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55-613: Robert Wuhl (born October 9, 1951) is an American actor, comedian and writer. He is best known as the creator and star of the television comedy series Arliss (1996–2002) and for his portrayal of newspaper reporter Alexander Knox in Tim Burton 's Batman (1989) and Larry in Bull Durham (1988). Wuhl was born in Union, New Jersey , to a Jewish family. His father worked as a produce distributor. After attending Union High School , Wuhl headed to

110-401: A 72/100 rating on Metacritic , and 62% on Rotten Tomatoes . The popular show, which ran for seven seasons, has been cited as a "blueprint" for future HBO shows such as Ballers and Entourage , and as an example of how premium cable networks manage their programming. A number of HBO subscribers cited Arliss as the sole reason that they paid for the network, and as a result, its fan base

165-452: A bone. And now I know I'll be able to get 100% bladder control whenever I'm feeling insecure. Because all seven seasons of Arliss are now available on DVD. That's over forty hours of keep-your-pants-dry entertainment! So, don't let slight loss of bladder control cramp your style. Watch Arliss , and take back your life. Ask your doctor if Arliss is right for you. Side effects may include nausea, depression, and slight sexual dysfunction. In

220-706: A fuckin' word of it. He's telling you what happened, but I want to see what really happened." We can use this, as Arliss the sports agent, telling you what happens and then prove he's full of shit and show what really happened. Over 400 celebrities had cameo appearances on Arliss , including Les Moonves , George Wallace , Bobcat Goldthwait , Shannon Elizabeth , Fred Williamson , Al Michaels , John Elway , Derek Jeter , Dan Marino , Kobe Bryant , Shaquille O'Neal , Warren Moon , Alonzo Mourning , Bob Costas , Jimmy Johnson , Jerry Jones , Picabo Street , Katarina Witt , and Barry Bonds . In July 1999, Robert Wuhl appeared in character as Arliss on WCW Monday Nitro as

275-731: A guest announcer, alongside Scott Hudson and Bobby Heenan . He said that his HBO series has featured WCW wrestlers as guest stars, but the Big Three networks were "scared" of doing the same. Arliss said he was scouting Dennis Rodman , who was doing his third stint with the company. Wuhl's appearance was a cross-promotion for HBO, as both it and WCW were owned by Time Warner . In the Arliss episode "To Thy Own Self Be True", WCW creative head Eric Bischoff guest-starred along with wrestlers Lex Luger , Randy Savage , and Gorgeous George . In The Simpsons season 13 episode " Half-Decent Proposal ", Marge

330-411: A joke, and you panic. What if you start laughing? Lots of us experience slight loss of bladder control. An embarrassing accident can happen any time. Sometimes, just when laughing. That's why I watch Arliss on HBO Comedy. It's nice to know that, every weekday at midnight, I can sit down with Robert Wuhl and the gang at Arliss Michaels Sports Management, and, a half-hour later, my drawers will be as dry as

385-490: A marionette to a hand puppet, and he became, really, a spirit of Britain — a subversive maverick who defies authority, a kind of puppet equivalent to our political cartoons ." In early 19th century England, pantomime acquired its present form which includes slapstick comedy and featured the first mainstream clown Joseph Grimaldi , while comedy routines also featured heavily in British music hall theatre which became popular in

440-528: A mistake or deformity not productive of pain or harm to others; the mask, for instance, that excites laughter is something ugly and distorted without causing pain. In the Middle Ages , the term expanded to include narrative poems with happy endings. It is in this sense that Dante used the term in the title of his poem, La Commedia . As time progressed, the word came more and more to be associated with any sort of performance intended to cause laughter. During

495-473: A result, much of their art was intentionally amusing. A famous example is Marcel Duchamp 's Fountain (1917), an inverted urinal signed "R. Mutt". This became one of the most famous and influential pieces of art in history, and one of the earliest examples of the found object movement. It is also a joke, relying on the inversion of the item's function as expressed by its title as well as its incongruous presence in an art exhibition. The advent of cinema in

550-835: A similar fashion to pop culture. A second chapter entitled Assume the Position 201 with Mr. Wuhl aired on HBO in July 2007. Wuhl hosted a sports, sports business and entertainment daily talk radio show, for Westwood One (now Dial Global ) from January through December 2011. Wuhl occasionally fills in for Boomer Esiason on the Boomer and Carton show. Wuhl played "Herb Tucker" in a revival of Neil Simon 's play I Ought to Be in Pictures . In 2017, he appeared with Don Most in another Simon play, The Sunshine Boys , at Judson Theatre Company. Wuhl has appeared as himself in four episodes of American Dad! :

605-598: A small role in the film Flashdance (1983). Wuhl had larger roles in films including Good Morning, Vietnam (1987) with Robin Williams , Bull Durham (1988) with Kevin Costner , Tim Burton 's 1989 Batman (as reporter Alexander Knox) with Michael Keaton , Blaze (1989) with Paul Newman , Missing Pieces (1991) with Eric Idle , Mistress (1992) with Robert De Niro , Blue Chips (1994) with Nick Nolte , and Cobb (1994) with Tommy Lee Jones . He wrote two of

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660-611: A streaming format in 2022. The New York Times called the show "One of the freshest shows to come along in a while." It was well-known for taking on very controversial (at the time) topics, including point shaving , political corruption , personal seat license fees, relocation of professional sports teams , sports in the Las Vegas metropolitan area , right to work law states, domestic abuse , steroid use , Alzheimer's disease , gay and transgender athletes, alcoholism , and unwanted athlete pregnancies . The idea behind Arliss

715-535: A subversion of audience's expectations, so that amusement is founded on unpredictability , separate from a logical analysis of the situation. The humour derived gets its appeal from the ridiculousness and unlikeliness of the situation. The genre has roots in Surrealism in the arts. Surreal humour is the effect of illogic and absurdity being used for humorous effect. Under such premises, people can identify precursors and early examples of surreal humour at least since

770-464: A sympathetic character. Aristotle divides comedy into three categories or subgenres: farce , romantic comedy , and satire . On the other hand, Plato taught that comedy is a destruction to the self. He believed that it produces an emotion that overrides rational self-control and learning. In The Republic , he says that the guardians of the state should avoid laughter, "for ordinarily when one abandons himself to violent laughter, his condition provokes

825-460: A violent reaction." Plato says comedy should be tightly controlled if one wants to achieve the ideal state. Also in Poetics , Aristotle defined comedy as one of the original four genres of literature . The other three genres are tragedy , epic poetry , and lyric poetry . Literature, in general, is defined by Aristotle as a mimesis , or imitation of life. Comedy is the third form of literature, being

880-625: Is derived from the Classical Greek κωμῳδία kōmōidía , which is a compound of κῶμος kômos (revel) and ᾠδή ōidḗ (singing; ode). The adjective "comic" (Greek κωμικός kōmikós), which strictly means that which relates to comedy is, in modern usage, generally confined to the sense of "laughter-provoking". Of this, the word came into modern usage through the Latin comoedia and Italian commedia and has, over time, passed through various shades of meaning. The Greeks and Romans confined their use of

935-789: Is not only a genius, he is the man who originated slapstick comedy. We in Hollywood owe much to him." American vaudeville emerged in the 1880s and remained popular until the 1930s, and featured comedians such as W. C. Fields , Buster Keaton and the Marx Brothers . Surreal humour (also known as 'absurdist humour'), or 'surreal comedy', is a form of humour predicated on deliberate violations of causal reasoning, producing events and behaviours that are obviously illogical . Constructions of surreal humour tend to involve bizarre juxtapositions, incongruity, non-sequiturs , irrational or absurd situations and expressions of nonsense . The humour arises from

990-425: Is otherwise a serious commentary on the state of foreign relations serves to frame the segment comically, creating a serious tone underlying the comedic agenda presented by Stewart. Comedy may be divided into multiple genres based on the source of humor, the method of delivery, and the context in which it is delivered. The different forms of comedy often overlap, and most comedy can fit into multiple genres. Some of

1045-524: Is watching Nookie in New York with Patty and Selma when an announcer says, "Coming up next on BHO [ sic ], it's Arliss !"; Patty and Selma scream and quickly reach for the remote control. During the October 12, 2002, episode of Saturday Night Live , guest host Sarah Michelle Gellar delivered the following monologue in a fake television commercial sketch: You know the feeling. Someone's about to tell

1100-515: The 30 Rock seventh season premiere, " The Beginning of the End ", Kenneth says, in response to Tracy Jordan 's marriage has lasted for over 20 years, "That's half as long as it felt Arliss was on TV!" Former UCB New York stage show The George Lucas Talk Show organized a 7-week-long charity marathon of Arliss episodes during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. The hosts watched all seven seasons of

1155-671: The Australian comedian Paul Hogan , famous for Crocodile Dundee . Other centres of creative comic activity have been the cinema of Hong Kong , Bollywood , and French farce . American television has also been an influential force in world comedy: with American series like M*A*S*H , Seinfeld and The Simpsons achieving large followings around the world. British television comedy also remains influential, with quintessential works including Fawlty Towers , Monty Python , Dad's Army , Blackadder , and The Office . Australian satirist Barry Humphries , whose comic creations include

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1210-496: The HBO series Arliss as the title character, an agent for high-profile athletes. From 2000 to 2001, he was a frequent panelist on the ESPN game show 2 Minute Drill , often quizzing the contestants on sports-related movies. In 2006, he starred on HBO in a one-man-show, Assume the Position with Mr. Wuhl , where he taught a history class to show how history is created and propagated in

1265-520: The Three Stooges , Abbott and Costello , Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis , Bob Hope and Phyllis Diller during the mid-20th century, to performers like George Carlin , Bill Cosby , Joan Rivers , Robin Williams , and Eddie Murphy toward the end of the century. Hollywood attracted many international talents like the British comics Peter Sellers , Dudley Moore and Sacha Baron Cohen , Canadian comics Dan Aykroyd , Jim Carrey , and Mike Myers , and

1320-576: The University of Houston , where he was active in the drama department and the Epsilon-Omicron chapter of Tau Kappa Epsilon fraternity. Wuhl was awarded a Distinguished Alumni Award from his alma mater in April 2012. Wuhl's first role in movies was a starring role in the 1980 comedy The Hollywood Knights along with other fledgling actors Tony Danza , Michelle Pfeiffer , and Fran Drescher , followed by

1375-447: The word "comedy" to descriptions of stage-plays with happy endings. Aristotle defined comedy as an imitation of men worse than the average (where tragedy was an imitation of men better than the average). However, the characters portrayed in comedies were not worse than average in every way, only insofar as they are Ridiculous, which is a species of the Ugly. The Ridiculous may be defined as

1430-457: The "art of reprehension", and made no reference to light and cheerful events, or to the troubling beginnings and happy endings associated with classical Greek comedy. After the Latin translations of the 12th century , the term "comedy" gained a more general meaning in medieval literature . In the late 20th century, many scholars preferred to use the term laughter to refer to the whole gamut of

1485-568: The 1850s. British comedians who honed their skills in music hall sketches include Charlie Chaplin , Stan Laurel and Dan Leno . English music hall comedian and theatre impresario Fred Karno developed a form of sketch comedy without dialogue in the 1890s, and Chaplin and Laurel were among the comedians who worked for his company. Karno was a pioneer of slapstick , and in his biography, Laurel stated, "Fred Karno didn't teach Charlie [Chaplin] and me all we know about comedy. He just taught us most of it". Film producer Hal Roach stated: "Fred Karno

1540-511: The 19th century, such as Lewis Carroll 's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass , which both use illogic and absurdity ( hookah -smoking caterpillars , croquet matches using live flamingos as mallets, etc.) for humorous effect. Many of Edward Lear 's children stories and poems contain nonsense and are basically surreal in approach. For example, The Story of

1595-423: The 2015 episode "Manhattan Magical Murder Mystery Tour", the 2017 episode "The Talented Mr. Dingleberry", the 2019 episode "One-Woman Swole", and the 2021 episode "Cry Baby". Wuhl married actress Barbara Koldys in 1983. Arliss (TV series) Arliss (rendered in its logo as Arli$ $ ) is an American dark comedy series, created by and starring Robert Wuhl (who was also the series' showrunner ), about

1650-553: The Four Little Children Who Went Round the World (1871) is filled with contradictory statements and odd images intended to provoke amusement, such as the following: After a time they saw some land at a distance; and when they came to it, they found it was an island made of water quite surrounded by earth. Besides that, it was bordered by evanescent isthmuses with a great Gulf-stream running about all over it, so that it

1705-593: The Middle Ages, the term "comedy" became synonymous with satire , and later with humour in general. Aristotle's Poetics was translated into Arabic in the medieval Islamic world , where it was elaborated upon by Arabic writers and Islamic philosophers , such as Abu Bishr , and his pupils Al-Farabi , Avicenna , and Averroes . They disassociated comedy from Greek dramatic representation and instead identified it with Arabic poetic themes and forms, such as hija (satirical poetry). They viewed comedy as simply

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1760-659: The Neapolitan stock character of Pulcinella . The figure who later became Mr. Punch made his first recorded appearance in England in 1662. Punch and Judy are performed in the spirit of outrageous comedy — often provoking shocked laughter — and are dominated by the anarchic clowning of Mr. Punch. Appearing at a significant period in British history, professor Glyn Edwards states: "[Pulcinella] went down particularly well with Restoration British audiences, fun-starved after years of Puritanism . We soon changed Punch's name, transformed him from

1815-417: The aims. "Comedy", in its Elizabethan usage, had a very different meaning from modern comedy. A Shakespearean comedy is one that has a happy ending, usually involving marriages between the unmarried characters, and a tone and style that is more light-hearted than Shakespeare's other plays. The Punch and Judy show has roots in the 16th-century Italian commedia dell'arte . The figure of Punch derives from

1870-462: The charitable attitude towards people that is required for purposes of persuasion and co-operation, but at the same time maintains our shrewdness concerning the simplicities of 'cashing in. ' " The purpose of the comic frame is to satirize a given circumstance and promote change by doing so. The comic frame makes fun of situations and people, while simultaneously provoking thought. The comic frame does not aim to vilify in its analysis, but rather, rebuke

1925-827: The circus clown also continued, with such as Bozo the Clown in the United States and Oleg Popov in Russia. Radio provided new possibilities — with Britain producing the influential surreal humour of the Goon Show after the Second World War. The Goons' influence spread to the American radio and recording troupe the Firesign Theatre . American cinema has produced a great number of globally renowned comedy artists, from Laurel and Hardy ,

1980-483: The civilization of a country ... I take to be the flourishing of the Comic idea and Comedy, and the test of true Comedy is that it shall awaken thoughtful laughter." Laughter is said to be the cure for being sick. Studies show that people who laugh more often get sick less. American literary theorist Kenneth Burke writes that the "comic frame" in rhetoric is "neither wholly euphemistic, nor wholly debunking—hence it provides

2035-486: The comic, in order to avoid the use of ambiguous and problematically defined genres such as the grotesque , irony , and satire . Starting from 425 BCE, Aristophanes , a comic play and satirical author of the Ancient Greek Theater , wrote 40 comedies, 11 of which survive. Aristophanes developed his type of comedy from the earlier satyr plays , which were often highly obscene . The only surviving examples of

2090-435: The glitzy, big-money world of professional sports, with Wuhl playing the eternally optimistic and endlessly resourceful L.A. sports agent Arliss Michaels, whose Achilles' heel is his inability to say "no" to clients and employees. Arliss ran for seven seasons and 80 episodes on HBO , from August 10, 1996, to September 8, 2002. After almost two decades off the air, the entire catalog of Arliss episodes returned to Max in

2145-418: The housewife and "gigastar" Dame Edna Everage , for his delivery of Dadaist and absurdist humour to millions, was described by biographer Anne Pender in 2010 as not only "the most significant theatrical figure of our time ... [but] the most significant comedian to emerge since Charlie Chaplin ". By 200 BC, in ancient Sanskrit drama , Bharata Muni 's Natya Shastra defined humour ( hāsyam ) as one of

2200-413: The late 19th century, and later radio and television in the 20th century broadened the access of comedians to the general public. Charlie Chaplin , through silent film, became one of the best-known faces on Earth. The silent tradition lived on well into the late 20th century through mime artists like Marcel Marceau , and the slapstick comedy of artists like Rowan Atkinson (as Mr. Bean ). The tradition of

2255-400: The most divorced from a true mimesis. Tragedy is the truest mimesis, followed by epic poetry, comedy, and lyric poetry. The genre of comedy is defined by a certain pattern according to Aristotle's definition. Comedies begin with low or base characters seeking insignificant aims and end with some accomplishment of the aims which either lightens the initial baseness or reveals the insignificance of

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2310-441: The nine nava rasas , or principle rasas (emotional responses), which can be inspired in the audience by bhavas , the imitations of emotions that the actors perform. Each rasa was associated with a specific bhavas portrayed on stage. In the case of humour, it was associated with mirth ( hasya ). The phenomena connected with laughter and that which provokes it have been carefully investigated by psychologists. They agree

2365-588: The object of their humor. Parody subverts popular genres and forms, critiquing those forms without necessarily condemning them. Other forms of comedy include screwball comedy , which derives its humor largely from bizarre, surprising (and improbable) situations or characters, and black comedy , which is characterized by a form of humor that includes darker aspects of human behavior or human nature. Similarly scatological humor , sexual humor, and race humor create comedy by violating social conventions or taboos in comic ways, which can often be taken as offensive by

2420-418: The origins of comedy are obscure because it was not treated seriously from its inception. However, comedy had its own Muse : Thalia . Aristotle taught that comedy was generally positive for society, since it brings forth happiness, which for Aristotle was the ideal state, the final goal in any activity. For Aristotle, a comedy did not need to involve sexual humor. A comedy is about the fortunate rise of

2475-497: The predominant characteristics are incongruity or contrast in the object and shock or emotional seizure on the part of the subject. It has also been held that the feeling of superiority is an essential factor: thus Thomas Hobbes speaks of laughter as a "sudden glory". Modern investigators have paid much attention to the origin both of laughter and of smiling, as well as the development of the "play instinct" and its emotional expression. George Meredith said that "One excellent test of

2530-428: The same role. Self-deprecation is a technique of comedy used by many comedians who focus on their misfortunes and foibles in order to entertain. Stand-up comedy is a mode of comic performance in which the performer addresses the audience directly, usually speaking in their own person rather than as a dramatic character . The deliberate use by Menard of the term 'le rire' rather than 'l'humour' reflects accurately

2585-441: The satyr plays are by Euripides , which are much later examples and not representative of the genre. In ancient Greece, comedy originated in bawdy and ribald songs or recitations apropos of phallic processions and fertility festivals or gatherings. Around 335 BCE, Aristotle , in his work Poetics , stated that comedy originated in phallic processions and the light treatment of the otherwise base and ugly. He also adds that

2640-472: The show and interviewed many of the show's writers, producers, and cast, including Wuhl. The livestreams raised over $ 20,000 for the New York City FoodBank . In "Strike One," an episode from the third season of The King of Queens , Carrie berates Doug for canceling their HBO subscription in an attempt to save money. Doug claims it was not an easy decision because he "lost Arliss ." Arliss has

2695-682: The six episodes for the TV series Police Squad! in 1982 and did an audio commentary for its release on DVD in 2006. He and Keith Carradine appeared in the 1985 music video to Madonna 's " Material Girl ". In 1992, he appeared in The Bodyguard as host of the Oscars . Wuhl won two Emmy Awards for co-writing the Academy Awards in 1990 and 1991 with Billy Crystal , Bruce Vilanch , David Steinberg , and others. From 1996 to 2002 he wrote and starred in

2750-659: The stupidity and foolery of those involved in the circumstances. For example, on The Daily Show , Jon Stewart uses the "comic frame" to intervene in political arguments, often offering crude humor in sudden contrast to serious news. In a segment on President Obama 's trip to China, Stewart remarks on America's debt to the Chinese government while also having a weak relationship with the country. After depicting this dismal situation, Stewart shifts to speak directly to President Obama, calling upon him to "shine that turd up." For Stewart and his audience, introducing coarse language into what

2805-524: The subgenres of comedy are farce , comedy of manners , burlesque , and satire . Some comedy apes certain cultural forms: for instance, parody and satire often imitate the conventions of the genre they are parodying or satirizing. For example, in the United States, parodies of newspapers and television news include The Onion , and The Colbert Report ; in Australia, shows such as Kath & Kim , Utopia , and Shaun Micallef's Mad As Hell perform

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2860-402: The subjects of the joke. A comedy of manners typically takes as its subject a particular part of society (usually upper-class society) and uses humor to parody or satirize the behavior and mannerisms of its members. Romantic comedy is a popular genre that depicts burgeoning romance in humorous terms and focuses on the foibles of those who are falling in love. Dean Rubin says the word "comedy"

2915-546: Was able to keep the show on the air for a lengthy run. The show frequently used obscure sports references, and Entertainment Weekly repeatedly called it one of the worst shows on television; sportswriter Bill Simmons (who later worked for HBO under his digital banner The Ringer ) used Arliss as an example of what he saw as a lack of good fictional shows about sports. Comedy Satire and political satire use comedy to portray people or social institutions as ridiculous or corrupt, thus alienating their audience from

2970-441: Was perfectly beautiful, and contained only a single tree, 503 feet high. In the early 20th century, several avant-garde movements, including the dadaists , surrealists , and futurists , began to argue for an art that was random, jarring and illogical. The goals of these movements were in some sense serious, and they were committed to undermining the solemnity and self-satisfaction of the contemporary artistic establishment . As

3025-513: Was to show the hype, greed, and hypocrisy of powerful sports agents like Arliss Michaels, and what really happens "behind the scenes" in professional sports. In a 2018 interview with The Hollywood Reporter , Wuhl said the idea for Arliss was based on the book The Art of the Deal by Donald Trump and journalist Tony Schwartz : I had read The Art of the Deal and I thought, "This is total, 100 percent bullshit. He's saying stuff that I don't believe

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