Comedic origin of "How BLANK was it?"
Comedic origin of "How BLANK was it?"
#1Comedic origin of "How BLANK was it?"
Posted: 3/2/07 at 11:27pm
Comedian: "Man, it was hot today."
Audience: "HOW HOT WAS IT?"
What is the origin of the "How BLANK was it" audience response?
"The Spectacle has, indeed, an emotional attraction of its own, but, of all the parts, it is the least artistic, and connected least with the art of poetry. For the power of Tragedy, we may be sure, is felt even apart from representation and actors. Besides, the production of spectacular effects depends more on the art of the stage machinist than on that of the poet."
--Aristotle
--Aristotle
#2re: Comedic origin of 'How BLANK was it?'
Posted: 3/2/07 at 11:32pmWell, I know he's the one that made it popular, but I don't know if he created it. But the "how blank was it?" type joke is usually attributed to Johnny Carson.
#2re: Comedic origin of 'How BLANK was it?'
Posted: 3/2/07 at 11:38pmYes, it existed before him, though...
"The Spectacle has, indeed, an emotional attraction of its own, but, of all the parts, it is the least artistic, and connected least with the art of poetry. For the power of Tragedy, we may be sure, is felt even apart from representation and actors. Besides, the production of spectacular effects depends more on the art of the stage machinist than on that of the poet."
--Aristotle
--Aristotle
#3re: Comedic origin of 'How BLANK was it?'
Posted: 3/3/07 at 7:32ami would imagine its roots lie in Vaudeville. Not sure though.
....but the world goes 'round
Jon
Broadway Legend Joined: 2/20/04
#4re: Comedic origin of 'How BLANK was it?'
Posted: 3/3/07 at 9:31amIt may have started with Minstrel Shows, in which typically the entire company of performers would sit on chairs lined up along the back of the stage, so they could watch each other's specialty acts and lead the applause. Sometimes during a musical act, they would accompany the singer with tambourines, banjos, etc. Certainly during a comedy routine, they could shout "How hot was it?"
#5re: Comedic origin of 'How BLANK was it?'
Posted: 3/3/07 at 9:31am
I'm sure it goes back to "the Year One," as Tessie Tura might have said.
Yes, it's way older than "Match Game," "Hee-Haw" or "Carson." It would be virtually untraceable.
And there would always be somebody somewhere who could trace it one step further back than the guy in front of him.
It's like asking, "what's the origin of the spit-take?"
"Jaws is the Citizen Kane of movies."
blocked: logan2, Diamonds3, Hamilton22
blocked: logan2, Diamonds3, Hamilton22
Broadway Legend Joined: 12/31/69
#7re: Comedic origin of 'How BLANK was it?'
Posted: 3/3/07 at 10:49amI see. I thought I remembered reading about "how blank was it" many many years ago. There was some sort of story about a comedian who was heckled by an audience member who shouted "HOW HOT WAS IT?" when the comedian's routine wasn't going well and he inserted "Man, it was hot today" into his speech. Anyone know what I'm talking about? I don't know if it was the origin, though.
"The Spectacle has, indeed, an emotional attraction of its own, but, of all the parts, it is the least artistic, and connected least with the art of poetry. For the power of Tragedy, we may be sure, is felt even apart from representation and actors. Besides, the production of spectacular effects depends more on the art of the stage machinist than on that of the poet."
--Aristotle
--Aristotle
keen on kean
Broadway Legend Joined: 12/1/06
#8re: Comedic origin of 'How BLANK was it?'
Posted: 3/3/07 at 11:08amI would have said Johnny Carson but it was probably used by his predecessor Jack Paar, too. The idea that it went back to vaudeville makes sense, though - now THAT was interactive entertainment.
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