The most terrible fear that anybody should have is not war, is not a disease, not cancer or heart problems or food poisoning - it's a man or a woman without a sense of humor.
Jonathan WintersRead
I don't do jokes. The characters are my jokes.
Interpretation
Jonathan Winters emphasizes that his comedic style is embedded in his characters rather than traditional jokes.
In this quote, Jonathan Winters expresses his unique approach to humor, highlighting that he does not rely on conventional jokes but instead finds comedy through the depth and personality of the characters he portrays. This perspective underscores the idea that humor can manifest in various forms and that rich character development can be a powerful source of laughter.
In practice
During a comedy workshop to illustrate the importance of character development in stand-up.
The most terrible fear that anybody should have is not war, is not a disease, not cancer or heart problems or food poisoning - it's a man or a woman without a sense of humor.
Well, the most terrible fear that anybody should have is not war, is not a disease, not cancer or heart problems or food poisoning - it's a man or a woman without a sense of humor.
If your ship doesn't come in, swim out to it.
Now, for my younger viewers out there, a book is something we used to have before the internet. Itβs sort of a blog for people with attention spans.
It is astonishing how articulate one can become when alone and raving at a radio. Arguments and counter arguments, rhetoric and bombast flow from one's lips like scurf from the hair of a bank manager.
Calvin: Isn't it strange that evolution would give us a sense of humor? When you think about it, it's weird that we have a physiological response to absurdity. We laugh at nonsense. We like it. We think it's funny. Don't you think it's odd that we appreciate absurdity? Why would we develop that way? How does it benefit us? Hobbes: I suppose if we couldn't laugh at things that don't make sense, we couldn't react to a lot of life.
When things get so absurd and so stupid and so ridiculous that you just can't bear it, you cannot help but turn everything into a joke.
As soon as I go into a dark subject, like discussing the people I've loved and lost, I off-road into absurdist comedy perversion. It's both a means of protection and a kind of denial, a blessing and a curse. Wait, it's not a blessing at all. I guess it would be a bad habit and a curse.
I only aim at the powerful. When satire is aimed at the powerless, it is not only cruel - it's vulgar.
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