Quote

There's a charm, there's a rhythm, there's a soul to Jewish humor. When I first saw Richard Pryor perform, I told him, 'You're doing a Jewish act.'

Alan King

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Alan King
Age: 76 †
Born: 1927
Born: December 26
Died: 2004
Died: May 9
Actor
Film Actor
Film Producer
Stage Actor
Writer
Brooklyn
New York
Rhythm
Saws
Humor
Told
Soul
Richard
Firsts
Jewish
First
Perform
Charm

More quotes by Alan King

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I always plan dinner first thing in the morning. That's the only way I can get through the day, having a specific meal to look forward to at night.
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And humor has always been a weapon. You want to get even on somebody? You want to attack somebody? Make fun of them.
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Comedy is an amazing calling. Once you get that first laugh, it's hard to turn away. Then, of course, you're hooked and you have to learn how to survive in the business.
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Comedy is a reflection. We create nothing. We set no styles, no standards. We're reflections. It's a distorted mirror in the fun house. We watch society. As society behaves, then we have the ability to make fun of it.
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We get the worrywart, the hypochondriac, the money-grubbing miser, the intractable negotiator... Some would say certain of these refer to the stereotypical, or 'stage' Jew. But objectively speaking, the only crime in humor is an unfunny joke.
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Banks have a new image. Now you have 'a friend,' your friendly banker. If the banks are so friendly, how come they chain down the pens?
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I made it, Ma - Carnegie Hall. And I didn't have to practice.
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I just never saw my mother in any other room but the kitchen. There were always pots going.
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I don't mind being 65, but nobody is gonna tell me to come in at 5:30 to have the early bird special.
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When I was in the hospital they gave me apple juice every morning, even after I told them I didn't like it. I had to get even. One morning, I poured the apple juice into the specimen tube. The nurse held it up and said, 'It's a little cloudy.' I took the tube from her and said, 'Let me run it through again,' and drank it. The nurse fainted.
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My mother's sister was killed in a trolley car accident, so I was raised as one of eight with my sister and six male cousins.
Alan King
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I think one of the big things about comedy is the ability for the audience to identify.
Alan King
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You know you are getting old when people tell you how good you look.
Alan King
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The world is full of little dictators trying to run your life.
Alan King
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If you stop and think about it, nearly all great humor is at the expense of someone or something.
Alan King
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There's nobody to believe in anymore, nobody to trust.
Alan King
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As life's pleasures go, food is second only to sex. Except for salami and eggs. Now that's better than sex, but only if the salami is thickly sliced.
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Marriage is nature's way of keeping us from fighting with strangers.
Alan King
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The ability to absorb a book and make someone else's words and story your own was exactly was I was doing on stage.
Alan King
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Let's face it: It's difficult enough to be funny without worrying about what is going to offend whom.
Alan King