Jack Handey is the gifted comic writer behind SNL’s “Deep Thoughts,” which ran in the 90s. He appears to be the closest embodiment of the comic ideal most comedians have ever known. NY Times Writer Don Kois quotes Maria Semple, another comic writer, on what’s so great about Handey.
“There is purity to his comedy,” Semple told Kois. “His references are all grandmas and Martians and cowboys. It’s so completely free from topical references and pop culture that I feel like everyone who’s gonna make a Honey Boo Boo joke should do some penance and read Jack Handey.”
She said Handey writes real jokes, not just junk that “smells like a joke, but there’s no actual joke there.”
Handey had a license plate made for his famous SNL skit series: DEEPTHT. He would have it on his car today had his brother-in-law not asked him while he was mounting it, “Why does your license plate say ‘Deep Throat’?” Now it reads DPTHOTS. (via S.D. Smith)
Mr. Handey taught me that when I’m at the park, if I spend enough time wondering why the frisbee is getting bigger and bigger, it will hit me.
Favorite Handy quote: “I want die in my sleep just like my grandfather — not like the people screaming in his car.”