He was really of a different generation. In the '60s, he was the big square who thought he was hip, yet so often ridiculed younger artists, though he had them on his show a lot. (Maybe so he could ridicule them.)
That lines up. I never enjoyed his songs but maybe now that I'm in 50s I'll look up some old clips. Perhaps I missed something. Then again, I am not sophisticated. Also, the daily show and Fallon were at their best when you were involved, so thanks for keeping the good stuff alive. As a right leaning fellow, the humor was still accessible, which is rare these days.
I never understood the appeal. His style was reminiscent of funny by committee with a group of people who aren't actually funny but think they know what funny is. Pretty much what happened with sitcoms."You know what's funny? Bananas!" To be fair, I never saw his stint on the Tonight Show, only the odd appearances later. My grandparents probably liked him but Carson was king in their house and they got me watching Sid Caesar and that still holds up for me.
Yeah, Sid Caesar was definitely funny. Allen was supposed to be cooler and smarter than guys like Sid and Milton Berle, but… I‘ve just never enjoyed him. Maybe I should give him another chance. He was a definite pioneer, and he invented “Man on the street” bits with real comedy geniuses like Tom Poston and Bill Dana and Don Knotts (and which were the inspiration for all the correspondent bits I wrote for the daily show, so thanks), so he deserves credit. Bit his later public persona didn’t help — vain, petty. He was a “great songwriter” who dismissed all popular music, but all his songs sounded like crap. He was so insistent that you knew how smart he was. It’s hard to admire (or be amused by) a man like that.
He was really of a different generation. In the '60s, he was the big square who thought he was hip, yet so often ridiculed younger artists, though he had them on his show a lot. (Maybe so he could ridicule them.)
That lines up. I never enjoyed his songs but maybe now that I'm in 50s I'll look up some old clips. Perhaps I missed something. Then again, I am not sophisticated. Also, the daily show and Fallon were at their best when you were involved, so thanks for keeping the good stuff alive. As a right leaning fellow, the humor was still accessible, which is rare these days.
I never understood the appeal. His style was reminiscent of funny by committee with a group of people who aren't actually funny but think they know what funny is. Pretty much what happened with sitcoms."You know what's funny? Bananas!" To be fair, I never saw his stint on the Tonight Show, only the odd appearances later. My grandparents probably liked him but Carson was king in their house and they got me watching Sid Caesar and that still holds up for me.
Yeah, Sid Caesar was definitely funny. Allen was supposed to be cooler and smarter than guys like Sid and Milton Berle, but… I‘ve just never enjoyed him. Maybe I should give him another chance. He was a definite pioneer, and he invented “Man on the street” bits with real comedy geniuses like Tom Poston and Bill Dana and Don Knotts (and which were the inspiration for all the correspondent bits I wrote for the daily show, so thanks), so he deserves credit. Bit his later public persona didn’t help — vain, petty. He was a “great songwriter” who dismissed all popular music, but all his songs sounded like crap. He was so insistent that you knew how smart he was. It’s hard to admire (or be amused by) a man like that.