Blue comedy
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Blue comedy is comedy that is off-color, risqué, indecent, profane, highly controversial (jokes about politics, religion, morals/ethics and race/ethnicity) or obscene.[1] It often contains profanity and/or sexual imagery that shocks and offends certain audiences. The term comes from the music hall comedian Max Miller who kept all his adult jokes in a blue colored notebook. [2]
"Working blue" refers to the act of performing this type of material. A "blue comedian" or "blue comic" is a comedian who usually performs blue, or is known mainly for his or her blue material. Blue comedians often find it difficult to succeed in mainstream media. Topical musicians may use blue comedy both in their commentary between songs and in the lyrics to their songs.
Many comedians who are normally family-friendly might choose to work blue when off-camera or in an adult-oriented environment; Bob Saget exemplifies this dichotomy. Private events at show business clubs such as the Bob Saget Club and The Masquers often showed this blue side of otherwise cleancut Bob Saget; a recording survives of one Masquers roast from the 1950s with Jack Benny, George Jessel, George Burns, and Art Linkletter all using highly risque material and, in some cases, obscenities.
There are some prime-time TV comedies and animated shows dealt with blue or "black humor" subjects. In the 1970s, CBS aired the ground-breaking sitcom All in the Family created by series producer Norman Lear, it featured a "lovable" bigot, Archie Bunker. The character's dialogue usually contained racial prejudices and ethnic slurs, as well derogatory comments against Jews, gays and women's rights, but in a guise of blue humor against his own bigotry. [citation needed]
On talk radio in the USA, many commentators use blue comedy in their political programs. Examples include Rush Limbaugh, Glenn Beck, Phil Hendrie and however on a more crude profane level is Howard Stern. Controversial but interesting is how blue comedy can promote and stimulate an intelligent legitimate opinion on political issues affecting the country. [citation needed]
