Robert Mankoff Quotes

I find comedy to be one of the highest of the art forms.

Humor is one of the elements of genius--admirable as an adjunct; but as soon as it becomes dominant, only a surrogate for genius.

Comedy is a noble art. And every comedian who does anything is serving a noble purpose.

Let's focus on the funny. ... That's what I'm focused on... This is the gift God gave me. That's what I want to touch in people.

I have been accused of being a joker. But the most successful art to me involves humor.

I think it would be harder for me not to write comedy because the comic view of things is the one that comes most naturally to me.

For me, comedy is richer and larger than anything else.

Sometimes laughing isn't the best judge of what's funny, 'cause I think there's a lot of things that are really funny that don't make you laugh, that don't make you physically, audibly make a noise, but is something that is much more powerful than that.

There's an art to comedy.

It's not hard for me to be funny. But it's really hard. I don't think a lot of people are funny. I meet a lot of people, and most of them aren't funny.

I'm a sucker for a good sense of humor.

I've always been attracted to humor and funny people in general. It's a joy to make people laugh, but it's not as fun as laughing yourself.

Comedy is nothing more than tragedy deferred.

Personally I don't spend much time thinking about being funny. For me it's always been just a way to get by, a way to be likable yet to remain removed. When I speak up, it's not because I have any particular answers; rather, I have a desire to puncture the pretentiousness of those who seem so certain they do.

There's a joke in everything, the trick is finding it. The best compliment a joke can get is what Huxley said about Darwin's theory of evolution - 'Why didn't I think of that?'

Comedy is this weird thing. You have no idea why certain things work and other things don't work.

You can tell how smart people are by what they laugh at.

Comedy is a noble art.

Humor is not a trick, not jokes. Humor is a presence in the world - like grace - and shines on everybody.

Humor may be defined as the kindly contemplation of the incongruities of life, and the artistic expression thereof.

I'm very much of the "make it dark, make it grim, make it tough", but then, for the love of God, tell a joke.

A joke isn't a joke until someone laughs.

Humor is a spontaneous, wonderful bit of an outburst that just comes. It's unbridled, its unplanned, it's full of suprises.

It was a very funny conference. I knew [Christopher Hitchens] before that. He had always been a good angel to me. He once stole a phrase from me that came out of his mouth on television. I saw his eyes move sideways. I thought, It's alright, you can have it! The conference was light on women. Salman Rushdie showed up, they were doing their own thing. I didn't feel neglected!

The most important thing in comedy - apart from empathy, which I think is important even if disguised - is surprise. I like surprising people with the fact that something's even a joke at all.