James Acaster Quotes

Alan King, a comedian I adored, was considered society, and I was considered the Jewish kid from the neighborhood.

Tons of comedians have said, 'I grew up learning from Bill Cosby. He's great.' But that respect doesn't mean much to the young people. They like their ginger ale with hot sauce.

Now, Richard Pryor was unique. Many misunderstood his humor. He lit up the hallway, but they didn't understand his use of profanity. He didn't use it just to be using it; he used it in the context of his satire.

I had all the Bill Cosby albums. 'To Russell, My Brother, Whom I Slept With' - I knew every word.

You can't erase Bill Cosby's contributions. That's the conflict. He's one of the most influential comedians of all time, and 'The Cosby Show' is one of the most influential sitcoms ever. When I watched as a kid, I wanted Cliff to be my dad. Everybody did.

The first time I went to see a Second City show, I was in awe of everything. I just wanted to touch the same stage that Gilda Radner had walked on. It was sacred ground.

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

David Steinberg was the reason the Smothers Brothers got cancelled.

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

I didn't know that people compared Bill Hicks and I but certainly I'm flattered if they do. I knew Bill a bit. We had dinner a couple of times and played guitar together once. I really tried to keep my distance from him professionally.

There is no doubt in my mind Bill Cosby was a bad boy.

The Bill Cosby I know has been great to me and great for a lot of people. What he's done for comedy and television has been legendary and history-making. What he's done for the black community and education has been invaluable. That's the Bill Cosby I know.

What can I say about a world without Garry Shandling? This is where I need Garry. He would have something pithy, and there would be a laugh, and your heart would break at the same time. He changed my life.

I have accepted that even when Mr. Cosby is long gone, I will still get asked about him.

I believe every woman in the Bill Cosby case.

Right around 11 or 12, when I saw Eddie Murphy's standup special 'Delirious,' and I taped it on a VHS tape - I think I watched it every single day. I lived and breathed Eddie Murphy for that whole year.

How are people still working with Terry Richardson?

As much as any other producer in the modern movie age, Harvey Weinstein has been a subject of media fascination. The grossness, the bullying, the unbridled exercising of personal power, the craven appetites, the awards and his good taste in films fed that fascination.

If you've ever made up something on the spot and made somebody laugh, you can credit Jonathan Winters with inspiration.

Tracy Morgan apologizes for his homophobic rant, still no apologies for the sketch about the guy living under the street.

Lily Tomlin...I used to watch reruns of Laugh-In and she was always my favorite part. She's this very unique talent and the way she does things has been a very big influence on me.

Bill Cosby spoke out against The Simpsons and there was this kind of evangelical, right-wing sect that was against The Simpsons. Fox was a new network at the time, though, so they were going to take risks.

Knowing that Ricky Gervais will never work again means a lot to me. I'm going to make sure of it.

You know what is interesting, Condit is very conservative. He voted to post the ten commandments in schools. Yet, he himself broke the 11th commandment, 'Thou shall not put thy rod in thy staff.'

It's so offensive that we have a man [Donald Trump] that has been accused by more than 10 women of sexual misconduct, not to mention fraud and bribery and all the other things that he's being investigated for, and he gets a total pass.