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Comedy Quotes

On laughter, dark times, and comedy as survival.

This collection treats comedy as something closer to coping than entertainment, with one entry stating plainly that its real purpose is to hide pain. See Comedian quotes for related themes.

I basically did comedy there for about a year, and then moved to New York. If I had it to do over again, I would have booked myself on the road for at least a year.

Quotes by Todd Barry

I mean, I guess I started during the comedy boom, so it was literally like, on Sunday you could decide you wanted to be a comic, and on Monday, you could be on stage.

Quotes by Todd Barry

There seems to be more comedy for comedy's sake.

Quotes by Todd Barry

The Duplass brothers do that so well - that very simple, very horrifically awkward comedy.

Quotes by Timothy Simons

The one that was most fun was That's My Bush; the part that I did for Comedy Central. That was a hoot. That was more fun that one should be allowed to have.

Quotes by Timothy Bottoms

With comedy, you really want to work things out beforehand.

Quotes by Tim Matheson

What I've created comedically owes a lot to my ignorance of comedy and love of making theatre stuff.

Quotes by Tim Minchin

I think comedy has to come from a real place. It has to come from an honest place.

Quotes by Tim Heidecker

Stanley Kubrick went with his gut feeling: he directed 'Dr. Strangelove' as a black comedy. The film is routinely described as a masterpiece.

Quotes by Tim Cahill

I've known Harvey for over 40 years and I worked with him on the Burnett show for 11 years. I guess you could say we're about as close as you can get to being a comedy team.

Quotes by Tim Conway

While awaiting sentencing, I decided to give stand-up comedy a shot. The judge had suggested I get my act together, and I took him seriously.

Quotes by Tim Allen

Comedy is the ultimate anarchist.

Quotes by Tim Allen

Drama and comedy, to me, are all about being surprising, coherent, and true, all at once.

Quotes by Tim Blake Nelson

As a kid, I loved Paula Poundstone and Richard Pryor. But my mother was a huge influence on my comedy.

Quotes by Tig Notaro

Comedy was a secret want, but it wasn't anything I pursued.

Quotes by Tig Notaro

T.J. Miller and Kumail Nanjiani I met when I was in Chicago, learning how to do comedy.

Quotes by Thomas Middleditch

If you don't have comedy in a movie, you don't have a movie.

Quotes by Theodore Melfi

I find that comedy is my specialty, but drama is slowly starting to move up in that rank. I've always liked playing a character that has depth and that I'm able to bring my own niche to.

Quotes by Texas Battle

When Kubrick decided to go the black comedy route with his movie, he thought of me to give it that flavor.

Quotes by Terry Southern

I've been fortunate because I got the gift to do comedy and drama. When you can do both, you get twice as many parts as anyone else.

Quotes by Terry Kiser

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Frequently Asked Questions

What's the deeper reason behind comedy, according to these quotes?
A surprisingly emotional one. One quote puts it simply: "The real reason for comedy is to hide the pain." It suggests humor often works as a cover for something harder underneath.
Do these quotes connect comedy to dark or difficult topics?
Yes — one speaker explains, "Comedy arises out of necessity, because some things are so dark that you have to laugh about it." It's about using humor as a coping tool, not just entertainment.
Is there a quote about the history of stand-up comedy?
Yes — one speaker mentions pitching a show spanning generations of "five female stand-up comedians," naming a range "from Phyllis Diller to Amy Schumer." For more on the people behind the punchlines, see our Comedians quotes.
What kind of comedy does one speaker say they want to pursue?
Something old-fashioned and character-driven: "An old-codger comedy - that's what I want to do." It's a specific, playful vision for a comedic project. For more on comedic performers, browse our Comedian collection.
Where can I find more comedy content beyond quotes?
Our Comedic page has more in this same reflective tone, and if you enjoy wordplay in a different language tradition, our Shayari collection offers a fun alternative.

Others celebrate generations of women in stand-up, from earlier decades through to more recent comedians, and the idea that comedy grows out of necessity when things get dark enough. Browse Comedians and Comedic quotes for more.