# Sedaris family: Comedic geniuses! **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 13, 2002, 3:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sedaris-family-comedic-geniuses/97978 "2002-03-13T03:02:24Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Dignan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/f07891/32.png) [@Dignan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dignan)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2002, 3:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sedaris-family-comedic-geniuses/97978/1 "2002-03-13T03:02:24Z")
If you clicked on this thread already knowing how funny they are, then contribute your favorite memories. If you clicked on this thread out of curiousity, then you’re in luck! Go find something written by David, or watch _Strangers With Candy_, starring Amy. Some of David’s essays have been [published in Esquire](http://www.esquire.com/humor/sedaris/). After reading “You Can’t Kill The Rooster” it sounds like their brother, Paul, is also funny, even though it may be unintentional on his part. And _Strangers With Candy_ was one of the top 3 funniest shows (if not _the_ funniest) ever to air on Comedy Central (along with UCB and Dr. Katz). Why Comedy Central airs crap like BattleBots and comedians’ sets from 5 years ago, and takes off the funny shows is beyond me. The Sedaris family is quite possibly the funniest family (brother-sister duo, I guess) _ever_! ---
**Author:** ![Homebrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c89c15/32.png) [@Homebrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Homebrew)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2002, 3:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sedaris-family-comedic-geniuses/97978/2 "2002-03-13T03:46:10Z")
David is indeed very funny. His essays in Esquire are only the tip of the iceberg. Check out his Santaland Diaries stage show if you get a chance. I’ll agree with the sentiment that Amy is funny. However, I disagree about Strangers With Candy. It is LAME. If you want to see her funny, try to find episodes of the Comedy Central show Exit 57. I know nothing of Paul. BTW, is your username a Bottle Rocket reference? ---
**Author:** ![jane\_says](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/47e85d/32.png) [@jane\_says](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jane_says)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2002, 3:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sedaris-family-comedic-geniuses/97978/3 "2002-03-13T03:50:32Z")
And the best part of all this is that … AMY SEDARIS WANTS ME!!! I can’t tell you how I know this, but it’s true. MMMM…Amy. ---
**Author:** ![Nacho4Sara](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Nacho4Sara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nacho4Sara)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2002, 3:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sedaris-family-comedic-geniuses/97978/4 "2002-03-13T03:56:21Z")
I freakin’ worship at the Sedaris family alter. Man, David Sedaris has got to be the funniest man alive. I bought Me Talk Pretty One Day when it first came out a few years ago, and have bought all of his other books since then (my favorite is Naked). “The Youth in Asia” is possibly my favorite story, athough “You Can’t Kill The Rooster” is hilarious. You gotta love a bro who convinces his mom that his skull-shaped bong is a vase. I also like the “Fuck-it Bucket” idea. Every story in Naked is ROTFLMAO funny, but damned if I can’t remember some of the story names. I keep it by my bedside and read it before bed; my favorite pre-dream story is the one where David is hitchhiking across America and ends up getting hit on by some freak with a huge collection of dildos, and then takes the guy’s mother’s coat by accident and nearly gets killed by a trucker. I think it’s called “Friend of God” or “Friend of Jesus” or something like that. The “Fat Suit” story is wonderful, too. For the love of pete, every story is so deliciously funny. If you haven’t read him yet, buy his books now. I started my own thread about DS in MPSIMS about a year ago; not many people responded. I hope more people have discovered him since then. ---
**Author:** ![chique](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/4491bb/32.png) [@chique](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chique)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2002, 5:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sedaris-family-comedic-geniuses/97978/5 "2002-03-13T05:06:08Z")
If you think reading him is funny, you should [**hear**](http://thislife.org/) him. He’s a semi-regular contributor to TAL and SO damn funny. See if you can’t find the episode about being accused of being a pickpocket on the Paris Metro… ---
**Author:** ![pezpunk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7ea924/32.png) [@pezpunk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pezpunk)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2002, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sedaris-family-comedic-geniuses/97978/6 "2002-03-13T14:03:09Z")
**NACHO4SARA** you are alive!!! Hi 🙂 Anywho, I love the David Sedaris. I can only echo Nachos comments about his work. I read **Me talk pretty one day** on my trip out to California and I am fairly certain that the people on my plane thought I was insane because I was laughing so hard. **Naked** is also a great book but not quite as good IMO. For those interested you can go to the NPR website and listen to a bunch of his stories there. It is really great to hear him tell them. ---
**Author:** ![Cliffy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/59ef9b/32.png) [@Cliffy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cliffy)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2002, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sedaris-family-comedic-geniuses/97978/7 "2002-03-13T14:40:00Z")
Ahh, the Talent Family. I saw David on Letterman a number of years ago talking about living in France: “I came for the smoking and stayed for the healthcare.” He was discussing a recent stay in a Paris hospital. He was lying in bed sneaking a cigarette when the nurse came in. She clucked at him disapprovingly and he was about to apologize for smoking when she brought him the ashtray. –Cliffy ---
**Author:** ![Ellen\_Cherry](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellen_cherry/32/3600_2.png) [@Ellen\_Cherry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ellen_Cherry)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2002, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sedaris-family-comedic-geniuses/97978/8 "2002-03-13T17:59:40Z")
Love David Sedaris! I’ve been listening to him for years on NPR, and even emailed them in December, begging for a rerun of his elf story. It’s just not Christmas without it. Incredibly, my copy of _Me Talk Pretty One Day_ was given to us by a coworker of my husband’s who doesn’t get him. “It’s just not funny!” she claims. “I don’t get it.” Man, I don’t get THAT. Sedaris was in town about the time I was finishing Me Talk Pretty and it sold out in seconds. Boo hoo. I wanted to bask in his bizarre presence. ---
**Author:** ![beckwall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/b487fb/32.png) [@beckwall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beckwall)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2002, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sedaris-family-comedic-geniuses/97978/9 "2002-03-13T18:04:22Z")
I love the story about going to the market to buy calf’s brains. “Is them the thoughts of cows?” Hysterical. ---
**Author:** ![Judith\_Prietht](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/b19c9b/32.png) [@Judith\_Prietht](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Judith_Prietht)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2002, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sedaris-family-comedic-geniuses/97978/10 "2002-03-13T18:36:06Z")
Amy was on Letterman several months ago, and charmed the pants off him. He sat there, utterly bemused, as she told stories of the fatty suit, her bunny, and her apartment. And thanks, **beckwall** , for a laugh with “Is them the thoughts of cows?” It’s going to be a good day. Another writer who’s similar in style and subject matter to David Sedaris is Jonathan Ames; his What’s Not To Love? reads a lot like Me Talk Pretty One Day. ---
**Author:** ![Manduck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/manduck/32/256_2.png) [@Manduck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Manduck)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2002, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sedaris-family-comedic-geniuses/97978/11 "2002-03-13T19:09:57Z")
I thought this was going to be about [Andy](http://us.imdb.com/Name?Sidaris,+Andy) and [Arlene](http://us.imdb.com/Name?Sidaris,+Arlene) Sidaris 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![Daniel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Daniel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Daniel)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2002, 3:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sedaris-family-comedic-geniuses/97978/12 "2002-03-14T03:56:25Z")
I met David at a reading. Told him about how I performed “Naked” in a speech competition and won a trophy. Fun times 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Dignan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/f07891/32.png) [@Dignan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dignan)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2002, 3:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sedaris-family-comedic-geniuses/97978/13 "2002-03-14T03:57:48Z")
I’ve tried downloading some of his readings, but the only place I’ve found requires RealPlayer, and I don’t have it. Does anyone know when David will be on NPR or the other public radio station again? **Homebrew** , yeah, it’s a Bottle Rocket reference. After I picked the name, I started to wonder why I picked the stupid guy that was always trying hard, but not succeding at anything. I’ve never seen Exit 57, I’ll keep an eye out. Paul is their brother that David talks about in the essay “You Can’t Kill The Rooster” it’s one of the essays in the link I put in my OP. ---
**Author:** ![Daniel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Daniel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Daniel)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2002, 4:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sedaris-family-comedic-geniuses/97978/14 "2002-03-14T04:28:21Z")
[Audible.com](http://Audible.com) sells episodes of This American Life (and subscriptions to the show for download), and among the episodes you can buy is the Xmas episode with Sedaris’ “Santaland Diaries” and a comparable piece by the equally amazing David Rakoff, “Christmas Freud” ---
**Author:** ![DoctorJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doctorj/32/2904_2.png) [@DoctorJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DoctorJ)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2002, 4:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sedaris-family-comedic-geniuses/97978/15 "2002-03-14T04:58:41Z")
I have _Holidays on Ice_ on CD Audiobook, and “The Santaland Diaries” is pure genius, as is “Dinah the Christmas Whore”. I saw a one-man production of “Santaland” while I was interviewing in Wilmington, NC. It was OK, but the guy was just too naturally exuberant. It really needed David’s deadpan. _Naked_ is my favorite of his books by far, especially the last two essays in it. One tells about the time leading up to his mother’s death from cancer–it’s a eulogy as only he could write one. The other, “Naked”, is just flat-out hilarious. Dr. J ---
**Author:** ![Kaitlyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/73ab20/32.png) [@Kaitlyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kaitlyn)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2002, 6:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sedaris-family-comedic-geniuses/97978/16 "2002-03-14T06:24:00Z")
I was recommended _Me Talk Pretty One Day_ by a friend who thought I would love it. I got half way through the first chapter (Go Carolina) where I encountered Mr. Sedaris’ idea that boys with speech impediments must be gay. Such small-minded idiocy embedded in what had up to then been a somewhat amusing story left me unable to enjoy any of the rest. If equating a disability with a particular sexual orientation is Mr. Sedaris’ idea of humor, his style is one that does not appeal to me. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Frink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/977dab/32.png) [@Mr.Frink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Frink)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2002, 6:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sedaris-family-comedic-geniuses/97978/17 "2002-03-14T06:43:51Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Dignan \* > \*\*I’ve tried downloading some of his readings, but the only place I’ve found requires RealPlayer, and I don’t have it. Does anyone know when David will be on NPR or the other public radio station again? \*\* What city are you in? And what other public radio station are you talking about? ---
**Author:** ![Truth\_Seeker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/5fc32e/32.png) [@Truth\_Seeker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Truth_Seeker)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2002, 7:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sedaris-family-comedic-geniuses/97978/18 "2002-03-14T07:28:39Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Daniel \* > \*\*[Audible.com](http://Audible.com) sells episodes of This American Life (and subscriptions to the show for download), and among the episodes you can buy is the Xmas episode with Sedaris’ “Santaland Diaries” and a comparable piece by the equally amazing David Rakoff, “Christmas Freud” \*\* Uhm, actually you can listen to most episodes of This American Life at [http://www.thislife.org/](http://www.thislife.org/) for free. Let me take this opportunity to link to one of the funniest things I have ever heard – period. This requires Real Audio. It’s about twenty minutes long but well worth it. [Peter Pan](http://www.thislife.org/ra/61.ram) ---
**Author:** ![Cliffy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/59ef9b/32.png) [@Cliffy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cliffy)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2002, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sedaris-family-comedic-geniuses/97978/19 "2002-03-14T19:31:27Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Number Six \* > \*\*I got half way through the first chapter (Go Carolina) where I encountered Mr. Sedaris’ idea that boys with speech impediments must be gay. \*\* What story were you reading? That has nothing whatsoever to do with the story, which was about the efforts of the American South to “cure” homosexuality. –Cliffy ---
**Author:** ![City\_Gent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a87d85/32.png) [@City\_Gent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/City_Gent)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2002, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sedaris-family-comedic-geniuses/97978/20 "2002-03-14T20:28:38Z")
Two words: _Big Boy_ [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sedaris-family-comedic-geniuses/97978.md?page=2)