I Love Comedy

[Originally posted on May 24, 2017 — old blog]

WARNING: Big text wall ahead. This will happen from time to time.

I’m sure you can tell by now that one of my most favoritest things in the world is laughter. I learned at an early age that I love being funny. My family would play Make Me Laugh and I didn’t even know that was a TV show they were basing it off of until I was much older. So let me share with you my favorite bits of comedy through my lifetime so far.

The day I knew making people laugh was a serious business was the day I watched a homemade Kodak VCR tape with one word written on the yellow label, “Delirious”. I was about 10 or 11 years old when I found this tape in our VCR collection drawer. My dad must have gotten it from a friend and buried it after he watched it one night after we went to bed.

So I popped in this “Delirious” tape to quickly see that Mr. Robinson, of Mr. Robinson’s Neighborhood fame, was dressing much sharper these days. He was wrapped in what I could only imagine at the time to be a repurposed burger and shake shack booth. It was Mr. Eddie Murphy himself, decked out in that infamous red leather suit. Something only someone with Eddie’s complexion could ever pull off.

I remember laughing harder than I’ve ever laughed in my young life. And I also remember hearing so many curse words in such a short period of time, that I thought it was some kind of world record. And there were probably so many more words I heard for the first time that I didn’t even know where curse words. But the way they were used was hilarious.

I still remember the part where he’s talking about Jesse Jackson surprisingly getting elected President (“He fucking won!?”), and saying that he worked out during his campaign so once he got elected, he’d be giving speeches running back and forth across the stage (while mimicking the running), as to avoid being the first black President that got sniped. I remember laughing so hard at this, that I had to pause the tape and belly laugh for a good 5 minutes. Then I had to rewind the tape and find the end of the Jesse Jackson joke to pick up what I missed after it, which caused me to start laughing again for another 5 minutes. It was truly a magic moment for my understanding of the power of comedy. So it’s safe to say, Eddie Murphy Delirious is still my favorite recorded stand-up comedy special.

As for my favorite live stand-up show I’ve ever seen. It’s got to be, hands down, one of Philly’s most historical comedy moments, and I was there. The O & A Traveling Virus show. September 9, 2006 at the Tweeter Center in Camden, New Jersey. What a roller coaster of a show. If you’re not familiar here’s the lineup from that show: (Not in this exact order)

Hosted by: Gregg “Opie” Hughes & Anthony Cumia

Bob Saget
Jimmy Shubert — First to be booed off stage
Jim Norton
Dom Irrera — Also booed off stage
Bob Kelly
Bill Burr
Ralphie May
Patrice O’Neal
Rich Vos
Tracy Morgan

I remember walking in with my brother Nick and Nick Kupsey during Jimmy Shubert’s set, and you could hear the crowd roaring. Not laughing, but grumbles, roaring. So bad, that by the time we got to our seats, Shubert was booed off stage. He must have pooped himself a little facing a rough crowd that big. Next up was Dom Irrera. Philly’s own! To the O&A crowd…SO WHAT! Don tried and tried but he couldn’t get the crowd to settle down, and seemed to have ended his set short. Plain and simple. He was also booed off.

Next came Bill Burr. In 2006 you would have said, “Who the fuck is Bill Burr?” if you weren’t an O&A fan/pest. Hell, if you’re out of the loop, you may still think that. Anyway, the crowd was still in a tizzy. Bill started off doing his set. Trying to get this big crowd to laugh. But they keep pressuring the comedians. And right now Bill was under the gun. But he refused to let them get to him. And that’s where this clip comes in. Here’s the last 12 minutes of Bill’s 15 minute set. Listen as the crowd turns for him. They go from bustin’ balls to loving this guy. The best part was Bill doing his own countdown to when his misery would end, all while continually trashing Philly. But in the end, he had captivated the crowd enough to get the show going. From there on out, the night was a blast and everyone loved the rest of the lineup.

PS — I attended another Traveling Virus show on April 14, 2007 alone in Las Vegas. This is the one and only time I went somewhere out of state for leisure by myself.

So, who’s my favorite movie comedian? Well, I’ll quickly say that my favorite comedy movie of all time is Spaceballs. No questions asked. There’s no need for a second one, Mel. Don’t do it. But back to a specific comedic actor, which is very hard for me. Because Gene Wilder, Chevy Chase, Bill Murray, Will Ferrell and many others come to mind. But for me, it has to be the one and only, Mr. Rubber Face, Jim Carrey. Seeing Ace Ventura: Pet Detective on the big screen was the best thing that ever happened to me. Not only because it was on the eve of that big ice storm I previously mentioned back in early 1994, but because it was just so goddamn funny. And funny for one reason and one reason only. Jim Carrey. He introduced us to a character that was so unreal but somehow relatable. I memorized just about every line from that movie. Some I still use till this day. There was one specific scene where I had another one of those laughing fits, and missed whatever followed. But this time there was no rewinding. I’d have to see the movie again or wait for the VCR release. That scene is when Courtney Cox’s character, Melissa, takes her “special brother” to the mental institution. He jumps into the scene with a weird button down shirt, shorts, army-boots and get this, a tutu. WHAT THE HELL! But most specifically the end of that scene where Ace needs a halftime break, kneels down in front of a padded bench, and proceeds to smash his face with the loudest thump I’ve ever heard in a movie theater, and then just pauses his life (so the doctor would leave him alone). I laughed so hard for 10 minutes straight. Take a minute to check it out here. And he’s done so many other great roles, most notably to me, and second runner-up, The Cable Guy.

Next up, my favorite TV comedian. We’re talking sitcom here, because Chappelle Show would take the cake if I opened this category all the way. So with that…anyone could say Seinfeld, but I won’t. I can’t. I never watched it until it was in syndication. And let’s be honest for a second, no one really liked Raymond. Before I go any further, I have to get it out there. My favorite TV show to date is Modern Family. The writing for that show is almost too good. And PS, The Goldbergs get an honorary mention. Anyway, back to my favorite single comedic TV star…Will Smith, Martin Lawrence and Kevin James are all up there. But the top is for someone special. And that someone is, Mr. Jaleel White, a.k.a. Steve Urkel. Haha, just kidding. See, I like to joke. The real answer is actually not even a comedian. That person is Carroll O’Connor. Yes! Mr. Archie Bunker of All In The Family. There isn’t and there won’t ever be another one like him ever again in the history of history. This was the All-American dude of his time. He goes the work every day, comes home every night and expected a warm dinner to be ready for him on the table. Then after dinner all he wanted to do was relax in his chair and hear the news. But between his wife Edith, daughter Gloria and son-in-law Meathead, he could never get to actually relaxing because he’d have to deal with each of their antics. They were all dingbats and he’d have to hear about their dummy issues that he cared nothing about. He got away with some many “risky” jokes that just aren’t right in today’s world. There isn’t any one specific scene that stands out to me, as I was young when I watched this show. But I remember knowing that the things this man would say or do were not to be repeated in public, even if they were being broadcasted to the whole country on national television. And why did I feel a little guilty laughing at his jokes? Because in comedy, the key is to present any and all issues in a light that causes laughter. Even if that causes someone else to be offended, a.k.a. has a broken funny bone. It’s supposed to make you think about something that you didn’t originally see that way. If you’re funny and you can get it out without being hurtful or hateful, then by all means, let’er rip. Though there are times and places for those jokes too. You just have to know the right when and the right where for it to work. So here’s just a small, but very famous sample of what he was capable of. And here’s a quick bonus clip of his amazing ability without using a single word.

Ok, last thing. I, myself, have attempted stand up. At first, I was terrified to do it for so many years. They say if you can get on stage and be funny, then you can do anything. Fuck them. They’re stupid. So in 2011 I thought, how do I know if I’m really afraid? I’ve never even tried it. So I did it. And after about 2 or 3 attempts I knew for sure the stage wasn’t for me. I could safely and officially go back to being afraid of doing stand up. I got too nervous. The lights were so hot, and I sweat very easily. No one should be subjected to seeing that. And my voice trembles. It’s awful. You could hear it in that video. I’m not a verbal storyteller and I mumble at times. When it comes to writing, that’s my forte, so I’m sticking to doing it this way. I also have Laffcast as an outlet. When the time comes again, as The KupMuff Show is currently no more, the funny things I have to get out verbally will show up there.

And that’s it. These are the main reasons why I love comedy.

PS — I’m sorry that no women were mentioned, but that’s just my preference when it comes to tops in comedy. Someday I’ll share with you my funny women of comedy. Until then, I’m glad you stopped by. Feel free to share some of your favorites with me in the comment section.