A Comedy Genius

The NYT profiles SNL's Deep Thoughts creator Jack Handey:

“Deep Thoughts” made its debut on Jan. 19, 1991, in an episode hosted by Sting. It was this gem: “To me, clowns aren’t funny. In fact, they’re kinda scary. I’ve wondered where this started, and I think it goes back to the time when I went to the circus and a clown killed my dad.”

“Deep Thoughts” wound up being the perfect distillation of Handey’s comedic temperament. He was no longer constrained by the format of the sketch — he was free to create koans, tiny polished gems of comedy. Like: “If a kid asks where rain comes from, I think a cute thing to tell him is ‘God is crying.’ And if he asks why God is crying, another cute thing to tell him is ‘Probably because of something you did.’ ”

“There’s a high attrition rate,” he said. “For each one that works, I throw away 10. I find that easier than rewriting. I’d rather just scrap it and start over.

This was my favorite Deep Thought:

One thing kids like is to be tricked. For instance, I was going to take my little nephew to Disneyland, but instead I drove him to an old burned-out warehouse. “Oh, no,” I said, “Disneyland burned down.” He cried and cried, but I think that deep down he thought it was a pretty good joke. I started to drive over to the real Disneyland, but it was getting pretty late.

He was also behind Unfrozen Caveman Lawyer and Toonces the Driving Cat.  Those right there were some of my all-time favorite skits.  Handey has a novel coming out, "The Stench of Honolulu."  I may have to check it out.