"Funny is funny is funny"
About this Quote
"Funny is funny is funny" sounds like a shrug, but it’s really a line in the sand. Coming from Bob Newhart - a comedian whose whole brand was mild-mannered precision - the repetition isn’t laziness; it’s a refusal to overcomplicate the basic contract of comedy. He’s swatting away the endless debates about what kind of funny counts: edgy vs. clean, highbrow vs. lowbrow, observational vs. absurd. Newhart’s point is that the laugh is the final referendum, not the think-piece.
The tripled cadence matters. It mimics a comic beat: setup, reinforcement, punch. It also carries a little impatience, the way a working performer talks when the room is full of theory and empty of laughter. Subtext: stop hiding behind categories. If you have to explain why it’s funny, you’re already losing the crowd.
Contextually, Newhart emerged in an era when TV’s Standards and Practices forced comics to be inventive without being explicit. His famous phone-call routines were built on restraint, implication, and timing - proof that clean comedy can still be sharp. So the phrase doubles as a defense of craft: comedy isn’t virtue signaling or provocation for its own sake; it’s engineering. The audience reaction is data, not ideology.
It’s also quietly democratic. "Funny" doesn’t need credentials. A joke doesn’t become better because it’s fashionable, or worse because it’s old-school. If it lands, it lands - and Newhart, ever the straight man to cultural noise, is telling the rest of us to listen to the room.
The tripled cadence matters. It mimics a comic beat: setup, reinforcement, punch. It also carries a little impatience, the way a working performer talks when the room is full of theory and empty of laughter. Subtext: stop hiding behind categories. If you have to explain why it’s funny, you’re already losing the crowd.
Contextually, Newhart emerged in an era when TV’s Standards and Practices forced comics to be inventive without being explicit. His famous phone-call routines were built on restraint, implication, and timing - proof that clean comedy can still be sharp. So the phrase doubles as a defense of craft: comedy isn’t virtue signaling or provocation for its own sake; it’s engineering. The audience reaction is data, not ideology.
It’s also quietly democratic. "Funny" doesn’t need credentials. A joke doesn’t become better because it’s fashionable, or worse because it’s old-school. If it lands, it lands - and Newhart, ever the straight man to cultural noise, is telling the rest of us to listen to the room.
Quote Details
| Topic | Funny |
|---|
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