Nice moment at the theatre in Innsbruck last night...
— John Cleese (@JohnCleese) September 8, 2019
Just before I went on, I asked a stage manager " Will this audience know me better from Monty Python or Fawlty Towers ? "
He replied "I don't know. I've never heard of you "
September 8, 2019
Fame.
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41 comments:
Now that's funny. I wonder if it's true.
I saw John Cleese at the Lynn Auditorium a couple of years ago. It was a one man show preceded by a viewing of The Holy Grail movie. He spoke afterwards about comedy and his career, took questions from the audience (written and submitted before the show). He talked a little about how difficult it is to do comedy these days, partly because so many people are so easily offended, and also because everyday life is so filled with absurdities that what used to be a joke is now reality.
Time-wise, Monty Python to the modern audience is akin to vaudeville to the Python audience back in its day.
The pivot point then was the Dean Martin / Jerry Lewis act.
The pivot point between Python and now was ________________.
I am Laslo.
Time is relentless. I'm pleased that my kids know Python references though.
Blogger stevew said...
Now that's funny. I wonder if it's true.
Yes it’s funny, and i don’t think it matters if it’s true.
And now for somebody completely famous...
I was in the UK for the original run of Monty Python. When I returned to the US I had difficulty explaining it to my friends. The corollary is when I tried explaining Lawrence Welk to the Brits.
One endearing aspect of this blog is the frequent appearance of Firesign Theatre references.
With younger audiences he might best be known as Nearly Headless Nick from the Harry Potter movies
"I wonder if it's true."
I don't know, but it rings true to British humor to think it funny. An American celebrity would rather make a joke out of a stage manager who hated his or her work.
Several general elections back, the BBC interviewed an MP who had been caught up in some scandal, and asked him if he thought his active campaigning had hurt the party nationally. He said he didn't know, but they had done some national polling and found that his name recognition was lower than that of a fictitious name inserted as a control, so he probably couldn't do the party too much harm.
Rory said...
"I wonder if it's true."
I don't know, but it rings true to British humor to think it funny. An American celebrity would rather make a joke out of a stage manager who hated his or her work.
Interesting. So an American would belittle the significance of their work, but a Brit would belittle the significance of their fame?
tcrosse said...
I was in the UK for the original run of Monty Python. When I returned to the US I had difficulty explaining it to my friends.
In the late 70's/early 80's; they had Monty Python on WTTW, channel 11 in Chicago;
I thought it was HILARIOUS! The bizarre accents and phrases; the Insanity of it all...
Later, when i had learned some about Britain, i realized that ALL the parts i thought were Hilarious, were just how things are/were in Britain.
They ACTUALLY CALLED trunks, 'boots'; and ACTUALLY ATE Baked Beans for Breakfast
And don't get me started on 'spanners'
I might add that I was trying to explain Monty Python years before it appeared in the US.
I watched The Holy Grail with my 13 year old son a few nights ago. It was nice to see the humor was still relevant to him .
Laughing at Brits, is Eternally Relevant
"Don't you know who I am?"
-John Kerry
“The pivot point between Python and now was ________________.”
South Park, “Something About Mary”... in other words Farrelly brothers, Trey Parker and Judd Apetow.
Cleese is still a funny man.
Early 70s college curriculum included memorizing and reciting Monty Python, Firesign Theater, Bennie Hill, and a few key lines from the original Star Trek.
I hated when James Joyce would get in the way of this.
Sic transit gloria.
A Fish Called Wanda
"The pivot point between Python and now was ________________."
Seinfeld.
I'm going to go with Cops, the original reality show.
When my daughter was taking Latin last year, we watched John Cleese's scene from Life of Brian where he teaches Brian the proper sequence of words. We both laughed throughout the sequence. Most of that movie is even more relevant now than it was when it came out in the early 1980s.
Real shit is more ridiculous than fake barely scripted sketch or even better scripted comedy like Seinfeld. Ridiculous is the standard.
Even my young children always laughed at Life of Brian despite not getting most of the jokes because most scene s convey ridiculous in a funny way.
Benny Hill had one of the best 2 lines ever. I actually used the response:
I’ve never been so insulted in my life.
You should get out more.
One endearing aspect of this blog is the frequent appearance of Firesign Theatre references.
Who are you, who is so wise in the ways of More Science High?
The pivot point between Python and now
I would say the rash of stand up on cable in the 90's. Are there still scripted comedy shows on TV? Any that aren't just one-liners and put-downs.
Temujin said...
Cleese is still a funny man.
Early 70s college curriculum included memorizing and reciting Monty Python, Firesign Theater, Bennie Hill, and a few key lines from the original Star Trek.
I hated when James Joyce would get in the way of this.
You forgot Airplane! "The fog is getting thicker... and Leon's getting larger"
My favorite Python sketch:
It's a very nice Army base you got here, Colonel. Be a shame if anything happened to it.
I've never heard of the Firesign Theatre, and I'm not a youngster. I do remember Laugh In.
Try google.
“"The pivot point between Python and now was ________________."
Seinfeld.“
Probably the best answer. If The Simpson’s hadn’t become an ossified American institution I would have suggested that show.
One of my favorite scenes from Life of Brian, "From now on I want you to call me Loretta," has become reality, and you could lose your job if you think it's funny.
This goes with the other thread, pyrhon was mercilous with thatcher when she was education minister, they appreciated her efficiency in the revised dead parrot aketch
But his ridicule helped erode institutions in britain to the point they dont believe in anything.
I think were all bozos on this bus. Nice bozos, but bozos just the same.
"But his ridicule helped erode institutions in britain to the point they dont believe in anything."
Narciso, I go back and forth about this. It seems like dissent should always be on the sidelines. When it becomes the culture, the culture falls apart.
This gets pretty nasty when capitalism finds encouraging of dissent and no rules a marketing hook. And celebrities who embrace dissenting from norms have the cushion of money and power. People lower on the food chain who embrace free sex, children out of wedlock, and drug use lose their jobs and destroy their communities.
Also, institutions that hold onto their values and punish malfeasance can resist the japery. When you see politicians stake because they're protected (pick your politician), well, isn't disrespect for their institutions deserved?
Temujin, to the Nth!
"His face was ajar, like a Mason's." We were Firesigners in high school and in the first wave in the city to appreciate MP; I would try to tell people about them for years, to blank looks; later the same people had caught on and now it seems every eight-y-o knows some of the best lines.
That's cultural power.
Narr
Mere contradiction isn't argument!
A right and a left and a right and a left and into a gas station.
I thought we’d never get through Exposition Park.
Vote for me because I’m always right and I never lie.
Splitters!
Narr
Not Ed
he is doing a great job mocking people with TDS on his twitter feed, which is even more impressive since he does not live in the USA
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