The comedian, an officer and a joke that misfired; By Frank Walker
September 26, 2004; The Sun-Herald

Australian comedian George Smilovici has been reprimanded for a joke that upset a senior American military officer during a concert tour of the Middle East. Smilovici said he was shocked to receive a letter after his performances in Oman and Kuwait telling him to back off certain topics. Smilovici and his Australian military minder would not repeat the joke that upset the US allies. They put it down to differing senses of humour.

But Smilovici did admit to telling some John Howard and George Bush jokes, but said these weren't the jokes that upset the upper echelons of the allied military ranks earlier in the tour. "I said John Howard was like Mr Sheen 'cleaning up'. I also did some benign jokes about President Bush, suggesting Mike Moore was his publicity agent." Speaking yesterday from Baghdad after performing for 2000 Australian, American and British troops, Smilovici said it had been made clear there were "certain sensitivities" about the types of jokes he could tell. Some topics were "off limits".

It was after one of his earlier concerts in Oman and Kuwait that he got a "little letter" advising him to avoid sensitive issues. "I found it ironic as I have been a schoolteacher and lectured in universities on political correctness, and to get this letter was a total and utter shock," Smilovici said. "But it doesn't reflect what the audience felt, and I have a tape of the show to prove it. They were rolling on the floor with laughter."

Smilovici felt he couldn't go into the details of the complaint while he was still on the tour, but did say the letter "mentioned that there were sensitivities here and I had to live up to that in the performance". "I didn't really understand the letter and what it was getting at," he said. "True comedy comes out of real situations and really biting humour comes out of tragedy. There is a lot of tragedy here and they are just busting to let go."

He said he steered clear of jokes that might be seen as opposing the Iraq war as Americans were proud and patriotic, but did tell a few Saddam jokes that went down well. "People on the ground in Iraq are doing a tough job and good luck to them." The Australian military spokesman for the concert tour, Lieutenant Colonel Robert Barnes, said Smilovici had made a "joke that didn't translate too well".

"A lot of troops feel every day is like groundhog day and don't see an end in sight to the routine, and this really broke it up for them," Bessie Bardot (one of the performers) said. Navy Chief Petty Officer Phil Robertson, 38, of Canberra, said the concert was a breath of fresh air after three months in Baghdad. "We need a few laughs here as not an awful lot of funny things happen in Baghdad," he said.

The entertainers will perform on HMAS Adelaide in the Persian Gulf before returning to Australia.