Robert Orben: Going

“I remember when humor was gentle pokes. I used to call it 'arm around the shoulder' humor. Now they go for the jugular and they take no prisoners. It's mean, mean stuff.”

Robert Orben

Steve Lowery (October 23, 1993) "What's So Funny? Humor Comes Under Harsh Glare of Political Correctness", Press-Telegram, p. C1.

“A young person today has a nanosecond attention span, so whatever you do in a humor has to be short. Younger people do not wait for anything that takes time to develop. We're going totally to one-liners. Telling a joke is risk taking. Younger people are more insecure and not willing to put themselves on the line, so a quick one-liner is much safer.”

Robert Orben

Warren St. John, The New York Times (May 28, 2005) "Wit's end: The death of the joke - Old-style wisecracks are passe in an age of decreasing attention spans, political correctness and the Internet", The Orlando Sentinel, p. E1.

People , Time , Waiting , Personality

“Every morning I get up and look through the Forbes list of the richest people in America. If I'm not there, I go to work.”

Robert Orben

Henry J. Waters III (March 19, 2007) "The Tribune's View: Shield law - Stand up, Mr. Gibbons", Columbia Daily Tribune.
Attributed
Variant: Every morning I get up and look throught the Forbes list of the richest people of America. If I am not there, I go to work.

People

“The secret of writing comedy is to know where it's all going, then get ahead of it.”

Robert Orben

Henry Allen (January 4, 1979) "Life in the Laugh Factory", The Washington Post, p. B1.

Secret

“Quit worrying about your health. It'll go away.”

Robert Orben

Rocky Mountain News staff (June 21, 1991) "Tidbits", Rocky Mountain News.
Attributed

Health

“It always seems to someone outside the business that it is very difficult to write for a comedy show because it must be done quickly. Actually, it is much easier to write this humor than to do a joke or a show from scratch, because the audience knows the plot. Just mention what is going on and then deliver the punch line.”

Robert Orben

Lauren Keeport (February 3, 1998) "Scandal feeds maelstrom of Clinton jokes - 'Monicagate' a windfall for TV wits", The Washington Times, p. A2.

Business