Comments on: 20 Years of Inappropriate Laughter

By: Christopher Allen

Christopher Allen — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 20:33:17 +0000

RHS,

Wonderful article, and I’m so pleased to see both Friedmans (and mom) commenting here as well. I had a similar experience, except it was for the previous Any Resemblance, which blew me away when I bought it in high school. I took it to my first year of college and converted my new best friend, Jeff, to it, and I know to this day I could call him up out of the blue and say, “Tor like meatball” or “Here’s to you and your breed, may you never share in my riches” (from Arthur Godfrey Dines with Freaks) and he’d know exactly what I’m talking about, and laugh all over again. I’ve followed Drew’s work since, and now I’m happy to learn of what Josh has been up to and will check those books out as well. Thanks again for writing this.

By: Kevin Kunreuther

Kevin Kunreuther — Sun, 10 Jan 2010 09:25:49 +0000

It’s all a very wonderfully warped time capsule, an escape pod back to a childhood subjected to a cathode ray funhouse-nightmare of fugly vaudevillians, Golden Hollywood has-beens, B-movie horrorshows, a pre-reality scripted peek into the mundane life of a Great Neck schlub, the not so secret neuroses of high school teachers, a walk thru the life of the Grandmother of All Celebrity Train Wrecks and the nuanced non sequiturs voiced by a larger than life hyrdocephalic hipster and Tor Johnson, too. You couldn’t treat any of the celebs from today’s culture with the same affection that is given by the Friedman Bros to the people they lovingly skewer. Today’s pop culture is immediate trash and open to scorn and ridicule almost immediately, thanks to the tabloidization of the media stars. Warts and All and its predecessor, Any Resemblance to Persons Living or Dead is Purely Coincidental, if they could ever have a ‘sequel” in any sense of the word, would be hard pressed to equal or top.

By: morlockjeff

morlockjeff — Sat, 09 Jan 2010 17:16:29 +0000

Great post. I’ve kept a xerox of the Ethel Merman-Ernst Borgnine panel on my office wall as inspiration through the years. And of course the Frankenstein’s Daughter face gets duplicated regularly and slipped into crooks and nannies around the house where my wife will find them. She also does a great impersonation of Sandra Knight morphing into that she-creature…but only after a few glasses of wine. My thanks to the Friedmans for so much fun over the years and that includes father Bruce Jay (I just love Stern & A Mother’s Kisses).

By: Drew Friedman

Drew Friedman — Sat, 09 Jan 2010 16:59:59 +0000

Great piece, thanks.

One correction, “The incredible Shrinking Joe Franklin” was written by me, thus only I was sued by Joe. It was dismissed before it ever went to trial and Joe and I have since patched things up. He appeared at my Friars party for my book “More Old Jewish Comedians” last year, we posed for pictures, he invited my wife and I to one of his “One Hundred restaurants”, and had no memory of ever having sued me.

By: rhsmith

rhsmith — Sat, 09 Jan 2010 03:29:54 +0000

Irwin, I knew Drew is painting now (I linked to his celebrated New Yorker cover) and should have said so more specifically. I've edited the text slightly to reflect his broader canvas and I thank you for the correction. Ginger, without you there would be no WARTS!

By: Irwin Chusid

Irwin Chusid — Sat, 09 Jan 2010 00:10:10 +0000

Excellent chronicle. However, you wrote: “Drew continues to draw with unnerving (and often unflattering) pinpoint accuracy.”

Actually, Drew now paints. Working with the artist, we started offering fine art prints in May 2009:

http://drewfriedman.net

regards, Irwin

By: aiche

aiche — Fri, 08 Jan 2010 23:23:39 +0000

Oh wow, this looks like a total gem, and I’ve never heard of it. I appreciate the rec –now to decide whether it goes by the bed or next to the toilet….

By: franko

franko — Fri, 08 Jan 2010 23:05:50 +0000

I have a prized, complete 15-year collection of Heavy Metal magazines that I was offered a considerable sum for at a time in my life when I was homeless and nearly starving. As I prepared to part with them, I remembered the strange sensation I felt whenever I read a Friedman story, kinda like roaming a deserted and haunted city street at three o’clock in the morning. Nothing else had ever really effected me in such a way. I preferred to ignore the storyline and dialog, but the drawings of characters from some dim past were impossible for me not to get lost in. I decided to starve a little longer.

I think I’ll drag out that collection and spend some time getting reacquainted with Drew Friedman. Thanks!

By: rhsmith

rhsmith — Fri, 08 Jan 2010 23:02:04 +0000

Medusa, your copy of WARTS AND ALL must have been the ones with the raised warts on the cover – they stopped doing that for later printings. I never thought it would be possible to miss warts.

By: Ginger Howard Friedman

Ginger Howard Friedman — Fri, 08 Jan 2010 21:54:47 +0000

I am so impressed and proud, after all these are my sons. What talent! What humor! They get it from their parents, of course!