The Funniest TV Comedy of All Time

[OldTimes]

Amos 'n' Andy is the funniest comedy show that ever aired on television, hands down. Few shows come close. Many comedians have paid homage to the superb writing and extraordinary comedic talents of its cast. For example, Eddie Murphy and Richard Pryor have both referred to it as the greatest television comedy ever produced. TV critics like Richard Maltin and Jeffery Lyons agree profusely.

I grew up watching the Amos 'n' Andy Show. These days, I enjoy watching about 20 of the episodes on tape. I play these tapes often and never tire of them. I never laugh so heartily as when I am entertained by the Kingfish, Calhoun, Mama, Saffire, Andy et al.

It is good clean comedy. It is a rare jewel compared to the utter filth and sick humor of today.


I have noticed that the harshest critics of Amos 'n' Andy are invarialy those who have either never watched the show or have only seen one episode. These critics generally have made up their minds before they even see the shows.

What really bothers me is the knee-jerk response by the NAACP to CBS whenever it floats the idea of bringing back this priceless piece of Americana back. And why is that they protest even the public release of the shows on videotape or DVD? Isn't this a blatant un-American form of censorship?

I can point to white comedies that paint a very bad image of white people (like Abbott and Costello who often played moochers and con men in the TV series and hardly ever worked) yet these are readily available. What hypocrisy!

Meanwhile, the NAACP was responsible for throwing many black actors into the streets when they forced the shutdown of Amos 'n' Andy in 1953. Where is the NAACP when it comes to condemning depraved gangster rap music which praises murder, rape, robbery, drug use, incest and other atrocities? This "music" does infinite harm to youth, black and white. Where is the NAAACP on this?

For shame. The whole affair is only shameless pimp politics by a cadre of hypocrites.


Old Times

[Phil63]

I have not read thru all previous posts; so, don't know if everyone is aware that the re-created shows are being aired 6 days a week; and, have been for the past 4 years in the shortwave band at midnight (Eastern) on 7415Kcs. Ed Bolton is the MC and gives historical comment after each episode nightly.

He told me recently that he has nearly 1500 episodes on CD.

Phil

[Zoneboy]

I agree with you 100% Amos & Andy was indeed the funniest sitcom of all time but I'm sorry to say that you have your information mixed up. Richard Pryor, has never been a fan of the show. He has spoken harshly about it calling it an outrage and an insult to African Americans. Bill Cosby hates the show so much that a rumour was started years ago that he bought the rights to the show so that no one could see it & nothing could be further from the truth. One supporter of Amos & Andy was Redd foxx, he praised the show and the actors to no end. You can watch Sanford & Son & see the similarities in both shows. Redd Foxx even persuaded NBC to hire Alvin Childress (Amos) & Lillian Randolph (Madam Queen) to appear in the episode, Here Comes The Bride, There Goes The Bride. By the way, I have 71 of the episodes on Dvd and would be glad to send you the 50 you don't have at a very reasonable price. You can e-mail me at:
dekingfish2001@yahoo.com if you're interested.

[Zoneboy]

I have noticed that the harshest critics of Amos 'n' Andy are invarialy those who have either never watched the show or have only seen one episode. These critics generally have made up their minds before they even see the shows.



Truer words were never spoken, you hit the nail on the head with those comments.

[WeMissTripper]

Good points.

[Lexx82]

i hope you dont think ALL Hip hop music is a form of "gangsta rap" and funny how u mention "gangsta rap" being an infinite form of harm to blacks and whites....what about death metal music? where they talk about worshipping the devil and cannibalism and all sorts of crazy **** lol.....newayz back to the subject.....i dont remember much about amos & andy...correct me if im wrong but the idea of amos & andy was a form of a minstrel show where white actors would go on stage with black face paints and oversized white lips and pretend to talk like a negro and act very dumb sort of a monkey....true or not true?....another thing as i remember as a young boy i used to watch this amos & andy cartoon....to be honest it was VERY FUNNY...it was the cartoon where they were pushing a car with a flat tire and they end up wrestling with some1 it was just sooo funny but u see i was what...4 or 5 maybe 6 yrs old...i didnt know any better that it was racism at its best.....again im not too familar with the show but just correct me if im wrong

[Ol' Unca Roggie]

I just got thru reading a book called "Holy Mackerel" which is a great revelation of the actual stuff that happened around the radio, then television show, called Amos'n'Andy.

One of the things I found the funniest, was that the black actors hired to play the roles of Kingfish/Andy Brown/Amos the cabdriver, and the rest of the cast, had to be "schooled" in the "art" of speaking the strange "dialect" that was used on the show....BY WHITE PEOPLE!

I remember the show so fondly, rolling on the floor as kids, at the antics of Kingfish and the others. I was so shocked to see Bill Cosby come on tv in 1965 and 'splain to us dummies that we were laughing AT those actors, not with them...that it was our fault that black people were thought of poorly.

WHAT??? My conception of those characters was that they were beloved uncles and aunts of ours. There was never any MENTION on the shows that they were of a different "race" or anything. On the crummy little tv sets of the time, they just seemed to be a darker shade of grey than the other faces we'd strain to see.

If you wanna talk about actors that really made themselves look incredibly STUPID, you only have to look to William Bendix as Chester A. Riley, or Art Carney's Ed Norton. Even as a young kid, they embarrassed me a little to be of the same GENDER as they were. But somehow even they were still lovable old idiots.

I just found a website offering dvd's of the old Amos'n'Andy episodes, and can't WAIT for them to arrive, so I can once again see those shows we watched as reruns so often, I can no doubt mouth the dialogue, in spite of not having viewed them for 40 years.

I was afraid that hearing the eerie theme song that played at the end credits of each episode, would make me cry once I heard it again--mainly as it would bring back the feeling of sitting there on rainy Saturday mornings with my departed older sister, watching those shows. But I just downloaded that song ("Angels Serenade" by Gaetano Braga) in perfect scratch-free shape, from a website that linked me to this one...and was made to smile, not weep.

I hope EVERYONE who longs to once again view these treasures, gets a chance to do so.

[Cheryl Harrell]

Wow, where can you get dvd's of Amos & Andy? We have a few vhs tapes we got of it yrs ago. I enjoyed watching this show as a kid & would love to get more eps. I thought it ewas funny & entertaining...

[tgarnerkcaa]

AMOS N ANDY Cast Members appearing on Radio Program 2/18/06


PRESS RELEASE

February 3, 2006 Contact: Trevor Garner
E-Mail - tgarnerkcaa@aol.com

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE


Inland Empire, CA -- KCAA Radio 1050 AM is bringing to the air a 2 hour call-in program discussing The Amos N Andy Show with 2 of the original cast members.

FEBRUARY is Black History Month ...........a time to celebrate millions of Americans who made untold contributions to our country while suffering under a
disgraceful political system that metered out opportunity based upon race. This month, KCAA 1050 AM Radio in San Bernardino, CA plans to air a program that looks back at a radio and television programthat reflected the discrimination of it's time. That show is Amos and Andy.
Terry Anderson from THE TERRY ANDERSON SHOW and Trevor Garner from KCAA will interview the last two surviving cast members of the television show, Mr. Howard McNeely
who played the nephew of Kingfish and Ms. Patti Marie Ellis, who played the daughter of Amos. Both will discuss their experiences on the set and offer their perspectives as stars of the first African-American television show; a show that was pulled from syndication in 1966 shortly after the passage of the Civil Rights Act and The Voting Rights Act.

A NAACP Representative has also been invited to attend this 2 hour program.

This special two hour call-in program will air on Saturday February 18th from 11am - 1pm

To call in and talk to the guests KCAA 1050 AM talk line is (909) 888-5222

KCAA can also be heard on the internet at www.kcaaradio.com
and also PODCASTING to your IPOD

" KCAA 1050 AM - The Station That Leaves No Listener Behind "
Your NBC News Station For The Inland Empire


TREVOR GARNER e-mail: tgarnerKCAA@aol.com

[smilinjack]

Does anyone know what episode Kingfish used the line
"That boy is the Number 1 mooch!"

Thanks,
Jack