A Quote by Alan King

If you stop and think about it, nearly all great humor is at the expense of someone or something.

Alan King

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Alan King
American - Comedian
December 26, 1927 - May 9, 2004

I grew up in a family that was very barbed and difficult, and there was a lot of humor. None of it was painless humor. All of it was at someone else's expense. It was kind of always about power.

John Wells

You listen to any monologue on late-night TV or just in general, to people talking, and there's always a joke at someone's expense. It's sarcasm; it's nasty. Kids grow up hearing that, and they think that's what humor is, and they think it's OK. But that negativity permeates the entire planet.

Ellen DeGeneres

I think the word "intelligent" dictates a lot about someone's sense of humor, and the terms of reference in your life, the way you interpret something you read or a painting you look at or something.

Theresa Russell

How about mandated parental leave.? Oh, okay. Less than 20% of companies in America have it. Most of them think about it as an expense. What's the bigger expense? The bigger expense occurs if women have babies and don't come back to work.

Sallie Krawcheck

I love humor. I always will fall back on humor. That's something that I think you can't ever get enough of and, if it's done well, it's great. When it's bad, it's horrible.

Sandra Bullock

It’s a basic rule of humor that a joke is always at somebody’s expense. Really good jokes, however, tend to be at everyone’s expense.

Richard Kalvar

I used to think there was something dirty about being paid for something which is a sacred thing to do. I can't disconnect the act of writing music from the act of prayer. If anyone tries to stop me working, it feels like someone is trying to stop me from taking communion.

John Tavener

Never make a joke or try for humor at someone else's expense. In a high-stakes environment, everyone needs to feel safe.

Alan Mulally

The interesting thing about humor is that in humor, you - in logic, something is A or not A. In humor, it's both A and not A.

Robert Mankoff

Well, I think comedy can be a great unifier. If someone can laugh about something, maybe they can become more open to having a conversation about something they wouldn't have otherwise.

Desi Lydic

I try to find humor in everything I do, because I think all great plays - even great tragedies - have enormous humor in them.

Marian Seldes

I think you have to be careful about not hurting someone. The last thing I'd want to do is make a fool of someone, unless they saw the humor in it.

Charlyne Yi

If you don't like something, talk about something else that's great and maybe someone else will discover it and think it's great too.

Elizabeth Olsen

I like telling stories with a sense of humor. But humor can also distance you from the subject you're writing about. I'm interested in using humor as a portal to something a bit more serious.

Jens Lekman

I think the act of talking about something - with a friend, or someone in your family, or someone you care about, and you're discussing something that you both admire - can often sharpen your thoughts about what you've read or seen and help you think more clearly about it.

Paul Auster

Humour very often consists of shrewd perceptions about people. It's usually fun at someone's expense. Nowadays if you're funny at anybody's expense they run to the UN and say, "I must have an ombudsman to protect me." You hardly dare have a shrewd perception about anybody.

Robertson Davies

A Quote by Alan King

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