Jeff Foxworthy has amused the world for years with his standup comedy, infamous “You Might Be A Redneck” jokes, and well-known Redneck Dictionary. “He is the largest selling comedy-recording artist in history, a multiple Grammy Award nominee and best selling author of 11 books” (“About Jeff“). However, this does not sum up his comical career at all. Not only is he extremely successful and talented, he has also helped and motivated many other comedians. Jeff Foxworthy is, by far, the most influential contributor to Blue Collar Comedy and has the greatest impact on the other comedians.
Jeff Foxworthy was born on September 6, 1958 in Atlanta, Georgia (“Jeff Foxworthy“). In high school, he was actually captain of the football team, in which he was a “123-pound safety” (McEntegart, Kennedy and Deitsch). After high school, Foxworthy attended Georgia Tech to major in computer technology. However, while working at IBM, he quickly learned that he enjoyed making people laugh far more than working on computers (“Jeff Foxworthy“). With that said, it did not take Foxworthy long to recognize that he had an extremely strong passion for comedy.
Jeff Foxworthy has had an amazingly successful career as a stand up comedian. Not only has he opened for remarkable country music artists such as Garth Brooks, all the books he has written have each sold over a million copies. He also broke Eddie Murphy’s record for a comedy recording in the 1980s when his first recording of “You Might Be A Redneck” went double platinum (“Jeff Foxworthy“). During the entirety of his career, Foxworthy has “sold a record of fifteen million comedy albums, more than twice as many as Steve Martin and Richard Pryor combined“ (Friend). His Blue Collar Comedy Tour masterpiece...
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...Comedy and the other comedians’ careers.
Works Cited
“About Jeff.” Jeff Foxworthy. Club Red, Inc. 22 March 2012.
“All About Larry.” Larry the Cable Guy. Git-R-Done Productions. 22 March 2012.
Ernst, Erik. “Bill Engvall Talks About Blue Collar Comedy Life.” Journal Sentinel, Inc. 22 March 2012.
Friend, Tad. “Blue-Collar Gold.” New Yorker 82.21 (2006): 74-83. Academic Search Complete. Web. 22 March 2012.
"Jeff Foxworthy." Bio. True Story. A+E Television Networks, LLC. 22 Mar 2012.
McEntegart, Pete, Kostya Kennedy, and Richard Deitsch. “Q+A Jeff Foxworthy.” Sports Illustrated 98.2 (2003): 21. Academic Search Complete. Web. 22 March 2012.
Michael, Shayne. “Shayne-Michael COMedy: Comedy Links.” Shayne-Michael COMedy. 22 March 2012.
Spong, John. “Ron White Gets The Last Laugh.” Texas Monthly 34.12 (2006): 164-254. Academic Search Complete. Web. 22 March 2012.
John Belushi was a well-known comedian, but was hiding a troubling life. Belushi first began his career as a comedian in 1971 when he joined The Second City comedy group in Chicago. In 1973, Belushi began airing on The National Lampoon Radio Hour which was a half-hour comedy program played across the United States. Belushi achieved national fame for his work on Saturday Night Live. Once he turned 30, Animal House was the number one film in the United States, The Blues Brothers: Briefcase Full of Blues was the number one album, and Saturday Night Live was the highest rated late night television program. Even with all his success and fame, Belushi had a different lifestyle and behavior that was not seen by the people watching his shows (Peele 2011).
“Mark Twain Prize for Humor.” Kennedy Center. Mark Twain Foundation Trust. 2013. Web. 2 Apr
Terry Fox was born in Winnipeg Manitoba on July 28 1958 Terry was raised in port Coquintlam, British Columbia. He was very athletic from a young age. When he was in grade eight Terry was rated nineteen out of nineteen on his basketball team. For that first season he was on the court for approximately one minute. This did not affect Terry and did not let it get to him, fore just two years later Terry was the starring player on his team. By the time he graduated he became one of two athletes to receive the schools highest athletic award.
Country music is one of the most popular music genres in America. There is a reason it is called Country music: because it reflects the heart and soul of the entire country. This unique genre of music can trace its roots to the very beginning of Southern culture. Through its rich history, Country music has always represented the life of the American little-man, the working-class hero, and has spawned many other forms of American culture in music, movies, television and style.
Bernie Mac’s second Def Comedy Jam special, “I Ain’t Scared of You Motherfuckers” is a comedic work that has always made me laugh uncontrollably. Even when I was too young to fully understand most of the jokes in that particular standup routine, his physical motions, use of curses and taboo sex phrases, as well as his urban Chicago colloquialisms were enough to have tears dripping from my eyes and a boisterous sound of laughter coming from my mouth, loud enough that it would cause my mother to come into my room and investigate what all the fuss was about. Despite the obvious comedic subject matter of works of comedy done by comedians such as Bernie Mac, there are numerous underlying reasons that attribute to the humor that is expressed through our laugher and enjoyment. Through his lively stage presences and sociological motifs, Bernie Mac was able to enlighten the world on the various cultural aspects of urban life by his use of social and psychological cues that capture our attention, giving us directions on how to react, providing us with an increased social awareness though satirical methods, and making light of taboo topics regarding the themes of sex and gender roles.
Richard Pryor has a key influence on many modern comedians because he took standup comedy to greater heights. Pryor is well-known for his colorful language and his efforts to knock down the racial barrier. He was such a shock to the world because he said things that no one dared.
Chapel Hill’s Memorial Hall hosted performing artist Chris Thile on September 12th to delight a full house with a comedic, live, musical performance featuring himself. Appearing as a one-man-show, Thile stood simply on stage with his mandolin around his neck and a microphone in front of him to capture his witty banter and southern vocals. Throughout the course of the night, technical errors threatened to detract from the show but Thile took them in stride as he worked the mishaps gracefully into his act. Overall, the performance was executed to the high standards of the Grammy Award Winning musician and his famously diverse and spontaneous art was eloquently displayed to his lively audience members.
Analysis of Dave Chappelle's For What It's Worth Stand-Up Comedy Dave Chappelle’s stand-up comedy can be raunchy, grotesque, and
Born in Massapequa, New York in 1954, Seinfeld soon discovered the attention that making jokes could garner him, and he admits to having been a class clown throughout his education. After college, Seinfeld starting touring the nation's comedy clubs and college campuses with his odd brand of observational humor. Seinfeld would notice something from society, someone who talked too close to another person for example, and h...
Adam Sandler has been a box-office draw for a decade now, with hardly a dip in fortunes since he first parlayed his break on TV's Saturday Night Live into a string of hit films. From the get-go Sandler was good on jokes about sports, six-packs and the need to stop goofing off and start playing nice with women. He made his success without any support from critics, many of whom seemed to find the frat-house element of his shtick so ghastly as to inoculate them against its sweet and silly aspects. It is unlikely that Sandler cares much for the views of festival-going connoisseurs, though he served notice on their carps by his seamless crossover into Paul Thomas Anderson's Punch-Drunk Love (2002). "I wanted to work with Sandler so much," Anderson said. "I love him… He's always made me laugh."
With the turn of the century, society and technology evolved and so did the minstrel shows. The introduction of the television gave the shows a new platform to broadcast their content to more american audiences. While not as harsh as the shows in the 19th century’s shows, the modern minstrel shows were “vestiges of their racial stereotyping and performances aesthetics persisted for decades in various performance mediums. ” (7). The show 's popularity forged a strong foundation for careers in the entertainment industry for African Americans. African Americans often could find great success in pursuing musical, or comedic careers following the minstrel shows. And as the shows finally died out, this underlying principle stayed true as the United States progressed. The minstrel shows facilitated African Americans into many forms of the entertainment as various performers. The shows play a major role in developing the comedic basis for African American entertainers even today. As referred to in the modern day , “Black Comedy” is extremely favored by the populus. Famous black comedian Dave Chappelle, once played a role as a “racial pixie”. Chappelle performed as a oddly dressed pixie on the shoulders of African Americans and sang, danced, and encouraged the individual to given into the stereotypes of society (4). Perhaps what disturbed Chappelle the most was the
Some television critics have abused “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood.” Several statements declare he is a wimp because of his general caring approach on the show. Not only have television critics made negative remarks, but the children’s show has also been made fun of on late night television shows such as “The Tonight Show” with Johnny Carson as well as Eddie Murphy on Saturday Night Live (Bianculli 43). On a different level of criticism, the older siblings of those who watch the show develop negative opinions of “Mister ...
American Pie” is an impressionistic ballad by Don Mclean which features unique and intriguing lyrics. It has imaginative changes in tempo, vocal delivery and instrumentation, and imparts a wide range of emotions ranging from pure joy, to melancholy and despair. The song takes the listener on an autobiographical journey through the turbulent 1960’s with references to the events that shaped the era. Don Mclean was enshrined in the Songwriters’ Hall of Fame in 2004 for his work on “American Pie” (Don McLean: Songwriters Hall of Fame Inauguration). With its use of formal structure, allusions, and figurative language, the song, “American Pie”, has many poetic qualities.
The nature of comedy has always left it somewhat resistant to critical analysis, and to some extent the same can be said for comedic actors. The class-clowns of Hollywood like Will Ferrell are often times constructed as being nothing more than amusing, so they seem lik...
Television comedies have been on the air for decades, and throughout this time many different shows have come and gone. Due to the dominance of these shows, comedies are one of the biggest draws on television. There are many different types of comedies, each with their own unique characteristics and features that differentiate them from others and lead to their popularity. Whether the show is a sketch comedy, sitcom, mockumentary or dramatic comedy, each utilizes different types of humour, locations, themes, and situations to appeal to the audience; which is likely why they are so popular today.