Yeah, there were a few years in the early nineties where I really began to hate what was valued as funny and just sort of what was valued in stand-up, period.
Sentiment: NEGATIVE
I think we grew up thinking that the funniest things on TV were the old, serious movies. I always liked the Marx Brothers, but the thing that always made us laugh were movies like Zero Hour. That's what inspired us.
I grew up watching all these crazy movies, European movies and stuff, and I guess that I always laughed at things that were a little more offbeat.
My brothers were funny, and there was a lot of shtick and comedy and nastiness and violence and fighting and sports.
I think up until the point when we started in the business, which was in the early '70s, most of the humor was political. The smart humor was political satire.
I always hated high-school shows and high-school movies, because they were always about the cool kids. It was always about dating and sex, and all the popular kids, and the good-looking kids. And the nerds were super-nerdy cartoons, with tape on their glasses. I never saw 'my people' portrayed accurately.
During the Great Depression, when people laughed their worries disappeared. Audiences loved these funny men. I decided to become one.
I disliked everything about the '60s.
I was always a funny guy. I don't think anybody that makes it to this level of stand-up wasn't a funny guy when they were young.
I think that I recall the nostalgic '50s: the start of early television and rock-and-roll, and I think everything seemed to get very generic. Not much has changed.
I was a huge fan of comedy when I was a child.