What's so funny? That depends on the celeb, the moment, and the banana peel
Focus
"Comedy is difficult," says Goldie Hawn, an expert. "It's like a mathematical equation to make something funny." On Feb. 6 stars gathered in L.A. to explore that equation at the American Comedy Awards, which this year honored the Pythagoras of premise, Steve Martin. "I would have preferred to win a Golden Globe award," he told the crowd, referring to a prize whose selection process in the past has raised eyebrows, "but frankly I couldn't afford it."
So what tickles the funny bones of the famous? The answers varied from the affectionate ("Camille [my wife] makes me laugh," says Frasier's Kelsey Grammer; "My son is a great source of comedy," says actress Joan Cusack) to the wicked ("When I see Upper East Side women with their noses in the air get their heel caught in a crack in the sidewalk, that makes me laugh really hard," says TV's Dharma, Jenna Elfman).
"Physical comedy makes me laugh a lot, like anything [with] somebody tripping, running into a pole," says Sean Hayes of Will & Grace. And Christopher Masterson of Malcolm in the Middle takes this same idea one step beyond: "Seeing little kids fall down [makes me laugh]."
While some stand up for a more sophisticated brand of humor, others prefer both ends of the comic spectrum. "I like a sense of humor that comes from a cerebral or stupid place," says Daryl Hannah. "One extreme or the other." Says Nathan Lane: "Irony, people with an edge. And a couple of jokes couldn't hurt." And what brings joy to actor Richard Belzer, who made his name as a stand-up comic with a notably cynical take? "When a puppy," he says, "tips over an ice-cream cone."
Steven's Surgery
A close encounter of the worrisome kind sidelined director Steven Spielberg, 53, recently when doctors, after discovering what his publicist called "an irregularity, "removed a kidney from the man behind Jaws, Schindler's List and Saving Private Ryan. The prognosis for a full recovery? "He truly is doing great," says Spielberg's mother, Leah Adler, 80. "He's got my genes. He'll be okay." Dr. Stuart Holden performed the surgery at Los Angeles's Cedars Sinai Medical Center, though neither he nor Spielberg would say if the kidney was cancerous. No follow-up treatment is necessary, according to Spielberg.
"He'll be fine," says Hall of Fame basketball player Oscar Robertson, 61, who has been living with one kidney since 1997. "It's something you adjust to." Spielberg, meanwhile, assured organizers of the NAACP Image Awards that he would honor his commitment to attend their Feb. 12 show.
Warp Daddy
Like a phaser on stun, news of impending fatherhood shocked James Doohan, 79 (Star Trek's chief engineer Scotty), and wife Wende, 43. "We didn't plan to get pregnant," beamed an energized Doohan from his ranch outside Seattle. They expect a girl in April and chose a name they're keeping secret. "That information isn't for sale at any price." Any bets on Uhura?
POP QUIZ
with Ray Romano
Is Ray Romano homesick for New York City? The 42-year-old comic, who relocated from Queens to L.A., sounded a little nostalgic when Scoop caught up with him at a convention for television producers in New Orleans. But with a nomination for a Screen Actors Guild Award and with everybody loving Everybody Loves Raymond, he should be able to afford plenty of first-class flights back home to visit Mom and Pop.
Why is the TV Romano family funny?
When we talk, it all sounds real. That appeals to the audience, makes them feel like they're watching real people—dysfunctional but real people.
Any differences between the real Romano family and the television version?
Not much, really. The show was based on my family. But then Phil Rosenthal, the executive producer, put some of his mother in. My mother is Italian, which is the same thing as Jewish, overbearing in a different loving way. The brother is based on my brother [Richard], who is a New York City police officer. My wife in real life is similar to Patty the TV wife; I don't sleep with either one. The father is the same. Everything that you've seen Peter Boyle do, my father has done—except without pants on. Ray is obviously me. The way that he communicates is through his dry sense of humor and his closeness to his family.
Who is the most annoying member of the family? Who is funnier, a mother or a father?
The funniest member of the family and the most annoying has to be the father. My father seems to have the license to be the funny idiot, and my mother is the voice of reason telling him, "Get that chicken bone out of your nose."
What is your take on pets?
Pets are funny, but I don't think you want them to be funny in your show. That's not to say that there aren't funny pets. I don't want the people from Frasier calling me up to complain.
ON THE BLOCK
WASHINGTON SLEPT HERE
For nearly five years, Denzel Washington has been living the good life in the Los Angeles suburb of Toluca Lake. Now he and his wife, singer-pianist Pauletta Pearson, have sold their 6,000-sq.-ft. home, designed and built in 1940 by Paul Williams, who also designed home plans for Frank Sinatra, Cary Grant and Lucille Ball. Washington received roughly $2 million for the five-bedroom home, which comes with guest cottage, pool, cabana and a soupcon of history: In 1952 the house was the setting for Ronald and Nancy Reagan's wedding reception, hosted by a previous owner, actor William Holden.
Grammy Perks up
Having produced the Grammy Awards since 1971, Pierre Cossette knows how to handle the demands of dressing-room divas: Give them exactly what they want. "Whitney Houston always wants shrimp and lobster in her dressing room," says the 76-year-old Cossette, who will again helm the show Feb. 23. "Barbra Streisand likes only herbal tea. Diana Ross likes her fruit peeled. And some request three different bottled waters." Cossette's professional pampering also includes shelling out $7,000 for Celine Dion's personal hairdresser and makeup artist and dispatching a white limousine for Mariah Carey after she said no to a black one.
- Contributors:
- Russell Scott Smith,
- David Wallis,
- Chris Coats,
- Caris Davis,
- Tom Johnson,
- Jerry Kammer,
- Kim Lockhart,
- Sabrina McFarland,
- Gabrielle Saveri,
- Michele Stueven.
Saved by the Bell Reunion
The hookups, the meltdowns, the memoires
The case reveals what was really going on what they think of each other now!
