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"Are there any groups I haven't offended?" This is the closing remark made by humorist Mort Sahl to audiences around the world for twenty-eight Years. Mort Sahl grew up in Southern California leaving only long enough to be discovered in San Francisco’s hungry I, which led to his return to Hollywood.
His technique which revolutionized American humor "restructured the joke as we knew it" accord1ng to Woody Allen who credits Sahl with "changing my life".
Mort Sahl helped to create a network of nightclubs in addition to the hungry I, the Crescendo in Los Angeles, Mr. Kelly's in Chicago, Basin Street, in New York, working in some a year at a time. The list included even the Copa in New York and the Hilton in Las Vega, which built his own lounge, where he presided for three Years. He bolds the attendance record in every club in which he has appeared. He was the first humorist to record in America, leading the way to a Grammy. He was the first to tour Colleges, hitting a many as 500 campuses in two Years.
He was the first humorist on the Cover of TIME MAGAZINE, the first celebrity in Playboy and the only example of either in such far-flung Publications as HORIZON, HOLIDAY, THE REPORTER and THE NEW YORKER. Sahl was a speechwriter for John F. Kennedy in return for which he was allowed "the option to vote for Stevenson".
He has been under contract to all 3 networks and had 2 syndicated television shows in Los Angeles, one of which out rated "The Tonight Show", the other of which inspired "Saturday Night Live".
His was the first live performance on Home Box Office (Pay TV) and remains its highest rated program.
He has, by the way, emceed "The Tonight Show" and the Academy Awards.
He will go a long way to make a point. Armed only with his newspaper, he had his own special in London on BBC and his own talk show on NBC in Washington. The ratings for his NBC show earned him a commendation from Fred Silverman. ("I always champion under dogs", says Sahl.) Sahl's idea of satelliting the show stunned NBC--but it was ABC that acted upon it.
Presently he is continuing his role as a "contemporary Will Rogers"...Richard Nixon, "in relentless pursuit of everyone"... John Kennedy in nightclubs. But, most of the last five years have been spent writing. After completing his autobiography, if not his, (HEARTLAND – Harcourt, Brace & Jovanovich) he now devotes his time to screen plays. His current project is with director, Sydney Lumet.
So after making political humor respectable and intelligence acceptable, and after winning the attention of 7 presidents, being dubbed "The Thinking Man's Comedian”, long considered controversial by both sides, he survived it all, using it not to fractionate the audience, but to unify. Sahl tells Americans, "We're all inmates."
Sahl still lives in Hollywood, but still doesn’t call it home.
You can play any of Sahl's nine albums and trace American history-- every issue was dealt with as we lost our way" from the Rosenbergs to Cold War II, from Nixon to Nixon.
Abrasively, hysterically, unmercifully—here, Sahl broke no new ground. Twain did it before. But today, he seems to have it all to himself. Today's comic wants to join the establishment, Sahl wants to attack it. He was made for the job.
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