Mort Sahl Dies: Groundbreaking Contrarian Comedian Was 94

[packman]

Source: Deadline



Mort Sahl, the acerbic comic whose pioneering style paved the way for such boundary-breaking comedians as Lenny Bruce, Richard Pryor and George Carlin, died Tuesday at his home in Mill Valley, CA. He was 94.

A friend confirmed his death to The New York Times.

Known for his topical social commentary, he boldly skewered politicians and others in a harsh but clean stand-up act. He hosted the first Grammy Awards in 1959, co-hosted the 1959 Academy Awards and a year later became the first comedian featured to be featured on the cover of Time magazine. He also guest-hosted The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson multiple times during the 1960s.

Read more: https://deadline.com/2021/10/mort-sahl-dies-groundbreaking-contrarian-comedian-was-96-1234863016/

[elleng]

1. ;-(

[Raine1967]

19. Kick.

Loved this.

[George II]

2. Over the years I'd completely forgotten about him. "Acerbic" is a perfect word to describe him....

....and his humor. He was probably the first political satirist. My father loved him but I couldn't understand why - I was too young to understand his jokes!

A number of comedians followed his lead later on. I remember George Carlin talking about him on the Johnny Carson show.

[mucifer]

3. I like Mort Sahl. But, I think Mark Twain was doing political satire before Sahl.

[George II]

9. Yeah, you might be right! I guess I should have been more specific - as a stand up comedian.

[tclambert]

15. Twain did a lot of stand-up performances in his later years.

After he learned how much money Charles Dickens made for speaking engagements.

Oh, and don't forget Will Rogers.

[tclambert]

13. But wasn't Twain imitating Charles Dickens?

If we play this "who did it first" game, we'll probably end up back at Aristophanes. Brekekekèx-koàx-koáx.

[mucifer]

16. Yeah that's true

[ailsagirl]

20. Twain is one of my heroes

Samuel Langhorne Clemens, known by his pen name Mark Twain, was an American writer, humorist, entrepreneur, publisher, and lecturer. He was lauded as the "greatest humorist the United States has produced," and William Faulkner called him "the father of American literature."

[Straw Man]

4. I know that this is a terrible thing to say ...

... but I had no idea that he was still alive. He belongs so much to a bygone era that I just assumed he was long gone.

Rest in peace, Mort Sahl. You were one of the good ones.

[lordsummerisle]

7. That happens a lot with me

where an elderly famous person dies and my response is, oh I thought they were already dead...

[George II]

8. Me too. I hadn't heard his name in probably 30 years.

[Raine]

25. I admit I thought so too

I just assumed he was gone because I hadn't heard anything about him in such a long time. I always really liked him though ... R-I-P Mort 🕯️

[TimeToGo]

5. I moved on

When he spoke glowingly of Reagan.

[SammyWinstonJack]

18. That would do it for me.

[Straw Man]

23. I guess I missed that one.

Ick. Didn't know that.

[Paladin]

6. One of the great ones. He was one of my parents' favorites. (nt)

[eppur_se_muova]

10. I was born in 1960, and I didn't get this cartoon ...

https://www.gocomics.com/peanuts/1960/09/28

[Sneederbunk]

11. He was a Kennedy Assassination skeptic.

[Mr.Bill]

12. I had the pleasure of meeting him backstage at a comedy festival

in the late 80s. He was a very nice guy. He conversed with me for about ten or fifteen minutes.

In the early 1960s, JFK paid him as a writer of one liners he could throw out there in press conferences when appropriate. If you ever heard a room laugh at somthing JFK said as president, it was probably written by Mort Sahl.

[Joinfortmill]

14. He was great.

[Tomconroy]

17. Loved Mort Sahl. I read just recently that he would still do

an occasional show very late in life. A great talent.

[PlanetBev]

21. I didn't care for him

About 50 years ago, I read a Playboy interview with him. He said that women’s understanding of politics and world events was the size of ant. Pissed me off, as it was right in the middle of the heady days of the Women’s Movement. He was married at that time to a Chinese woman named China Lee and said the American women should be more like Asian women. Maybe I was wrong, but I assumed he meant submissive. Turns out, she was the first Asian Playboy Playmate of the month. Anyway, later on she divorced him.

Years later, I was working the candy counter at a high end department store in Los Angeles and he came up to my counter to look. I had to fight down the impulse to bring up that disparaging interview.

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

22. Oh, my.

I had no idea he was still alive.

[IrishAfricanAmerican]

24. RIP...

[Kid Berwyn]

26. Mort Sahl on JFK assassination

Originally published March 18, 1968 via MaeBrussell:

ARGO: Why is the truth behind the assassination of President Kennedy the last chance of America for its survival?

SAHL: Because the evidence developed by District Attorney Garrison indicates that certain people had to take President Kennedy's life in order to control ours. In other words, as Richard Starnes of the New York World-Telegram said, the shots in Dallas were the opening shots of World War III. There's been a great change in this country since Kennedy. I'm afraid a great deal of our hope was interred with his remains.

CONTINUED...

http://www.maebrussell.com/Mort%20Sahl/Mort%20Sahl%20-%20Argo.html

This is a man: Mort Sahl was and is unafraid to tell the truth -- even when doing so cost him his livelihood.

Of course, the truth we've learned and the history we've lived since then only support Mort Sahl.

[colsohlibgal]

27. RIP Mort

Truth to Power is laudable we need more of it now.

[oasis]

28. K and R for Mort.

RIP