Jack Handey, Humor Writer And Comedy Legend
Jack Handey is an American humorist and comedy legend. He’s famous for his writing at Saturday Night Live, where he created “Deep Thoughts, by Jack Handey” as well as famous sketches such as “Unfrozen Caveman Lawyer” and “Toonces the Driving Cat.”
Jack went on to write numerous humor books, including the Deep Thoughts series, What I’d Say to the Martians, and The Stench of Honolulu. He has been a frequent contributor to The New Yorker’s Shouts and Murmurs since the 1990s.
Jack just published My Funny Cowboy Dance, a new collection of hilarious short humor pieces from from The New Yorker, Outside, and elsewhere, plus nine TV sketches from “Saturday Night Live,” and 22 new Deep Thoughts.
This conversation with Jack Handey explores the humor in My Funny Cowboy Dance, plus some timeless tips for how humorists can sharpen their craft!
ALEX BAIA: My Funny Cowboy Dance opens with “Hydrogen Car,” a piece about exploding hydrogen cars. How did you decide to open with that one? Is this just you following the time-honored advice to “open with a bang?”
JACK HANDEY: A reader mentioned that he thought it was the funniest of my then-recent pieces. And who am I to argue with an anonymous reader? I do think it’s a strong piece though, and not from The New Yorker, which adds to the…
