Home » Entertainment » Humor » Other Humor Topics

Five Funny Men I Would Invite To Dinner

13 Comments

12 Like

Like 12

Pin It

Ranked #9,236 in Entertainment, #113,453 overall | Donates to ONE Spirit

If I could invite these 5 Funny Men to dinner

From the time I was just a little kid, I've admired comedians. My lifetime has seen some of the best comedy ever performed, in my humble opinion. I'm not talking about the funny people of today who make us laugh with "shock humor". I'm talking about the pioneers of television who made us laugh with their slap-stick skits or the ones who took common everyday events and showed us the humor in them.

Many of the really funny comedians have left us and gone on to a comedy club in the sky. They could make us laugh without using profanity. Truly talented and funny people whose sense of comedic timing was remarkable. I miss those funny people.

If I could invite 5 funny men to dinner and spend an evening with them, I would choose the men featured below. All have passed away but one. Read on to see who I would bake Lasagna for if they would give me an evening of laughter.

Image Credit: design by author from graphics library

Contents at a Glance

Funny Man - Red Skelton
Comedy from Red Skelton as Clem Kadiddle...
Red Skelton Quote:

Funny Man Red Skelton Memorabilia
Funny Man - George Gobel
Funny Man George Gobel Quote:

I would invite Red Skelton as my first guest. He was always one of my favorite comedians and he was also a fellow Hoosier.

Red Skelton never used profanity in any of his skits or stand-up routines. He gave us good, clean, and hilarious comedy. He performed on either radio or television from 1937 to 1971.

Memorable Characters of Red Skelton were:

Mean Widdle Kid
Gertrude and Heathcliffe
Clem Kadiddlehopper
Freddie the Freeloader
Cauliflower McPugg

Skelton was conservative in his political views and held with traditional values which some believe caused the decline in his popularity by 1971. Red would sign off his programs with the familiar "Good Night and may God Bless".

Comedy from Red Skelton as Clem Kadiddlehopper

Red Skelton Quote:

No matter what your heartache may be, laughing helps you forget it for a few seconds.

Funny Man Red Skelton Memorabilia

found on eBay

Funny Man - George Gobel

My second invitation would go to George Gobel. He had a kind of quiet, soft spoken, and homespun style of humor. He often played a guitar and sang silly versions of songs as he cracked jokes during his rendition. George also would tell stories about his wife that he called "Spooky Old Alice".

George Gobel coined some catch phrases from some of his monologues. The one I remember the most is "Well, I'll be a dirty bird."

George had his own show on NBC starting in 1954. He also was often a guest star on other variety shows. Many will remember George as one of the panelist on the Hollywood Squares with Peter Marshall as the host.

A famous line by George Gobel was spoken while on the Tonight Show with Johnny Carson. "Did you ever get the feeling that the world was a tuxedo and you were a pair of brown shoes?"

Funny Man George Gobel Quote:

My uncle was the town drunk - and we lived in Chicago.

One of Five Funny Men - George Gobel Memorabilia

you can bid at eBay

Funny Man - Foster Brooks

Foster Brooks played the "Lovable Lush" on many different television shows. His portrayal of a person who has imbibed just a little too much was hysterically funny. I've read that he drew from his own problems with alcohol for his skits but was not drinking during the time of his greatest fame.

Steve Allen brought Brooks on his show one night and introduced him as a movie producer. Allen's other guests had no idea that Foster Brooks was doing a comedy sketch. Their reactions were almost as funny as Foster's performance.

I could not find a photo of Foster Brooks to use on this page. Watch the video below and I'm sure you will remember him.

Comedy by Foster Brooks

His Steve Allen performance

Foster Brooks - Funny Man Memorabilia

you can find it on eBay

Funny Man - Dom DeLuise

My fourth invitation would be extended to Dom DeLuise. He performed in many comedic parts during his career. You could find Dom on variety shows with Dean Martin and Johnny Carson. Dom also starred in films, my personal favorites were with Burt Reynolds. He was in many of the Mel Brooks films, also.

He had his own television show in 1968, The Dom DeLuise Show which was a summer replacement for The Jackie Gleason Show.

I think one of the things that I enjoyed the most about Dom was that he would get tickled and just break up during his performances. His laughter was contagious.

Dom DeLuise was also a well know cook and wrote several cookbooks. Hey, maybe I should have him cook the meal!

The world lost Dom on May 4, 2009 at the age of 75.

Dom DeLuise and Loni Anderson

Wouldn't you love to know what funny line Dom is saying here?

Dom Deluise and Loni Anderson Premium Photographic Print
30 in. x 40 in.
Buy at AllPosters.com

Funny Man Dom DeLuise Memorabilia

Funny Man - Louie Anderson

My last invitation would go to Louie Anderson. He has been one of my favorite comedians since I first saw him in 1984. His stand-up acts show us humor about normal everyday things with Louie's slant thrown in.

He jokes about his weight, describes a father that many of us are familiar with, and makes us see the world in a different light. He did a bit in one of his acts about visiting a Dunkin Donut shop that still has me laughing when I think about it.

Louie was also the host of the game show Family Feud from 1999 to 2002.

Louie Anderson currently has regular performances in Las Vegas and helps with many charities.

I would love to spend the evening listening to Louie's comedic view of the world. I would even let him sit in my wicker chair!

An Early Stand Up Bit By Louie Anderson

Louie Anderson Makes Me Laugh

Funny Men on DVD, in books, etc.

My Funny Men List of Five

Loading poll. Please Wait...

Share this poll
- Stumbleupon
- Facebook
- MySpace
- Twitter
- Digg
- Delicious
- Email

Joey Bishop A Possible Funny Man replacement

Funny Man Back-up

Loading poll. Please Wait...

Share this poll
- Stumbleupon
- Facebook
- MySpace
- Twitter
- Digg
- Delicious
- Email

Comedian Guestbook

Now it's your turn to say who your favorite funny man is or just leave a comment.

Reply

LikinTrikin Mar 12, 2011 @ 4:19 pm | delete

Great job....Red Skelton is definitely my favorite. I did a lens on him and will add this to my lensroll.

Reply

poddys Nov 22, 2010 @ 3:14 pm | delete

I don't know many of these very well as I didn't grow up with them, but one of the funniest over here for years was Jasper Carrott. He could tell stories in a wonderful way. That or Irish comedian Dave Allen, who had some amazing lateral thinking looks at life.

Reply

Richard Fisher Aug 27, 2010 @ 11:31 pm | delete

I would want to add Bill Cosby to the guest list! And where are the women? How about Gracie Allen and Carol Burnett?

Reply

BevsPaper Aug 28, 2010 @ 6:32 am | delete

Thank you for visiting and I would agree Bill Cosby is a very funny man. Where are the women? Well, since this is a list of men I would invite there are no women on this list. Doesn't mean that I don't think women are funny. My list isn't 5 funny men and women I would invite to dinner. I'll have to do a separate guest list of the 5 funny women on a guest list.

Reply

mulberry Apr 5, 2010 @ 6:38 pm | delete

I think Bob Hope would be on my list. I did meet Red Skelton once when I was a kid. I know my parents loved him.

Reply

ShirlW Mar 9, 2010 @ 6:51 pm | delete

I really like George Carlin because he wasn't afraid to be ruthlessly honest about anything AND he could still make it funny. This is a totally original idea for a lens.

Reply

Ramkitten Nov 30, 2009 @ 4:30 pm | delete

My father knew Red Skelton. (He was in radio and TV in the 40s, 50s and 60s.) He used to tell me the funniest stories about Red. My dad said that when he went to dinner with him, he could hardly eat, because he was laughing the whole time. I wish I could go back in time and be there at one of those dinners. Me, I think I'd want to invite Dudley Moore to dinner if he were still alive.