# How unusual is it for a funny comedian to be completely unfunny in person? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [November 29, 2015, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-unusual-is-it-for-a-funny-comedian-to-be-completely-unfunny-in-person/738953 "2015-11-29T19:29:22Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Frylock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ce7236/32.png) [@Frylock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frylock)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2015, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-unusual-is-it-for-a-funny-comedian-to-be-completely-unfunny-in-person/738953/1 "2015-11-29T19:29:22Z")
I know someone who does standup comedy and also improv comedy, and is really, _really_ good at both of these things. In fact he seems to be one of the top local comedians in my area, based on what I’ve seen of his shows and others, and comments I’ve seen in various places. The weird thing is, in person, he’s completely unfunny. Not just that he doesn’t make jokes–he tries, and they’re awful! Well, it’s a little more complicated than that. In live conversation, he’s sometimes a little funny in a dry kind of way, but when it’s clear he’s _trying_ to make a joke, (like, ‘Look out I’m going to say something funny now!’) it never hits. And online, in social media, he’s absolutely terrible. Like I would never suspect him of being a funny person. He does this thing, for example, where he repeats “new phone who dis” after _absolutely anything_. It’s not funny. He also quotes things his kid said that _are not funny_ but thinks they are just the most hilarious things he’s ever heard. (He does this complete with a simulation of toddler-speak, with w’s for r’s etc, which makes it worse.) Stuff like that–just completely cheesy comments that in the best of circumstances would elicit a polite chuckle but which he presents as comedy gold, and which is the very opposite of funny. My question is basically, how unusual is this? Is it common (or at least, not rare) for successful comedians to be quite humor-inept in non-on-stage contexts? I would have chalked it up to the difference between a practiced routine and off-the-cuff comments, but then there’s that whole improv thing. He absolutely kills at this. On stage, with the improv group, he is by far the funniest guy on stage, and is in absolute terms completely hilarious. It’s the weirdest thing. ---
**Author:** ![Urbanredneck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ea5d25/32.png) [@Urbanredneck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Urbanredneck)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2015, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-unusual-is-it-for-a-funny-comedian-to-be-completely-unfunny-in-person/738953/2 "2015-11-29T20:16:46Z")
Someone told me that she had this friend who was funny, until she decided to go pro. After that she wasnt that funny anymore and when she did say something funny, she was always looking for feedback so she could add the joke to her act. But then I’ve read about how some of the great comedians like the Marx brothers were funny even off stage. ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2015, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-unusual-is-it-for-a-funny-comedian-to-be-completely-unfunny-in-person/738953/3 "2015-11-29T21:02:44Z")
Some performers have a stage personality that does not match their real-life personality at all. One of the most famous examples was Johnny Carson. He was one of the most successful talk show hosts in history and looked perfectly at ease talking and making jokes with anyone in front of a national audience every night. However, he was completely different when the cameras weren’t rolling. He was a self-admitted introvert, painfully shy and awkward at spontaneous conversation. He didn’t even do well at small parties where he knew everyone. He would usually end up in a corner by himself playing with a deck of cards or whatever else he could find to avoid unrehearsed chit-chat. > **[Johnny Carson's Loved Ones Reveal the Shy Loner Only They Knew](https://www.closerweekly.com/posts/the-late-johnny-carson-s-loved-ones-reveal-the-shy-loner-only-they-knew-56426/)** > > For nearly 30 years, Johnny Carson triumphantly strode out onto the ‘Tonight Show’ stage after sidekick Ed McMahon’s booming introduction: “Heeere’s Johnny!” But when the cameras turned off, it was more like, “Where’s... Steve Martin, Tom Hanks, Harrison Ford, Clint Eastwood, Meryl Streep, Julia Roberts, Meg Ryan and Gwyneth Paltrow are just a few of the other famous performers that are reportedly introverts and very different in real-life than they are on screen. ---
**Author:** ![billfish678](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7bcc69/32.png) [@billfish678](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/billfish678)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2015, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-unusual-is-it-for-a-funny-comedian-to-be-completely-unfunny-in-person/738953/4 "2015-11-29T21:58:11Z")
I saw an interview with Peter Sellers once. He came off about as dull, boring, and dry as one imagines is possible. ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2015, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-unusual-is-it-for-a-funny-comedian-to-be-completely-unfunny-in-person/738953/5 "2015-11-29T22:07:05Z")
Douglas Adams once said that the difference between a witty person and a funny person is that a witty person always has a moderately amusing quip at the ready for any situation, whereas a funny person sweats for days to write something truly hilarious. I’ve noticed that a lot of my favorite comedians, when they do interviews on the Daily Show or Fallon or whatever, they end up relying on their material even in those “casual” conversations. And many of them will admit that when they first did comedy they were terrible. Those jokes are painstakingly crafted and tested on audiences and they also need to have their game face on when it’s time to go. They can’t be that person 24/7. ---
**Author:** ![John\_DiFool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_difool/32/19543_2.png) [@John\_DiFool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_DiFool)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2015, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-unusual-is-it-for-a-funny-comedian-to-be-completely-unfunny-in-person/738953/6 "2015-11-30T00:06:35Z")
> [@billfish678](#): > > I saw an interview with Peter Sellers once. > > He came off about as dull, boring, and dry as one imagines is possible. He also was on record as saying that, without his characters, he didn’t otherwise exist. ---
**Author:** ![madsircool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madsircool/32/3432_2.png) [@madsircool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madsircool)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2015, 12:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-unusual-is-it-for-a-funny-comedian-to-be-completely-unfunny-in-person/738953/7 "2015-11-30T00:45:34Z")
Will Farrell ---
**Author:** ![madsircool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madsircool/32/3432_2.png) [@madsircool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madsircool)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2015, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-unusual-is-it-for-a-funny-comedian-to-be-completely-unfunny-in-person/738953/8 "2015-11-30T00:47:33Z")
> [@John\_DiFool](#): > > He also was on record as saying that, without his characters, he didn’t otherwise exist. He also didnt write his material. He was brilliant at mimicry. Listen to some of his Goon Show stuff. Its genius. ---
**Author:** ![Urbanredneck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ea5d25/32.png) [@Urbanredneck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Urbanredneck)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2015, 5:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-unusual-is-it-for-a-funny-comedian-to-be-completely-unfunny-in-person/738953/9 "2015-11-30T05:12:13Z")
In the movie “Back to School” with Rodney Dangerfield, they say on the DVD that Rodney was always funny and many times when he would walk around campus like in his bathrobe, they just went and recorded his spontaneous and unrehearsed interactions with the students. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2015, 6:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-unusual-is-it-for-a-funny-comedian-to-be-completely-unfunny-in-person/738953/10 "2015-11-30T06:23:40Z")
They all laughed at me when I said I wanted to become a comedian. Well, they’re not laughing at me any more. ---
**Author:** ![China\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/779978/32.png) [@China\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/China_Guy)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2015, 6:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-unusual-is-it-for-a-funny-comedian-to-be-completely-unfunny-in-person/738953/11 "2015-11-30T06:33:29Z")
Robin Williams was pretty funny when I met him - playing pinball together and he sucked. He made jokes about his pinball skilz. Then he spontaneously recorded a radio station spot for a local college radio station and joked about “you have friends of the four legged persuasion, baaaaaa baaaaaa” in reference to an agricultural university. It was literally about 10 minutes of playing drunk pinball and asking him to speak into a mic. Seemed the way he was wired, but then again I was drunk… Screamin’ Jay Hawkins was pretty off the cuff funny as well. He was totally just shooting the shit with some college radio station guys backstage before he did a gig. About an hour of I’m stuck here with you guys so what the fuck. ---
**Author:** ![TreacherousCretin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treacherouscretin/32/476_2.png) [@TreacherousCretin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TreacherousCretin)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2015, 7:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-unusual-is-it-for-a-funny-comedian-to-be-completely-unfunny-in-person/738953/12 "2015-11-30T07:01:54Z")
In a recent interview, Christopher Guest mentioned people (who don’t know him) often being disappointed by his not being “on” in regular old real life. Explained that “funny” is something he does for a living. ---
**Author:** ![Richard\_Pearse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/richard_pearse/32/13144_2.png) [@Richard\_Pearse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_Pearse)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2015, 7:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-unusual-is-it-for-a-funny-comedian-to-be-completely-unfunny-in-person/738953/13 "2015-11-30T07:14:13Z")
Rowan Atkinson is quiet and reserved and doesn’t try to be funny in interviews. ---
**Author:** ![russian\_heel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f05b48/32.png) [@russian\_heel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/russian_heel)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2015, 9:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-unusual-is-it-for-a-funny-comedian-to-be-completely-unfunny-in-person/738953/14 "2015-11-30T09:27:13Z")
I remember old Howard Stern interviews with Eddie Murphy, and Eddie was just radio death. I’ve even heard Howard talk about how everyone expects him to be witty and snarky in social situations like he is on the air, and he’s just not like that in real life. Some people can turn it on 24/7, some cant. I do passable open mike stand up occasionally, and am pretty lucky in that I do seem to be able to make people laugh in social situations with off the cuff humor. Yet, my comedy act is 180 degrees from what Im like in real life and none of the jokes I tell people off stage make it onstage because they just wouldn’t work; weirdly enough---- I am a poor on stage improv. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Stainless\_Steel\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_stainless_steel_rat/32/5727_2.png) [@The\_Stainless\_Steel\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Stainless_Steel_Rat)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2015, 1:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-unusual-is-it-for-a-funny-comedian-to-be-completely-unfunny-in-person/738953/15 "2015-11-30T13:10:27Z")
> [@madsircool](#): > > Will Farrell Will Farrell is not funny _anytime._ ---
**Author:** ![jz78817](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jz78817/32/1028_2.png) [@jz78817](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jz78817)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2015, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-unusual-is-it-for-a-funny-comedian-to-be-completely-unfunny-in-person/738953/16 "2015-11-30T13:50:19Z")
one of Maria Bamford’s recent bits was about this. roughly: Bratty Kid: “My dad said you’re a comedian.” Maria: “Yes.” Bratty Kid: “Tell me a joke!” Maria (gritted teeth): “_It’s not like that…_” ---
**Author:** ![FairyChatMom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fairychatmom/32/21906_2.png) [@FairyChatMom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FairyChatMom)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2015, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-unusual-is-it-for-a-funny-comedian-to-be-completely-unfunny-in-person/738953/17 "2015-11-30T14:16:09Z")
Just as you shouldn’t expect to get a diagnosis from a physician if you encounter him/her in a social situation, I don’t think it’s fair to expect a performer of any category to have to be in performance mode at all times. I can’t imagine being a celeb and having to be “on” all the time, even when I just wanted to run to the store for some groceries. So I wouldn’t expect a comic to crack me up in the check-out line. ---
**Author:** ![jz78817](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jz78817/32/1028_2.png) [@jz78817](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jz78817)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2015, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-unusual-is-it-for-a-funny-comedian-to-be-completely-unfunny-in-person/738953/18 "2015-11-30T14:32:46Z")
> [@FairyChatMom](#): > > Just as you shouldn’t expect to get a diagnosis from a physician if you encounter him/her in a social situation, I don’t think it’s fair to expect a performer of any category to have to be in performance mode at all times. I can’t imagine being a celeb and having to be “on” all the time, even when I just wanted to run to the store for some groceries. So I wouldn’t expect a comic to crack me up in the check-out line. try being an auto mechanic. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2015, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-unusual-is-it-for-a-funny-comedian-to-be-completely-unfunny-in-person/738953/19 "2015-11-30T15:20:41Z")
The late Jonathon Winters lived in my town and loved talking to people on the street. He was hilarious. But you could tell that he was performing for you and that the real him was buried deep. ---
**Author:** ![Honey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/honey/32/5074_2.png) [@Honey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Honey)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2015, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-unusual-is-it-for-a-funny-comedian-to-be-completely-unfunny-in-person/738953/20 "2015-11-30T15:22:15Z")
It would drive me crazy to have a partner or friend who was a comedian and was always on. I would much prefer to have the “real” person. The way your friend is. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-unusual-is-it-for-a-funny-comedian-to-be-completely-unfunny-in-person/738953.md?page=2)