DUSTIN Hoffman: Home is just as important as work. photo: EPA
Some provocative statements were made on TV recently that made us pause and ponder: First off, a veteran comedian came up with this grinning insight: “Jokes aren’t jokes until somebody laughs.”
We applaud the ace comic for coming up with that insightful reminder, and hoped that his local counterparts were also watching—because quite a number of them come up with knee-jerk “jokes” that aren’t really funny, but they don’t realize that they’ve actually failed at their assigned job as comedians.
That’s because some local TV comics are too lazy to think up really funny jokes and just make do with minimally amusing remarks or repeat an old joke, and generally go for quantity rather than quality.
Instead of making sure that everything they say is really risible, they’re happy when people actually laugh at only half or even one-tenth of the “jokes” they crack! Hey, guys, timely reality check: “Jokes aren’t funny until somebody laughs!” Message received, loud and clear?
Another “overheard” remark that struck us as a helpfully perceptive reminder was a star’s felt and grateful declaration: “I love being a performer! This is one profession where we’re all extremely lucky—because, where else do you do something you really enjoy and at the end of all that, you even get applauded for it?”
We hope that local actors, singers, dancers, program hosts and other show biz and media talents think about that fervent insight and similarly remind themselves what a privilege it is to be able to express themselves, reach and affect many people—and get rewarded for it, not just with a hefty talent fee, but also the “gratitude of the multitude”—if they do their job well!
Much too often, entertainers take their privileged status and cushy lifestyle for granted and thus come up with lazy, shoddy and irresponsible work. But that’s a poor way to use the great gift and rare opportunity they’ve been given, so it’s time to shape up and always do our level, grateful best!
Our third recent quotable quote isn’t all that original, but it bears repeating: “Actors are only as good as their last performance.” In other words, staying on top is even more difficult than getting there, so stars should never take their fame and fortune for granted.
AL PACINO: What I take into the theater, I get from the streets! ap photo
For his part, Robert Redford was recently asked to share the secret of his unusually long (for Hollywood) marriage. He spilled the beans: “My wife and I spent difficult years together before I became famous. The couple that struggles together usually stays together!”
Are you listening, Michael Douglas and Catherine Zeta-Jones (et al.)?
Al Pacino: “I am more alive in the theater than anywhere else. But, what I take into the theater, I get from the streets!”
Jack Lemmon: “Less is better.” Self-explanatory!
Dustin Hoffman: “I used to be so career-driven. Now, I really enjoy every part of my life—and home is just as important as work.”
What about the most provocative stellar quote of them all? It isn’t “specifically” insightful, but this lulu from Faye Dunaway could be a finalist: “I loved Marcello Mastroianni so much that I wanted to have his child—but he gave it to Catherine Deneuve, instead.” Ouch!