It’s not a call for comedians to lighten up with their act, nor is it a condemnation of their choice of words or subject matter, but sometimes cleaner comedy is easier to laugh at. Foul language and subjects that border on the obscene make people laugh too, but there is a limit that some folks feel shouldn’t be crossed. Comedians make their living by getting people to laugh, sometimes almost to the point of wetting their pants if the material is really that funny. But comedy isn’t really all about vulgarity, it’s simply what strikes a person’s funny bone and gets them to chuckle or bust up with the giggles. It’s very possible to do this without resorting to using a foul word ever five seconds or so.
Here are a few comedians that have proven this theory and made a very good living with their material.
Jim Gaffigan
Gaffigan is kind of an acquired taste. He’s good at what he does, but a lot of people seem to think that he’s not so great while others think he’s a riot. It’s a matter of personal taste and humor really, but he’s made a name for himself on his comedy and more to the point he’s done it while preserving his integrity. His delivery is sometimes a little slow and it takes you time to really laugh, but he gets there in his own time and produces the desired result. And all without a single cuss word.
Jeff Foxworthy
For the subject material he covers you would think that at least one curse word would slip out of his mouth a time or two, but Foxworthy is true to his craft and his style and keeps it clean. His redneck jokes get a little out there at times but really they are pretty funny. If you can’t laugh at something that might be a parody of your own life in a way then you need to adjust your sense of humor just a bit.
Bill Engvall
Much like Foxworthy, Engvall has a biting sense of sarcasm and wit that makes fun of dang near everything he can get his hands on, and it works for the audience. These guys have proven that you don’t need to have a foul mouth or a seriously dirty mind to make the audience laugh. True, some of their comedy has been a little out there and sometimes gets kind of dirty, but nothing in comparison to what it could be.
Tom Papa
He’s a little more fringe with his comedy but he’s definitely funny. His type of comedy is kind of dark at times but still, there’s a definite absence of cursing and foul material that would turn off the average viewer. Unlike a few comics he definitely goes into subjects that can be cringe-worthy with those that have less than a stellar sense of humor. But he is genuinely funny because he touches upon subjects he knows affect so many people.
Jerry Seinfeld
The classic, the legendary, the clean. Seinfeld has made a career out of comedy and his use of profanity has been so free of profanity that one might wonder if he even knows what it is any longer. Of course he does, he professes that he doesn’t really care for comedy that has to rely on foul language and he’s achieved success never having to use it. The definition of a clean comedian in his act, Seinfeld might not bash those that do use such methods, but he is adamant about keeping his jokes clean enough that people can laugh and not be offended.
Sinbad
It all began on the show Star Search and the tall funny man has been clean ever since appearing on that show. Sinbad makes fun of ethnicity as much as any comedian out there but he manages to do it profanity free. Pretty impressive.
You don’t really need to use profanity for comedy. In some rare instances it might actually heighten the act, but more often than not it’s an easy way for a comic to gain a reaction.
