HENNY YOUNGMAN
Name: Henry Youngman
Born: 16 March 1906
Died: 24 February 1998
Henry "Henny" Youngman (March 16, 1906 - February 24, 1998) was a British-born
American comedian and violinist famous for "one-liners," short, simple jokes
usually delivered rapid-fire. His best known (and oft misattributed) one-liner
was "Take my wife please".
In a time when most comedians told elaborate anecdotes, Youngman's comedy
routine consisted of telling simple one-liner jokes, occasionally with
interludes of violin playing. These gags depicted simple, cartoon-like
situations, eliminating lengthy build-ups and going straight to the punch line.
He was known as the King of the One Liners, a title bestowed upon him by
columnist Walter Winchell. A typical stage performance by Youngman lasted only
fifteen to twenty minutes, but contained dozens of jokes, spouted in rapid-fire
fashion.
Youngman was born in Liverpool, England, and his family moved to Brooklyn, New
York, when he was young. He grew up in New York City, and his career as a
comedian began after he had worked for a number of years at a print shop, where
he penned and published a large number of (comedy cards) cards containing one-line
gags that were sold at the shop. The comedy cards were discovered by up-and-coming
professional comedian Milton Berle, who encouraged Youngman and formed a close
working friendship with him. Berle quipped about his friend, "The only thing
funnier than Henny's jokes is his violin playing."
Encouraged by his family to learn the violin, Youngman's start in show business
was as an orchestra musician. He led a small jazz band called the "Swanee
Syncopaters," and during the band's performances, Youngman often told jokes to
the audience. One night, the regular comedian didn't show for his performance,
and the club owner asked Youngman to fill in. Youngman was a success, and he
began a long career of stand-up, telling one-line jokes and polishing his act to
razor sharpness. His generally inoffensive, friendly style of comedy kept his
audiences in stitches for decades. He started his career playing in clubs and
speakeasies, but his big break came on the Kate Smith radio show in 1937. His
manager, Ted Collins, booked him on the popular show, where he was a great
success; he made many return appearances to the radio.
During the 1940s Youngman tried to break into the movies and become an actor,
but he was unsuccessful in Hollywood. He returned to the nightclub scene and
worked steadily with his stand-up act, performing as many as 200 shows a year.
Like many comedians, Henny Youngman treated his profession as a working job, one
where it is difficult to make a living, and getting paid for the work is all-important.
In numerous interviews, Youngman's advice to other entertainers was to "nem de
gelt" (Yiddish for get the money).
He was quoted in an interview with the Web-based magazine Eye: "I get on the
plane. I go and do the job, grab the money and I come home and I keep it clean.
Those are my rules. Sinatra does the same thing, only he has a helicopter
waiting. That's the difference."
When the New York Telephone Company started its Dial-a-Joke line in 1974, over
three million people called in one month to hear 30 seconds of Youngman's
material the most ever for a comedian.
Youngman never retired, and he performed his stage act in venues worldwide until
his final days. As his fame passed into legendary status, he never considered
himself aloof or above others, and he never refused to perform a show in a small
venue or unknown club. In a tribute to Youngman, TV and animation producer Mark
Evanier described Youngman in a way that emphasized both his money consciousness
and his love of performing:
He would take his fiddle and go to some hotel that had banquet rooms. He'd
consult the daily directory in the lobby and find a party usually a Bar Mitzvah
reception and he would go up to the room and ask to speak to whoever was paying
for the affair. "I'm Henny Youngman," he would tell that person. "I was playing
a date in another banquet room here and one of the waiters suggested you might
want to have me do my act for your gathering here." He would negotiate whatever
price he could get $200, $500, preferably in cash and he would do his act for
them.
Youngman made numerous appearances on television, including a long-running stint
on Rowan and Martin’s Laugh-In. In 1955 he was host of a TV series titled The
Henny and Rocky Show, appearing with champion boxer Rocky Graziano. He had cameo
appearances in several movies, including History of the World, Part I and
Goodfellas.
He had a larger role in Herschell Gordon Lewis's The Gore-Gore Girls, a fact he
denied vehemently.[citation needed] He made a few recordings, most notably The
Primitive Side of Henny Youngman, recorded "live" in St. Louis and released by
National Recording Corporation on the NRC label. The CD is still in print.
His published autobiography is entitled Take My Life, Please!.
Youngman's last movie appearance before his death was in the Daniel Robert Cohn
film Eyes Beyond Seeing, in which he has a cameo as a mental patient claiming to
be Henny Youngman.
Name: Henry Youngman
Born: 16 March 1906
Died: 24 February 1998
Henry "Henny" Youngman (March 16, 1906 - February 24, 1998) was a British-born
American comedian and violinist famous for "one-liners," short, simple jokes
usually delivered rapid-fire. His best known (and oft misattributed) one-liner
was "Take my wife please".
In a time when most comedians told elaborate anecdotes, Youngman's comedy
routine consisted of telling simple one-liner jokes, occasionally with
interludes of violin playing. These gags depicted simple, cartoon-like
situations, eliminating lengthy build-ups and going straight to the punch line.
He was known as the King of the One Liners, a title bestowed upon him by
columnist Walter Winchell. A typical stage performance by Youngman lasted only
fifteen to twenty minutes, but contained dozens of jokes, spouted in rapid-fire
fashion.
Youngman was born in Liverpool, England, and his family moved to Brooklyn, New
York, when he was young. He grew up in New York City, and his career as a
comedian began after he had worked for a number of years at a print shop, where
he penned and published a large number of (comedy cards) cards containing one-line
gags that were sold at the shop. The comedy cards were discovered by up-and-coming
professional comedian Milton Berle, who encouraged Youngman and formed a close
working friendship with him. Berle quipped about his friend, "The only thing
funnier than Henny's jokes is his violin playing."
Encouraged by his family to learn the violin, Youngman's start in show business
was as an orchestra musician. He led a small jazz band called the "Swanee
Syncopaters," and during the band's performances, Youngman often told jokes to
the audience. One night, the regular comedian didn't show for his performance,
and the club owner asked Youngman to fill in. Youngman was a success, and he
began a long career of stand-up, telling one-line jokes and polishing his act to
razor sharpness. His generally inoffensive, friendly style of comedy kept his
audiences in stitches for decades. He started his career playing in clubs and
speakeasies, but his big break came on the Kate Smith radio show in 1937. His
manager, Ted Collins, booked him on the popular show, where he was a great
success; he made many return appearances to the radio.
During the 1940s Youngman tried to break into the movies and become an actor,
but he was unsuccessful in Hollywood. He returned to the nightclub scene and
worked steadily with his stand-up act, performing as many as 200 shows a year.
Like many comedians, Henny Youngman treated his profession as a working job, one
where it is difficult to make a living, and getting paid for the work is all-important.
In numerous interviews, Youngman's advice to other entertainers was to "nem de
gelt" (Yiddish for get the money).
He was quoted in an interview with the Web-based magazine Eye: "I get on the
plane. I go and do the job, grab the money and I come home and I keep it clean.
Those are my rules. Sinatra does the same thing, only he has a helicopter
waiting. That's the difference."
When the New York Telephone Company started its Dial-a-Joke line in 1974, over
three million people called in one month to hear 30 seconds of Youngman's
material the most ever for a comedian.
Youngman never retired, and he performed his stage act in venues worldwide until
his final days. As his fame passed into legendary status, he never considered
himself aloof or above others, and he never refused to perform a show in a small
venue or unknown club. In a tribute to Youngman, TV and animation producer Mark
Evanier described Youngman in a way that emphasized both his money consciousness
and his love of performing:
He would take his fiddle and go to some hotel that had banquet rooms. He'd
consult the daily directory in the lobby and find a party usually a Bar Mitzvah
reception and he would go up to the room and ask to speak to whoever was paying
for the affair. "I'm Henny Youngman," he would tell that person. "I was playing
a date in another banquet room here and one of the waiters suggested you might
want to have me do my act for your gathering here." He would negotiate whatever
price he could get $200, $500, preferably in cash and he would do his act for
them.
Youngman made numerous appearances on television, including a long-running stint
on Rowan and Martin’s Laugh-In. In 1955 he was host of a TV series titled The
Henny and Rocky Show, appearing with champion boxer Rocky Graziano. He had cameo
appearances in several movies, including History of the World, Part I and
Goodfellas.
He had a larger role in Herschell Gordon Lewis's The Gore-Gore Girls, a fact he
denied vehemently.[citation needed] He made a few recordings, most notably The
Primitive Side of Henny Youngman, recorded "live" in St. Louis and released by
National Recording Corporation on the NRC label. The CD is still in print.
His published autobiography is entitled Take My Life, Please!.
Youngman's last movie appearance before his death was in the Daniel Robert Cohn
film Eyes Beyond Seeing, in which he has a cameo as a mental patient claiming to
be Henny Youngman.