Steven Wright: Quirky '80s Comedian

In the '80s, comedy was often quirky and offbeat . . . just like the '80s themselves. One of my favorite comedians who became popular at that time was Steven Wright, whose routine was to give unusual, and often bizarre, observations in a dry, deadpan manner.  His comedy is one of those authentically '80s things that gave that decade its distinctive style, and which made that time so much fun. And he's still at it.

Here are some of his best lines from his '80s routine:

• "For my birthday I got a humidifier and a de­humidifier...I put them in the same room and let them fight it out."

• "Sponges grow in the ocean. That just kills me. I wonder how much deeper the ocean would be if that didn't happen."

• "Winny and I lived in a house that ran on static electricity...If you wanted to run the blender, you had to rub balloons on your head. If you wanted to cook, you had to pull off a sweater real quick."

• "My house is made out of balsa wood, so when I want to scare the neighborhood kids I lift it over my head and tell them to get out of my yard or I'll throw it at them."

• "I went to the hardware store and bought some used paint. It was in the shape of a house. I also bought some batteries, but they weren't included. So I had to buy them again."

• "The judge asked, "What do you plead?" I said, "Insanity, your honour, who in their right mind would park in the passing lane?""

• "All of the people in my building are insane. The guy above me designs synthetic hairballs for ceramic cats. The lady across the hall tried to rob a department store...with a pricing gun. She said, "Give me all of the money in the vault, or I'm marking down everything in the store.""

• "In my house there's this light switch that doesn't do anything. Every so often I would flick it on and off just to check. Yesterday, I got a call from a woman in Germany. She said, "Cut it out.""

• There's a fine line between fishing and standing on the shore looking like an idiot.  

Head of The Class

In 1986, a sitcom premiered about a class of gifted, high IQ students, and their inquisitive teacher: Head of the Class.  The show lasted from '86 to 1991.

Here's the peppy, hopeful opening theme... very '80s in every way.

I've heard this show referred to as Welcome Back Kotter with nerds, making reference and comparison to a similar '70s era show about students and teachers.  Kotter, by contrast, was about under-performing students. 

Howard Hessman played the teacher Charlie Moore at the beginning of the series, and through most of the show's run. 

 To be honest, I have a bit of a selective memory about the students. There were so many of them that I seem to recall only the ones that made the strongest impression on me. I do remember how each student was a unique personality, creating a class where each one's quirks and oddness was brought out. I recall there was a sensitive, an artsy girl, and a leather jacket wearing rebel guy. 

Dennis Blunden, played by Dan Schneider, was probably most memorable to me. He was a heavyset and somewhat sloppy kid, kind of like myself at that age. He was also a computer whiz, which I was not.

It turns out that in the years after Head of the Class, Schneider has become quite successful as a producer of family oriented shows on Nickelodeon.

Arvid Engen, played by Dan Frischman, was also memorable as the stereo-typically skinny and bespectacled science nerd of the group. 

I've had friends who resembled Arvid (who, I suppose, would play nerdy teen versions of Laurel in contrast to my Hardy). 

Robin Givens played the rich girl Darlene Merriman.

Tony O'Dell portrayed Alan Pinkard, a politically conservative student who dressed in yuppie attire.

I remember an episode where the class visited the Moscow, which back in the '80s was still in the Soviet Union during the waning days of the Cold War. I recall that they had a scene where the staunchly pro-American Alan got into a debate with an equally adamant pro-Commie Soviet student. I remember thinking it was a pretty unfair comparison, as if the less conservative students wouldn't have reason to oppose Soviet totalitarianism.  In any case, just a few years later Communism would fall, which I guess showed you who really won that debate.

In 1990, toward the end of the show's run, Billy Connolly replaced Hessman, playing teacher Billy MacGregor.

Yahoo Serious

Anyone remember this guy? Yahoo Serious was an very '80s Australian comedian who is best known for his 1988 movie Young Einstein.  

Young Einstein was a major hit in Australia, and when it was released in the U.S., it sold tickets and made money. But the reviews were more mixed, and some of the humor didn't quite translate.  Serious did develop a cult following in an era full of oddball comedians... and that hairstyle says '80s if nothing else does.

Actually, I never really saw Young Einstein, but essentially its about the idea that the namesake genius was actually an Aussie who invented the bubbles in beer and rock and roll.  Here's a clip.  Serious was part of an overall American interest in all things Aussie back in the '80s, following up on Men at Work, Air Supply, Midnight Oil and Crocodile Dundee. 

I do need to do some posts about '80s comedians... it was a great era for quirky, odd humor.