List of Crap 128, Top 50 Slapstick Comedians and Teams

[stethacantus]

(and I hope it's okay, me gushing like this with my picks, don't wish to go overborad by stepping on our hosts toes)

Well, get ready to gush again....

#25

Harry Langdon

35 points, 2 lists, #5 George-2.0

Born: June 15, 1884 Council Bluffs,  Iowa,  U.S.A.
Stage Debut: 1906
Film Debut: February 3, 1924

There were a lot of surprises in tabulating this list. And not just how many comedians who deserved to be on this list didn't make the top 50, or how many comedians who don't really belong on this list did make the top 50. But how the comedians ended up in the ranking. For example,  I had expected the top 5 to include Chaplin, Keaton, Lloyd, The Three Stooges and Harry Langdon. And yet here is Langdon outside of the top 20. He was one of the big four. Which was basically Chaplin and the three comedians popular enough to challenge Chaplin as the silent era's #1 comedian. 

Harry ran away from home when he was 12 to join a circus. While returned home many times, he continued to run away  to join medicine shows and traveling theater groups.  He finally settled down in his 20s, got a normal job, and married Rose Musolff. However,  no sooner was he married that he convinced her to join him on the stages of Vaudeville. This time he didn't return home. He and his wife developed a skit called Johnny's New Car which became successful and elevated his career. It involved a wooden prop car that Langdon drove onto the stage which came to a unexpected halt. While Harry tried to figure out why his car had stalled,  Rose would berate him. As the skit progresses Harry's attempts to fix the car resulted in parts falling off, or removed in a fit of anger, the whole time Rose making fun of him while he insulted her back. It is only after the automobile was a useless pile of rubble that Harry realizes the car was out of gas the whole time. Johnny's New Car became a hit, and would remain in their act in different variations for his entire stage career.  By the 1920s Harry and Rose had a second popular skit in their act called After the ball where Harry takes Rose to play golf and she is unable to hit the ball.

In 1923 Langdon was performing in California when Harold Lloyd saw his act and decided Hal Roach should hire him. Roach approached Langdon with an offer, but Langdon countered with demands for more money than Roach was willing to spend, so Langdon was turned down. Lloyd thought passing on Langdon was a huge mistake and tried to get Roach to reconsider.  But it was not to be. Harry had been offered a contract with producer Sol Lesser for the newly founded Principal Pictures Corporation, and Lesser had agreed to all of Langdon's demands. Harry filmed three shorts for Principal Pictures Corporation,  but Lesser was unable to find a distributor. In 1924 he lent Langdon to Mac Sennett for a couple of films. Sennett was happy with the shorts Langdon made and bought out his contract from Lesser. Screenwriter and future director Frank Capra was assigned to write Langdon's shorts. Capra decided his best character for the screen was his man-child character he had used infrequently during his stage shows. All it needed was a little development.  Audiences loved Harry's character,  and in a few years he rivaled Chaplin in popularity. 

When Langdon's contract was up, he accepted an offer from First National Pictures which would allow him to make full length features. He brought Capra along with the promise that Capra could direct some of the films. Two of Langdon's best films, The Strong Man ( 1926 ) and Long Pants ( 1927 ) were written and directed by Capra.  With articles proclaiming him a comedy genius on the same level as Chaplin,  Keaton and Lloyd, Harry decided that he wanted full creative control of his films. He ended up firing Capra and directing his films himself. Which was a huge mistake. Three's A Crowd ( 1927 ) was a career killer. Not only panned by critics but a disaster at the box office. Langdon had never directed a film before, and had made lots of mistakes during the filming, resulting in it going way over budget. The screening was a disaster, and Langdon responded by frantically editing the film, which made it even more of a mess. Some key scenes that were needed for continuity and plot exposition were removed by Langdon. As much of a disaster his directorial debut was, he insisted on directing his next two features. After which First National fired him. With three bombs in a row, no studio would touch him. Except for Hal Roach. There he made eight shorts which others directed. The problem was that when Harry joined Roach Studios in 1929, the studio had already converted to sound productions. Langdon would need a voice to go with his man-child character, something he had not done since he performed on stage. But the addition of a voice made Harry sound like an moron. Hal Roach put it this way: "He was not so funny articulate." When Harry's contract was up, Roach didn't offer him a second one.

Langdon went to Educational Pictures and made shorts for about a year, then another year of shorts for Paramount, then finally shorts for Columbia Pictures where he stayed for more than ten years, Along the way he abandoned his man-child character and  developed a new screen character. While at Columbia he found supplemental work  with Stan Laurel writing gags for the Laurel and Hardy films. He also continued to make feature films, but increasingly for poverty row studios. When Stan Laurel left Hal Roach Studios, Hal threatened to replace Laurel with Harry Langdon. In 1939 he did put Langdon in a film with Oliver Hardy called Zenobia, but their characters never really worked as a team. Laurel returned to the studio, and all talk of teaming Hardy and Langdon up ceased. A few weeks after shooting another short for Columbia, Harry Langdon died suddenly of a cerebral hemorrhage, on December 22, 1944.

[George-2.0]

(and I hope it's okay, me gushing like this with my picks, don't wish to go overborad by stepping on our hosts toes)

Well, get ready to gush again....

Okay, if you insist. 

Great write-up, and yeah, he should have been ranked among the top of the charts. But I wonder how many here have done a deep dive into classic era comedy? I did this back in 2009, which started with a Keaton marathon... I was so taken by these films and curious about others that I broadened my scope and decided to spend the rest of the year exploring the history of those early slapstick clowns, from 1900s, through to the end of the silent era (and touching on the talkies, for those who continued into that era).

And you could write a book on the truth about Langdon, how his character developed, and who was most responsible (some fans squabble about such things). There's no doubt that he had talent, and that he soared when joined by the 'brain trust' -- Director Harry Edwards and his quiet style, director/writer Frank Capra and his ambiguous under shading, and writer Arthur Ripley with his darker tones - combine them with Langdon's minimalism and you get an odd, though unique mix.



He was also aided by a great, great co-star, who probably won't make it (but wouldn't it be weird if he did, ahead of Harry?) Vernon Dent was an asset in several of the short pieces.

Harry can be an acquired taste, the first time I watched a film, I was like, what the hell is this, strange, alien, baby-man? But once I got it, once I was tuned into him I saw his genius. I loved those slow movements, or even the fast reactions that come late (standing, standing, then a quick hop to avoid an oncoming car). The way he interacted with inanimate objects as if they were real, the scolding bits always made me giggle (like when he wags his finger to scold a glass of beer for tempting him)


These are among the collections I own on disc

Phew, well that was a mouthful. Here's a little more

His best talkie short was "Knight Duty (1933)", probably because it was almost a silent picture. The subject matter was also inspired, as Langdon is on the run from cops inside a museum full of dummies and waxworks. Langdon had often interacted with mannequins in his past; it's odd no one came up with this idea before.

Too bad Heart Trouble is lost.

Tramp, Tramp, Tramp is another favorite silent feature, his leading lady is a fresh-faced Joan Crawford.

[stansimpson]

[stethacantus]

#24

Will Ferrell

35 points, 4 lists, #12 RVR II

Born: July 16, 1967 Irvine, California,  U.S.A.
Birth Name: John Ferrell
Stage Name : Will Ferrell
Stage Debut: 1991
Television Debut: 1995
Film Debut: March 8 1997

Season 20 had been terrible for Saturday Night Live. The ratings were low, NBC wanted it cancelled,  and 12 cast members either left the show or were fired by the end of the season, including Al Franken,  Adam Sandler, Chris Farley and Mike Meyers.  New cast members were desperately needed, so a producer for the show was sent to Groundlings to scout for talent.  There he asked Chris Kattan, Cherie Oteri and Will Ferrell to audition for Lorne Michaels.  Will was a failed stand up comedian who joined Groundlings to develop comedic skills. There he created routines with Oteri and Kattan which they would later turn into skits at SNL. Ferrell stayed with SNL for seven seasons, becoming one of the most popular cast members in the history of the show. One of the popular recurring skits Farrell would do was Butabi Brothers which he and Kattan would go to nightclubs ( Where the DJ was always playing Haddaway's What Is Love ) and when bopping their heads to the beat, harassed women by slam dancing with them. Lorne Michaels thought the skit was good enough to be turned into the feature film A Night At The Roxbury ( 1998 ) Will also appeared in two other SNL films, Superstar ( 1999 ) starring Molly Shannon as her SNL character Mary Katherine Gallagher, and Ladies Man ( 2000 ), starring Tim Meadows  as the character of the same name. Between SNL and the SNL feature films, Will had very little free time to accept any other film roles other than bit parts, which included Mustafa in the Austin Powers franchise, Bob Woodward in Dick ( 1999 ), and Jacobim Mugatu in Zoolander ( 2001). SNL Studios gave up on making yearly movies based on the skits, so Ferrell had more time for his own projects.  This included the limited Broadway run of the one man show You're Welcome America: A Final Night With George W Bush, voicing the lead character in the WB animated series The Oblongs which lasted only 8 episodes before WB pulled the plug, and the pretty decent sized role of Federal Wildlife Marshal Willenholly in Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back.

In 2002 Will left SNL, finally giving him the time to make his own films. His first two, Old School and Elf ( both 2003 ) were instant classics.  Anchorman: The Legend Of Ron Burgundy ( 2004 ) was not just a success, but began a formula Farrell would use in his other films, such as Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby ( 2006 ) and Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga ( 2020 ). He has also done well with buddy pictures such as Step Brothers ( 2008 ), The Other Guys ( 2010 ) and Daddy's Home ( 2015 ). And has even been a success in animated films like Megamind ( 2010 ).

In 2011 Ferrell made what seemed like a return to television. Steve Carell was leaving the sitcom The Office, and for a few weeks Ferrell was going to be the new boss. Until he was killed off ( sort of ) in his fourth episode.  Of course anyone with half a brain would know Will Farrell was not about to give up movies for a weekly television series. He was having too much success with his films. But while it may seem as if Farrell has the golden touch, he has had his share of duds. Bewitched ( 2005 ) is a casebook example of what not to do when a studio has the rights to a classic sitcom but can't figure out what to do with them. The movie is not a reboot,  but a film about a reboot, which made no sense. My guess is that Land of the Lost ( 2009 ) was supposed to be  Rock film, but The Rock turned it down because it was well below his standards.  When looking to recast,  someone remembered Ferrell played a character called Marshall Willenholly so thought he was a logical replacement.  As for Casa de mi Padre ( 2012 ), I  have no idea what the hell that was supposed to be. Still, no other SNL alumni is responsible for as many classic comedies as Will Farrell.

[stethacantus]

#23

Penn & Teller

39 points, 2 lists, #4 linszoid

Members Birth Dates:
Raymond Teller  February 14, 1948   
Penn Jillette   March 5, 1955   
Stage Debut: August 19, 1975
Television Debut: March 10. 1977
Film Debut: September 22,  1989

Do Penn & Teller count as slapstick comedians? Well, no. They are magicians. Well. I guess if you count their only movie, Penn & Teller Get Killed as slapstick, and it sort of is, then okay, you have them performing slapstick. But generally, slapstick comedian and magicians were two completely different acts in Vaudeville, even if the magician did comedy. Sadly Penn & Teller only did the one film. I suppose if they did many more then they would have fallen clearly into the category of slapstick comedians.  But why would they bother doing movies when Las Vegas is paying them hundreds millions to do live stage shows?

Juggler Penn Jillette met magician Raymond Teller in 1974 when they were both introduced by mutual friend Weir Chrisemer in 1974. His reason, he wanted both of them to tour with him in a carny act called  The Asparagus Valley Cultural Society. tat would feature various sideshow tricks.   The act was gradually developed with Penn learning to do magic as the act became more of a magic act, and teller developing a stage character that didn't talk. On March 10, 1977 The Asparagus Valley Cultural Society was asked to perform on The Mike Douglas Show  But their act never really took off, and  in 1981 Chrisemer left. Now a duo, the act's name was changed to simply Penn & Teller. Both resented the popular magicians of the time as they continued to perform the same decades old tricks on television. They decided to get publicity for their act by revealing how these tricks were done, which they said was to motivate magicians to come up with new tricks. The publicity worked, and very soon Penn & Teller were performing to packed houses, while at the same time getting enough attention that they were invited to perform on talk shows and Saturday Night Live. In 1987 Penn & Teller starred in a music video for Run DMC's  It's Tricky. The rap group had broken into the mainstream a few months earlier after releasing the duet with Aerosmith Walk This Way, and so at this time Run-DMC music videos were getting heavy rotation airplay on MTV.

The video gained more fans for Penn & Teller. Which gave the duo the opportunity to write and star in their own movie Penn & Teller Get Killed ( 1989 ) which didn't do well at the box office or with critics, which is one of the reasons why no further Penn and Teller films were made. Well, that and they are both killed in the film, so no possibility of  a sequel. However, they still had a growing fanbase and which they used to market other products, from home videos, to books, to the infamous unreleased video game collection for the Sega CD Penn & Teller's Smoke and Mirrors which included what is considered one of the worst video games ever made, Desert Bus. In the game you are put behind the wheels of a bus driving from Tucson to Las Vegas on a strait desert road with very little in the way of scenery passing by. You need to constantly hold the controller otherwise the bus will veer off the road and the game will end. Oh, and it is 8 hours of gameplay before the bus reaches the Las Vegas depot, where you are rewarded one point and given the opportunity to continue the game vis another 8 hour trip back to Tucson for another point. Penn & Teller never actually intended anyone to actually play this game, but the current record for this game is 99 points.

 
Their first television series in 1992  was Behind the Scenes for PBS. It was a series where short films highlighting artist were introduced by Penn & Teller who would throw a quick trick into their segments. In 1998 they did Penn & Teller's Sin City Spectacular, a variety show in the style of The Ed Sullivan Show with Penn & Teller as the hosts. Both shows were not renewed for a second season. A series that did last was Penn & Teller's BULLSHIT! for Showtime which lasted for 8 seasons. Each episode of BULLSHIT! had a specific subject that the duo claimed was a con job. For example, an episode about the endangered species act showed how radical environmentalist were using a loophole in the law to prevent vacant lots in the middle of an urban area from being built on. Another episode debunked ESP.  At the end of it's run, Penn & Teller went to the Discovery channel with the series Penn & Teller Tell a Lie where they would air four stories, three of which were true and one which was completely made up. The audience was then asked to vote from home on which story they thought was the lie, the results of which were shown on the screen just before Pen & Teller reveal which story was not true. The series only lasted 6 episodes and was not picked up for any additional episodes. So Penn & Teller went to England to star on a series for ITV called Penn & Teller: Fool Us. Each episode had four magicians  do a trick and  Penn & Teller try to guess how they did it. If they can not guess how they did the trick then they win a FU trophy and an invitation to perform on stage with Penn & Teller at their Las Vegas  theater. ITV cancelled the series after a single season, but after it aired on the CW in the United States, they ordered additional seasons.  It is currently one of the longest running series on the CW, lasting 7 seasons with an 8th season scheduled to air later this year.

STATUE!

[George-2.0]

Ouch, even Reed Richards finds that one a bit of a reach.

[stethacantus]

#22

Jackie Chan

42 points, 2 lists, #1 CJones

Born: April 7, 1954 Victoria Peak, Hong Kong
Birth Name: Chan Kong Sang
Stage Name: Jackie Chan
Stage Debut:  1960s
Film Debut: December 5 1962

When Sang was 6 years old his parents were offered a job as servants at an embassy in Australia. The only problem, they were told they could not bring their son with them. He had shown interest in performing, so they signed him up at the China Drama Academy, a Peeking Opera school run by master Yu Jim Yuen. The contract they signed included a clause where they agreed Yuen would not be held liable should their son die from the harsh training. Ultimately none of the children at the Academy died, but never the less the training was harsh. The students were whipped into shape to learn acrobatics and martial arts, but on top of that needed to learn how to sing, dance and act. At the school Sang met fellow students Yuen Biao and Sammo Hung, who he would become close friends for life with. Together they called themselves The Three Dragons. The stage group master Yuen formed was called The Seven Fortunes, and the children  performed Peking Operas  for a paying audience, the money which Yuen pocketed to pay for his student's room and board. Yuen also sent his students to the local film studios whenever children were needed for the films, once again pocketing the money the studios paid.  Sang, Biao and Sammo all made their screen debuts as children in the movie  Big and Little Wong Tin Bar ( 1962 ). Once though a lost film, but recently a full print was discovered.

Master Yuen continues to lend his students to studios, and Sang appeared in a few other films, including  the classics Come Drink With Me  ( 1966  ) and   A Touch Of Zen ( 1971  ).   By this time this was the only money the Seven Fortunes were making. Audiences then preferred spending their money on movies, and the older audiences who still went to Peking Operas were dying off. Eventually Master Yuen was forced to close his school, and a teenaged Sang was forced to go out in the world on his own. Sammo had a falling out with Master Yuen a few years earlier and had been expelled from the school. He had found work in the film industry, and by the time the China Drama Academy had closed, began finding work in movies for his old friends. Sang soon found work doing stunts and small parts, some in classic films like Fist of Fury ( 1972 ), Hapkido ( 1972 ) and Enter the Dragon ( 1973 ). At the age of 17 a producer though he saw potential in the young Sang and starred him in his own movie Little Tiger of Canton ( 1973 ). However, shot on a micro budget and filled with first time actors, the finished film was terrible and found no distributors. By 1975 Sang had added fight choreography to his resume, and began working for up and coming director John Woo who was making independent films that Golden Harvest was distributing. Woo cast Sang as one of the ensemble in his Dirty Dozen style martial arts film Hand of Death ( 1976 ).  However, this did little to convince Sang he wanted to continue working in the film business. He was still not under contract, was paid very little, and work was too infrequent. He was old enough to get a passport to Australia and go to live with his parents, so he did.

In Australia Sang found work at a construction site.  The foreman didn't bother learning his name, so began calling him Jackie. Sang liked his new name, so kept it permanently.  He wasn't in Australia that long before he was contacted by an acquaintance in Hong Kong. Director Lo Wei had left Golden Harvest Studios to form his own production company, but was unable to find a new star. He though Jackie had great potential as a screen fighter, and wanted him to sign a contract to his studio as the new Bruce Lee. Jackie agreed to the offer, and his first film was the unofficial official sequel to Fist of Fury called New Fist of Fury with Jackie playing the lead role. No one was buying that Jackie was the new Bruce Lee, even if Lee's former director Lo Wei was saying he was. His films made no money. Jackie was convinced the only way he could succeed was to be the opposite of Bruce Lee, as all of the other screen fighters were trying to be Bruce Lee. Jackie had always been a fan of classic comedies, and though he could be a screen comedian if he were allowed to do funny martial arts films. A couple of years earlier a major studio had mixed humor and martial arts with the successful film Spiritual Boxer ( 1975 ) , but no one bothered to make a martial arts comedy since. Chan talked Lo We into allowing him to make a parody of the martial arts genre with a film called A Half Loaf of Kung Fu. When Lo saw the finished product, he decided it was crap and refused to release it. Since his contract with Lo Wei Studios was as a performer only, Jackie was able to do fight choreography for other studios. He worked on the independent production 36 Crazy Fist, lamenting that it was another martial arts comedy, a new genre Lo Wei was refusing to allow him to pioneer.

Convinced Jackie was a poor investment, Lo began casting him as the villain in some of his films. Another new independent film studio, Seasonal Films, asked Lo Wei if he would lend them Jackie Chan for a couple of films, and he did without hesitation. Jackie convinced director Woo Ping and producer Ng See Yuen that his two films for the studio should be comedies, the first of which was Snake in the Eagle's Shadow ( 1978 ). Producer Ng See Yuen was so impressed by the way the film turned out that he decided the second film, which became Drunken Master, should also be a comedy. Both films teamed Jackie Chan with veteran actor Simon Yuen, who in both played a beggar who turns out to be a martial arts master. Both films broke box office records, and Jackie Chan became a superstar in Asia. Back at Lo Wei Studios, he was immediately put into a rip-off of Spiritual Boxer called Spiritual Kung Fu ( 1978 ). Lo also released Half Loaf of Kung Fu and insisted that Chan should continue making comedies. Chan convinced Lo to allow him to direct his next film, which was Fearless Hyena ( 1979 ). That same year, someone dug up Little Tiger of Canton and decided to turn it into a comedy by editing in new footage starring Simon Yuen.  the new edit was released as Master With Cracked Fingers ( 1979 ). This would be the closest Jackie came to being reunited with Simon. He had planned to sign with Golden Harvest as soon as his contract with Lo Wei Studios expired, and Golden Harvest was already planning a sequel to Drunken Master which would co-star Simon Yuen. But Lo Wei announced that Jackie's contract still had a few years Jackie was unaware of.  It turned out Lo's studio was financed by members of a Triad gang, and they were refusing to allow Jackie to leave. He was forced back  to Lo Wei studios and began work on another comedy. Actor Jimmy Wang Yu, who was connected to the Triads, stepped in to negotiate Jackie's release from Lo Wei's contract. But he would owe Jimmy two films to be named later. By the time Chan was free to sign with Golden Harvest, Simon Yuen had died of a heart attack, and the planned Drunken Master sequel had been released as The Magnificent Butcher ( 1979 ) which was not exactly a sequel.

Chan's first film for Golden Harvest was  Young Master  ( 1980 ). However, by this time he had grown tired of the whole Kung Fu comedy genre and wanted to move onto other comedies. Meanwhile, Golden Harvest was interested in turning Jackie Chan into an international star. Co-producing a film again with Warner Bros., the studio they partnered with for Enter the Dragon, and hiring the same director and producer who worked on Enter the Dragon, they made for the American market  The Big Brawl ( 1980 ), a film that had Jackie playing a Chinese immigrant in 1930's America. Deciding he didn't want the star of the film getting hurt, director Robert Clause refused to allow Jackie to do any of the stunts he suggested, and did not allow him to do much screen fighting, reducing the fights to something simple with very few moves or strikes. The Big Brawl failed to make Jackie Chan a star in America, so Golden Harvest tried again by putting him in the all star comedy they were producing for the American market, The Cannonball Run. Jackie returned to Hong Kong to direct himself in Dragon Lord ( 1982 )  which had a mass  fight scene on a wooden tower  in the beginning of the movie that injured several stunt men and actors during it's filming. In 1983 the abandoned Lo Wei film he had  been working on while his contract was negotiated was completed using new footage as well as footage lifted from Fearless Hyena as Fearless Hyena II. Chan was asked by Jimmy Wang Yu to do the ensemble comedy Fantasy Mission Force which was one of the two films he owed him. Back at Golden Harvest Chan got to do his first film set in modern times in years called Winners and Sinners. It was another ensemble comedy directed and starring Sammo Hung, and would be the first film in the Lucky Stars series. Jackie was only supposed to be doing a guest starring role, but took it upon himself to stage a thrilling action scene which involved his police officer character chasing after hoodlums in a stolen car on a busy highway with Chan in roller skates just missing other vehicles, and at one point passing under the undercarriage of a moving truck. He ten did his first all out action film, Project A. From this point on Chan was no longer a martial arts star, but an action movie star, making one incredible action film with dangerous stunts after another for Golden Harvest.

In 1984 he added recording star to his resume by releasing his first album  Love Me. A year later, in between guest star roles in two more of the Lucky Stars films, he was sent to America again with another attempt by Golden Harvest to break Jackie into the international market via a Hollywood film. The   Protector was a formula buddy cop film which once again refused to allow Chan to do complicated fight choreography or thrilling stunts. This time due to director James Glickenhause who insisted American audiences didn't want that much action in their action films.  Jackie responded by returning to Hong Kong and making his own police drama  Police Story which has since become known as one of the greatest action movies ever made, while The Protector not only failed to break Jackie Chan into the American market, but is only thought of as a footnote in Jackie Chan's career.

Chan continued to make spectacular action films, none of which were seen in America beyond bootleg videos. In 1994 Harvey Weinstein acquired the American distribution rights to Drunken Master II, but like he did wit most of the Asian films he got the rights to, shelved it for years. Finally in 1996 Miramax released a 1995 Jackie Chan film Rumble in the Bronx to American theaters, and it was #1 in the box office on it's first weekend.  After that there was a rush to dub in English and release Jackie Chan films in the United States, including finally Drunken Master II. Once again Golden Harvest began co-producing Jackie Chan films made for the international market, starting with Mr. Nice Guy where Chan once again spoke his lines entirely in English. Hollywood studios began offering him American productions, including Rush Hour ( 1998 ) and Shanghai Noon ( 2000 ), as well as asking him to do voiceover work in cartoons like Kung Fu Panda ( 2008 ).  Despite many threats to retire going back to the 90s, Jackie continues to star in action films, most which are primarily comedies.

[linszoid]

Yeah, apparently all my picks suck.

Fuck this list. I'm outta here.

[MartyS (Gromit)]

Wow, I think there was a bit of an overreaction there.

[stethacantus]

Yeah, apparently all my picks suck.

Fuck this list. I'm outta here.

No at all. !2 of your picks definitely belong on a slapstick list.  Maybe about four on your list fall into the category of "Huh?" But that was the same with most lists submitted. Slapstick purists are going to be  furious with this LoC.  They are especially going to hate the next entry on this list...

#21

Mel Brooks

52 points, 3 lists, #4 RVR II

Born: June 28, 1926 Brooklyn, New York City, New York, U.S.A.
Birth Name: Melvin Kaminsky
Stage Name: Mel Brooks
Stage Debut: 1942
Television Debut:1961
Film Debut: July 10, 1969

Here is someone who shouldn't really be on this list. Mel Brooks is primarily a director and producer.  When he has performed comedy it was standup, and when he has acted in comedies his performance is almost always verbal.  However there is that one time in the 70s where he did do a little slapstick, so just barely qualifies to be here.

Mel first entered showbusiness at 14 years old as a drummer and pianist at a club. When he was 16 the club comic was out sick, and Mel was asked to take his place for the night. It was his first opportunity to do stand up, and from that point on pursued a career in comedy. In 1944 he was drafted into the army, where he was part of a unit that disarmed Nazi landmines,  and ended up fighting in the Battle of the Bulge. As WWII wound down, Mel was asked to help entertain the troops. When the war ended, he returned to stand up in the Borscht Belt clubs of the Catskills.  In 1949 a friend of Mel named  Sid Caesar offered him a job writing jokes for television.

Throughout the 1950s Mel wrote comedy for Sid in Your Show Of Shows and later Caesar's Hour. There he met Carl Reiner, and together they developed the routine The 2000 Year Old Man where Carl would play a reporter and Mel a man old enough to have met Jesus. At first they only performed the routine at parties,  but as most of their friends were comedy writers and comedians,  word of the routine spread through the comedy community.  In 1961 Steve Allen asked Carl and Mel to perform the routine on his television show. Shortly after the broadcast,  Mel and Carl recorded the routine and released it as a best selling comedy album. Mel continued to work in television, and in 1965 he and Buck Henry created a parody of a spy show called Get Smart which ran for four seasons.

Throughout the 60s Mel had been toying with the idea of writing a musical about Adolph Hitler. He eventually explained the premise into a story about Broadway producers producing a Hitler musical because they purposely want  a musical that will fail. By 1966 he had a script for Springtime For Hitler, but no studio wanted to do it. He finally found a producer who thought the script was funny, and he in turn found a distributor, who agreed to distribute the film on condition  the name of the movie was changed to The Producers.  Since no director wanted part of a Hitler comedy, Mel decided to direct it himself. The movie got a limited released in 1968, but soon found a cult following and made a lot of money on the college circuit. A year later Mel made his screen acting debut a cameo in Putney Swope ( 1969 ). The Producers made enough money that Brooks was asked to write and direct a second film, The Twelve Chairs ( 1970 ) where he also too a small role.  Mel's next two films as director were made in 1974. One began as a blaxploitation film that Brooks bought the script for and had completely rewritten as a parody of Westerns. The other, a collaboration with actor Gene Wilder which was a parody of Universal horror films. Both Blazing Saddles and Young Frankenstein were blockbusters as well as critical successes, and gave Mel Brooks the reputation as the king of parody films.

And now we get to the slapstick. Not that his films didn't utilize slapstick, but the roles he took in those films didn't involve slapstick. Although, his performance as Governor Lepetomane in Blazing Saddles sounds remarkably like a Harry Langdon impersonation. Since his name was on the films, he decided he would be the star as well., taking the lead role in Silent Movie ( 1976 ). And since it was a parody of sorts of silent films, there was some slapstick. I mean, not a lot. In fact, the slapstick content is disappointingly low in this film. If you want to see a comedy with old fashioned slapstick from this decade, then you are better off watching Gene Wilder's comedy about the silent era  made a year later ,The World's Greatest Lover ( 1977 ).  BTW, Gene Wilder, not on anyone's list.

Brooks closed out the decade with another great comedy, High Anxiety ( 1977 ) which parodied Albert Hitchcock films. In the 80s he began producing other directors films, including Elephant Man ( 1980 ), My Favorite Year (  1982 ) and The Fly ( 1986 ).  Unfortunately this was also the decade when Brooks began going downhill. History of the World: Part I ( 1981 )  was so bad that there will never be a Part II. It begins with a brilliant Moses gag, and then does a nosedive from there.Spaceballs ( 1987 ) was a vast improvement, but was nowhere as funny as his 70s films. Life Stinks ( 1991 ) stunk. Robin Hood: Men in Tights ( 1993 ) was as funny as it's title. Dracula: Dead and Loving It ( 1995 ) was absent of laughs, and just didn't work as a comedy. It is a competent retelling of the Dracula story, but for some reason none of the gags work. It would be the last film he directed. Although not his last film.  In 2001 Mel Brooks turned his movie The Producers into a successful Broadway musical, which he then looped back by releasing a motion picture version of the musical.

[Cyrusso]

Wow, I think there was a bit of an overreaction there.

I can't believe he left.  You're right, that was a bit rash.

[George-2.0]

MEL BROOKS!?!!! Jesus H Spitballs! ARG, GRUMBLE! I AM FURIOUS YELLOW! Ha, I'm kidding, kidding. There was slapstick in his movies, so I'm not furious. But yeah, maybe a Gene Wilder would have been a better fit (I spaced on Wilder, you could have even gone beyond Brooks and listed Wilder & Pryor).

But on a serious note... I hope my (attempt) at a riff-style response -because well, we're on riff-forum so I thought that would be okay- wasn't the last straw for linszoid. 2020+ has been full of last straws, so I get it. Sometimes a soul can get sick and tired of crap, and snap. If my crappy quip contributed, I'm sorry

[RVR II]

I hate to see a regular forum member snap or leave the forum for what ever reason but is a LoC really worth it

[George-2.0]

I hate to see a regular forum member snap or leave the forum for what ever reason but is a LoC really worth it

I agree, an LoC isn't worth it, but there could be other pressures, you never know. It did seem an out of the blue outburst. I'll give him the benefit of the doubt and hope he's doing okay.

[stethacantus]

#20

Jerry Lewis

52 points, 4 lists, #8 stansimpson and George-2.0

March 16, 1926 Newark, New Jersey, U.S.A.
Birth Name: Joseph Levitch
Stage Name: Jerry Lewis
Stage Debut: 1941
Television Debut: October 3, 1948
Radio Debut: April 3, 1949
Film Debut: October 14, 1949

Joseph's father, Daniel Levitch, was a vaudeville performer who went by the stage name Danny Lewis. When he was 15 Joseph decided to follow in his father's footsteps and become a performer. He adopted the last name "Lewis" because it was the last name his father used, and first name "Jerry" because if he called himself Joe Lewis he would be confused with both the performer Joe E. Lewis an the boxer Joe Louis.  Jerry's act consisted of a record being played offstage while he lip synced  to it. His first performance at a burlesque house in Buffalo flopped, and he was unable to get a booking again. so he quit show business and got a job as a theater usher.  One of his father's friends, the comedian Max Colman, learned of Jerry's failure in Buffalo and persuaded him not to give up on show business. Jerry took his advice and tried his act in the Borscht Belt where the audiences loved it. Jerry gradually built up his act to include zany jokes. In 1945 he was performing in the same theater as a singer named Dean Martin. They both got along so well that they decided to team up as a duo. Martin would sing,  and Jerry would interrupt with his jokes as Dean acted as his strait man. Martin & Lewis toured the night club circuit, and by 1948 had built up enough of a following that Ed Sullivan invited them to perform on his television show. That performance lead to them being booked on The Milton Berle Show and Welcome Aboard.  NBC invited them to do their own weekly radio series The Martin & Lewis Show beginning in April of 1949 and ending in 1953, and then to be one of the rotating hosts of the television series The Colgate Comedy Hour from 1950 to 1955.

Their movie careers began as supporting characters in  My Friend Irma ( 1949 ) and were asked to return for the sequel My Friend Irma Goes West ( 1950 ). Paramount  then signed them to a 14 picture deal for a Martin & Lewis film series, releasing two to three full length films a year. They became so popular that D.C. began publishing a monthly comic book called The Adventures of Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis Jerry became the more popular of the duo, and the films gradually reduced Martin's role and paid more attention to Jerry's character.  In 1954 Look Magazine took a publicity photo of Martin & Lewis, cropped Dean out of the picture, and put Jerry on their cover. Finally Dean had enough of this, and they both decided to break up once they had completed their 14 film obligation to Paramount.

!956 was an eventful year for the newly solo Jerry Lewis. Just after the breakup, Jerry was vacationing in Las Vegas when he was asked to be a last minute fill in for Judy Garland who was unable to perform due to strep throat.  Jerry told a few jokes and sang a few songs and got a standing ovation. He decided to record one of the songs he sang that night, Rock-a-Bye Your Baby With A Dixie Melody as a single, and it reached #10 on the billboard chart. An album was released and peaked at #3. He began performing solo in Vegas as a singer. He began hosting a telethon to raise money for the Muscular Dystrophy Association, which would go on to be an annual Labor Day event.  He also signed a six picture deal with Paramount for solo films. DC altered their comic book to just [i[]The Adventures of Jerry Lewis[/i]

When the six picture deal concluded, Jerry formed Jerry Lewis Productions and signed another long term  deal with Paramount that would give him creative control over his films, allowing him to write and direct them as well as produce them.  They included his most memorable films including The Bellboy ( 1960 ), The Ladies Man ( 1961 ), The Disorderly Orderly ( 1964 ) and Boeing Boeing ( 1965 ). But perhaps his most memorable film from this period was The Nutty Professor ( 1963 ), a remake of  Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, only with Jerry's doctor in this version turning into the lounge singer Buddy Love, who is basically a parody of Dean Martin. While working on this film he did a very brief cameo in It's A Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World ( 1963 ), a film which features at least four other comedians or teams from this LoC. As well as a lot of comedians who probably should have been on this LoC.

After the completion of his Paramount contract, Jerry began making films for other studios. But the quality f those films began to decrease. His final released film was Which Way To The Front which at the time was panned by critics and considered his worst movie. He began work on a film called The Day The Clown Cried which would have either been a dark comedy masterpiece, or a complete disaster. In it Jerry played a circus clown who is sent to a Nazi concentration camp and is asked to lead children into the gas chamber. Because of unresolved copyright issues the film was never completed other than an incomplete work print.   And with that Jerry retired from making movies. While he only made the occasional appearance on television shows, he was not completely retired as he continued to host the Labor Day MDA telethons. In 1980 he came out of retirement to write, direct and star in his first movie in nearly a decade, Hardly Working ( 1980 ) which was held up in distribution for over a year in the United States. Critics hated it, declaring it Jerry's worst movie. However, it did well at e box office. In 1982 he starred in a science fiction comedy Slapstick of Another Kind which was once again held up in distribution in the United States until 1984. Critics hated it as well, and it was shown in very few theaters. That same year he co-starred in Martin Scorsese's The King of Comedywhich was critically acclaimed, but bombed at the box office. In 1983 Jerry directed his last movie, Cracking Up. Despite it getting favorable reviews, Warner Bros. decided to release it direct to video without any promotion. at the time  Jerry Lewis was  considered box office poison in the United States. However, he was still well loved overseas, especially in France where Jerry made his next two films, both which were never distributed to the United States. In 1987 he starred in an acclaimed dramatic television movie Fight For Life. However, his film roles from that point on were either minor roles in American films, or supporting roles in foreign films. In 2011 MDA  announced they decide Jerry Lewis would no longer host their Labor Day telethon, ending his run as host for 55 years. in 2016, after over 30 years of studios and distributors not wanting anything to do with Jerry Lewis, he was cast as the star of the drama Max Rose ( 2016 ). A year later, on August 20, 2017 Jerry Lewis died of end stage cardiac disease.

STATUE!