# Gary Coleman's SHORT? Get it? It's FUNNY! **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [October 12, 2003, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gary-colemans-short-get-it-its-funny/207068 "2003-10-12T23:26:20Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![London\_Calling](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@London\_Calling](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/London_Calling)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2003, 2:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gary-colemans-short-get-it-its-funny/207068/21 "2003-10-13T14:21:54Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by DanielWithrow \* > I agree, Eve. The only really funny dwarf scene I recall from a movie was in Living in Oblivion. I won’t spoil the scene for other people, but it had me breathless with laughter. Pah! [**Time Bandits**](http://www.imdb.com/M/title-exact?+Time+Bandits) - the damn thing starred hat-fulls of dwarfs. And check out the whole cast, impressive stuff. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2003, 2:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gary-colemans-short-get-it-its-funny/207068/22 "2003-10-13T14:27:40Z")
I’m one of those few people who adores Brazil, thinks Twelve Monkeys was pure genius, can take or leave Baron Munchausen, and despises Time Bandits. **Living in Oblivion** kicks Time Bandits’ sorry ass. Daniel ---
**Author:** ![Lord\_Ashtar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ea924/32.png) [@Lord\_Ashtar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Ashtar)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2003, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gary-colemans-short-get-it-its-funny/207068/23 "2003-10-13T14:46:19Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by j\_kat\_251 \* > \*\*Lucky you’re not short then eh what? > > 😕 \*\* Wow, that sure was uncalled for. WTF, **j\_kat**? ---
**Author:** ![Eve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Eve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eve)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2003, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gary-colemans-short-get-it-its-funny/207068/24 "2003-10-13T14:55:48Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Lord Ashtar \* > \*\*Wow, that sure was uncalled for. WTF, **j\_kat**? \*\* It certainly _was_—I’m not fat, I’m _big-boned!_ ---
**Author:** ![Lamia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Lamia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamia)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2003, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gary-colemans-short-get-it-its-funny/207068/25 "2003-10-13T15:42:38Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Eve \* > \*\*It certainly _was_—I’m not fat, I’m _big-boned!_ \*\* Ooooh, **Eve** _dahling_, I just _know_ some absolute _cad_ is going to make a _frightfully_ obscene joke using the words “big” and “bone” now. You _know_ the sort of _shockingly_ inappropriate flirting that goes on around here. ---
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2003, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gary-colemans-short-get-it-its-funny/207068/26 "2003-10-13T16:41:59Z")
Thanks Eve, now I’ll have k.d. lang’s “Big Boned Gal” in my head _all day._ ---
**Author:** ![RTA](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b4bc9f/32.png) [@RTA](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTA)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2003, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gary-colemans-short-get-it-its-funny/207068/27 "2003-10-13T17:29:59Z")
If I recall correctly, Coleman never saw a single dime from his work on “Diff’rent Strokes” because his parents mismanaged his money (i.e. blew it all long before he turned 18). He sued them but no court can squeeze blood from a stone. Hence his adult work as a security guard, etc. My point is that Coleman is worthy of enormous sympathy, rather than making easy short jokes or making fun of him for being on some crappy show. Who wouldn’t be an asshole, if they were a famous child actor, who never got paid, and could never be cast in another role without people saying “Look! That’s fuckin’ Gary Coleman.” ---
**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2003, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gary-colemans-short-get-it-its-funny/207068/28 "2003-10-13T17:55:29Z")
> [@](#): > > _Eve says:_ Midgets and dwarves (and, OK, just “really short people”) only exist on film & TV as human punchlines. [Evidence](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0059712/)[to](http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0340377/) [the](http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0113107/) [contrary](http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0106678/), [Madame](http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0101404/). And **Living in Oblivion** doesn’t make the dwarf the punchline, it makes all the people who use dwarves as cliches as the object of ridicule: > [@](#): > > Tito (a dwarf): Why does my character have to be a dwarf? > Nick (the film director): He doesn’t have to be. > Tito: Then why is he?! Is that the only way you can make this a dream, to put a dwarf in it? > Nick: No, Tito, I… > Tito: Have you ever had a dream with a dwarf in it? Do you know anyone who’s had a dream with a dwarf in it? No! I don’t even have dreams with dwarves in them. The only place I’ve seen dwarves in dreams is in stupid movies like this! “Oh make it weird, put a dwarf in it!”. Everyone will go “Woah, this must be a fuckin’ dream, there’s a fuckin’ dwarf in it!”. Well I’m sick of it! You can take this dream sequence and stick it up your ass! Oh, and as for Coleman, from the IMDB: > [@](#): > > He sued his parents over misappropriation of his trust fund. At the peak of his career, he made $70K per episode, a total of around $18 million in earnings! Coleman’s parents set up a trust fund for his money, yet structured the arrangement to name themselves as paid employees of Coleman’s production company. When the court finally dissolved the trust, the parents’ share was worth $770,000, while Coleman himself had only $220,000. Coleman then successfully sued his parents and managers for $3.8 million. So it looks like he wasn’t hurting too badly (medical condition aside). ---
**Author:** ![Eve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Eve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eve)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2003, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gary-colemans-short-get-it-its-funny/207068/29 "2003-10-13T18:16:01Z")
Damn—I tried your links and they crashed my computer. I will assume they lead to some movies or TV shows in which dwarves or midgets played roles that could have been played by taller performers, and that their height was never mentioned? In which case I will ammend to “95% of the time . . .” ---
**Author:** ![jlzania](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/67e7ee/32.png) [@jlzania](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jlzania)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2003, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gary-colemans-short-get-it-its-funny/207068/30 "2003-10-13T18:24:49Z")
Oh **Eve** what about that film classic "The Terror of Tiny Town’? ---
**Author:** ![Isabelle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b5a626/32.png) [@Isabelle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Isabelle)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2003, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gary-colemans-short-get-it-its-funny/207068/31 "2003-10-13T18:29:42Z")
I used to love that song by Randy Newman…“Short People” I guess it is not politically correct these days. Short People got no reason Short People got no reason Short People got no reason To live _Full lyrics removed - CF_ ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2003, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gary-colemans-short-get-it-its-funny/207068/32 "2003-10-13T18:30:40Z")
Yeah, the dwarf in Living in Oblivion isn’t the punchline – he’s just a justifiably surly, dwarf, furious with the fools around him. That’s probably the funniest scene in a very funny movie. Daniel ---
**Author:** ![wring](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/838e76/32.png) [@wring](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wring)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2003, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gary-colemans-short-get-it-its-funny/207068/33 "2003-10-13T18:51:38Z")
AFAIK, “Successfully sued” can also mean “this amount was **awarded** ” vs. “the guy got this amount”. He certainly hasn’t lived like he has 3point something mil. (except, of course, the medical condition which would be enormously expensive). ---
**Author:** ![Already\_in\_Use](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a9adbd/32.png) [@Already\_in\_Use](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Already_in_Use)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2003, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gary-colemans-short-get-it-its-funny/207068/34 "2003-10-13T18:58:06Z")
Au contraire, a Google search for the terms “fat,” “transgendered,” and “dwarf” turns up almost exclusively porn links. So if you chose the right career, you’d be laughing all the way to the bank. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Francesca](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/9fc348/32.png) [@Francesca](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Francesca)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2003, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gary-colemans-short-get-it-its-funny/207068/35 "2003-10-13T19:12:19Z")
I’m 4ft10, which is the maximum height for dwarves according to [The Little People Of America](http://www.lpaonline.org/resources_faq.html), although I am not medically a dwarf. I’m just short. Most of the time, I’m the first person to make a short joke. There’s no point getting upset every time someone makes a short joke. But it does get tiring. There’s only so many times it’s funny when I can’t reach something. There’s only so many times I can smile and nod while being told that I must get my clothes cheap because I can buy them from a kid’s shop. It’s not tremendously funny when you’ve heard it all before. ---
**Author:** ![Isabelle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b5a626/32.png) [@Isabelle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Isabelle)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2003, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gary-colemans-short-get-it-its-funny/207068/36 "2003-10-13T19:18:00Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Francesca \* > \*\*I’m 4ft10, which is the maximum height for dwarves according to [The Little People Of America](http://www.lpaonline.org/resources_faq.html), although I am not medically a dwarf. I’m just short. > > But it does get tiring. There’s only so many times it’s funny when I can’t reach something. There’s only so many times I can smile and nod while being told that I must get my clothes cheap because I can buy them from a kid’s shop. > > It’s not tremendously funny when you’ve heard it all before. \*\* yeah I get blonde jokes all the time. It does get tiring. I’m short to boot. 5’2" ---
**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2003, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gary-colemans-short-get-it-its-funny/207068/37 "2003-10-13T19:52:37Z")
Are your eyes blue? Btw, posting entire song lyrics is a no-no. FYI. And Eve, although the height of the characters may have some bearing on the plot, it’s not used for comic effect, as you suggested. 95% I can live with. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![t-keela](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a3d4f5/32.png) [@t-keela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/t-keela)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2003, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gary-colemans-short-get-it-its-funny/207068/38 "2003-10-13T20:08:37Z")
I bet **Danny DeVito** is laughing all the way to the bank… He’s short, fat, bald and trashy. Not a bad actor though except for that **Twins** movie he did with y’alls Goobernor. ---
**Author:** ![Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Otto)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2003, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gary-colemans-short-get-it-its-funny/207068/39 "2003-10-13T21:38:19Z")
[quote] I mean, it’s not something you can _hide_. You could hide under a table… ---
**Author:** ![Scarlett67](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scarlett67/32/7387_2.png) [@Scarlett67](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scarlett67)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2003, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gary-colemans-short-get-it-its-funny/207068/40 "2003-10-13T21:57:09Z")
I had a roomie once who was 4’10" and fat. She HATED short jokes, and anybody who made one at her expense was quickly roasted to a well-done crisp. But one guy did make her laugh once. She was standing at the bar and this total stranger came up to her and said she could make a lot of money by suing the city. Why, pray tell? For building the sidewalks too close to her ass. Hmmm, that kinda sounds like my mom’s line about why she doesn’t wear dresses: because her legs don’t go all the way up. :dubious: [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gary-colemans-short-get-it-its-funny/207068.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gary-colemans-short-get-it-its-funny/207068.md?page=3)