DEADPAN

'Deadpan' is a form of comedic delivery in which humour is presented without exhibiting a change in emotion or facial expression. Deadpan is a type of dry humour.

Contents

Etymology

Notable deadpan comedians

Stand-up comedians

Film

Television

Fictional characters

Other

See also

External links

Etymology

The term "deadpan" first emerged as an adjective or adverb in the 1920s, as a compound word combining "dead" and "pan" (a slang term for the face). It was first recorded as a noun in ''Vanity Fair'' in 1927; a dead pan was thus 'a face or facial expression displaying no emotion, animation, or humor'.
The Greek god Pan in mythology is another source of the term, having laughed himself to death due to a Non sequitur.
Finally, the verb deadpan 'to speak, act, or utter in a deadpan manner; to maintain a dead pan' arose by the early 1940s, apparently as a journalistic coinage rather than a theatrical one. It must be noted that today its use is especially common in humour from the UK, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand. It is also very appreciated in France, by the influence of the "esprit" (dry-humour mostly). Many popular American sitcoms also used deadpan expressions, most notably Friends and Seinfeld. Dry humor is often confused for highbrow or egghead humor. Although these forms of humor are often dry, the term dry humor actually only refers to the method of delivery, not neccecarily the content.

Notable deadpan comedians

Stand-up comedians

★ Dave Allen, a pessimistic Irish stand-up.

★ Michael Ian Black, David Wain, and Michael Showalter are the trio in the stand up act known as Stella.

★ Todd Barry, American stand-up comedian.

★ Garry Shandling, American stand-up and actor of the Larry Sanders Show.

★ Jimmy Carr, English stand-up comedian.

★ Stephen Colbert, American comedian, see the Comedy Central program, the Colbert Report

★ Jim Gaffigan, American comedian.

★ Jack Dee, British stand-up comedian.

★ Zach Galifianakis, American stand-up comedian.

★ Elliot Goblet, Australian comedian Jack Levi's stand-up persona

★ Mitch Hedberg, American stand-up comedian.

★ Jeremy Hotz, Canadian stand-up comedian.

★ Dave Hughes, Australian stand-up comedian.

★ Jonathan Katz, American comedian, actor and voice actor

★ Demetri Martin, American comedian, actor, and writer.

★ Sam Wiewel, American stand-up comedian and actor.

★ Paul Merton, British comedian and actor, of ''Have I Got News For You''.

★ Paul Mooney, American comedian and writer

★ Dave Mordal, American comedian, contestant on Last Comic Standing.

★ Bob Newhart, American stand-up comedian, TV and film actor, and voice actor

★ Sarah Silverman, American stand-up comedienne.

★ Jackie Vernon caricatured the typically boring slide-projector presentation of vacation photos.

★ Steven Wright, American stand-up comedian.

★ Pierre Légaré, Quebecois stand-up comedian.

Film

★ Buster Keaton, known as "Great Stone Face," became famous for never cracking a smile in any of his films. Strictly speaking, his was not a deadpan approach, since his face was actually very expressive. He subtly portrayed bemusement, anger, fear, and other emotions, but never smiled in a single one of his classic silents. In ''Go West'', a cowboy forces him to smile, which he does by using his fingers to pull up the sides of his mouth. The result is a ghastly parody of a smile. Keaton also mugged, cried, laughed, and otherwise carried on in several of his earliest silent two-reelers with Fatty Arbuckle. His first smile in sound movie occurred in ''San Diego, I Love You'' (1944).

★ Stan Laurel, of the double act Laurel and Hardy.

★ Bill Murray. Most of his work entails him delivering overtly humorous lines with a genuine look of disinterest or indifference on his face, particularly in later works such as ''Lost in Translation'', ''Broken Flowers'' and ''The Lost City''.

★ Leslie Nielsen progressed from being a dramatic actor in films such as ''The Poseidon Adventure'' to a comedic actor due in large part to his seriousness in delivering nonsensical lines in movies such as ''Airplane!'' ("Surely you can't be serious!" "I am serious. And don't call me Shirley.") and ''The Naked Gun'' series.

★ Peter Sellers, most famously for his role as the United States President (as well as Dr. Strangelove, and Captain Mandrake) in Stanley Kubrick's ''Dr. Strangelove'' and his portrayal of bumbling French police inspector Jacques Clouseau.

★ Ben Stein, who was originally a university professor, found a new career as a comedy actor by exploiting the stereotype of the dull academic, often acting as a straight man.

★ Christopher Walken is best known for his deadpan effect and off-key pauses, which is most notable in films such as ''Pulp Fiction'' and ''True Romance''.

★ Chevy Chase, known for his roles as Ty Webb in ''Caddyshack'' and Clark Griswold in ''National Lampoon's Vacation''

Television

★ Stephen Colbert in Comedy Central's ''The Colbert Report''.

★ Jack Benny and Johnny Carson were famous for their "takes," blank stares toward the camera in response (or nonresponse) to something funny that had just happened.

★ Peter Cook, pioneering British comedian of stage, screen, and script.

★ Kenny Mayne, ''SportsCenter'' anchor.

★ The Office, BBC comedy co-written , co-directed by and starring Ricky Gervais and the NBC american remake starring Steve Carrel, thrives on deadpan humor

★ Rick Mercer, in ''This Hour has 22 Minutes'' and ''Talking to Americans'' (by making outlandish claims about Canada).

★ Bob Newhart is known for his deadpan delivery and his slight stammer, as featured on ''The Bob Newhart Show'' and ''Newhart'', and in classic standup routines.

★ Christopher Morris The alter ego of Chris Morris portrayed on ''Brass Eye'', a satirical news investigation show in which the most hysterical headlines and storys are told completely seriously

★ Pat Paulsen spoke in a blank monotone with heavy eyelids, usually opening with, "Good evening, I'm really excited to be here."

★ Anne Robinson, British ''Weakest Link'' host known for acerbic comedic remarks.

★ Mo Rocca

★ Michael Ian Black

★ Jemaine Clement and Bret McKenzie of HBO's "Flight of the Conchords (TV series)" heavily incorporate straightfaced expressions in response to jokes into their comedic and musical routines on the show.

Fictional characters

★ Alfred Pennyworth in ''Batman'' (Pre-90's)

★ Chloe O'Brian in ''24''.

★ Raven in Teen Titans

★ Mai in .

★ Edmund Blackadder, played by British comedian Rowan Atkinson.

★ Kenshiro from ''Hokuto No Ken'', whose catchphrase, "You're already dead" is ironic.

★ Tim Canterbury, played by Martin Freeman, in ''The Office''

★ Jim Halpert, played by John Krasinski, on "The Office"

★ Daria Morgendorffer and Jane Lane, from ''Daria''

★ Mac in Green Wing

★ Enid from ''Ghost World''

★ Droopy, the low-key animated movie character created by Tex Avery.

★ Geoffrey, played by Joseph Marcell, from ''The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air''.

★ Holly, the ship's computer in ''Red Dwarf'', played by Norman Lovett and later by Hattie Hayridge.

★ Dr. Gregory House, played by Hugh Laurie, in the television series ''House, M.D.''.

★ Brent Leroy, played by Brent Butt, in the television series ''Corner Gas''.

★ FBI agent Fox Mulder, as portrayed by David Duchovny, in the television series ''The X-Files''.

★ Niles, the butler from ''The Nanny'', played by Daniel Davis.

★ Rick Spleen, played by Jack Dee, in ''Lead Balloon''.

★ Barney Stinson, from ''How I Met Your Mother'', played by Neil Patrick Harris.

★ Brian, from ''Family Guy''.

★ Eric Forman, from ''That 70's Show''.

★ Donna Pinciotti, from ''That 70's Show''.

★ Kakashi Hatake, from ''Naruto''.

★ Sesshomaru, from ''InuYasha'', when Jaken is around.

★ Randy Marsh, from ''South Park''.

★ Seth Cohen, from ''The O.C.'', played by Adam Brody.

★ Jade Curtiss, from ''Tales of the Abyss''.

★ George Feeny, from ''Boy Meets World'', played by William Daniels.

★ Mokka from Magical Starsign

★ Carlton the Doorman, off-camera persona from the TV show Rhoda.

★ Michael Bluth, played by Jason Bateman from ''Arrested Development''.

★ Willow Rosenberg, played by Alyson Hannigan, in ''Buffy the Vampire Slayer'', when she becomes herself's vampire doppelgänger or when she becomes an evil witch.

★ Yukishiro Tomoe in the manga-version of ''Rurouni Kenshin''

★ Kwame in Captain Planet and the Planeteers

Other

★ Mark Twain is as saying: "The humorous story is told gravely; the teller does his best to conceal the fact that he even dimly suspects that there is anything funny about it."

★ Humphrey Lyttelton, jazz musician and radio personality, as chairman of ''I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue'' is famous for his utterly deadpan delivery of even the funniest jokes

★ Karl Pilkington, Sony Award winning radio personality, who rose to fame as a presenter on ''The Ricky Gervais Show'', and created a podcast that entered the Guinness Book of World Records for its huge number of downloads.

★ John Hodgman, humorist known mostly for his performances alongside Justin Long in a series of Apple ads as well as his appearances on ''The Daily Show'', is recognized as a deadpan comedian.

★ Comedic twins Dylan and Cole Sprouse, who rarely change expressions through exaggeration.

See also

★ Unintentional humor

★ Deadpan violence

External links

★ A blog discussion on Dry Humor