Word: sahl
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Parents like Mort Sahl. My mom really likes Mort Sahl. At first glance, the number of balding heads and hearing aids in Mort Sahl's audience is daunting. One wonders what kind of night one is in for. But he comes with good recommendations--Morn's got taste, she married Dad, after all. Sahl was host of the Academy Awards, the world's most watched television program. He was our parents' Billy Crystal, Whoopi Goldberg and Robin Williams. It'll be great to get a cross-generational perspective on humor, right...
...Mort Sahl walks on stage, you are overcome with a mixture of dread and fascination. You realize you know who he is--he's loud Uncle Mort whom you only see on Thanksgiving and the Fourth of July. He knows everything, he knows he's funny and successful, and he tells you all about it. Until he's had a few drinks in him, he will insist on displaying his wit, connections, and catalogue of anecdotes, while you wonder how long the holiday will take. Ultimately, you begin sneaking illicit shots to make him tolerable. Too bad they...
...first five minutes shows that exactly one joke was funny. To look at all the gray-haired ladies splitting their sides with laughter, however, makes one wonder if maybe his humor is an adult thing, like knowing how to fill out a tax form. Mort Sahl's audience loves...
Admittedly, it's nice to see a polysyllabic comic whose topic is politics rather than the mundane, but his brand of political humor borders on frightening. Sahl's staying power can be attributed to the fact that he remains neutral on political issues. Perhaps it's to a comic's advantage to have, as he declares, "No Values." Hearing him attack both conservatives and liberals with equal glee, however, sets one on edge. The lack of moral center ultimately distracts. How can he be funny if I can't figure out which angle this joke came from? The same Jewish...
...John Mitchell '97, not a longtime Sahl fan, said humor was only one part of the presentation...