No doubt, he was a funny guy...SNL used to crack me up back then...
When I see stuff from that era now, it all seems a little dated - but that’s not his fault - everything gets old after a while..
But today’s comedians are so unfunny it’s sad.. there are a few exceptions but not many.
A lot of comedy is about social validation. That’s why so many comedians are political. People will actually laugh when you make a quip, insult, or metaphor that agrees with their perspectives, particularly if it’s not popular or PC, or even if you didn’t validate them but can contort something almost taboo into something personal.
That is why the older comedians were funnier. They pushed against a lot of norms and accepted premises. Many of today’s comedians are afraid be un-PC. You’ll still get approval from audiences when they agree with you, but it’s not the social jolt. Self deprecating humor can be very effective, even if it’s about race or class and not about the comedian personally, because you are allowed to parody a stereotype if you are in that class or group. Again, the unwritten secret to that is social validation, when makes the topic uncomfortable when you acknowledge it.
Velvet Jones School of Technology never gets old.
I saw his appearance on the current SNL a year or so ago...his sketches were funny (if a bit dated), but it appeared painfully obvious that he would never have been accepted as part of today’s ensemble.