I realized that comedians of the day were operating on jokes and punch lines. The moment you say the punch line, the audience either laughs sincerely or they laugh automatically or they don't laugh. The thing that bothered me was that automatic laugh. I said, that's not real laughter.
Interpretation
Steve Martin reflects on the nature of laughter and the authenticity behind it.
In this quote, Steve Martin expresses his concern about the authenticity of laughter in comedy. He distinguishes between genuine laughter and the automatic response that can occur when an audience reacts to a punchline without true amusement. Martin's observation suggests a deeper connection is needed between the comedian and the audience for humor to resonate meaningfully.
In practice
During a stand-up comedy show, a comedian might use this quote to emphasize the importance of genuine laughter.
When I first started doing my comedy act, I just desperately needed material. So I took literally everything I knew how to do on stage with me, which was juggling, magic and banjo and my little comedy routines. I always felt the audience sorta tolerated the serious musical parts while I was doing my comedy.
You want to be a bit compulsive in your art or craft or whatever you do.
I have heard it said that a complicated childhood can lead to a life in the arts. I tell you this story of my father and me to let you know I am qualified to be a comedian.
...it is not the big events that hurt the most but rather the smallest questionable shift in tone at the end of a spoken word that can plow most deeply into the heart.
Reviews for someone like me come in three packages. One is justifiable praise, the second is justifiable criticism, and the third is, "This is only published because he's a celebrity."
If he thinks he would harm Mirabelle, he would back away. But he does not yet understand when and how people are hurt. He doesn't understand the subtleties of slights and pains, that it is not the big events that hurt the most but rather the smallest questionable shift in tone at the end of a spoken word that can plow most deeply into the heart.
My father always wanted to be the corpse at every funeral, the bride at every wedding and the baby at every christening.
Whether a party can have much success without a woman present I must ask others to decide, but one thing is certain, no party is any fun unless seasoned with folly.
A committee is the only known form of life with a hundred bellies and no brain.
A lot of sexism is just very silly... and the best response is laughter and ridicule.
Negative humor is forgotten immediately. It's the stuff that makes us feel better about our lives that lives long. Much more satisfying. Enter children's books.
Well, honey, a shot never does a coke any harm!
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