The most terrible fear that anybody should have is not war, is not a disease, not cancer or heart problems or food poisoning - it's a man or a woman without a sense of humor.
Jonathan WintersRead
I don't do jokes. The characters are my jokes.
Interpretation
Jonathan Winters emphasizes that his comedic style is embedded in his characters rather than traditional jokes.
In this quote, Jonathan Winters expresses his unique approach to humor, highlighting that he does not rely on conventional jokes but instead finds comedy through the depth and personality of the characters he portrays. This perspective underscores the idea that humor can manifest in various forms and that rich character development can be a powerful source of laughter.
In practice
During a comedy workshop to illustrate the importance of character development in stand-up.
The most terrible fear that anybody should have is not war, is not a disease, not cancer or heart problems or food poisoning - it's a man or a woman without a sense of humor.
Well, the most terrible fear that anybody should have is not war, is not a disease, not cancer or heart problems or food poisoning - it's a man or a woman without a sense of humor.
If your ship doesn't come in, swim out to it.
Nothing ever happened on this globe, for good, at which some people did not have their fill of laughter in the onset; and knowing that such as these would be blind anyway, he thought it quite as well that they should wrinkle up their eyes in grins, as have a malady in the less attractive forms.
Nothing is more comical than seriousness understood as a virtue that has to precede all important literature
Our constitution protects aliens, drunks and U.S. Senators.
It is a fair, even-handed, noble adjustment of things, that while there is infection in disease and sorrow, there is nothing in the world so irresistibly contagious as laughter and good humour.
Anyway, it's like with bikes,' said the first speaker authoritatively. 'I thought I was going to get this bike with seven gears and one of them razorblade saddles and purple paint and everything, and they gave me this light blue one. With a basket. A girl's bike.' 'Well. You're a girl,' said one of the others. 'That's sexism, that is. Going around giving people girly presents just because they're a girl.
Before I had a double mastectomy, I was already pretty flat-chested, and I made so many jokes over the years about how small my chest was that I started to think that maybe my boobs overheard me... and were just like, 'You know what? We're sick of this. Let's kill her.'
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