another cannot. Again I have to go back to the musical ability. There is such a thing. There is such a thing as a as a not an original idea I think it was Clifton Fadiman who I think mentioned in relation to Fred Allen that says that the there is a special kind of astigmatism and I have a comedian who sees everything about him slightly distorted. And brings attention to it from his comic astigmatism which is very interesting he has there is I bar caricature urse automatically. Some people don't have that at all. Now grave damage is going to have that too. You know you have to be a pro that some of the best story does I ever met in my life are amateur. You know they tell around the office and back in the year that the club and they are very very good very good. Of course I don't know how they would hold up as professionals that this might be destroyed the minute they got in front of a microphone.

A special kind of astigmatism. Now there's a dandy diagnosis goes a long way to explain whether a humorist is born or made. But you give a lot of thought to what that great teacher Sam Levinson has told you and you take new notice of remarks offered by that great silent screen actor Harold Lloyd. But nevertheless that was the first to thank you that I peered in there when I later on went up to to the theaters closed up there. It was a question of eating so I went out and tried to get into that to the Studios which were very difficult proposition difficult now it was just a difficult lane even though the conditions were entirely different in those days. Our studios consisted of a large fence around an area you know talk over the studio we didn't use lights. And yes you can type and they call them diffusers and pull them over the stage. And the thing was pinned and I had difficulty getting in my former

stage experience and seem to do much. You need much help but I did notice one thing I noticed that anybody going through the old gate and if you they had makeup on you never challenge them. So that gave me the idea that next day I brought out the makeup but I want to make up and walk right on through. I always want to comedy on the on stage. I didn't do i didn't even play comedy final for I don't know what do you know what he is he's a little East Indian dart blower that went around killing people. COMEDIAN. No but I think my my natural bent towards comedy and I think that's what a person has to have. There's no substitute for studying hard work experience but I do think if you're going to follow comedy in that you're leaning is you've got to be in that way I know a lot of people who work for ever and I don't

think it ever become me. I will say one thing the majority of really good comedians. Are you going to do drown. We've proven recently by a number. I remember one of our comedians Edwin who was a very fine comedian stage comedian he was doing lots of dramatic work and doing splendidly. Mark Carney did a very fine dramatically different I don't think he committed suicide you probably saw it was that he was the only person in a more dramatic who's done a lot of fine things did a lot of oh so many of our comedians. If he can do damage just as you think you do comedy and I think that that's one thing to be a comedian you should know the theater. Well used to think a joke is a joke whether it's done on the silent screen the

home screen or at the office water cooler. But you reflect on what Harold Lloyd has said. Your leaning has got to be in that way. And you wonder again if you've got the right slant yourself and wonder how you find out. I went to a progressive school I went to the family Hillandale country night club and TV comedienne Joan Rivers shed some light on the comic approach really that like I was my own buddy camp in fact back then because I was so bad I had no friends. Could nobody get close enough to me to find out i was fun. So. The thought of putting me in school plays to give me poise. And it was Christmas time and it put me in the Christmas play and I played the three magic I went to Soho. We three kings of Orient do and from then on that was it. Want to be in showbiz. I work so hard I write all day I get up in the morning and I write every day from a level to five. And then the law go to the club at night and I do a Johnny

Carson show because they know how easy you know. You just go to the club and have simply your life. And it looks like it flows out but it takes a lot of time and effort to look that way. But my story is a base that I have a very strange life. And. Which is I think one of the reasons people are going to buy because I take things that really happen to me if they really happen to me they really happen to everybody. And just expand I think. Everybody has a hairdresser name with the fellas even though you may not be a mist ability should be. And at my address it was named at the film and I just discussed him on the air one night and that was it came so he had a complete breakdown. He couldn't take fame. He saw the beauty shop and became an Avon lady. When people have backed her that is what makes a medium and I never get strange people. I'm from the. What you call improvisational school of comedy like Second City and all this. So you know I

always talk about something for example being taken to court. In March. Already my mind has made the whole picture. I know already what's happening I know they go look for a jury my peers and I can't find them because now the many blind comedians around you know and you just thought. I was them I thought going in improvising or at least them. Everything stems from fact like I have a thing on. My wig being run over on the parkway. Well that really happened on the Westside Parkway one night. And then I I build it up all over the place. But I really was carrying my weight and I dropped in the car ran over. And I was hysterical because there was a hundred twenty five dollars at North of via St. and that Stuart you're working you know. Make another note a special kind of astigmatism found in both male and female comedy types.

Now you happen to remember that Shakespeare once wrote a jests prosperity lies in the ear of him that hears it never in the tongue of him that makes it. He don't like to be contentious but clearly you have to take issue with the bard on this point you have to inquire what kind of a person can guarantee to some degree the precarious prosperity of a jest fellow perhaps like any young man should be clowns they should be guys who have been in trouble maybe who saying funny things you know you know when I was who I was the only thing that got thrown out or as a teacher I'd go I should have noticed that they say funny things and I asked my parents are probably the professionals who or I wouldn't be a so-called nuisance or were not what I would be getting any marks over here in THE NEWSROOM. So the president just just wear your prettiest maybe a planet where you fit early and people encourage you you get a lot better you know. Yeah. And when did the idea first take hold with you that you might enter into the fuel economy professionally and actually make a living and then follow it through.

No I never planned it I just thought of a band I was a fiddle player we had a band I used to say funny things to people passing by and I when I was thrown out of school if you go to a theater every day you know with one of them around so I don't amount to very much to memorize a lot of jokes. So when I get out and the boys would throw the band out we want to keep you see I was breaking little jobs around you know. You kept the federal and it is of course part and parcel of your trademark an image with would be audiences or any background story of a black man or for the love of man. Well my people crossing the line of this because I don't want a fiddle. In the land about others late at night. I don't play too good you know a lot of people like him make him constantly as well depressed. So it's a good trade mark and a good game of going to Good Crush If you didn't have. That's right they asked for it and it's a blessing to have a thing like that. What kind of a television show out of the many different ones that you've appeared on do you like best. Why the late night shows like Johnny Carson you know you I think your display different

parts of your character when you're sitting down and you have a little time when you want to sort of a show you get six minutes that's it appropriate to get to like you know they don't have a chance and then you go into the home you know and go to the show going live every show and Carson and I don't lose weight and sit around for an hour and have a little vomit the people you can get to like you they hold. So that's the peculiar nature of it and now you have an idea of the comic personality. You can see it any time in our most making men and women a charming bunch of rascals with a twinkle in the eye and a quip on the lips. Kind of gifted ones with a special view of life. Life is seen through eyes that have a special kind of astigmatism. This is Alan Grier with a sincere thanks to our guests Sam Levinson Harold

Lloyd Joan Rivers and Henny Youngman. I'll be back on the next program with another seminar on America's sense of humor and the comic arts. The comic arts series with al the wire is produced by Michigan State University Radio in cooperation with the humor societies of America program consultant George Q. Lewis the music by Jerry Tillman. Your announcer can be charter. For. This program was distributed by the national educational radio network.