Origin of 'I'll be here all week' meme

So I think I get that that’s what touring comics who were working at clubs/Vegas would say- “I’ll be here all week.”

Anyone know when the meme started picking up so much as something people said after saying a joke? Like, your friend makes a joke, and follows it with “Thank you, I’ll be here all week”?

That is pretty well-known schtick for lounge entertainers, as you say, but I think it was thrust into the public consciousness in Shrek.

I’m the wrong person to ask, because I do stand-up. And so most people I meet will use it after they crack a joke.

Among comedians and the like, however, there are nuances to it. Do you throw in the bit about tipping your waitress? Do you say, “I’ll be here all week…try the veal?” What about meatloaf? Is “meatloaf” funnier than “veal?”

Believe it or not, I’ve actually had discussions with people about those topics, and more.

It probably goes all the way back to the Catskills, if not further. I remember hearing it in a popular commercial (for beer, maybe Beck’s?) years before Shrek, but I don’t know when you could say it became really popular.

Deja Vu. We had this same, exact thread earlier this friggin’ month.

That is what I remember. A guy with a German accent telling unfunny jokes and saying “Thank You. I’ll be here all the week”.

I’ve heard several variations on this, including:

“Thank you, I’ll be here all week.”

“Good night, thank you, be sure to tip your waitresses.”

“Thank you, good night, drive safely.”

Obviously, these are all sign-offs that standup comedians have done for years. But I’ve invariably heard them after someone has just told a joke that utterly bombed. A friend may tell a joke he thinks will get a huge laugh, and when the reaction is deafening silence, he’ll try to escape with a smile and a “Thank you, I’ll be here all week.”

It’s become shorthand for, “I see now that joke was a stinker- sorry!”

For decades, David Letterman has been saying “Good night, drive safely,” after a joke goes over badly. He may have been the one to perpetuate the idea that an old Catskills comedian’s sign off was a safe way to apologize/duck responsibility for a bad joke.

The “tip your waitress” one was done, I’m almost certain, by Jim Carrey in Ace Ventura- I thought of that one already.

How’s the veal?

I prefer “I’ll be here all the week…Don’t forget to tip the veal.” :slight_smile:

And try your waitress!

Sports Illustrated used to have a weekly column of sport-related humor/one-liners, that always closed with something similar. (The column is no longer being run, otherwise I’d have more specifics). This author’s shtick was slightly different – he’d close each week’s column with the name of a washed-up 80s rock band, presumably playing the resort circuit (a different band each week), and following the comic onstage.

Like, “You’ve been great – enjoy REO Speedwagon.”

I kind of remember this being started by Jay Leno when he used to be a frequent guest on Letterman’s show.

Most important rule of “veal tipping?”

Get drunk first.