In the early ‘70s I was a Top 40 DJ. I was Beaver Cleaver (I wanted a name that was memorable and amusing). My whole act was entertaining and filling my show with comic content. One liners, crazy voices, outrageous stunts, goofing with callers on the air, making fun of the records, etc.
All too often my program directors would say “SHUT UP! Just play the damn music. Stop trying to be funny. YOU’RE NOT FUNNY!” (For the record, I thought I was funny… at least sometimes.)
Eventually I got out of radio and became a TV comedy writer. Very wise move on my part, wouldn't you say?
Now flash-forward to 1977. I’m the co-head writer of MASH (along with David Isaacs) and for fun, I’m on the air on TEN-Q, Los Angeles every Saturday night spinning the hits.
Because I was now a respected TV comedy writer, I was getting huge love from the radio industry. It helped certainly to be on a happening station in the number two market in the country, but I was finally getting my due. Radio folk couldn’t stop talking about how fresh and original and funny I was.
That was very nice to hear. But here’s the thing:
I was doing the exact same crap I did when program directors told me I sucked. And now they were taking credit for “discovering” me.
It’s all perception, and like I’ve always said, the only way I ever got respect in radio was to get out it. Comedy is subjective.
TANGENT: This reminds me of a story Larry Gelbart told. When he was still a teenager he did a screen-test for director, George Cukor. He wasn’t very good and didn’t get the role. At a party years later Larry told him that story and Cukor's response was: “Well, why didn’t you tell me who you were going to become?
17 comments :
The path from radio disc jockey to successful comedy writer seems to be a familiar one. Ken, can you tell the story of how your station made you stay on the air for 100 straight hours, before your big interview for a TV writing job? (Or was that Rob Petrie...?)
On the other hand:
“If you laugh, it’s funny “
- Lenny Bruce
I remember sometime in the early eighties "The Benny Hill Show" being replaced for the summer by "The Paul Hogan Show" and while loving the former (I thought Hill was a very talented performer-writer-filmmaker-musician), never getting into the latter (ironic as I found "Crocodile Dundee" genuinely endearing and entertaining). Recently I watched a "best of" Hogan show and still found it only marginally entertaining (this despite Hogan becoming a known name thanks to his Foster's/Australian Tourist Board commercials). Why Benny Hill struck a chord with me while Paul Hogan (at least in his show) didn't I couldn't say other than to agree with Ken's point about comedy being subjective. Today, though I find both shows terribly sexist (and in some cases, racist), I still enjoy some of Hill's bits, some of his extended sketches such as 'Who's Afraid of Virgin Wool?' and the mimed striptease (where he strips down to a skeleton) still make me laugh out loud just thinking about them.
Not just comedy. The author Jack London wrote later in life that once he had become known, editors from all around started asking him for material. He found it funny when they would pay top dollar for essays that they had rejected a few years earlier.
This reminds me of the debates over who's funnier, The Three Stooges or The Marx Brothers? Or Charlie Chaplin vs. Buster Keaton, pre-Ken "M*A*S*H" or post-Ken "M*A*S*H," etc. Some like one. Some like the other. Some like both.
What I hate most is when someone tries to argue a subjective point objectively. For example, "Why don't you like (insert name of band)? They have such a great guitarist." "Maybe so, but I don't like their songs." As if that point could change my personal opinion.
Comedy like music is all about taste, all about opinion, it's totally subjective.
Speaking of DJs that aren't funny, I have NEVER been a fan of Howard Stern. I didn't listen to him when his show was free. There's no way I will pay to hear him.
I also hate "Schitt's Creek." It's just not funny to me. That's despite the fact that I loved Catherine O'Hara and Eugene Levy on "S.C.T.V."
M.B.
Your number one and number two picks for Jeopardy host were BOTH selected!
That's going going GONE GONE!
This is why I never get involved with the "such-and-such is (not) funny" discussions here, like with Mike Myers recently. The only entertainment field where you can objectively state one entry is better than another is sports. People will differ on whether Buster Keaton was funnier than Charlie Chaplin, but there's nobody who will say this year's Baltimore Orioles are better than this year's Los Angeles Dodgers.
@B Alton: Say what you will about the sexism (to me it was more naughty-boy giggles than Andrew Dice Clay misogyny), Benny Hill was a tremendous satirical songwriter, and was great with accents and characters. Watch his playing of all of the 1970s "NBC Mystery Movies" detectives (McCloud, Ironside, etc.) at once in an Agatha Christie murder on a train. And if you want another great sketch comedian from that era, try Dave Allen.
@Liggie: I enjoyed Dave Allen, particularly the specials he made later in his life where he would just talk about the absurdities of life (usually autobiographical reflections). As for Benny Hill, his fans included Phil Silvers and Charlie Chaplin…and that’s saying a lot (and, in case I didn’t make the point clear in my earlier post, I think the man was a tremendous talent and absolutely gifted performer-writer).
The MASH Season 1 episode 'Tuttle' was just shown. The end credits included 'Captain Tuttle as Himself'. (There was no Tuttle.) While the episode pre-dates your tenure with the show, I was curious about that credit. Are there rules regarding cast credits? (I remember in Zucker/Abrahams/Zucker movies they inserted jokes into the final credits.)
In 1971 I wrote a paper for English class on the assassination of Abraham Lincoln. I got a D for the effort which was the highest grade in the class by the way. A real tight ass of a teacher. I saved a copy of the paper and handed in the exact report in my freshman college English class. I got an A+ and the teacher encouraged me to take up writing full time.
It's all about timing.
Political leanings also inform subjectivity when it comes to comedy. When a normal person laughs, it's from watching a sitcom or movie. When a Republican laughs, it's because a poor person who didn't have health insurance has died.
K's are funny, also T's. M's are not funny. Pickle is funny. (I'm sure Ken gets this reference even if my memory is only sort of close to the lines.)
My first wife used to tell me, "You think you're funny, but you're not." My second wife has been my partner for years as we've made a good living writing topical comedy for radio, TV and the Internet. This is one of many reasons why my first wife is known as "my first wife."
The comments in here, are starting to get especially creepy...
I had been hearing for years what an awful film "Valley of the Dolls" is. Finally saw it this weekend on the new movie channel and rather enjoyed it (and still, after five days, I can't get the main title song out of my head!) Kudos to John Williams on the excellent job in scoring the film/adapting André and Dory Previn's songs (John's first Academy Award nomination I understand).
Ten Q reminds me of Don Steele in "Grand Theft Auto" (Ron Howard movie, not video game)
WB Jax: Have you seen the "sequel" written by Roger Ebert? "This is my happening and it freaks me out!" "Z-Man, you're a chick!"
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