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Post by surfinboy on Apr 9, 2022 23:00:20 GMT -5
Never got this guy. Get out the holy water, but his thing always seemed gimmicky and contrived. He knew how to create a scene and get attention. Sorry fans, but I don't think the emperor had any clothes. What am I missing?
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Post by rickyguitar on Apr 9, 2022 23:11:36 GMT -5
Seemed real hit or miss to me I liked the Mighty Mouse lip sync, A LOT.
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Post by Think Floyd on Apr 9, 2022 23:14:07 GMT -5
I can agree with you. I think he's funny for a little while, but then it gets old real quick. That said, I did enjoy him as Latka on Taxi.
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Post by Auf Kiltre on Apr 9, 2022 23:27:12 GMT -5
His brand of comedy seemed to be about soliciting nervous laughter. Aside from Latka and a few random things it wasn't my thing.
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Post by Vibroluxer on Apr 9, 2022 23:35:47 GMT -5
I agree with the troops. Gets old fast.
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Post by Taildragger on Apr 10, 2022 0:15:47 GMT -5
Put me in the *meh* column as well when it comes to Kaufman.
I'm also not a Robin Williams fan. He always seemed to think that anything that came out of his mouth was comedy gold: I felt that he would've benefited greatly from having a personal editor on hand to cull his material 24/7. I did see him once when he dropped into an improv comedy club unannounced and was consistently very funny, but that was the about the only time he ever made me laugh. He tried to pull off the same, off-the-cuff shtick that his idol, Jonathan Winters originated, but Jonathan's comedic instincts were far superior IMHO. I never saw more than a couple of episodes of that "Mork & Mindy" show because it was really just an object lesson in how much Williams just wasn't as spontaneously witty as Winters.
Same complaint about Woody Allen. Once sat through part of an all-night Woody Allen film marathon, just to see what all the hooplah was about and had to leave after 4 movies because it wasn't doing a thing for me (though the college students in the audience were rolling in the aisles). The "blind date" scene in "Play it Again, Sam" was mildly amusing, but that was about it: pretty slim pickings for the time spent.
Paul "Pee-Wee Herman" Reubens is another one who never did much for me.
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Post by Vibroluxer on Apr 10, 2022 0:17:24 GMT -5
Of all those mentioned, I'll pick Pee Wee. Not that I'm a fan.
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Post by rickyguitar on Apr 10, 2022 0:31:37 GMT -5
Pee Wee redefined lame one day at a time. IMHO.
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Post by roly on Apr 10, 2022 4:56:41 GMT -5
I think Latka was funny, otherwise, he's a one hit wonder.
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Post by Peegoo 🏁 on Apr 10, 2022 5:08:14 GMT -5
Kaufman flipped comedy around: the audience was his entertainment. He tried to push them as far as he could. He did have major skills playing the congas.
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Post by oldnjplayer on Apr 10, 2022 6:31:04 GMT -5
Meh......
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Bopper
Wholenote
Motor City USA
Posts: 506
Age: 72
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Post by Bopper on Apr 10, 2022 10:08:17 GMT -5
Maybe c.1980 I was in a comedy club in NYC and Kaufman wandered in, supposedly off the street, and challenged, in a pretty obnoxious way, any woman in the audience to wrestle. Somebody took him up on it. He won. Big deal. Staged? I dunno.
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Post by rok-a-bill-e on Apr 10, 2022 10:26:15 GMT -5
He was trying to do something new and different, spoofing the audience, with varying degrees of success. He liked making people uncomfortable and leaving them wondering what was going on. I agree that he was laughing at his audience and it did not always seem like their entertainment was his priority. Also agree that the only bit that ever made me laugh was the Mighty Mouse theme song.
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Post by mcrofutt on Apr 10, 2022 10:43:19 GMT -5
Jim Carry was better at being Andy Kaufman than Andy Kaufman ever was.
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Post by Mfitz804 on Apr 10, 2022 10:53:18 GMT -5
Did not and still do not get it.
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Post by Think Floyd on Apr 10, 2022 10:55:04 GMT -5
Paul "Pee-Wee Herman" Reubens is another one who never did much for me. There's a reason Pee Wee never did much for you; he didn't have the time. According to the police report, he was too busy taking care of himself!
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Post by tahitijack on Apr 10, 2022 11:01:46 GMT -5
I was not a fan but he had his moments.
Do an internet search for Andy Kaufman on The Dating Game. The host, Jim Lang, totally goes crazy during the show. No spoilers.
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Post by Auf Kiltre on Apr 10, 2022 11:02:54 GMT -5
SNL brought in some non-mainstream comedy. It was around the time Monty Python started to make it on people's radar here in the US. I think the shift was to the esoteric. Some of it was clever, like the one skit with Laraine Newman stressing out with the opera voice in her head only to rush home and find an actual opera singer doing the soundtrack. Other stuff, not so much. Chevy Chase to me is like a lame prototype of Will Farrell, who actually made me laugh a couple of times.
I don't know the history of Kaufman but I'm sure the guy had...issues.
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Post by Taildragger on Apr 10, 2022 11:45:33 GMT -5
Regarding the "early" SNL crew (and I know this will draw some flack): I never thought (and still do not think) that Bill Murray is particularly funny. Belushi and Ackroyd were the stand-outs in that original group, but even they sometimes fell flat. Later on, Eddie Murphy was obviously a cut above his contemporary members.
I actually think that Mad TV and SCTV were more consistently funny than SNL.
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Post by Vibroluxer on Apr 10, 2022 12:45:12 GMT -5
According to Wiki, Andy was on SNL 16 times. I find that kinda stunning, he surely wasn't *that* funny.
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Vman
Wholenote
Posts: 194
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Post by Vman on Apr 10, 2022 12:59:51 GMT -5
I never thought anything he did was comedy.
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Post by Leftee on Apr 10, 2022 13:01:24 GMT -5
I think Latka was funny, otherwise, he's a one hit wonder. Same here. I first saw him as Latka I thought he was funny. When I later saw him outside the role I wondered if he was the same guy.
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Post by jazzguy on Apr 10, 2022 14:05:44 GMT -5
+1 on Bill Murray, I'm not sure if he ever made me even chuckle once. He was the weak one in Caddyshack along w that stupid gopher. Now Ted Knight and Rodney, brilliant!
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Post by Taildragger on Apr 10, 2022 14:21:17 GMT -5
I think this "bit" is pretty funny:
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Post by NoSoapRadio on Apr 10, 2022 15:09:29 GMT -5
I not only thought he was unfunny -- I thought he was annoying.
But I'm on the same page with those who don't care for Robin Williams, Woody Allen, and Chevy Chase. It's not that I don't "get" them -- I just don't like them.
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Post by Lesterstrat on Apr 10, 2022 15:16:02 GMT -5
I too thought the Mighty Mouse lip sync bit was hilarious. And, I liked some of his wrestling bits and Elvis bits, but he also did a lot of stuff that I couldn’t stand, including his Taxi character. That show was unwatchable because of him.
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Post by jazzguy on Apr 10, 2022 15:17:52 GMT -5
Maybe Woody Allen the comedian, but I find many of his movies to be superb
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Post by Taildragger on Apr 10, 2022 15:41:57 GMT -5
Mr. Rogers vs. Julia Childs on SCTV:
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Post by Vibroluxer on Apr 10, 2022 15:42:20 GMT -5
I alway thought The Purple Rose of Cairo was clever and well done.
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Post by langford on Apr 10, 2022 15:58:48 GMT -5
I'm also not a Robin Williams fan.... Same here. I thought Robin Williams was very funny when he first got famous, and was he definitely was talented. But his original act—and it was very original—did get tiring after a while. Nothing wrong with that. Nothing stays fresh forever. That said, he followed up by turning into a crying-on-the-inside clown with all of his movies etc. That grated on me. I don't do maudlin very well. Mileage may vary for others.
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