Judge, 1929-04-13 · page 9 of 36
Judge — April 13, 1929 — page 9: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
# "The Hackneyed Humorist" - Judge Magazine Satire This page satirizes a tired, formulaic humor writer who relies obsessively on clichéd jokes and subjects. The main article mocks a humorist who constantly recycles the same tired material: jokes about plumbers losing tools, Lindbergh's engagement, radio/television gags, the "was that my wife?" joke, Chicago shootings, climate comparisons, senators' incompetence, backseat drivers, rumble seats, wrong numbers, and stuck car windows. The satire references actual popular humorists of the era (likely 1920s-30s based on references to Lindbergh), suggesting they all mined identical subject matter. The piece ridicules how this writer never innovates, always retreating to predictable territory. The accompanying cartoons—showing the humorist's chaotic process and a domestic scene about children's name-tags—visually reinforce the complaint: mindless, repetitive formula masquerading as wit. The brief "Perfect Faith" joke below offers contrast: genuine, understated humor without forced punchlines.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
The Hackneyed Humorist im ing te tag all vouse kid y little names and tell hy little fairy tale now he perey cresby and with fur you a pe dora y dice you noyoure. frank sullivan and gertrude you be corey donald heres your tag new does anybody want to play hes bob benchley what nobody Land who wants to be jen stewart ok rese 1 right cloise heres a will rogers tag now dont ery ‘ound like vou was in conference and ill begin the tale of the hackneyed humorist well it scems there was this humorist and he didnt crack ut absent-minded — pro and now everybody cirele : vrs or plumbers who always t their tools and never once did he write about filling up the grand von with old razor blades and) when lindys eng ment was announced he didnt ah ha and dash off a thousand es about lindys yoi to marry vrrow and he didnt write a dred magazines and say and then there was the scotehman and never onee in his life did he bust out with a radio or television crack and he didnt vary the origi nal who was that lady i seen with last night that was no lads that was my wife and hey berten take that lizy label off vour check and listen to uncle jack or uncle jack will tell you about the two Ge hor FH proof “But Mrs. Chong, why is this child so different fram your others?” “Oh, well . irishinan and then youll be sorry and never once did this humorist lad submit trash about. the fact that there has been some shooting in chicago and he didnt harp on the florida climate versus the california climate and he didn't discover suddenly that all senators and congressman were full of gas d, 1 always quesses wrong! Here 1 comes with a ballet ston, when T should have worn a razor-proof collar.” Ocvidents will happen.” and hot air and listen dora i mean arthur this here humorist never heard of a back seat driver or a rumble seat or walking back from an auto ride dhe didn’t send in five hundred wrong number and telephone operator cracks cach day and he didnt faw down and go boom or poke fun at cooks not in one place but i see all you children are begi staying |e ning to yern and stretch so all of you better scamper up to bed only yeu hetter hand back those tags be cause we may need them for some other games later on and not a peep out of you kids about studs rolling under bureaus or buttons wundry or pull- man car windows sticking and now good night and you pull the rejection: slips around your shoulders its chilly out. Jack Perfect Faith First Dumb Be agreat guy. Hes me when the very clouds had no silver lining but were dark and threatening. Secoud College Man—And how was that? FL OD. B—We lent me_ his slicker. coming off in th tter comicbooks.com