Mort Sahl, whom Steve Allen called “the only real political philosopher we have in modern comedy,” was one of the few with the talent to pull it off. I recall an instance when he appeared on the Johnny Carson show. Carson asked Mr. Sahl how he was. Not so good, the comedian answered. He had recently received a letter from the NAACP that admonished him, as a good liberal, for not having a black comedian in his act. Acknowledging his error, Mr. Sahl said he had hired a brilliant young black comic to work with him. Then he paused, looked down at his watch, and said, “He should have been here by now.” It took the audience fully 15 seconds to get the joke, when ripples, then roars of laughter followed.
So comedy and politics don't mix, but racism and comedy do mix.
3 comments
1 David_Tosk 2018-02-08
Unlike Colin, that is just silly and funny.
1 OsloJimmy 2018-02-08
Article is behind paywall
1 David_Tosk 2018-02-08
Here you go: https://i.imgur.com/6uRDTQm.jpg
1 Dr-Seepage 2018-02-08
Anticle is behind paywall
1 David_Tosk 2018-02-08
Screenshot of the entire article: https://i.imgur.com/6uRDTQm.jpg
1 QuantumDice 2018-02-08
So comedy and politics don't mix, but racism and comedy do mix.