Whatever Happened To Physical Comedy?

[ethelmaepotter]

I love to watch the antics of a Ralph Kramden and Ed Norton, Lucy & Ethel or Laverne & Shirley because the visual, physical comedy was priceless. Today, all you have is what I call "dialogue"-driven comedy that to me, is just so mundane. Pithy remarks, one-note jokes and sarcastic remarks just don't seem to be enough to keep most of these sitcoms today funny for long in prime-time, let along in reruns.

What happened to physical comedy? Is it a "dirty word" these days or just no one out there talented enough to pull it off?

[Lorimar Television]

Hope and Faith had a lot of physical comedy. It's histerical. It only aired from 2003- 2006 though.

[Mikado]

I think much of it has to do with the same reason that variety shows no longer work, namely theres no vaudeville circuit for slapstick comedians to hone their craft......not to mention that slapstick is often looked down upon, these days.

[PlayOn]

A show on Nickelodeon 'Drake & Josh' had physical comedy, altho it's no longer on the air. But I see what your saying. The same old jokes, ect. Hopefully somebody who was a child during the ILL days is tired of it and he/she is writing a good old-fashioned sitcom. But I bet the networks are too stupid to pick it up.
P.S: I never thought much about how TV has changed until I read this post. Good eye.

[Pavan]

According to Jim has some with Jim and Andy...which is always good.

[wkomorow]

Billed as the funiest 5 minutes on TV, Frasier's Niels ironing offered incedible physical comedy. In Keeping Up Appearances, Pat Routledge was the master of physical comedy. Even Clive Swift had his moments. Drew Carey had some physical comedy and of course anything with Penn and Teller includes physical stunts.

[Ireneparalegal]

Originally Posted by BruceWillisFan

A show on Nickelodeon 'Drake & Josh' had physical comedy, altho it's no longer on the air. But I see what your saying. The same old jokes, ect. Hopefully somebody who was a child during the ILL days is tired of it and he/she is writing a good old-fashioned sitcom. But I bet the networks are too stupid to pick it up.
P.S: I never thought much about how TV has changed until I read this post. Good eye.

Drake & Josh still airs in reruns on Nickelodeon. They are pretty funny. My son loves that show.

According to Jim has its moments as Pav above stated. Great show.

[comedyfreak]

Originally Posted by wkomorow

Billed as the funiest 5 minutes on TV, Frasier's Niels ironing offered incedible physical comedy.

He was excellent when he did the physical comedy, my favorite was when he fell in the kitchen. Laverne & Shirley had a lot of physical comedy.

[snl 70s show fan]

will and grace also had quite a bit of physical comedy

[Tubehead]

don't forget about three company. and dick van dyke show.

[tv star collector]

Perfect Strangers also made good use of physical comedy. In one
episode, the cousins even parodied Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy (who practically invented physical comedy).

[PlayOn]

Originally Posted by tv star collector

Perfect Strangers also made good use of physical comedy. In one
episode, the cousins even parodied Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy (who practically invented physical comedy).

I thought the Three Stogges (or however you spell it) or the Marx bros. invented it. Guess I was wrong.

[tv star collector]

Stan Laurel made his first film in 1917, while partner Oliver Hardy began his
career even earlier (in 1913). They appeared on the screen together for the first time in the short "Lucky Dog" (1917), but not as a team. It wasn't until
1926, at Hal Roach's studios, that they worked together again. Moe Howard (of The Three Stooges) made his performing debut on a Mississippi riverboat in 1914. He and his older brother Shemp later formed a vaudeville act and eventually landed a job with comic Ted Healy (1923). In 1928, they were
joined by Larry Fine. Ted Healy and his Stooges (as they were then billed)
did quite well in vaudeville and made their first film in 1930. The Marx Brothers started performing around 1908, but received little recognition until the mid-1920s. [Source: Movie Comedy Teams, by Leonard Maltin
(1970).]

So, all three teams hit their stride at about the same time: the 1920s. Many
people (including critic Leonard Maltin) consider Laurel & Hardy to be "the
greatest comedy team of all time." But they were "unappreciated by film
critics even during their peak years" and "forced into premature retirement."
The Marx Brothers were "brilliant" but their films "went steadily downhill
after 'A Day at the Races.'" The Three Stooges were "not comic geniuses,
nor do they pretend to be. They are talented, experienced comics who
deserve recognition, if only for longevity." In the late 1950s and early
1960s, thanks to television, they finally came into their own appearing as
guests on shows hosted by Steve Allen, Ed Sullivan, Danny Thomas, Joey
Bishop and others. And their classic shorts (especially the ones with Curly
Howard) prove that even today they are still "three truly fine clowns."

So, who invented slapstick comedy? Chaplin? Keaton? Someone else? Does
it really matter? Each of the early screen greats brought his own unique
style to it. And today's physical comedians--from Robin Williams to Jim
Carrey--owe a debt to the great comics who came before them.

[Mr. Television]

What about the Keystone Cops. I think they were the earliest slapstick comics on film?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keystone_Kops

[AB]

There's also some physical comedy on The New Adventures Of Old Christine. Not a lot but some.