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Jewish World Review
June 22, 2005
/ 15 Sivan, 5765
Why most comedy today stinks
By
Jimmie Walker
http://www.JewishWorldReview.com |
The state of comedy has changed drastically since I started in the sixties.
Ed Sullivan, Jack Parr, Johnny Carson, Merv Griffin, and variety shows like Laugh-In, The Smothers Brothers, Glen Campbell, Mac Davis, and Sonny and Cher were the focus of comics. Game shows like Password, I've Got A Secret, Hollywood Squares, To Tell The Truth, and The Match Game were a great place for comics to show their wares. Clubs like The Hungry Eye in San Francisco, Mr. Kelly's in Chicago, Ciro's in Los Angeles, The Copa in New York City, and Playboy Clubs around the country were where comics worked in the sixties. Alan King, Totie Fields, Phyllis Diller, Joan Rivers, Freddie Roman, Foster Brooks, Charlie Callas, Norm Crosby, Shecky Green, Rich Little, Don Rickles, Nipsey Russell, Bill Cosby, Dick Gregory, and Myron Cohen were the comics of the day. These comics worked clean and wore suits and dresses. Most didn't have an interest in having their own TV show, although there is always the exception to the rule, Bill Cosby being the most notable.
The goal of most of these comics was to do TV, stand-up comedy, and to be popular enough to help a headliner draw in Vegas or a theater. Comedy changed when Cheech and Chong came along, a Hispanic and an Asian. They sported long hair, jeans and used four-letter words liberally. The kids loved them! It wasn't your dad's comedy anymore! They didn't do TV. They went the comedy album route instead and sold millions! They inspired George Carlin, Richard Pryor, and Steve Martin, who had been clean comics, to be more of themselves, use more language, and feel freer on stage. Comedy albums were once the domain of Bill Cosby, Bob Newhart, Mort Sahl, Lord Buckley, Redd Foxx, and others. Now, young people weren't just buying Led Zeppelin albums, they also wanted Cheech and Chong, Richar Pryor, and George Carlin albums as well.
The early days of Saturday Night Live opened the door for hipper guys like Steven Wright, Andy Kaufman, and Billy Crystal and well as many others. But a strange thing happened on the way to comedy heaven, comics lost their desire to go on the road. They lost their desire because of problems with club owners, morning radio jocks, lack of pay, and drunk or drug induced audiences. Comics opted for movies or TV development deals that have since become the norm for the new generation of comics. They found that it is easier to stay home (New York City, Los Angeles, Boston, Chicago, San Francisco, and Seattle) and work in front of a more sophisticated audience. Most try for a development deal that can pay up to a hundred thousand dollars or more. They then sit around with some studio writers and try to come up with a "new" sitcom. They don't go on the road but, they may work the local clubs on the weekend. Deals usually last for a year or so however, some negotiate deals year after year. The public never hears of most of these people, but they are making a good living. People like Harlen Williams, Louis CK, Guy Torrey, Aisha Tyler, Dave Chappelle are among the comics that the show-biz people really like and have worked out big deals.
How do you get a deal and what does it mean? A deal means that a studio will pay you to develop a show for them. The way to get a deal is to be young, have good management, and lastly to have a "hook". A "hook" is a unique point of view. Tim Allen's "Tool Guy" is a classic example. This "hook" is right from his comedy act. Mark Curry, from Hangin' With Mister Cooper, used his experience as a former college basketball player who didn't make the pros the basis for his comedy act. Margaret Cho is known as the Asian girl from the LA Valley with the crazy mother…her life and her act. Jerry Seinfeld was the comic with a show about nothing…his life and his act. D. L. Hughly, a middle class Black guy who moves into a white neighborhood…his current life and act. Roseanne, a white trash housewife, is all about her act. The list goes on and on.
These success stories don't mean that there's a guarantee that you'll get a show on the air. There are individuals who go through three or four deals and never get past the script stage. The sitcom highway is littered with people who have had forgettable shows in sitcom land. A partial list includes: Ellen Cleghorne, Ralph Harris, Rondell Sheridan, John Caponera, Rich Jeni, Jon Mendoza, Harlen Williams, Kevin Pollack, Mitch Mullany, Darryl Sivad, and Robert Schimmel. Good management is of the utmost importance! For comics wanting a deal there are only a few to note. Brillstein/Grey, if you're not working and you're with them, you're with the best! Nessina/Baker, see the previous. Gold/Miller…is very strong. Sharpio/West…Jerry Seinfeld…enough said! Morra, Brezner, Steinberg, and Tennebaum are a spin off of Rollins and Joffe who still have Woody Allen, an older office but still a force. In combination with agencies like CAA, I.C.M., William Morris, and United Talent, these are the most important.
If you get a deal, the next step is getting the writers for your show, usually folks who also have a deal as writers. This is where one of the many problems occurs. Often you will work with writers who don't really know the act and so the writing for the show ends up poles apart from the original proposal. This is the time when you hear form the Rosannes and Brett Butlers of the world. That's basically how it works.
While you are waiting for "The Deal" to happen, you try to work out an hour or half hour comedy special with HBO. An arrangement like that gives the comic another fifty thousand dollars or more in their hand. All of this takes place without ever having to go on the road. Today's generation of comics haven't been on the road long enough to develop a road savvy act. In the absence of such an act, they use four letter words to replace talent and jokes. With network TV no longer in place, cable has taken over and such language no longer presents a problem.
The American public expects dirt in their comedy whether it be on TV or in nightclubs. If you ask the average person on the street what they want in comedy they will state that they want clean stuff ...it's a lie! Morning radio has taken over as the best place to promote comics and clubs. Sad but true, The Howard Stern Show is the best place for comics to get recognized. Other syndicated radio shows such as Bob and Tom, and a few others have taken over for stand-up on TV. Reality T.V. has changed comedy... because reality is so inexpensive to do production deals to comics are not being handed out as easy.. this was a big source of income to comics... now it has dried up...comics haven't left comedy... comedy has left us...Reality T.V. is here to stay ... but comedy clubs aren't...There are still comics that are road warriors...
The most successful touring comics today (that means drawing crowds) are as follows: George Carlin (who may not be as funny as he once was) continues to create a yearly HBO comedy special, Jeff Foxworthy, draws with his "White Trash Tour", James Gregory (the biggest comic in the South) is very clean in a time of four letter words, Sean Morley (big because of his radio appearances on Bob and Tom) draws very well with his song parodies, Dan Whitney AKA "Larry the Cable Guy" is also part of "The Blue Collar Tour", Pauly Shore (despite show business hate) is still a major draw around the country, Tommy Chong (who has slowed his touring because he's a regular on "That Seventies Show") is an icon and his legend is gigantic!
I know the industry people won't lie to hear this but, Carrot Top is the number one comic draw in the county…GET OVER IT!" Funniest night club comics include: Rich Jeni (who would love to be a concert headliner but is a club comic) is one of the best, Bobby Slayton ("The Pit Bull of Comedy") is simply great, Bernie Mac (old school, stories) has a very strong delivery, George Wallace -- Delicious!
Black comics, the best by far is George Wallace in the commercial market. Chris Rock is a hard worker and pays attention to the craft (reminds me a lot of myself). Then there's the Def Jam and BET comics, and there are a lot of them. Cedric the Entertainer is expressly for Black audiences and very funny. Dave Chappelle is an industry favorite. Still out there are Sinbad and Mark Curry. Paul Mooney was Def Jam before Def Jam, former writer for In Living Color and Richard Pryor. He will cut to your last nerve, a wicked genius but not for everyone because, "You can't handle the truth!" Richard Pryor has dominated the comedy world for three decades.
The list of Pryor imitators is too long to discuss. Latino comics are lead by Carlos Menica. He can and has drawn fifteen hundred or more in Hispanic markets. Paul Rodriquez is the veteran and spokesman for the Hispanic market. Freddie Soto and Willie Barcena have worked the "Loco Slam" and other tours with Rodriquez. Luke Torres is a Hispanic impressionist.
The most sophisticated of the Latino comics, and my personal favorite, is George Lopez. He calls himself, "The Smart Mexican".
Political comedy in the twenty-first century is dead!
Most people don't read. For comics, it's too much writing. Gone are the Mort Sahls and Lenny Bruces. Dennis Miller is viewed as the best in the field. Two of my favorites are Argus Hamilton and Lewis Black. Jimmy Tingle is not far behind. Will Durst is revered as a legend in San Francisco even though he was born in the Midwest. The women…I have always loved, loved, loved Elayne Boosler, but, she's not liked in the industry. Wendy Lidbman is the industry favorite along with Janeane Garofalo and Rita Rudner has support from some folks. Pam Stone has not been given any credit for being as good as she is and is now in semi-retirement. Margaret Smith, in the Steven Wright vein, is too smart to be successful…what a shame!
Kathleen Madigan, a night club comic, has great intelligence. Diane Ford, an old time night club comic, is hardcore. Mary Ellen Hopper is winner of Best Female Comic of the Year? Vanessa Hollinshead is a sensational new comic. Adele Givens, Felica Michaels, and Thea Videl are part of the wave of blue female comics, if you like that kind of thing. Wanda Sykes is unbelievable! She has deals everywhere! With an Emmy for her writing on the Chris Rock Show and as the winner of Female Comic of the Year in New York City and Los Angeles, catch her if you can!!!
Being an industry favorite means development deals, getting a chance to fall and come back again, more money for corporates, and good management. The downside is that the rest of America doesn't know who you are. Among those people are: Wendy Libeman, Dave Chappelle, Louie CK, Harlen Williams, Merrill Markoe, and Orlando Jones. Stand-up isn't something people stay into for a long time. Most comics don't expect to be doing it for all of their lives. Nobody works at it as hard as the old timers, and as soon as something else happens, they're out of stand-up. A partial list of comics who have left stand-up since "scoring" with a sitcom or a movie include: Ellen DeGeneres, Roseanne, Michael Keaton, Jim Carrey, Drew Carrey, Martin Lawrence, Tim Allen, Brad Garrett, Richard Belzer, Rosie O'Donnell, Billy Crystal, Carol Leifer, Larry Miller, Paul Reiser, Gary Shandling, Robert Wuhl, Steve Martin, Chris Tucker, and to a lesser degree, Arsenio Hall, Eddie Murphy, and Sandra Bernhardt (who really weren't stand-up in the first place). Once considered the "Comics' Comic", Jay Leno is no longer a comic force. He's taken his seventeen million dollars a year (and just as many automobiles and motorcycles) and has transported himself into a comedy purgatory, preferring to say, "Do joke…get check." Maybe he's right. Others go into writing. A partial list of comics who have left stand-up for writing include: Hugh Fink, Billy Reback, Jack Coen, Warren Hutcherson, John Ridley, Schmock and Vallely (The Funny Boys), John Riggi, JJ Wall, Mike Binder, and Fred Wolf. The state of stand-up today is very blue and dirty…but there are good comics around…lots of them!
If you're a comic and are not doing T.V., don't have a deal with a network , can't sell out a venue (club or major hall) not writing projects and are just working clubs...the best thing for you and me are working cruises... yes ..I know you're the greatest comic in the world but it hasn't gotten you to the promise land yet...I know cruises aren't the most creative thing... but you don't have to draw an audience... you get treated good... no comedy condo, no crazy club owners .the club scene is dead... and no morning radio...What I have given you is a thumb nail sketch of stand-up today.
Of course, there are exceptions to the rule. There are close to ten thousand comedians around, and I have left many of them out, but that doesn't mean that they're not out there. When you get a chance, support your local comedy club and keep laughing!
Every weekday JewishWorldReview.com publishes what many in in the media and Washington consider "must-reading". Sign up for the daily JWR update. It's free. Just click here.
Comment on cultural icon and JWR contributor Jimmie Walker's routine by clicking here.
12/21/04: Enough is enough!
08/03/04: Nice try, Barack Obama
07/17/04: Cosby & Jackson are hypocrites
12/08/03: White people, don't you dare go there
11/14/03: The bums' Rush — and mine
01/21/03: Reconsidering L'Affaire Lott
12/05/02: Moral Glaucoma
11/21/02: Fry them! If not now, when?
08/07/02: America's most dangerous security problem is of our own making
© 2005, Jimmie Walker
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