Back in the late Sixties, one of the networks put on a comedy program that was supposed to compete with "Laugh-In." And "Laugh-In" was such a power-house that any show trying to compete with it in the same time-slot was a formula for show-biz suicide. I don't remember the name of the show, but within a couple of months, the good ones (as I recall, that included Lily Tomlin) had moved over to "Laugh-In" and the new show that was supposed to compete with it was cancelled.

This short-lived comedy show was Steve Martin's first exposure on the national scene. I thought he was stupid and inane then, and although I haven't seen much of his work at all within recent years, the last time I saw him on television about a year ago, he was still just as stupid and inane. Helluva banjo player, though!

I sort of put him in the same category as Jerry Lewis. In both cases, neither comedian (?) seemed to be able to distinguish between "funny" and "just plain silly."

Steve Martin did have at least one shtick that I thought was pretty funny, though. I think it was in "The Jerk," where he was reading a letter aloud that had got wet, and as the ink smeared and ran and the letter became less and less readable, he got more and more mush-mouthed. Now that was funny!

Don Rickles I didn't consider funny either. His stock in trade was insults, and to me, a lot of his stuff just sounded kind of mean-spirited rather than funny.

There are a lot of comics that I think are funnier than hell, and I've been accused of having a universal sense of humor. I mean, I think "Two and a Half Men" is hilarious and I crack up over "The Red Green Show."

Don Firth