The 'Classy' Freddie Blassie of Comedy
That's what Andy Kaufman wanted to be. Comedy's worst heel. Heel is the wrestling term for villain. I just finished Blassie's book Listen you Pencil-Neck Geeks, and there's a chapter devoted to Blassie and Kaufman's relationship. It's interesting to say the least. Kaufman also idolized Roddy Piper, and I think both he and Blassie's influence can be seen in Kaufman. All the crap he would do that would just piss off people--essentially over nothing. That's just what good wrestling heels do. Get the fans irate at them over nothing so that the crowd cheers when the good guy, or babyface, gives them what's coming to them. The problem for Kaufman was that outside of Memphis Championship Wrestling or the David Letterman Show, there was no babyface to set him straight. So, real people set him straight by firing him and voting him off Saturday Night Live.
I've always wanted to pay a true heel while improvising, and have, in a few bits. However, an improviser can't invest fully in being a heel; the audience wouldn't go for it. Even on the CSz stage, when one team is the clear favorite, it'd be hard to turn on the crowd to make the audience love the other team more. Nonetheless, I'd love to try it.
One of my favorite heel bits that has yet to make it to the stage in its purest form I developed a few years ago at IO. I always wanted to be onstage opening for People of Earth, an all-male team. Then, I'd get into a scene with a woman on my team, and stop the scene in the middle. Then, I'd say, "Goddamn it, stop! Ladies and gentlemen, I can't do this any more. The team that follows us tonight, People of Earth is all male; and this is exactly the fucking reason. Women are not funny!" Then I'd leave, maybe to sneak back in to see how things went.
My team's show would continue, probably only with a "That was Wierd..." hiccup, and then finish. However, when POE took the stage, people would think, "Hey, they don't have any women!" and get pissed at POE. Boy, that'd have been funny.
Miles Stroth used to play the heel with Rockstar of Siam (My first real improv team) all the time. However, it failed for him as well because he never let us in on it, and couldn't explain what he was doing when he'd personally attack us on stage. Everybody on stage would have to be in on it to make it work. Maybe I'll be able to sometime.
Regardless, what I have learned from all my wrestling fanaticism is great heightening. Wrestling is good vs. evil, and the good characters exploit that. In Improv, it's great to play the height of any character trait as a character, be it innocence, evil, or whatever.
Blassie was a fantastic heightener. He was famous for biting people and drawing blood. He got off the plane in Japan right as he'd started biting, and the fans and reporters were calling him the japanese word for vampire. Once he figured that out, he pulled a nail file out of his pocket and started filing his teeth. The people were aghast. Hilarious.
The most riveting picture in the book is from that series of matches in Japan. He's on his knees behind his decimated bloody opponent, and he has the sickes grin I've ever seen on his face. They should print that picture in the dictionary under bloodlust, because that's what he's exemplifying. Brilliant.
One of these days, one of these days, I'll get an audience to hate me...
I've always wanted to pay a true heel while improvising, and have, in a few bits. However, an improviser can't invest fully in being a heel; the audience wouldn't go for it. Even on the CSz stage, when one team is the clear favorite, it'd be hard to turn on the crowd to make the audience love the other team more. Nonetheless, I'd love to try it.
One of my favorite heel bits that has yet to make it to the stage in its purest form I developed a few years ago at IO. I always wanted to be onstage opening for People of Earth, an all-male team. Then, I'd get into a scene with a woman on my team, and stop the scene in the middle. Then, I'd say, "Goddamn it, stop! Ladies and gentlemen, I can't do this any more. The team that follows us tonight, People of Earth is all male; and this is exactly the fucking reason. Women are not funny!" Then I'd leave, maybe to sneak back in to see how things went.
My team's show would continue, probably only with a "That was Wierd..." hiccup, and then finish. However, when POE took the stage, people would think, "Hey, they don't have any women!" and get pissed at POE. Boy, that'd have been funny.
Miles Stroth used to play the heel with Rockstar of Siam (My first real improv team) all the time. However, it failed for him as well because he never let us in on it, and couldn't explain what he was doing when he'd personally attack us on stage. Everybody on stage would have to be in on it to make it work. Maybe I'll be able to sometime.
Regardless, what I have learned from all my wrestling fanaticism is great heightening. Wrestling is good vs. evil, and the good characters exploit that. In Improv, it's great to play the height of any character trait as a character, be it innocence, evil, or whatever.
Blassie was a fantastic heightener. He was famous for biting people and drawing blood. He got off the plane in Japan right as he'd started biting, and the fans and reporters were calling him the japanese word for vampire. Once he figured that out, he pulled a nail file out of his pocket and started filing his teeth. The people were aghast. Hilarious.
The most riveting picture in the book is from that series of matches in Japan. He's on his knees behind his decimated bloody opponent, and he has the sickes grin I've ever seen on his face. They should print that picture in the dictionary under bloodlust, because that's what he's exemplifying. Brilliant.
One of these days, one of these days, I'll get an audience to hate me...
posted by Zach at 12:14 PM
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