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
Firsts
Jewish
First
Perform
Charm
Rhythm
Saws
Humor
Told
Soul
Richard

More quotes by Alan King

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Larry David finds a way to make jokes about the Holocaust. It would never have occurred to me. And it was funny.
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Let's face it: It's difficult enough to be funny without worrying about what is going to offend whom.
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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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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 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.
Alan King
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My mother kept the house clean and we ate good. I didn't know we were poor until I started giving interviews.
Alan King
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My brother is the youngest member of the College of Physicians and Surgeons. And I wouldn't let him cut my nails.
Alan King
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When I get up in the morning, I have to decide what I'm going to have for dinner or I can't get through the day.
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If you stop and think about it, nearly all great humor is at the expense of someone or something.
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Everything my mother made had to cook for 80 hours, and when she made matzoh balls she didn't know fluffy. Everything sank.
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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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You know you are getting old when people tell you how good you look.
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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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A summary of every Jewish holiday: They tried to kill us, we won, let's eat!
Alan King
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If you keep yourself alive and current, funny is funny.
Alan King
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I just never saw my mother in any other room but the kitchen. There were always pots going.
Alan King
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The other day my house caught fire. My lawyer said, Shouldn't be a problem. What kind of coverage do you have? I said, Fire and theft. The lawyer frowned. Uh oh. Wrong kind. Should be fire OR theft.
Alan King
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That's the great thing about New Year's, you get to be a year older. For me, that wasn't such a joke, because my birthday was always around this time. When I was a kid, my father used to tell me that everybody was celebrating my birthday. That's what the trees are all about.
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Ed Sullivan brought me to TV first in 1952, then Garry Moore's program gave me a lot of confidence and freedom.
Alan King
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If you want to read about love and marriage, you've got to buy two separate books.
Alan King