It's The Writing

 

Recently, a friend asked me who my favorite comedians were and I found it difficult to answer. Obviously, I love Tina Fey and Conan O'Brien and Amy Poehler and such. But, then I realized that's just because I like writers. I'm so impressed and in awe of people like Dan Harmon and Mitch Hurwitz and Tina Fey, obviously. I like the people behind the scenes because they're the ones coming up with the ideas and making things funny. Tracy Morgan may be hilarious on "30 Rock"... but where would he be if he didn't have a team of people writing those jokes for him? They might be based on him and his personality, but someone is writing those jokes.

And that's why I love Dick van Dyke for saying the following in his memoir, "My Lucky Life In And Out of Show Business," about The Dick van Dyke Show. I love him. You should read it. He's very sweet.

Let me say there were no one-liners in these scripts, no corny or cheap jokes for the sake of comedy. The humor grew out of the people and their relationships to one another and their jobs. It was organic, natural, real and timeless. I keep going back to the same point, but anyone who has been in a hit TV series will mention the same thing as the essential ingredient. It was the writing. It was fantastic.

And that should probably do it for 60's comedians for this week!