![]() ![]() "The Simpsons" borrowed its manic pace (not to mention the inspiration for "Itchy and Scratchy") from these 1930s and '40s animation pioneers. animators who gave that studio's cartoons a breathlessness (and, in Jones' case, a cultural sheen) much emulated by others.Īvery and Jones were two key Warner Bros. And MGM's famed "Tom and Jerry" may have gotten friendlier over the years, but these Hanna-Barbera cartoons began on a much more violent note. The great humor magazine began as an offshoot of William M. Gaines' horror comic empire and - after the horror comics were shut down - became his cash cow. Thanks to the Usual Gang of Idiots, which included (among many) Will Elder, Harvey Kurtzman, Al Feldstein, Don Martin, Mort Drucker, Dick DeBartolo, Frank Jacobs, Jay Kogen, Al Jaffee and dozens of others, no aspect of American life was above (or beneath) satire. (MAD, like CNN, is a unit of Time Warner.) You were being conned, the magazine said protect yourself. The Chicago, Illinois-based improvisational and acting troupe gave a start to performers who later joined such shows as "Saturday Night Live" and "SCTV" and inspiration to improv groups all over the world. It also bred an attitude of "yes," the key word in any improv workshop: In other words, see where an idea takes you, no matter how outlandish. Jewish humor may not be as present on "The Simpsons" as in Mel Brooks movies or "Seinfeld," but every "Oy" from Krusty the Klown leads back to Jackie Mason, Shecky Greene and Grossinger's. "The Simpsons" has always had a fondness for musicals, whether they be Broadway parodies or something deeper. Indeed, Sideshow Bob's love for the erudite reference (in one episode, the "Simpsons" villain performed the entire score of Gilbert & Sullivan's "H.M.S. Pinafore") may reflect that of the "Simpsons" writing staff. The Oxbridge humor of John Cleese, Eric Idle, Terry Jones, Michael Palin and Graham Chapman (ably assisted by Yank Terry Gilliam) combined high and low in then-unfamiliar ways, such as a panel show of famed Communist leaders being asked the name of Britain's 1959 Eurovision Song Contest winner. The longtime college humor magazine has provided a home for writers including George Santayana, John Updike and "Simpsons" scribe Conan O'Brien and spawned offshoots including parodies of "The Lord of the Rings" and Time magazine. In 1970, the magazine agreed to license its name to some graduates starting a national humor magazine in turn, the National Lampoon became the most influential humor publication of the 1970s. Philip Proctor, Peter Bergman, David Ossman and Phil Austin's work expanded the range of comedy albums by incorporating studio tricks, double and triple entendres and constantly overlapping puns and cultural references into a stew of hilarity.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |