Silliness that changed you.
 

     I was just talking to someone about the Muppets reference I made in the 'Personal Philosophys' thread. It made me think about how much that show effected my young mind. I still think the Waldorf and Statler bits are some of the funniest things I've ever seen. I know they've effected my sense of humor.
     More than that though, through my sense of humor it's effected my veiw of life. Monty Python has had some effect too. I'm not sure if this is a good or a bad thing.
     So, the question then becomes, "What silliness has effect your life?" Not special, heart warming moments. Not tramatic experiences, just the silly stuff. Like the Muppets or Monty Python. What's yours?

Regardless of how bad my mood may be, "Seinfeld" will always put a smile on my face. 'Cept this doesn't work with some of the earlier episodes.
"MPFC" is up there as well. How can you go wrong with the silly walk foundation, or the paid argue session?

I always felt alienated from my peers because I couldn't see anything funny about the 3 stooges.

Naked gun?

My first concept of silliness was Harpo Marx in A Night at the Opera. I think I was 9 or 10 or 11. I was amazed at this new, strange humor. I still am. Where does weirdness switch over into funny?

Airplane!

When it catches you off guard, makes you say "run that by me again" and makes you want to see it over and over.

It has to make some recognizable connection. Someone has to receive it, to laugh. Weird is one, its lonely, funny takes two, usually its a good and healthy exchange.

In what Marx bro movie does Groucho call himself "Monsieur Cornblow"? Night at the Opera? I just remember that line killed me. That Bill Murray kind of moxy.

My '60s-70s childhood was blessed with some great comedy albums supplied by dad- Tom Leherer, Smothers Brothers, Cosby. And the Carlin album with "7 dirty words" smuggled on to the turntable in the basement. Had to laugh into a pillow, or get busted. Then Steve Martin.

And silly TV: as a little kid I loved The Carol Burnett Show, except when she sang.

I got pretty silly at a pretty early age. Early enough, in fact, that I'm trying to remember what first made it start sinking in that being weird was a good thing.

I suppose it was a healthy dose of Looney Toons first, followed closely by Mad Magazine. During the 60's I was a Peter Sellers/Pink Panther Fan, and of course, Bill Cosby. Laugh-In contributed more than a little to my transition, as did Steve Allen, Jonathan Winters and Vaughn Meader (mostly known for The First Family, a comedy album about the Kennedys which was huge right up until the day JFK was assassinated). In high school I gravitated to the National Lampoon and Richard Pryor, and Monty Python.

I still get weirder every day, and I try to draw on as many sources as I can.

I would name most of the same things that elspode does here, with some additions/specifics.

Bill Cosby - Wonderfulness was one of the first LPs that I owned.

Rocky and Bullwinkle warped me in special ways.

Dr. Demento. Many the Sunday night did I spend, eagerly awaiting the Funny Five.

There were an assortment of other britcoms that molded me, and very importantly, I'm the exception that proves the rule about women liking the Stooges. I love them.

The early years of Saturday Night Live also set the comedy bar higher ... and the brilliance of robin william's "Reality, What a Concept" album shines to this day.

Then there was our own self-generated silly ... long before there was an internet, back in the ol' paper terminal days, my socially impaired geek friends and I kept voluminous lists of very silly things that we said in the course of what where, for us, ordinary conversations.

The tradition continues to this day ... there's an annual picnic that started back when we were in college that is still going on, and it continues to be my duty to write down all the 'sentences not often heard.'

We also did the customary assortment of 'we don't care what you think' goofy stuff.

Dr. Demento and Rocky & Bullwinkle
 

     Heh, I listened to Dr. D just this last weekend. Good stuff.

     As for Rocky & Bullwinkle, I prefer the Mr. Peabody and his boy Sherman bits. Does anyone else remember how Mr. Peabody got custody of Sherman? I swear that Mr. Peabody saved Sherman from an abusive home and then argued in court that since it was okay for a boy to have a dog then it should be okay for a dog to have a boy. It even seems like Sherman's dad got violent when he drank, though that may just be inferred. It's also been a very long time since I've seen it. Talk about a show ahead of it's time...

     Oh yeah, britcoms. I used to watch 'Fawlty Towers' religously.Oh yeah, britcoms. I used to watch 'Fawlty Towers' religiously.

Mr. Peabody: Sherman, I am so proud of you I could just lick your nose!

Bwahahahahahahaaha

The First Family
 

Some random memories from that album, which I was playing in the 1970s and which had been in the house for at least ten years previous...


KHRUSCHEV: Oh, don't worry about me! I'll just have a bite of everybody else's!

***

KENNEDY: "...the following toys have been allocated for tub use: eighteen PT-109 boats, nine Howdy Doody Bouncing Clowns, and a rubber schwan. [there follows an allocation of the PT boats and the Howdy Doodies to John-John and Caroline] The rubber schwan -- is mine."

The reason that The First Family even came to mind for me was that, while sitting in the doctor's office a few days ago, I picked up an semi-old copy of Entertainment Weekly in which there was an article about Vaughn Meader. It seems that, following Kennedy's assassination, Vaughn began a decline from the heights of fame and popularity that is nearly unmatched in weirdness and rapidity in the annals of popular culture. I had no idea about what had happened to him until I read that.

http://www.geocities.com/Broadway/Stage/1985/

The link above tells some of the same story, although it omits much of the scary details, including his messianic phase and his belief that he was actually a small blue rabbit (LSD - what a drug!).