Among us Twainiacs, let it be recognized that in regard to winning the
coveted Mark Twain Prize, no contemporary people -- however talented,
popular, admired and influential in the culture -- could sway our unbiased
jurors to vote in their favor. How could justice award these pretenders
such honor? Among us, from 1835 until oblivion, our man was, is and always
shall be The Incomparable. We know the latter-day honorees to be the
fleetingly famous who are merely likable, willing and available on call.
Lump all the honorees together and their collective level of achievement
would barely rise to his ankles. Time will tell, however. After piling up a
century or so of honorees, they may reach his knees.


Rod Rawlings
6802 22nd Avenue, West
Bradenton, FL 34209
941-713-4446 Direct
MarkTwainPerforms.com


On Wed, Jun 18, 2014 at 5:44 PM, Alan Kitty <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

> True enough. But explaining a joke usually makes a poor one worse. That
> was a=
> s true in 1866 as it is today.=20
>
> Sent from my iPhone
>
> > On Jun 18, 2014, at 5:34 PM, Jerry Vorpahl <[log in to unmask]>
> wrot=
> e:
> >=20
> > I don't think the difference is as much in who wrote the material as in
> hu=
> m=3D
> > or then and now. Now, it's the big set up followed by a snappy one-liner
> y=
> o=3D
> > u didn't expect. Then, MT and many others would tell a story with
> multiple=
>  =3D
> > endings, each funnier than the last. To wit: Twain's advice to an older
> wo=
> m=3D
> > an to give up smoking and drinking and swearing to cure her lumbago.
> "But h=
> =3D
> > ow can I" she said, "I=3DC2=3DA0don't do any of those things." To which
> Tw=
> ain r=3D
> > eplied, "Well, there you are. She'd neglected her habits. She was a
> sinkin=
> g=3D
> > ship with no cargo to throw overboard."=3DC2=3DA0=3DC2=3DA0=3D20
> > =3DC2=3DA0=3D20
> > Each line gets a bigger laugh than the last. Only George Carlin and Tim
> Co=
> n=3D
> > way have used this style effectively since Twain.=3D20
> >=20
> > ----- Original Message -----
> >=20
> > From: "Alan Kitty" <[log in to unmask]>=3D20
> > To: [log in to unmask]
> > Sent: Wednesday, June 18, 2014 1:54:28 PM=3D20
> > Subject: Re: Jay Leno=3D20
> >=20
> > Perhaps the larger difference is that Twain wrote his own material.
> =3D3D=3D=
> 20
> > Listen to Jimmy Fallon, who never explained his jokes until he took over
> =3D=
>
> > =3D3D=3D20
> > for the long-chin host. An entire staff of writers - not a Twain in the
> =3D=
> 3D=3D
> > =3D20
> > bunch.=3D20
> >=20
> >=20
> > On Jun 18, 2014, at 2:39 PM, Denis Donovan wrote:=3D20
> >=20
> >> Johnny Carson, who was as unlike Twain as you can get, nonetheless had
> =3D=
>
> > =3D3D=3D20
> > =3D3D3D=3D20
> >> something in common with him that was absolutely not shared by either
> =3D=
> 3D=3D
> > =3D20
> > =3D3D3D=3D20
> >> Leno or Lederman. Like Twain, Carson never explained a joke or a
> =3D3D3D=3D=
> 20
> >> routine. Carson let his performance carry the meaning and shape the
> =3D3D=
> 3D=3D
> > =3D20
> >> experience just as Twain let his written or spoken performance shape
> =3D3=
> D=3D
> > =3D20
> > the =3D3D3D=3D20
> >> experience. Carson may have laughed enough during the process to fill
> =3D=
> 3D=3D
> > =3D20
> > =3D3D3D=3D20
> >> several studio audience recordings with every laugh he needed -- but
> =3D3=
> D3=3D
> > D=3D3D=3D20
> >=20
> >> Twain's enjoyment of his verbal and written performances clearly is
> =3D3D=
> 3D=3D
> > =3D20
> >> palpable in everything Twain ever wrote ... and really comes across in
> =3D=
>
> > =3D3D=3D20
> > =3D3D3D=3D20
> >> the autobiography. Twain's piece on German sentence-building is as
> =3D3D3=
> D=3D
> > =3D20
> >> hilarious as anything Carson ever did and much of both of their
> =3D3D=3D2=
> 0
> > material =3D3D3D=3D20
> >> carries high-powered socio-political-cultural commentary. And, as read
> =3D=
>
> > =3D3D=3D20
> > =3D3D3D=3D20
> >> by Grover Gardner, had me laughing as hard as I ever laughed at
> =3D3D=3D2=
> 0
> > Carson, =3D3D3D=3D20
> >> a laugh tinged with infinitely more respect.=3D20
> >> =3D3D20=3D20
> >> Just a thought.=3D20
> >> =3D3D20=3D20
> >> Denis=3D20
> >> =3D3D20=3D20
> >> =3D3D20=3D20
> >> On Jun 18, 2014, at 1:42 PM, Scott Holmes wrote:=3D20
> >> =3D3D20=3D20
> >>> I don't know about the rest of you, on Twain-L, but I never thought
> =3D3=
> D3=3D
> > D=3D3D=3D20
> >=20
> >> Leno=3D20
> >>> was particularly humorous.=3D20
> >> =3D3D20=3D20
> >> Denis M. Donovan, M.D., M.Ed., F.A.P.S.=3D20
> >> Director, EOCT Institute=3D20
> >> =3D3D20=3D20
> >> Medical Director, 1983 - 2006=3D20
> >> The Children's Center for Developmental Psychiatry=3D20
> >> St. Petersburg, Florida=3D20
> >> =3D3D20=3D20
> >> P.O Box 47576=3D20
> >> St. Petersburg, FL 33743-7576=3D20
> >>
> Phone:=3DC2=3DA0=3DC2=3DA0=3DC2=3DA0=3DC2=3DA0=3DC2=3DA0=3DC2=3DA0=3DC2=3D=
> A0=3DC2=3DA0727-641-8905=3D20
> >> [log in to unmask]
> >> [log in to unmask]
> >> =3D3D20=3D20
> >> Please reply to: [log in to unmask]
> >=20
> > Alan Kitty=3D20
> > 908-310-2117=3D20
> > [log in to unmask]
> > www.marktwainslaststand.com=3D20
>