# Did anybody ever really laugh at these? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** comedian-jokes\ **Created:** [April 19, 2024, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-anybody-ever-really-laugh-at-these/1000511 "2024-04-19T17:33:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 9
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2024, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-anybody-ever-really-laugh-at-these/1000511/161 "2024-04-24T23:09:54Z")
My pronouns are she/her/hers, and I am AFAB. And my name isn’t Shirley. ---
**Author:** ![rowrrbazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rowrrbazzle/32/414_2.png) [@rowrrbazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rowrrbazzle)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2024, 3:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-anybody-ever-really-laugh-at-these/1000511/162 "2024-04-25T03:42:32Z")
That explains the show where Robin Williams was also on. He kept up his ad-libs and Hope was clearly irritated. ---
**Author:** ![Coriolanus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/coriolanus/32/18769_2.png) [@Coriolanus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Coriolanus)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2024, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-anybody-ever-really-laugh-at-these/1000511/164 "2024-04-25T14:58:10Z")
Airplane II was funny and had most of the same cast, yet I’m glad Leslie Nielsen wasn’t in it. > Witness: But it was Striker who couldn’t handle it, and he went to pieces. > Prosecutor: _Andy_ went to pieces? I reckon that jail / numbered punchline joke has the most variants in the last line I can think of. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2024, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-anybody-ever-really-laugh-at-these/1000511/165 "2024-04-25T15:10:11Z")
Andy was a rock! _Buddy_ went to pieces. ---
**Author:** ![Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slow_moving_vehicle/32/291_2.png) [@Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slow_Moving_Vehicle)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2024, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-anybody-ever-really-laugh-at-these/1000511/166 "2024-04-25T17:49:53Z")
> [@nearwildheaven](#): > > My pronouns are she/her/hers, and I am AFAB. > > And my name isn’t Shirley Which is why he shouldn’t call you “Bill”. ---
**Author:** ![Cardigan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cardigan/32/187_2.png) [@Cardigan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cardigan)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2024, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-anybody-ever-really-laugh-at-these/1000511/167 "2024-04-25T18:00:32Z")
.nvm. someone beat me to it. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2024, 11:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-anybody-ever-really-laugh-at-these/1000511/168 "2024-04-27T11:05:54Z")
I’d like to see a comedy done like _Airplane!_ where the source material is a legitimate thriller/melodrama (the way _Zero Hour!_ was), and the producers tinker with it the way ZAZ subverted Arthur Hailey’s script. It occurs to me that _Left Behind: the Movie_ might make a good target. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2024, 1:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-anybody-ever-really-laugh-at-these/1000511/169 "2024-05-25T13:53:49Z")
> [@kaylasdad99](#): > > I’d like to see a comedy done like _Airplane!_ where the source material is a legitimate thriller/melodrama (the way _Zero Hour!_ was), and the producers tinker with it the way ZAZ subverted Arthur Hailey’s script. In order to keep from being sued, ZAZ actually bought the rights to do a remake of _Zero Hour_, which cost them only about $2500 at that time. I would wonder if one could actually pull something like that off today with a spoof of a major film, without having to spend a fortune for those rights. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2024, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-anybody-ever-really-laugh-at-these/1000511/170 "2024-05-25T14:20:20Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > In order to keep from being sued, ZAZ actually bought the rights to do a remake of _Zero Hour_, which cost them only about $2500 at that time. I would wonder if one could actually pull something like that off today with a spoof of a major film, without having to spend a fortune for those rights. Could the studio that already owns those rights be the one that remakes it as a spoof? ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2024, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-anybody-ever-really-laugh-at-these/1000511/171 "2024-05-27T01:04:39Z")
> [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](#): > > Could the studio that already owns those rights be the one that remakes it as a spoof? If a studio owned the rights outright, I can’t imagine why not. In a way, that’s fundamentally what happened with _Airplane II_. After the first film was a huge success, Paramount wanted the ZAZ trio to do a sequel. They weren’t interested, stating, “we’ve already done all the good disaster-movie jokes!” Paramount’s reply was, “we own the rights, and we’re making a sequel, with or without you.” To which, ZAZ replied, “without us.” The sequel was made with essentially no involvement from them, while they instead went on to make _Police Squad!_ and _Top Secret!_ ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2024, 1:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-anybody-ever-really-laugh-at-these/1000511/172 "2024-05-27T01:31:43Z")
> [@Cardigan](#): > > Keep in mind Bob Hope had appeared in hundreds of USO shows from WW2, to Korea, to Viet Nam. Him performing in Desert Storm was all part of the ‘war experience’ and it was tangible proof they were participating in history. This is what I came in to mention. Hope volunteered a lot of time and effort to putting on those shows for service members who were homesick and in a lot of danger. Hope brought pretty young women, singers, etc. to combat zones and put on a good show for the troops. He will always be forgiven any shortcomings by many thousands of veterans for that generosity. ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2024, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-anybody-ever-really-laugh-at-these/1000511/173 "2024-05-27T15:32:03Z")
It’s Pavlovian conditioning. If you laugh at a Bob Hope joke, Rachel Welch might walk into the room. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2024, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-anybody-ever-really-laugh-at-these/1000511/174 "2024-05-27T15:42:57Z")
There’s that, for sure. I was never able to see one of his shows. A couple of guys from our unit got to go Freedom Hill to see him while the rest of us simmered in a stew of envy. I saw a couple of other USO efforts, though. I recall seeing Michelle Lee (singer/actress) at some point, but that was back in the States, and also Ray Charles (although that’s a bit of a fuzzy memory). I may have that confused with seeing him at Wolf Trap in Virginia. ---
**Author:** ![bordelond](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bordelond/32/150_2.png) [@bordelond](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bordelond)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2024, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-anybody-ever-really-laugh-at-these/1000511/175 "2024-05-27T16:21:12Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > I recall seeing Michelle Lee (singer/actress) at some point _Knots Landing_ Michele Lee? EDIT: Corrected the spelling…she’s a one L Michel(l)e. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2024, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-anybody-ever-really-laugh-at-these/1000511/176 "2024-05-27T16:29:25Z")
That’s the gal. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2024, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-anybody-ever-really-laugh-at-these/1000511/177 "2024-05-31T14:49:03Z")
> [@dorvann](#): > > Carson mentioned how Hope would get lost if he went off script and that Hope had almost no ability to improvise(something Carson was great at.) This is weird, because I’d always heard that as a young comedian, Hope was _noted_ for his quick wit and ability to improvise. Maybe he lost some of that as he got older. Here’s a site talking about Hope’s ability to improvise > **[How Bob Hope transformed monologue misfires | American Masters | PBS](https://www.pbs.org/wnet/americanmasters/bob-hope-transformed-monologue-misfires/9834/)** > > Bob Hope was known for his off-the-cuff comedic style and quick wit. Comedian Conan O'Brien and actor Tom Selleck discuss how Hope was a master of improvising when a joke didn't land or he fumbled a line. > **[Learn how Bob Hope came up with his iconic standup routines | American Masters...](https://www.pbs.org/wnet/americanmasters/learn-bob-hope-came-iconic-standup-routines/9830/)** > > Journalist Richard Zoglin, comedy writer Robert Mills, and America's most beloved amphibian, Kermit the Frog, discuss Bob Hope's groundbreaking improvisational style. His fast-paced monologues were flexible, and allowed him to bring current events... or here: > [@](#): > > Bob Hope often relied on a script, but he was also adept at comedy and could ad-lib with the best of comedians. When he first started on TV, he was shown reading from a script, but then they took it away from him. One time he was on a radio show with Groucho Marx, and the script they were reading was really terrible. Groucho knocked the script out of Bob Hope’s hand, and the two of them just ad-libbed the rest of the show. Groucho admitted that Bob Hope was very good with ad-libs. > **[Was Bob Hope a comedian or more of a comedy actor relying on a script?](https://www.quora.com/Was-Bob-Hope-a-comedian-or-more-of-a-comedy-actor-relying-on-a-script)** > > Answer (1 of 8): In his younger days (I guess that would be like the mid 1800s 😂) he was more ad lib but still had written material as did pretty much every other stand up comedian. After vaudeville comedy went through a stint where it was primarily... ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2024, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-anybody-ever-really-laugh-at-these/1000511/178 "2024-05-31T20:36:33Z")
> [@dorvann](#): > > Carson mentioned how Hope would get lost if he went off script and that Hope had almost no ability to improvise(something Carson was great at.) You know, I searched for this on the Internet, and other than here and maybe on Quora there was no mention of this. > [@CalMeacham](#): > > This is weird, because I’d always heard that as a young comedian, Hope was _noted_ for his quick wit and ability to improvise. Maybe he lost some of that as he got older. So, yeah, it is weird. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2024, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-anybody-ever-really-laugh-at-these/1000511/179 "2024-05-31T20:44:02Z")
The story I heard was that in his late years, Hope had serious problems with both eyesight and hearing, so he’d work off an advance script. When Carson stopped talking, Hope would come back with a memorized remark. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2024, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-anybody-ever-really-laugh-at-these/1000511/180 "2024-05-31T20:44:36Z")
Carson wasn’t a nice person off screen. I take his statement with a grain of salt. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2024, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-anybody-ever-really-laugh-at-these/1000511/181 "2024-05-31T20:47:26Z")
The radio show ad lib contest between Groucho Marx and Bob Hope is famous to all Marx Brothers fans because it inspired John Guedel to create a radio show for Groucho, which became You Bet Your Life. As the YouTube clip comments, the pair did not improvise the whole ten minutes; they used the script as the base. That would also be Guedel’s format, allowing Groucho to deliver comebacks between scripted lines that gave the guest knowledge of what they were going to talk about. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/60j4QC-JAV4/hqdefault.jpg "The segment that inspired You Bet Your Life: Groucho and Bob Hope on The Walgreens Hour") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=60j4QC-JAV4) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-anybody-ever-really-laugh-at-these/1000511.md?page=8)