The best advice I was probably given and the best advice I could give someone who is trying to get into the comedy field is to take advantage of every opportunity you have to work to hone your skills.
Bob NewhartRead
I have no intention of retiring; I can't imagine not doing stand-up. That's where I started and where I'll be.
Interpretation
Bob Newhart expresses his passion for stand-up comedy and his intention to continue performing indefinitely.
In this quote, Bob Newhart reflects on his enduring love for stand-up comedy and his commitment to continue performing. He emphasizes that retirement from stand-up is not in his plans, suggesting that the joy and fulfillment he derives from making people laugh will keep him engaged in the art form for as long as possible. His words highlight a deep connection to his craft, revealing that for him, comedy is not just a job, but an integral part of his identity.
In practice
When discussing careers in entertainment.
The best advice I was probably given and the best advice I could give someone who is trying to get into the comedy field is to take advantage of every opportunity you have to work to hone your skills.
I've always said people say on a dramatic show, 'I was crying. It was so emotional when he went and grabbed that little girl from a burning building and handed her over to her mother.' In comedy, the best thing you can say is, 'I think it's funny.'
Jack Benny was, without a doubt, the bravest comedian I have ever seen work. He wasn't afraid of silence. He would take as long as it took to tell the story.
I've been told to speed up my delivery when I perform. But if I lose the stammer, I'm just another slightly amusing accountant.
I certainly don't delude myself that there aren't certainly more important things to do in life than make people laugh, but I can't imagine anything that would bring me more joy.
I found the most difficult thing when you became successful - when I had the record album, it won Album of the Year - that you were cut off from the source of your material. Your material was everyday people, and you were kind of cut off from that, and you had to work at it.
Humor is everywhere in that there's irony in just about anything a human does.
All of comedy at some level is trial-and-error, whether it's a stand-up trying out jokes or a comedy show trying stories.
People are always asking me in interviews, 'What do you think of foreign affairs?' I just say, 'I've had a few.'
Tell the cook of this restaurant with my compliments that these are the very worst sandwiches in the whole world, and that, when I ask for a watercress sandwich, I do not mean a loaf with a field in the middle of it.
Bigamy is the only crime where two rites make a wrong.
Laugh at your problems; everybody else does.
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