As I think about the things that I am most passionate about, I just assume that sports would top the list. But, as I sit here pen to paper (or finger to keyboard), I realize that humor has been the most important common denominator in my life. Even during the saddest and toughest of times, it has been humor that has helped keep me going. Whether its the telling of a joke, making light of a situation or just not taking life too seriously, I have discovered that laughter is the cure to what ails you.
As I think back to my youth, I remember constantly being surrounded by humor. The uncle who always had a joke to tell. I thought he always started a sentence with, "Did you hear about the....", or maybe it was my grade school friends who all thought they were aspiring comedians as we taunted each other with endless rank outs and family insults. Everything was fair game to hurl at one another, a fathers vocation, a mothers fashion style, out of proportion body parts or the family cars. Sometimes it was very mean spirited, but there were other times, that with some voice inflection, props and some acting chops, you could turn the insults into some humorous entertainment. It was here that I discovered how to be funny and how people reacted to me being funny. It also didn't hurt when the girls would say, "Oh that Jeff, he makes me laugh".
I think that the other factor in my love for humor was television. TV became more of a cultural fixture in society during the 1960's and it was the variety shows and sit-coms that made us laugh. I remember Phil Silvers as Sgt. Bilko, The Dick Van Dyke Show, The Honeymooners, and of course everybody loved Lucy. As I got a bit older, there was one night my parents used to let me stay up late, Thursdays, so I could watch The Dean Martin Show. Some of you may have seen the infomercial for the program that runs late at night, but, believe me when I tell you, this was a weekly happening of some of the funniest moments ever seen on the screen. It was while watching this show and the Ed Sullivan Show, that I became exposed to some of the funniest comedians in the business.
One comedian who immediately became one of my favorites was Don Rickles. Maybe it was because he was a Jewish boy from Queens, maybe it was because his insult humor reminded me of the rank outs my friends and I used to throw at each other, but, a Don Rickles guest spot on a show was must see TV in my house. It was what live TV was meant to be, unpredictable. You never knew what would happen when Rickles was on. He would cause chaos whenever he was on Carson's couch. He was quick witted, honest and out of his mind. He recorded an album called, "Hello Dummy", which I immediately memorized.
I think that my ability to relate to the humor of Don Rickles got me started on my quest to trace the roots of his humor. It is the ethnicity of the humor that led me to my capstone project of producing a documentary on Jewish humor. Rickles made a career out of insulting others while at the same time putting himself and his heritage down. As I began thinking about some of my other favorite comics, Robert Klein, Alan King, and Buddy Hackett , I realized that this self-deprecating humor was prevalent in all of their acts. I wondered if the Jewish culture of putting themselves down was a survival technique bred from a world of anti-semitism. So I venture into this project not sure where it will lead me. I do know the end result will be funny and I hope I can get someone to say, "Hey, did you hear about the......".
Don Rickles is amazing.
ReplyDelete