June 2- Another Funny Guy Leaves the Stage
Another very funny guy is gone. Seems I’m writing obituary stuff more and more lately. Harvey Korman- master of funny characterizations- who we loved in Carol Burnett shows and Mel Brooks flicks, who, when teamed with Tim Conway, was so funny even THEY couldn’t keep from breaking up, passed away last week. We’ve lost another terrific comedy actor.
I guess we’re facing a new cycle of losing famed comedy names- we went through the era of the loss of what I guess the people of my generation might call the “Golden Age” comics- Groucho Marx, Jack Benny, Bob Hope, Lucy, George Burns…and now, unfortunately, the “Silver Age” comedy stars will begin to leave us. I have a feeling Harvey Korman and the recently departed Dick Martin might have slight overlap on the edges of either side of the “Silver Age” but that’s where I’d put the bulk of their work.
I was even thinking of how many of the “contemporary” comedy names we’ve lost- Andy Kaufman, John Belushi, Sam Kinison, Chris Farley- and was reflecting on, more often than not, but certainly with some exceptions, the causes of the contemporary comics’ deaths were not the old age infirmity that claims those of the previous generations.
As these comedians pass away- do we lose certain forms of comedy at which they were expert? For example, the gentle, gradually building humor of Laurel and Hardy- have we lost some of the techniques they practiced- especially since it has become rarer and rarer to have the opportunity to see their work?
Have we become less demanding, as well? When we see Saturday Night Live cast members who actually, compared to earlier actors and comics, are kind of mediocre- and yet, they end up being the superstars just because there’s nobody that much better around in their environment- is it because we’re willing to settle- or, are some people still creatures of habit who think anything on SNL is, in the words of hack comedian Kenny Bania on “Seinfeld”- “it’s gold, Jerry- GOLD!”(In fact- would Kenny Bania now be a superstar?!)
When we see these great comedy stars go- it may be truly the end of a lot of eras. I remember, back at a previous station, when John Belushi died, one of my co-workers (remembering the Richard Simmons story of when he was overweight, and an anonymous friend left him the note to the effect of “fat people die young- please don’t die”) –left a note on my desk reading “Funny people die young- please don’t die”(Not that a bottom-feeder like me gets near Belushi comedy status.) It’s sad when truly funny people of any age are gone.
I guess we’re facing a new cycle of losing famed comedy names- we went through the era of the loss of what I guess the people of my generation might call the “Golden Age” comics- Groucho Marx, Jack Benny, Bob Hope, Lucy, George Burns…and now, unfortunately, the “Silver Age” comedy stars will begin to leave us. I have a feeling Harvey Korman and the recently departed Dick Martin might have slight overlap on the edges of either side of the “Silver Age” but that’s where I’d put the bulk of their work.
I was even thinking of how many of the “contemporary” comedy names we’ve lost- Andy Kaufman, John Belushi, Sam Kinison, Chris Farley- and was reflecting on, more often than not, but certainly with some exceptions, the causes of the contemporary comics’ deaths were not the old age infirmity that claims those of the previous generations.
As these comedians pass away- do we lose certain forms of comedy at which they were expert? For example, the gentle, gradually building humor of Laurel and Hardy- have we lost some of the techniques they practiced- especially since it has become rarer and rarer to have the opportunity to see their work?
Have we become less demanding, as well? When we see Saturday Night Live cast members who actually, compared to earlier actors and comics, are kind of mediocre- and yet, they end up being the superstars just because there’s nobody that much better around in their environment- is it because we’re willing to settle- or, are some people still creatures of habit who think anything on SNL is, in the words of hack comedian Kenny Bania on “Seinfeld”- “it’s gold, Jerry- GOLD!”(In fact- would Kenny Bania now be a superstar?!)
When we see these great comedy stars go- it may be truly the end of a lot of eras. I remember, back at a previous station, when John Belushi died, one of my co-workers (remembering the Richard Simmons story of when he was overweight, and an anonymous friend left him the note to the effect of “fat people die young- please don’t die”) –left a note on my desk reading “Funny people die young- please don’t die”(Not that a bottom-feeder like me gets near Belushi comedy status.) It’s sad when truly funny people of any age are gone.
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Bottom feeder? Please! You're the tops in my book!
BC