“Comedy is the art of making people laugh without making them puke.”
Steve Martin (1945) American actor, comedian, musician, author, playwright, and producer
Review http://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/napoleon-dynamite-2004 of Napoleon Dynamite (18 June 2004) <br class="br">Reviews, One-and-a-half star reviews
“Comedy is the art of making people laugh without making them puke.”
Steve Martin (1945) American actor, comedian, musician, author, playwright, and producer
“I know why we laugh. We laugh because it hurts, and it's the only thing to make it stop hurting.”
Robert A. Heinlein book Stranger in a Strange Land
Variant: I've found out why people laugh. They laugh because it hurts so much... because it's the only thing that'll make it stop hurting.
Source: Stranger in a Strange Land
Stephen Colbert (1964) American political satirist, writer, comedian, television host, and actor
Parade interview http://www.parade.com/articles/editions/2007/edition_09-23-2007/AStephen_Colbert (23 September 2007) <br class="br">Variant: You can’t laugh and be afraid at the same time—of anything. If you're laughing, I defy you to be afraid. <br class="br">Context: Not living in fear is a great gift, because certainly these days we do it so much. And do you know what I like about comedy? You can’t laugh and be afraid at the same time—of anything. If you're laughing, I defy you to be afraid.
Tina Fey (1970) American comedian, writer, producer and actress
On Comedy
Source: https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2003/11/03/anchor-woman
Kal Penn (1977) American actor and civil servant
On his show Sunnyside in “Kal Penn Talks Putting A Twist On Immigration Narrative With ‘Sunnyside’ & Chances For Another ‘Harold And Kumar’ Movie” https://deadline.com/2019/09/kal-penn-sunnyside-nbc-immigration-comedy-harold-and-kumar-1202743466/ in Deadline (2019 Sep 26)
“Our comedies are not to be laughed at.”
Samuel Goldwyn (1879–1974) American film producer (1879-1974).
Reported in Paul F. Boller, John George, They Never Said It (1990), p. 38-39.
Misattributed
“I like it when people laugh for no reason… like that lady over there.”
Mitch Hedberg (1968–2005) American stand-up comedian
Do You Believe in Gosh?