The Cos at MU

[muwarrior69]

There is a profound difference between vulgarity for the sake of being coarse and using it to punctuate satirical social commentary. Lenny Bruce, Mort Sahl, Dick Gregory, George Carlin, Richard Pryor among others employed language designed to shock the audience into a greater awareness of genuine issues. Their unique brand of observational comedy helped post-industrial America come of age.

Too much of what passes for humor today is simply vulgar while at the same time being trite, droll, or inane.

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Agree! The great comics did not need to be vulgar to make you laugh. Red Skelton could make you laugh without saying a word. Sid Ceasar, Imogine Coca, Lucille Ball, Steve Allan, and probably the funniest of them all Ernie Kovac could make laugh until you are hyperventilating without  any vulgar language and sometimes just with a look.

[GGGG]

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Agree! The great comics did not need to be vulgar to make you laugh. Red Skelton could make you laugh without saying a word. Sid Ceasar, Imogine Coca, Lucille Ball, Steve Allan, and probably the funniest of them all Ernie Kovac could make laugh until you are hyperventilating without  any vulgar language and sometimes just with a look.

None of these people really ever made me laugh.

[WellsstreetWanderer]

Might have been over your head. 

[mu-rara]

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Agree! The great comics did not need to be vulgar to make you laugh. Red Skelton could make you laugh without saying a word. Sid Ceasar, Imogine Coca, Lucille Ball, Steve Allan, and probably the funniest of them all Ernie Kovac could make laugh until you are hyperventilating without  any vulgar language and sometimes just with a look.

Sid Ceasar with Mel Brooks.  That is all.

[frozena pizza]

Bill Cosby is hilarious and an excellent choice for a commencement speaker.  But I think Steve Rushin's commencement address at MU had to be the best ever.  A distinguished alum, brilliant writer and his columns have made me laugh out loud more times than I can count.

[keefe]

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Agree! The great comics did not need to be vulgar to make you laugh. Red Skelton could make you laugh without saying a word. Sid Ceasar, Imogine Coca, Lucille Ball, Steve Allan, and probably the funniest of them all Ernie Kovac could make laugh until you are hyperventilating without  any vulgar language and sometimes just with a look.

Steve Allen was tremendously gifted in numerous artistic disciplines. He brought an academic rigor to comedy that distilled unwieldy concepts into digestible bites for the common man. His Meeting of the Minds on PBS remains as engaging, topical, and thought provoking today as it was when it was first broadcast more than 30 years ago.