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Joe and Mark welcome their first return guest: writer and editor Ira Nayman!
They begin by discussing some of their favorite Canadian comedy groups, such as The Arrogant Worms, Kids in the Hall and CODCO.
Ira has returned to help Mark and Joe understand the importance and fun of the early Marx Brothers films, including Animal Crackers (1930), Monkey Business (1931), Horse Feathers (1932) and Duck Soup (1933).
The Marx Brothers have five movies on the American Film Institute’s list of the hundred funniest movies of all time. Duck Soup is number five on that list, which Ira says is a good recommendation.
Ira grew up watching these movies on black and white television. They talk about some of the other comedy they watched when they were younger, including Abbot and Costello, Laurel and Hardy, Buster Keaton and Charlie Chaplin.
In the early Marx Brothers movies, the jokes come at a rapid pace. “If you didn’t like that joke, you don’t have to wait long for the next one,” Ira explains. This is an example of the first “V” – volume. The other “V” is just as important, he says. That stands for variety. Because the Marx Brothers had both, the jokes are constantly surprising.
He makes the convincing case that if you love Monty Python, and you haven’t seen the Marx Brothers, you really should give them a try.
If you enjoy comedy, you cannot afford to miss this edifying and funny conversation.
Support Our Guest
Ira Nayman’s latest work includes the anthology The Dance, which he edited and which includes one of his stories. (The anthology also includes one of Mark’s stories.)
Ira decided to devote his life to writing humor when he was eight years old. More than fifty years later, he has had eight novels published by Elsewhen Press, he’s self-published fourteen Alternate Reality News Service collections, and he has had two dozen short stories published in various anthologies.
Oh, and he was the editor of Amazing Stories magazine. Yes, THAT Amazing Stories. Also oh: he has a PhD in Communications from McGill University. Because humor comes in many forms…
He’s recently celebrated the twentieth anniversary of publishing satire on the web at Les Pages Aux Folles.
You can find his books online at Les Pages Aux Folles, Elsewhen Press, and Amazon. Go buy some! Buy all of them!
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