Shecky’s Perfect Joke

[Last week was I going to publish this post about a joke by old-school stand-up comedian Shecky Greene, but then I put it off. Now I wish I had published it, while at the same time being glad I didn’t, because Shecky died today.]

It’s a perfect joke for multiple reasons:

    • It was based on an actual event
    • It’s very short, with a minimum of only ten words, maybe even nine
    • It requires a certain knowledge, albeit dated, but perfect for its intended Las Vegas audience
    • It’s self-deprecating while also sticking it to someone else
    • It isn’t dirty and there’s no swearing.
    • It’s funny in a way that could have made club management uncomfortable

The joke:

Frank Sinatra saved my life…
He said, “that’s enough, boys.”

Ten words. Boom. Perfect.

The Ram Ones

On the Movies! channel I happened to catch a bit of the Ramones in 1979’s Rock ‘n’ Roll High School with — wowee! — P.J. Soles, who’s five years older than I am.

Joey, Johnny, Dee Dee, and Tommy, their original drummer turned producer, are gone. Only Marky carries on the proud name of Ramone, inspired by Paul “Ramon” McCartney in the Silver Beatles.

Note: I didn’t bother seeing if this is available on YouTube, because it’s a video experiment in converting MTS to MP4. Making it browser-compatible turned out to be rather tricky. Let me know if you see or hear a problem.

Pulse-Pounding ALL JOE Post!

Joe Sinnott felt his inking style meshed best with John Buscema’s drawings, and I agree with that. But it’s Joe’s work with Jack Kirby that will be best remembered. Here is a prime example.

Tales of Suspense 94, page 2

Joe on Gene Colan was a surprisingly good pairing.

Captain America #116 page 1

Gil Kane was his own best inker. Joe’s inking worked, but it wasn’t an ideal match-up.

Tales of Suspense 90, page 5

Neal Adams and Joe were two masters of comic book art who admired each other’s work, but their styles weren’t complementary.

Thor #180, page 4

The cover art by Buscema for Silver Surfer #1 has Joe’s name written in pencil, but it was obviously inked by Frank Giacoia. Okay, so this post isn’t 100% Joe!

Silver Surfer #1