Subject: RE: BS: greatest written comedy From: Dave Hanson Date: 22 Sep 04 - 05:59 AM Gilbert O'Sullivan isn't funny ? eric |
Subject: RE: BS: greatest written comedy From: Sam L Date: 21 Sep 04 - 09:21 AM Another Gogol fan! I wouldn't disqualify plays, they're written, and also performed. Not everyone likes reading them, but still, there they are. I guess you'd have to allow movie and t.v. scripts, if you actually were reading them. |
Subject: RE: BS: greatest written comedy From: GUEST,James Date: 21 Sep 04 - 08:21 AM Books.........Cold Comfort Farm by Stella Gibbons, Dead Souls, Gogol. Three Men In A Boat, Jerome Jerome,The Wisdom of Shepherds by Rhett Ellis(unintentionally), Lots of things by Stephen Leacock...Tristam Shandy. Film..Monty Python, The Holy Grail. Theatre...Gilbert and Sullivan |
Subject: RE: BS: greatest written comedy From: muppett Date: 21 Sep 04 - 04:53 AM The hitch hiker's guide to the galaxy is back on the radio tonight (the 2nd book I think) radio 4 6.30pm. |
Subject: RE: BS: greatest written comedy From: Dave Hanson Date: 21 Sep 04 - 04:42 AM Twinkle twinkle little star. Now I know just what you are. A lump of rusting rocket case. A rubbish tip in outer space. [ Spike Milligan ] eric |
Subject: RE: BS: greatest written comedy From: Teresa Date: 21 Sep 04 - 03:05 AM "Twinkle, twinkle, little bat, How I wonder what you're at. Up above the world so high, Like a teatray in the sky ..." _Alice's Adventures in wonderland_ ;) T |
Subject: RE: BS: greatest written comedy From: Bert Date: 21 Sep 04 - 02:58 AM Hasn't ANYONE heard of Lewis Carroll? |
Subject: RE: BS: greatest written comedy From: HuwG Date: 21 Sep 04 - 01:01 AM If the criteria here is purely "written" comedy, then several of the suggestions above must be disqualified as they are visual or recorded humour, rather than written. For example, Monty Python's films, Monty Python and the Holy Grail", and Life of Brian are probably the most hilarious films I will ever see, but these originated as film scripts, designed to be seen rather than read. (Also, the remarkable slapstick skills of the Pythons and the supporting cast contributed to much of the humour). Likewise, Toms Stoppard's play and film, Rosenkrantz and guildenstern are dead is meant to be seen on stage rather than read. If the criteria is restricted to that which causes the reader to guffaw suddenly when alone or in company, then obviously Spike Milligan's works must rank high. Also, Wodehouse, Jerome K. Jerome, Thurber and Twain. I have always enjoyed Garrison Keillor's stuff, even without hearing his lugubrious tones over BBC Radio 4. May I nominate british author Michael Green, who wrote some hilarious books forty years ago on the subjects of coarse golf, rugby, sailing, acting and moving house. |
Subject: RE: BS: greatest written comedy From: Sam L Date: 20 Sep 04 - 06:49 PM Death of a salesman? M.Ted? It has a very funny side, yes, but I'm of the camp that thinks it's almost as good as it's supposed to be. Conrad's Heart of Darkness is hilarious, and Murder In The Cathedral always reminds me of Monty Python. In this vein, Raymond Carver is also hilarious, maybe my most favorite. Italo Calvino in a sunnier way. Any theories about what's funny? I'm beginning to form a few. I think when one laughs it presupposes a sharing--even if the person is not present with whom you mean to share the laugh. (Laughing alone and to oneself is a cliche' tradition of the madman.) Any other theories? |
Subject: RE: BS: greatest written comedy From: M.Ted Date: 20 Sep 04 - 04:19 PM Nearly anything by Joyce Carol Oates--all of the original Sherlock Holmes stories, and of course, "Death of a Salesman"-- |
Subject: RE: BS: greatest written comedy From: dick greenhaus Date: 20 Sep 04 - 11:02 AM Greatest? Humor isn't a competitive event, unlike Irish fiddling and pop folksinging. I will suggest, though, that Twain's piece on Jemes Fenimore cooper and the Skinner/Kimbrough book "Our hearts were young and Gay", as well as almost anything by Stephen Leacock managed to render me helpless with laughter. Leacock, who is largely forgotten today, was responsible for gms like "He jumped on his horse and rode off madly in all directions" |
Subject: RE: BS: greatest written comedy From: Steve Latimer Date: 20 Sep 04 - 09:01 AM I'm a golf nut. Wodehouse wrote some hilarious golf stories. |
Subject: RE: BS: greatest written comedy From: GUEST,F.O.Kite Date: 20 Sep 04 - 07:32 AM "Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines" |
Subject: RE: BS: greatest written comedy From: Big Al Whittle Date: 20 Sep 04 - 06:28 AM Seasons Greetings by Alan Ayckbourn Any one of a dozen scenes in Mike Leigh's Life is Sweet |
Subject: RE: BS: greatest written comedy From: darkriver Date: 20 Sep 04 - 02:54 AM With one exception, I've found all the above suggestions very funny as well. I recently read Thurber's "The Car We Used to Push" to my 14-year-old, and we both ended up on the floor when I got to the Get-Ready Man during the production of King Lear. Some of PG Wodehouse's funniest effects are achieved only because they are printed--they'd make little sense read aloud. I'm thinking of Bertie's tendency to use initials. I dunno if I'd laugh now, but I remember thinking Tom Robbins's Another Roadside Attraction very funny. (The exception I mentioned above is Confederacy of Dunces. My reaction was strange: I read it, and could see what O'Toole was doing, but I just couldn't laugh at it. It seemed too strained or something. Doug |
Subject: RE: BS: greatest written comedy From: Rt Revd Sir jOhn from Hull Date: 20 Sep 04 - 12:36 AM thats not funny, its rubbish. |
Subject: RE: BS: greatest written comedy From: Teresa Date: 20 Sep 04 - 12:00 AM Pardon? er um, the URL goes in there, too, John. :) t |
Subject: RE: BS: greatest written comedy From: John Hardly Date: 19 Sep 04 - 10:38 PM Of course, there's always this guy |
Subject: RE: BS: greatest written comedy From: bflat Date: 19 Sep 04 - 10:00 PM How about Arsenic and Old Lace and The Importance of Being Earnest? Wonderful comic timing! I like everything Mel Brooks puts his name on. Ellen |
Subject: RE: BS: greatest written comedy From: GUEST,SueB Date: 19 Sep 04 - 03:59 PM Yes! Dave Barry! for the girls, especially, Dave Barry's Guide to Guys. Earlier stuff is better. |
Subject: RE: BS: greatest written comedy From: John Hardly Date: 19 Sep 04 - 08:22 AM You're all so erudite. Dave Barry. |
Subject: RE: BS: greatest written comedy From: MBSLynne Date: 19 Sep 04 - 07:47 AM I second Terry Pratchett...anything by Terry Pratchett...everything by Terry Pratchett. The other books that made me laugh out loud frequently were the "All Creatures Great and Small" ones by James Herriott and Gerald Durrell's books. |
Subject: RE: BS: greatest written comedy From: s6k Date: 19 Sep 04 - 06:16 AM derek & clive |
Subject: RE: BS: greatest written comedy From: Dave Hanson Date: 19 Sep 04 - 03:55 AM I am not the Messiah, oh yes you are and I should know I've followed a few. Allright I am the Messiah.............now FUCK OFF |
Subject: RE: BS: greatest written comedy From: The Fooles Troupe Date: 19 Sep 04 - 03:40 AM Mel Brooks has a long history of written and performed comedy - I remember him from the 1970's. It's kind of sad that he is only likely to be remembered for the longest fart in cinema - in the movie 'Blazing Saddles' - Let us have a minute's slience and hold our noses for 'The Spaw of the Cinema'. |
Subject: RE: BS: greatest written comedy From: Teresa Date: 18 Sep 04 - 11:53 PM I've read so many good ones ... but ok, faves off the top of my head: I did love "A Confederacy of Dunces" Anything by Eliot Fintushel, very bizarre sense of humor. Eric Flint's "Joe's World" fantasy-spoof series, beginning with "The Philosophical Strangler" ... lots of nods to Joseph Conrad and a spoof of an Icelandic saga ... Ok, if anyone remembers the name of this one and the author ... kind of stream-of-consciousness with the author gradually taking letters out of the alphabet a chapter at a time and then putting them back in again. All I can think of for the moment ... oh, and _Kind Hearts and coronets_ is one of my favorite movies of all time. T |
Subject: RE: BS: greatest written comedy From: Bert Date: 18 Sep 04 - 11:24 PM Right on there S&R. You can't read wilt without laughing out loud. Then there's Trapp's War by Brian Callisson. Although that gets a bit serious further on. And any of the Dover books by Joyce Porter. Particularly the climax of Dover Goes to Pot. The heroine is standing on the ledge threatening to jump and Dover goes out onto the ledge and says "Jump you silly bitch!" |
Subject: RE: BS: greatest written comedy From: frogprince Date: 18 Sep 04 - 11:14 PM I had never heard of Monty Python before I saw "The Holy Grail", so I had no idea what hit me. I sat there with aching ribs and tears running down my face. "Young Frankenstein" is right up there for me, too. And I second the vote for "Dr. Strangelove": a masterpiece of vicious, frightening, hilarious genius. |
Subject: RE: BS: greatest written comedy From: Steve Latimer Date: 18 Sep 04 - 10:40 PM I loved Douglas Adam's Hitchicker's Guide "trilogy". I have just got around to Catch 22, I have to admit it has been a long time since I have laughed out loud so much reading a book. While I was in High School I had a book called Bert Fegg's "Nasty" Book of Knowledge". It was by the Python crew. I remember reading it alone at lunch, tears streaming down my face, unable to breathe or explain to anyone what I was laughing at. I loaned it out to someone and I didn't get it back. I don't think it's still in print. I wonder if it would seem as funny now. 'Spaw, I read all the Groucho and Harpo Books. I too would have loved to have been a fly on the wall at the Algonquin Round Table. Steinbeck's "Cannery Row" and "Tortilla Flats" were some pretty funny books, especially compared to his more serious works. John Irving always makes me laugh. |
Subject: RE: BS: greatest written comedy From: s&r Date: 07 Sep 04 - 12:28 PM Wilt by Tom Sharpe had me in stitches |
Subject: RE: BS: greatest written comedy From: GUEST,ClaireBear Date: 07 Sep 04 - 11:44 AM Farley Mowatt's The Boat Who Wouldn't Float, which is also a ripping good adventure yarn. |
Subject: RE: BS: greatest written comedy From: PoppaGator Date: 07 Sep 04 - 10:54 AM A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole -- hands down! For an interesting article on the long (and so-far failed) effort to make a film out of this Pulitizer-Prize winning novel, click here. |
Subject: RE: BS: greatest written comedy From: The Fooles Troupe Date: 07 Sep 04 - 09:26 AM Chris Langham, who worked with Spike Milligan for a while, has been doing lots of very good clever subtle stuff - some for the BBCTV. We in Aus got to see his 'ultimate cooking show' recently, and just now has started a new (for us) series of 'People Like Us'. The actors he uses in this show are brillant - sort of like a parody of 'Reality TV'... :-) I had the opportunity to see him live some years ago, and he was very good live. If you walked into his show after he had started - well you never did THAT again... :-) Robin |
Subject: RE: BS: greatest written comedy From: alanabit Date: 07 Sep 04 - 09:12 AM I enjoyed Douglas Adams a lot too. I think he had a very unusual style of humour. What a shame he had to die so early. |
Subject: RE: BS: greatest written comedy From: muppett Date: 07 Sep 04 - 09:03 AM The Hitch hiker's guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams, both the Book and the radio version were brill, but it didn't quite do it for me on the tele, a film version is in the making as well, lets hope that's better. |
Subject: RE: BS: greatest written comedy From: alanabit Date: 07 Sep 04 - 06:45 AM I can't recall which Wodehouse book it comes from, but my favourite line fron any book comes from him. Wooster has just left the room with his nose in the air after a row with his terrifying aunt: "It is not possible to combine dignified sauntering with tripping over a cat." Why can't we all write like that? |
Subject: RE: BS: greatest written comedy From: Stilly River Sage Date: 06 Sep 04 - 11:39 PM When I was a kid we had two books that in particular came out often for bedtime reading. One was a collection of poems, edited by Louis Untermeyer, called Rainbow in the Sky. The other was a collection, edited by Bennett Cerf, called Houseful of Laughter. My kids find most of it just as funny as we did. That's where the Thurber bit came from that I posted above. SRS |
Subject: RE: BS: greatest written comedy From: catspaw49 Date: 06 Sep 04 - 09:18 PM I must admit to thinking that the Show of Shows and all its people were the funniest and cleverest. They are classics of comedy---but prior---who can forget the early Marx Bros. Yours very truly, Rufus T Firefly Obviously not I. Regards, Hugo Z. Hackenbush |
Subject: RE: BS: greatest written comedy From: Bill Hahn//\\ Date: 06 Sep 04 - 07:43 PM I must admit to thinking that the Show of Shows and all its people were the funniest and cleverest. They are classics of comedy---but prior---who can forget the early Marx Bros. Yours very truly, Rufus T Firefly |
Subject: RE: BS: greatest written comedy From: GUEST,fred miller Date: 06 Sep 04 - 07:25 PM Huck Finn was the first big book I ever read, at 9 or 10. A little too early, maybe, it messed me up. |
Subject: RE: BS: greatest written comedy From: SINSULL Date: 06 Sep 04 - 07:11 PM Not the greatest but a very funny read: Jerry Dellafamina's (SP?) "From Those Wonderful Folks Who Gave You Pearl Harbor", about advertising. |
Subject: RE: BS: greatest written comedy From: GUEST,Jim Dixon Date: 06 Sep 04 - 06:17 PM Among Mark Twain's essays, I like "The Awful German Language" and "How I Edited an Agricultural Paper." Among his short stories and sketches, "Buck Fanshaw's Funeral" and "The Blue Jay Yarn." "Innocents Abroad" is hilarious in places. "Huckleberry Finn" is not all funny, but it can be appreciated on many levels, and can be read several times during a lifetime. It's not too early to start now. I agree that "Catch-22" is the world's funniest novel, but I'm afraid much of the dark humor will be over the heads of kids. It's all about hypocrisy, really. |
Subject: RE: BS: greatest written comedy From: catspaw49 Date: 06 Sep 04 - 10:41 AM One other thing.......It's starting to be seen in this thread. There are two times I would have loved to be the mouse in the corner or the fly on the wall. First during the days of the Algonquin Round Table and the other during the meetings of the writing staff Sid Caesar's "Your Show of Shows." Spaw |
Subject: RE: BS: greatest written comedy From: Jeanie Date: 06 Sep 04 - 10:26 AM I'll second P.G.Wodehouse, too, and add Dorothy Parker - I love the type of humour and writing style of both Everything done with a wry smile. As far as stage comedies are concerned, the one I laughed at the most and was left aching from was "Noises Off" by Michael Frayn. Certainly not "high-brow" - just plain, good old, well-constructed farce. As for columnists, the late John Diamond was brilliant. I always used to read his pieces first. - jeanie |
Subject: RE: BS: greatest written comedy From: catspaw49 Date: 06 Sep 04 - 10:26 AM If I had to pick one book that consistently makes me laugh even after dozens of readings, it's a collection of shorts by Woody Allen called "Without Feathers." I also love the writing of George Kaufman, S.J.Perleman, and even Groucho. There is something in all of them where the logical often becomes insane and the insane completely logical that appeals to my canted mind. Spaw |
Subject: RE: BS: greatest written comedy From: Paco Rabanne Date: 06 Sep 04 - 08:55 AM Anything by P.G.Wodehouse. |
Subject: RE: BS: greatest written comedy From: greg stephens Date: 06 Sep 04 - 08:53 AM For very parochial humour(I think only British people would find them funny, and maybe only English) I suggest "England their England" and "Cold Comfort Farm". For more univeral humour, Thurber, or any late night post by Sir JOhn from Hull. |
Subject: RE: BS: greatest written comedy From: M'Grath of Altcar Date: 06 Sep 04 - 07:27 AM Puckoon - Spike Milligan - laughed until my face ached - Spud Murphy - the man with a face like a potato. |
Subject: RE: BS: greatest written comedy From: Sttaw Legend Date: 06 Sep 04 - 07:17 AM Adolph Hitler my part in his downfall Mussolini his part in my downfall Puckoon Essential Spike Milligan Lady Chatterley's Lover according to Spike Milligan Goon Show The Bible the Old testament according to Spike Milligan Rommel gunner who plus and many others |
Subject: RE: BS: greatest written comedy From: ard mhacha Date: 06 Sep 04 - 07:01 AM Spike Milligan a very funny man, both peculiar and the ha ha variety. |