Article: Cozying up to Così
A guide to Mozart's hilarious romantic comedy
Opera, Music, Theater, Comedy, Composers

Article: For the Love of Comedy
Kids love to joke around, but if your kid is especially hilarious, a career in comedy could be in her future. These four tips will make sure she gets plenty of laughs along the way
Young Artists, Comedy, Family

Grades 9-12 Lesson: Twain: An American Humorist
Students will analyze humor and the American character, developing a definition of “American humor”
Comedy, America, Folklore, Language, Literature

Everyday Arts Challenge: Comic Genius
Knock knock. Who’s there? Make up the rest of the joke.
Comedy

Everyday Arts Challenge: Brow Beat
Look in a mirror. Move your eyebrows around. Using only your brows, can you move them so you look surprised? Angry? What about curious?
Physical Activity, Comedy, Tragedy

Everyday Arts Challenge: Laughing Matters
Laugh out loud. Can you make your laugh sound goofy? How many different goofy laughs can you create?
Comedy

Arts Quotes: Lily Tomlin
"The road to success is always under construction."
America, Comedy, Movies & Movie Stars, Television

Arts Quotes: Mark Twain
"You can't depend on your eyes if your imagination is out of focus."
America, Comedy, Literature

Arts Quotes: Oscar Wilde
"The stage is not merely the meeting place of all the arts, but is also the return of art to life."
Europe, Controversial, Literature, Comedy, Playwrights & Plays, Theater

Arts Quotes: Oscar Wilde
"Music is the art which is most nigh to tears and memory."
Europe, Controversial, Literature, Comedy, Playwrights & Plays, Music

Arts Quotes: Oscar Wilde
"No great artist ever sees things as they really are. If he did he would cease to be an artist."
Europe, Controversial, Literature, Comedy, Playwrights & Plays

Arts Quotes: Oscar Wilde
"The only excuse for making a useless thing is that one admires it immensely. All art is useless."
Europe, Controversial, Literature, Comedy, Playwrights & Plays

Arts Days: October 05, 1969: Big Top Laughs
Sprung from the delightfully demented minds of British comedy troupe Monty Python, this TV show pushed the boundaries of humor every which way. The men at the heart of the program—including John Cleese and Eric Idle—used a mixture of bizarre animation, silly skits, innuendo, and deadpan British humor to bring a new form of absurdist comedy to the small screen.

The men dressed as women, broke the fourth wall, bopped each other over the head with fish, and stopped at nothing to wring new laughs out of their rabid fans. This “Circus” ran for 45 episodes, going off the air in 1974. But among those who like to imagine a “Ministry of Silly Walks,” as one popular skit did, its popularity has never waned.
Comedy, Television, Popular Culture

Arts Days: October 04, 1895: The Great Stone Face
A star of the silent film era, Buster Keaton delighted audiences with his trademark deadpan expression or “stone face”—which he maintained even as slapstick mayhem filled the screen. At age three, he began working with his parents in vaudeville and honing his talent for being a fearless, agile performer on stage.

He learned techniques to help him endure the pain of the amazing, and sometimes dangerous, athletic comedy stunts for which he also became well-known. Over the course of his career, Keaton made the transition to “talkies,” had his own TV show for a while, and also performed in live theater. His films, including The General, routinely land spots on best-film lists even today.
Comedy, Stunts & Special Effects, Movies & Movie Stars

Arts Days: October 15, 1951: Everybody Loves Lucy!
This classic sitcom made household names out of comedienne Lucille Ball, with her flaming red hair and incredibly funny facial expressions, and real-life husband, singer/bandleader Desi Arnaz. I Love Lucy broke television ground in several ways, including its use of multiple cameras to film in front of a live studio audience and its feature of a then uncommon interracial marriage between lead actors (Arnaz being of Cuban descent, Ball being Scottish).

But in the end, it’s Lucy's crazy schemes, from stomping grapes, to selling vitamins, to working on a candy assembly line, that fans embraced and remember best. And, not only did Lucy and Desi star in the most popular TV show of its day, they were shrewd business people, too. Together they launched Desilu Productions and later Desilu Studios, producing and syndicating their various shows.
Comedy, Television, Popular Culture

Arts Days: September 21, 1912: What’s Up, Chuck?
Here’s a pretty neat line of work: Imagine being the cartoonist who brings characters like Wile E. Coyote and Daffy Duck to life. That was Chuck Jones’ job. During his career, he worked as a cartoonist, screenwriter, and director of animated movies, often “shorts” that appeared before a feature film.

Jones worked on Warner Brothers’ Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies cartoons, including “What’s Opera, Doc?” In this hilarious animated classic, Bugs Bunny and Elmer Fudd perform in snippets of famous operas by 19th century composer Richard Wagner. Jones also helped turn the Dr. Seuss book How the Grinch Stole Christmas into a TV show. Jones’ innovative use of humor and characterization helped elevate animation from amusement to art.
Cartoons, Comics, & Animation, Movies & Movie Stars, Comedy, Popular Culture, Television

Arts Days: September 17, 1983: Make Me a Star Tonight
Searching for tomorrow’s superstar singers and dancers? Before there was American Idol and So You Think You Can Dance, there was Star Search. Ordinary contestants sang, danced, and performed comedy skits on national TV, with judges and a studio audience voting for a winner.

Lots of artists who made it big competed on Star Search, including Christina Aguilera and Rosie O’Donnell. Interestingly, few of the actual winners are household names today. The original show ran until 1995. A new version launched in 2002, but lasted for only two years. American Idol, which also began in 2002, pretty much ate Star Search for lunch.
Art Venues, Comedy, Dance, Music, Popular Culture, Television, Young Artists

Arts Days: September 28, 1901: Talent Scout
Hard to believe but for more than three decades, Ed Sullivan's television variety show kept Americans entertained. Sullivan, a former sports reporter and radio announcer, became an emcee to vaudeville revues and charity events. Despite his famously wooden persona and uncomfortable on-camera appearance, Sullivan knew how to choose and showcase talent.

Until 1971, The Ed Sullivan Show provided a staging arena for entertainers of all stripes. Elvis made his hip-shaking debut in 1956; the Beatles’ 1964 appearances were some of television’s highest rated programs. The show was as likely to feature opera performances as it was rock and roll bands, and hosted many black performers, including Pearl Bailey, Diana Ross, and Louis Armstrong.
Art Venues, America, Television, Young Artists, Rock & Roll, Comedy, Dance, Theater, Music

Arts Days: September 24, 1936: TV’s Muppet Man
Perhaps the most famous puppeteer of all, Jim Henson turned the piles of fabric and fur known as Kermit the Frog, Rowlf the Dog, and Ernie (as in Bert and Ernie) into loveable characters. In Sesame Street and The Muppet Show, Henson’s wonderful, wisecracking animal and people puppets educated and entertained children.

It was important to Henson to create work that would appeal to people of every age. His puppets might have been teaching youngsters to count, but he also made sure they threw out a few asides to amuse their parents, too. Nothing gave the modest Mississippi native more pleasure than making people laugh and enjoying the magic of puppetry.
Puppets, Television, Innovators & Pioneers, Comedy, America, Popular Culture

Arts Days: August 03, 1929: A Bunch of Mixed Nuts
The first surviving Marx Brothers film showcases the quartet’s zany acts and brand of comedy. Audiences loved the rapid-fire patter and slapstick antics of these hilarious brothers—Harpo, Zeppo, Chico, and Groucho, who with his greasepaint mustache is probably the best known of the bunch.

Each brother had his own “schtick:” Groucho is famous for his one-liners and wiggling cigar; Harpo for his never speaking, blond wig, and harp playing; Chico for his girl chasing; and Zeppo for his straight man routine.

In this musical comedy, the four run a Florida hotel, where they scheme against and con their guests, filling the screen with comedic chaos. The Cocoanuts and numerous other Marx Brothers’ movies kept audiences laughing through the Great Depression and continue to crack us up even today.
Comedy, Movies & Movie Stars

Arts Days: August 14, 1945: A Wild and Crazy Guy
Perhaps “zany” is the perfect word to describe this funny Renaissance man who juggles like a pro, dances with happy feet, and plays a mean banjo like no ordinary country star. Steve Martin’s goofy comedy stunts—from wearing a fake arrow through his head to twisting together balloon animals during his show—have endeared him to countless fans.

Even with a white-hot standup career propelled to new heights by his work on “Saturday Night Live,” Martin tried acting, with lead roles in hilarious films like The Jerk, Roxanne, and Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, among others. In recent years, he’s branched out: writing short stories and plays and appearing regularly with the bluegrass band, Steep Canyon Rangers.
Comedy, America, Musical Instruments, Movies & Movie Stars

Arts Days: August 12, 1952: It’s a MAD, MAD, MAD, MAD World
Funny, the debut issue of MAD magazine—which was really a comic book back then—came out in August with a cover date of October/November. A man named Harvey Kurtzman wrote almost the entire issue himself, also providing some of the drawings. When MAD later flipped to its magazine format, that’s when its brand of irreverent humor started making fun of all aspects of our culture: movies, politicians, advertising, and celebrity itself.

It spoofed Sports Illustrated as Sports Ill-Stated. It turned Star Wars into Star Roars. It was said you knew a book, movie, or TV show was a success if MAD parodied it. The scathing wit of its illustrators and writers would later influence everybody from the Monty Python gang to today’s satirical news source, The Onion.
Comedy, Popular Culture

Arts Days: December 20, 1946: The Richest Man in Town
Jimmy Stewart, a 1983 Kennedy Center Honoree, was a very popular actor when he was cast as the likeable George Bailey, the lead role in It’s a Wonderful Life. Director Frank Capra tells the story of a small-town fellow who, through no fault of his own, comes to the end of his rope on Christmas Eve. As he considers suicide, Heaven sends a gentle guardian angel named Clarence to convince him what a good life he really has.

Told mostly through flashbacks, the movie has become essential viewing for many at Christmastime. Stewart, Donna Reed, Lionel Barrymore, and the other cast members bring Bedford Falls to life year after year, reminding us all that “no man is a failure who has friends.”
Movies & Movie Stars, Popular Culture, America, Comedy, Family

Arts Days: December 17, 1989: Springfield Shenanigans
Isn’t it cool that the longest-running American sitcom features an animated mom with a mountain of blue hair? Yes, Marge, Homer, Bart, Lisa, Maggie, and the rest of their gang of neighbors and co-workers in Springfield just happen to be cartoon characters. And they happen to be hilarious, too, as they—helped by the show’s extensive staff of writers—poke fun at American culture and spoof sitcom conventions.

As created by Matt Groening, beer-swilling Homer, sax-playing Lisa and the others muddle through work and school, comment on everything from environmentalism to pop music, and love one another, just like any other normal American family. Blue hair and all.
Cartoons, Comics, & Animation, Comedy, Television, America, Popular Culture, Controversial

Arts Days: December 27, 1947: Say Kids, What Time Is It?
The freckle-faced marionette Howdy Doody was the star puppet in this early children’s TV show, the very first regular network series to be broadcast in color. Set in the imaginary town of Doodyville, the show also featured human characters like Clarabell the Clown, who communicated with beeps of a horn on his belt and did not speak a word until the final episode of the show.

Then there were the characters that started as puppets but were later performed by people, like Princess Summerfall Winterspring, played by Judy Tyler. Buffalo Bob Smith provided the voice for Howdy, and he would also speak directly to the kids in the on-set “peanut gallery,” and he sang the show’s theme song in every episode.
Comedy, Innovators & Pioneers, Television, Puppets, Popular Culture, Young Artists