Word: sahl
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Dates: during 1960-1969
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...Mort Sahl is considered a critic--and yet people were laughing, I think, not so much because they heard what they didn't expect and what made them uncomfortable--but rather because they heard precisely what they knew they were going to hear, precisely what they wanted to hear, and precisely what they have eagerly believed to be true for some time...
...after all, what can one expect? Here is Mort Sahl, critic, in Symphony Hall, one of the most exalted products of years of pleasant and successful conformity. He has left the dingy purlieus of the hungry i, and has had to pay the price. He has had his grimacing image on the cover of Time; he has performed...
Repeatedly Wednesday night, Sahl alluded to remarks that he hadn't been able to use on television; he repeated them to the Symphony Hall audience, as though here were people who could be expected to understand and appreciate comments the television audience would resent. And indeed he had every right to expect it, for the lines were really quite tame, had no particular punch, reflected indeed the thoughts of most run-of-the-mill liberals in the country today. What would have been interesting to hear are the remarks he doubtless makes in small groups, at parties, perhaps to himself...
Essentially, Sahl is an exceedingly safe comedian. He merely articulates what thousands of Americans (correctly or incorrectly) have thought before him (to wit: 1. Nixon is an evil man. 2. Kennedy is ambitious, but not as evil as Nixon. 3. The President of the United States, alas, is a fool.). His well-known remark "Are there any minority groups I haven't offended?" is cute but deceptive, for he's careful only to offend the minority groups which one can get away with offending. His entire viewpoint resembles, in fact, that of a slightly eccentric but avid supporter of Adlai...
...Mort Sahl says many things which, when read by themselves, (in Time magazine or the CRIMSON) are exceedingly funny. It takes a visit to one of his shows to perceive just how tame Sahl really is--and to realize that his "refreshing young voice" is actually uttering the same banalities that have been floating around us, available at bargain prices for some years...