I was listening to a CD by Pasquale Caputo, or Pat Cooper, a while ago. And since he recorded his albums in the 1960's, he was telling jokes about President Kennedy.
And it seemed so alien that someone could be riffing on such old topics. And then I thought how cool it would be if your comedy act was that you were a time-traveling comic and you would come out several times and do bits as if it was then and the jokes were still topical. It seems like it would be a great idea because the jokes would never seem old; you could write jokes about any subject and then just fit it into your period. Old jokes about computers, the Civil War, whatever, would become fresh again because you're just traveling through time, without any control over where or when you go. You quick-change your clothes, or better, like that naked guy in The Time Traveler's Wife, you show up on stage naked and then pretend to borrow some clothes. But then you tell jokes as if you just popped in from a different time.
Did anyone ever do this?
AS the 1970's hippie comic:
Nixon just got back from China, man. Far out. China, man. When you say "far out," this dude could dig it. You can't get farther out than China, man.
AS the late 1890's comic:
Our good President, Mr. Grover Cleveland, has set forth a plan of assimilation for the Chinese. When it was explained to the President what 'assimilation' meant, he remarked, "You mean that they won't come with a double-helping of potatoes and bread and butter?"
AS the 1980's comic:
Reagan. Cocaine. Reagan. Cocaine. Reagan. Cocaine. Disco Sucks.
AS the 2000's comic:
When Colin Powell first discussed Iraq with George W. Bush, that genius "Dubya" said, "I rack? You break!" And then he snorted a line of blue pool cue chalk.
I don't know. This sounds like it writes itself. I like the 1970's comic where you just say, "Right on" and "Far out" and everyone cracks up because they are stoned.
Duuuuude, I gott stop drinking and blogging.