Stand-up Comedy Greats: Steven Wright Debuts on The Tonight Show - 1982

Reaganite Republican ^ | February 16, 2011 | Reaganite Republican

[Reaganite Republican]

"Yeah, it's a small world... but I wouldn't want to paint it"

Steven Wright -dob 12.06.55- is an American comedian, actor and writer. Widely known for a distinct lethargic voice and deadpan delivery in a droning monotone, the highly-original style of humor centers on ironic, philosophical, and even nonsensical jokes and one-liners with often bizarre, contrived situations.

His early career as a Boston-area stand up comedian working primarily two clubs eventually landed him appearances on both the Carson and Letterman shows by 1982.  Wright's unique act went over huge in the new-wave 80s, and he was repeatedly asked back on.

By 1985, Steven Wright's comedy album I Have a Pony was released to much critical acclaim,  and the success of this LP landed him a much-coveted HBO special which he recorded as a live college concert performance entitled "A Steven Wright Special". 

By the mid-80s Wright had firmly developed a new brand of obscure, laid-back performing and was rapidly building a cult-like mystique and eclectic following of "hip" young fans. The performance would become one of HBO's longest running and most requested comedy specials and propel him to huge success on the college arena concert circuits. 

In 1989 he and fellow producer Dean Parisot won an Academy Award for their 30-minute short film The Appointments of Dennis Jennings, starring Wright along with Brit Rowan Atkinson (later of Mr Bean fame).

1992 brought Wright a recurring role on the television sitcom Mad About You. He also supplied the voice of the radio DJ in writer-director Quentin Tarantino's film Reservoir Dogs that same year.

Here's a 26-year-old Steven Wright in his national TV debut on Carson's Tonight Show in '82...

[video]

Wikipedia

Previous RR Comedy Greats features archived -here-


More news/views/humor at Reaganite Republican

[sappy]

“I’m not a vegetarian cause I love animals. It’s just that I hate plants”

Steven Wright

[stevecmd]

I like my dental hygenist so much, I ate a box of Oreo cookies before my appointment.

[wilco200]

It doesn’t matter what temperature the room is, it’s always room temperature.

[newfreep]

As a kid, we had a quicksand box. I was an only child....eventually.

[antiRepublicrat]

He had one where he said he had a light switch in his house that did nothing. He flipped it on and off during the day, until one day a lady called him from Germany telling him to cut it out.

For some reason I love that one. Very surreal.

BTW, is the HBO special the one where he pulled a box of dehydrated water out of the cupboard?

[discostu]

King of the surreal one liners. OK there probably isn’t much competition in that market, but if there was he’d still be king.

[Jack of all Trades]

Someone stole all the furniture in my house, and replaced it with exact replicas.

[Dansong]

I have a map of the United States...actual size.

[albie]

The sign said “eight items or less”. So I changed my name to Les.
— Steven Wright

[TexasPatriot1]

Didn’t he invent the cordless extension cord?

[Snickering Hound]

[Reaganite Republican]

Guilty as charged, yer honor

lol

[Reaganite Republican]

LOLOL

[fhayek]

I put instant coffee in the microwave - I went back in time.

[autumnraine]

I used to get him and the lead singer from the Scorpions mixed up.

[muir_redwoods]

“I broke both of my legs and they took me to a walk-in clinic”

[tx_eggman]

Not exactly blog pimping when the whole article is posted.

just sayin'

[kerosene]

"My girlfriend's pretty. No, she's kind-of pretty. No, she just looks pretty."

--from The Appointments of Dennis Jennings

[Reaganite Republican]

THAT really might be my fave- and that’s saying something lol