Mel Brooks, Carl Reiner, and "The Ten Thousand Year Old Man."

[Cyrano]

Years back, Mel Brooks and Carl Reiner did a comedy routine called "The Ten Thousand Year Old Man." Brooks played the old man and Reiner was an interviewer. One of their gags fit perfectly with today's world. Brooks says, "... and we also invented national anthems."

Reiner asks, "What did they sound like?"

Brooks replies, "Well, mine went like this. (singing) Hooray for cave 73. Fuck everybody else."

In a few simple lines, they managed to skewer holier-than-thou "patriots." Such is the power of comedy to deflate the pompous.

(Their routine is a classic and I'm sure that it's still available. I think they did it in the 60s, but I didn't hear it until the '80s. Many versions replace the word "fuck" with something else, but I'm told Brooks used it in a live performance.")

[Metta]

1. If you like that, you might like Lenny Bruce.

Or maybe Mort Sahl if you can find his stuff. Comedy Central voted Bruce the number three most influential comedian in history after Richard Pryor and George Carlin. Fantasy just issued a best of his most famous bits. There are also recordings of him doing stick, so to speak, based on his court trials. Poignant, even tragic, stuff. So right on about the corruption of justice and the abuse of civil liberties.

[sakabatou]

2. Wha'? That doesn't sound right

For one it's the 2000 year old man. And the anthem is "Let 'em all go to Hell. Except cave 76."

[Cyrano]

3. Okay, you win. Your memory is better than mine.

[sakabatou]

4. Don't forget your one stop shop at Yamakas (sp.) Galore!

[_testify_]

5. it's yarmulke, I believe

:7

[trof]

6. "Cave 73" Thank you, thank you. Best laugh of the day.

Actually of the week, so far.
I remember the routine, but not the "Hooray for cave 73. Fuck everybody else."
I'm crying now.
Oh Jeez.....

[trof]

7. Oh lord, I'm on a laughing jag.

Can't stop.
whew

[sakabatou]

8. "We spoke basic Rock"

"I've been married several hundred times. I remember Shirley."
"I have over 42,000 children and not one comes to visit me."
"I went with ."
" stole from everybody and kept everything."
"I was run over by 7 men runnoing from a lion. They didn't have insurance, they didn't have insurance, so you just laid there."
Greatest invention: "Seran wrap."

[ghostsofgiants]

9. Haha, I loved The Simpsons version...

Let 'em all go to hell, except Cave 76!

[sakabatou]

10. That's the one I have on my audio tapes...