It's Just a Thought

Sadly, There Aren't Many Left Now

         The truly great comedians. Sadly, there aren't that many left, now.
         They had a genuine love and devotion for their craft that was more than just a couple practice sessions and showing up for the performance. To them, comedy was a full time job. When they weren't performing they were constantly creating, trying out and revising new material, often working much more than eight hours a day and certainly more than five days a week.
         That kind of love and devotion, doing what they loved and getting paid for it, and that determined work ethic, applied to every practice, every rehearsal, every performance for years and years, allowed them to develop very sharp senses where their comedy was concerned. Some had absolutely the best sense of timing ever seen on a comedy stage or in a TV show or movie. Others had mannerisms that quickly, and often permanently, became their trademarks. And still others had a flawless ability to improvise. Throw them a prop. No matter what it was, they would instantly come up with a one-liner involving that prop that would have you laughing so hard your sides hurt. And then there is the even more rare comedian who is blessed with more than one of these skills.
         Jonathan Winters was THE master at the art of improvisation when it came to comedy. Many younger {than him) comedians today credit Jonathan Winters for inspiring them, giving them the determination to not only improve, but to perfect their ability to improvise.
         We lost Jonathan Winters late Thursday night. And trust me - the 'we' in that last sentence is global in its reach. Millions of us grew up watching him on television. Whether he did stand up routines on the TV variety shows or late night, recurring characters on TV series (such as his role on Mork and Mindy , or a prominent role in a blockbuster movie like It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World, he was always at the top of his game.
         Now he's up there sharing ideas, and, I'm sure, trading one-liners and more, with all those wonderful and equally expert old-school comedians that shared his 24/7 devotion to the craft:
         Fred Allen
         Jack Benny
         George Burns and Gracie Allen
         Walter Mathau
         Bob Hope
         The Marx Brothers
         Laurel and Hardy
         The Three Stooges

         And all of them had us rolling on the floor, or laughing till our sides hurt with a brand of humor that never once contained a single expletive or four-letter word. The truly great comedians didn't need to resort to trash talk to make us laugh. The quality of their material, and their impeccable ability to deliver it with the best in timing, mannerisms, facial expressions and voice inflections was more than enough to have us laughing throughout our lives. We could sure use them, and their brand of humor in our lives, and our world today.

Rest in Peace, Jonathan. And tell Maude Frickert we said 'hi' and remember her as well.