True enough. But explaining a joke usually makes a poor one worse. That was as true in 1866 as it is today. 

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> On Jun 18, 2014, at 5:34 PM, Jerry Vorpahl <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> 
> I don't think the difference is as much in who wrote the material as in hum=
> or then and now. Now, it's the big set up followed by a snappy one-liner yo=
> u didn't expect. Then, MT and many others would tell a story with multiple =
> endings, each funnier than the last. To wit: Twain's advice to an older wom=
> an to give up smoking and drinking and swearing to cure her lumbago. "But h=
> ow can I" she said, "I=C2=A0don't do any of those things." To which Twain r=
> eplied, "Well, there you are. She'd neglected her habits. She was a sinking=
> ship with no cargo to throw overboard."=C2=A0=C2=A0=20
> =C2=A0=20
> Each line gets a bigger laugh than the last. Only George Carlin and Tim Con=
> way have used this style effectively since Twain.=20
> 
> ----- Original Message -----
> 
> From: "Alan Kitty" <[log in to unmask]>=20
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Sent: Wednesday, June 18, 2014 1:54:28 PM=20
> Subject: Re: Jay Leno=20
> 
> Perhaps the larger difference is that Twain wrote his own material. =3D=20
> Listen to Jimmy Fallon, who never explained his jokes until he took over =
> =3D=20
> for the long-chin host. An entire staff of writers - not a Twain in the =3D=
> =20
> bunch.=20
> 
> 
> On Jun 18, 2014, at 2:39 PM, Denis Donovan wrote:=20
> 
>> Johnny Carson, who was as unlike Twain as you can get, nonetheless had =
> =3D=20
> =3D3D=20
>> something in common with him that was absolutely not shared by either =3D=
> =20
> =3D3D=20
>> Leno or Lederman. Like Twain, Carson never explained a joke or a =3D3D=20
>> routine. Carson let his performance carry the meaning and shape the =3D3D=
> =20
>> experience just as Twain let his written or spoken performance shape =3D=
> =20
> the =3D3D=20
>> experience. Carson may have laughed enough during the process to fill =3D=
> =20
> =3D3D=20
>> several studio audience recordings with every laugh he needed -- but =3D3=
> D=3D=20
> 
>> Twain's enjoyment of his verbal and written performances clearly is =3D3D=
> =20
>> palpable in everything Twain ever wrote ... and really comes across in =
> =3D=20
> =3D3D=20
>> the autobiography. Twain's piece on German sentence-building is as =3D3D=
> =20
>> hilarious as anything Carson ever did and much of both of their =3D=20
> material =3D3D=20
>> carries high-powered socio-political-cultural commentary. And, as read =
> =3D=20
> =3D3D=20
>> by Grover Gardner, had me laughing as hard as I ever laughed at =3D=20
> Carson, =3D3D=20
>> a laugh tinged with infinitely more respect.=20
>> =3D20=20
>> Just a thought.=20
>> =3D20=20
>> Denis=20
>> =3D20=20
>> =3D20=20
>> On Jun 18, 2014, at 1:42 PM, Scott Holmes wrote:=20
>> =3D20=20
>>> I don't know about the rest of you, on Twain-L, but I never thought =3D3=
> D=3D=20
> 
>> Leno=20
>>> was particularly humorous.=20
>> =3D20=20
>> Denis M. Donovan, M.D., M.Ed., F.A.P.S.=20
>> Director, EOCT Institute=20
>> =3D20=20
>> Medical Director, 1983 - 2006=20
>> The Children's Center for Developmental Psychiatry=20
>> St. Petersburg, Florida=20
>> =3D20=20
>> P.O Box 47576=20
>> St. Petersburg, FL 33743-7576=20
>> Phone:=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0=C2=A0727-641-8905=20
>> [log in to unmask]
>> [log in to unmask]
>> =3D20=20
>> Please reply to: [log in to unmask]
> 
> Alan Kitty=20
> 908-310-2117=20
> [log in to unmask]
> www.marktwainslaststand.com=20