What comedy routine still defines your life?

When I first met my wife I realized that she was a very serious person and my goal was to get her to laugh before I asked her out.

One day I just walked up to her and said “I bet I can make you laugh” She just looked with a “who is this guy” kind of smirk. Then I looked her straight in the eye and said calmly “SHOELACES” She cracked up laughing and couldn’t stop. We’ve been together ever since.

I also use to do the tripping over furniture to the floor Dick van Dyke style which would bring a chuckle also.

Personally, I see a lot of comedians as the thinkers of our time, and I take the words of comedians farm more seriously than those of politicians.

Names such as: George Carlin, Louis CK, Doug Stanhope, Bill Hicks, Bill Burr, and Lewis Black come to mind to name a few. Some I take more serious than others.

Like you, there is probably not a week that goes past that I don’t think “it’s just a ride” or “it’s all bullshit”.

Comedians probably have a greater influence over my life than any other kind of entertainment or media.

I always remember and keep in mind, how in olden days, the only person who could tell the king the truth without losing his head for it was the jester, because he could frase it like a joke.

The original Dick van Dyke show is a personal ‘top 10’ of mine, @JimTurner. Even though I’m a guy, I’ve been known to exclaim “Of, Roooob!” in falsetto on occasion. :)

I agree about the influence in my life, @poisonedantidote. And comedians as thinkers of our time immediately brought Gallagher to mind. Some times (like Carlin and robin Williams) you almost needed a ‘slo-mo’ button.

@ibstubro That show cracked me up. A true classic.

Carol Burnett and Tim Conway.

Nowt defines my life, that’s a little extreme, but I do often yell ”Enter!!” when there’s a knock at the door.
It’s from The Sunshine Boys, Walter Matthau…legend.

George Carlin’s routines always spoke loud and clear (loudly and clearly?) to the cynical side of the otherwise pathetically naive me.

All their life my children grew up hearing “I hate when THAT happens!” every time someone would do something stupid that caused pain.
One day my oldest daughter called me in tears laughing. She said, “I was watching an old Saturday night live episode and I finally get what you mean every time you say “I hate when THAT happens!”
Try as I might, I can’t find a clip for the younger generation here,

Yes, @Pachyderm_In_The_Room Carlin’s genius was that he could turn an ordinary phrase into a thought provoking moment. Verbal speed bumps in our otherwise ‘onward and upward’ lives.

@Judi I think a lot of the old SNL material is unavailable. It was locked down too long before the digital age. I looked for a skit a while back that I thought would be a cinch, and never found it, either. Unfortunate in this digital age that so much humor is being withheld from the younger generation.

I found something that looked like kids trying to recreate it in black and white but that’s about it. I don’t know how my daughter saw it.

In college (20 years ago), me and about 8 other guys would have entire dinner conversations comprised of nothing but bastardized quotes from
Pulp Fiction, the Simpsons, Four Weddings and a Funeral, and The Jerky Boys.

Lately, it’s been a little bit of another hard to find SNL bit—“Chicken make lousy housepet.”

@Judi I went looking for a land shark clip a couple of weeks ago and I couldn’t find one either. I think that’s a little odd.

THAT’S IT, @Judi. I went looking for @Dutchess_III‘s land shark, thinking that she just didn’t try had enough. I never found it either.

Clever bunch @kevbo. Too bad someone didn’t record for posterity. I think it’s a shame that SNL is being withheld. It seems only the (largely inane) “Best of Chevy Chase” recordings have made it into the public domain.

What flashed into my mind is my parents are the Flintstones, which I guess is the Honeymooners by default. Wilma used to call her husband Fat Freddy and my mom calls my dad (behind his back) Chubby Lastname. His lastname starts Ch so it is an alliteration. My dad has some very close friends from the gradeschool years who he still keeps up with. I grew up calling them Encle so and so. They don’t really do as many hairbrained things as Barney and Fred, but they are like a comedy routine themselves when together. Crazy conversations, crazy stories of childhood. Same sarcasm.

Chevy Chase’s pratfalls for physical endurance and humor.

Sorry hun, @Dutchess_III. I skipped over the life defining Carol and Tim. Harvey Korman was better than Tim, though. Sorry. ;-)

@JLeslie People that think The Flinstones/Honeymooners are sexist totally don’t get the fact that the women are wearing the pants in the families.

Yes, @Tropical_Willie, you would have thought he would have been black and blue all the time.

I never knew people thought the shows were sexist?

“To the moon, Alice!”

There was a time when people tried to define Ralph as a spouse abusing bigot.

They don’t understand the humor. I was in Tunica, MS to see Ray Ramon standup and Brad Garrett did a short schtick also and someone in the audience asked why he was so mean. He made fun of and was sarcastic about some Jewish stuff, basically making fun of himself and family. The lady in the audience didn’t get it. I doubt she was Jewish and offended, she was southern probably and didn’t get it.

Remember the “Bass-o-matic” on SNL? lol

I’m a comedy lover too but most of the memorable moments/routines have been my own.
The time, after moving to the hills here in the early 90’s when something massacred my flock of chickens. I called a friend and exclaimed into the phone:
” dead, dead, they’re ALL dead!

She thought I was talking about my family! lol
To this day we laugh about that inside joke, whenever we’re really upset about something we exclaim ” dead, dead, they’re all dead!”
Never mind, ya had to be a part of it.

“Because I’m good enough, I’m smart enough and gosh darn it, people like me!”

@Coloma , One of our funny stories was when I used to drink. My baby brother, first husband and I were playing quarters. My husband started to get in a drunken argument with me.
My brother exclaimed, “You better listen to her! I didn’t listen to her and I got a scab because of it!”
Although both of them are dead now, I still think of them when someone doesn’t listen to me.

Tim Minchin “Storm”

I’m really old school “What a revoltin’ development this is!

I do beavis and butt head at work and many of my younger colleagues have no clue what I’m referencing.

I often quote Stuart too, @jonsblond. Probably like to that quote once a month or so.

I don’t knoe Tim. @Rarebear. I’ll look it up later.

Good memory, that, @YARNLADY.

@drhat77 I think most of us have had that experience. Always makes me wonder how May/December relationships work/

Steve Martin “I was born a poor black child”, so funny. Remember that one?

@KNOWITALL LOL..Yes..great movie.

“all I need is this astray, all I need is this bathrobe,....”

I swear I remember this even though it’s hidden as hell because Johnny Carson got hit with a lawsuit over it…..

Winnie Palmer, was seated on the couch, next to her husband
Arnold Palmer (pro golfer,) who was a headline guest on The Tonight Show. Johnny asked Winnie if she had any routine or did anything for luck before her husband’s big tournaments.
She said, “Yes, I kiss his balls.”
Johnny Carson froze, turned and looked at the camera with wide, astonished eyes and said, “I bet that makes his putter stand up!”
I swear, the audience in the studio AND at home were ON the floor! And, like I said, poor Johnny got sued. :( Stingy old biddie.

@Dutchess_III , Wasn’t there a time when one of the Gabor sisters brought her cat to the Johnny Carson Show? She said, “Do you want to pet my pussy??”
He said, “Hike your skirt up a bit and I will.”
I don’t remember if he got sued but she as really mad and he got in some trouble over it.

I…somehow don’t think he’d go that far, but I’ll check!

Well, there is this. I guess I need to check Snopes for the Putter thing too!

Well, guess th putter thing was a legend too. Sigh. I could just SWEAR I can still hear him saying it!

@ibstubro Here you go
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KtYkyB35zkk

George Carlin and his “Wonderful W-I-N-O” radio disc jockey routine. Reminds of the days I spent working behind the mic when radio was worth listening to.

One of my favorite SNL skits
http://www.snotr.com/video/422/

Oh, I’ve never seen that! That’s insane! ^^^

@ibstubro Just FYI Gilda said, “Did that come outta ME? Am I gonna DIE?

And of course the immortal Roseanne Roseannedanna.

“Anyone can take a reservation; the important thing is to hold the reservation.”

Funny, @KNOWITALL, Steve Martin was an acquired taste for me. The Jerk was before I acquired the taste, So I’ve never seen all of it. The parts I saw later, I liked.

I’ve not heard the Palmer story before, @Dutchess_III. I’m sure his insurance ‘wood’ have covered the lawsuit so it was a lot of good publicity for Carson. He was a great. Oh, and for the record, Walter Cronkite said to Roseanne when she scooted forward on her vinyl chair while he was eating his ham loaf sandwich (What ARE those little yellow bits anyway?)

HILARIOUS @Rarebear. Loved it. New to me. Is that a legitimate accent?

Yeah, Carlin was a great, @TheRealOldHippie. Always making you think and laugh.

Good one, @stanleybmanly. I remember a Murphy skit about the names of black kids boarding a bus that was hilarious, too.

Sorry, I don’t know that one, @janbb.

@ibstubro Yes. He’s Australian. Subscribe to his Youtube channel—he has a ton of videos there.

http://www.youtube.com/user/timminchin/videos

I can’t @Rarebear. I have satellite internet with limited usage. Even that one was long enough I kept thinking I should cut it off, but just couldn’t. He sounds kinda Georgia Southerner in King Arthur’s Court to me.

There have never been any specific routines that had much impact but, if it helps, my formative years were split between Andy Kaufman, The Young Ones, and early David Letterman Show.

since we’re being honest, there was a liberal dose of hee-haw present as well.

Ed Grimley was pretty good at making me mental ya must know!

All 70’s SNL. “Jane, you ignorant slut.”

My sister is 3 years older than me, and named Jane. You cannot imagine how many times that phrase reverberated in my head—and was said—in the 70’s. It was just so shockingly funny coming from the TV in a more innocent time.

Not to mention that Ackroyd and Curtain were perfect parody of 60 minutes!

Thanks for a chuckle. @Dutchess_III.

Oh, yeah. I remember clearly the first time Ackroyd said it! I was SHOCKED!! Then laughing uproariously.

One day, in the late 70’s, my sister and I were walking with my dad. I was out in front, they were side by side behind me. My sister said something and I shot back with “Lex, you ignorant slut!”
She shot right back, “I’m not ignorant!”
My dad said, ”Alexis Mary Sue!!!!” LOL to this day over that one! :D