Jake Johnson Quotes

The king of comedy is dead. Richard Pryor was the king of comedy. The rest of them are the king of copycats.

A lot of the original people on 'SNL' came through Chicago - and Toronto, I'm sure - but Chicago was the center of it all. When I was there, Chris Farley - I knew him; we hung out and stuff - he went off to 'Saturday Night Live,' it was like, 'It's possible to be from here and make it.'

From National Lampoon, you go directly to Saturday Night Live, because it's a lot of the same people.

[John] Belushi was an extreme experience even by my standards.

I was also a big Woody Allen fan. When I got into college I listened to Lenny Bruce but it's taken me years to put him into context historically and really get what he did.

The big stars I felt a kinship with were never the romantic leads. It wasn't Steve McQueen or Robert Redford - it was people like Walter Matthau and Anthony Quinn. My big hero was Tommy Cooper.

Dan Aykroyd is a comedy icon and one of my idols of all time, but I also know that he's an incredibly great actor.

Lily Tomlin was one of the early comedy greats who influenced my courage to be the person I am.

Mel Brooks came to see Oh, Hello in L.A. Mulaney and I had a meeting with him, and we invited him to come to the show, and he saw the Oh, Hello show live in L.A. To me, he's the most famous person. Having him come to our show that was so inspired by both of us loving The Producers and all his movies.

Will Ferrell is a dangerous man. If he thinks you're in his way in show business, he will crack your head open. He's the Jeff Gillooly of comedy.

As a young girl, if you do something funny - especially if you're Jewish - someone says, 'Oh, have you seen Gilda Radner?'

George Carlin is an influence on a generation. He made me want to do comedy.

I grew up watching Letterman, 'Seinfeld,' 'SNL,' and Monty Python movies. But nothing made me want to get into comedy more than when 'Mr. Show' started airing.

As a kid, I loved Paula Poundstone and Richard Pryor. But my mother was a huge influence on my comedy.

The thrill I got discovering Buster Keaton when I was growing up was so exciting. He was one of the greats.

Carol Burnett probably had the biggest influence on me as kid. Although I was very young and watched her a lot in reruns, I was mesmerized by the way she transformed, by her physical comedy and the rolling laughter from the live studio audience. I loved her most as Scarlett O'Hara and her well known Cleaning Lady character.

The person I have admired the most in comedy terms would be Eric Morecambe, who is my total hero.

I'm a huge fan of John Hughes and can say that 'Planes, Trains and Automobiles' is easily a top 3 favorite. I'm also a huge fan of all the Second City talent, and I think my Dad and Bill Murray are long lost twins.

The first time I heard Richard Pryor, I knew he would be a major force in the world of comedy.

The original 'Caddyshack' with Chevy Chase and Bill Murray is one of the best comedies ever made.

When I graduated from college, I moved to New York and started doing improv because I read all about the early 'Saturday Night Live' guys having come through Second City and learning how to improvise, so I wanted to get immediately into that.

I think of Mike Myers as the Buster Keaton of today. I think he's brought us something so special.

I grew up on Don Knotts and Jerry Lewis and all the guys from Second City.

If I could work with Eddie Murphy on 'SNL,' I think I could quit comedy forever. For me and my generation, he's God.

The person who should really write an appreciation of the late great Dom DeLuise is Burt Reynolds, who, even more than Mel Brooks, made of the jolly, beanie wearing fat man a side-kick and a legend.