Tom On: Jeffrey Ross

[JonFromMaplewood]

Tom,

I know you are a Don Rickles fan, so I have to ask: What do you think of Jeffrey Ross?  The very first time I saw him perform (on a Comedy Central roast), I thought he was an incredibly gifted insult comic (About the age of the audience, he said "I've seen younger faces on cash." I loved the line and I loved the delivery).  Then I saw him a few more times on various roasts and talk shows and it became a little less clear. Now I am totally on the fence.  Sometimes he seems too mean without the laughs to support it.

Just curious.

Best,
Jon

[hugman]

I know this is addressed to Tom, Jon, but while you're waiting for his reply allow me to chime in.  All I know is Jeffrey Ross will always be my hero for what will probably stand as the meanest joke ever uttered.  And it couldn't have happened to a better person.  It was on the Pamela Anderson roast where Courtney Love was trying to steal the attention and Jeffrey Ross gave her what she was asking for.  He said something to the effect of "How does Courtney Love look worse than Kurt Cobain?" 
Coooooooold bloooooooooooooded.

[citizenlewis]

"How does Courtney Love look worse than Kurt Cobain?" 
Coooooooold bloooooooooooooded.

Wow.   I'm not on the fence.  That joke could make up for about a thousand shitty ones.

[todd]

His actual stand-up is pretty pedestrian but as an unabashed lover of mean, mean comedy, I like him when he's being a dick.

[MattJohnson]

His actual stand-up is pretty pedestrian but as an unabashed lover of mean, mean comedy, I like him when he's being a dick.

My impression of him is that he just kind of comes out once a year to do whatever roast Comedy Central is doing, pretty much kills it, and then I don't see him again for the rest of the year. Roasts definitely seem to be his bailiwick.

[AndrewVDill]

My freshman dorm was next to his building.  He really could not have been nicer to the drunk 18 year olds who would yell his own jokes at him as he walked by. 

[todd]

His actual stand-up is pretty pedestrian but as an unabashed lover of mean, mean comedy, I like him when he's being a dick.

My impression of him is that he just kind of comes out once a year to do whatever roast Comedy Central is doing, pretty much kills it, and then I don't see him again for the rest of the year. Roasts definitely seem to be his bailiwick.

Your impression is incorrect, because I don't think those roasts pay enough for a man to live off of for a year. He's a touring stand-up comedian.

[ChrisRawk]

His actual stand-up is pretty pedestrian but as an unabashed lover of mean, mean comedy, I like him when he's being a dick.

Yeah, I agree.  His stand up special/album was shockingly lame.  He's most definitely at his best when he's doing the roasts. 

A few of my favorite jokes of his:

the Drew Carey Roast:

"You look like Buddy Holly and Barney Rubble had a baby and peed on it." 

the Rob Reiner Roast:

"Rob's father wanted to be here but he had a FAMILY obligation."

the Hugh Hefner Roast:

"We wanted to honor Larry Flynt but no one wanted to build a ramp." 

SOOOOO mean. 

[Christina]

He's most definitely at his best when he's doing the roasts. 

SOOOOO mean. 

I would love to know which jokes were written by whom from any particular roast. Wasn't Patton talking about that one of the last couple of times he was on?

[Pat K]

My freshman dorm was next to his building.  He really could not have been nicer to the drunk 18 year olds who would yell his own jokes at him as he walked by. 

That sounds like some kind of special version of Comic Hell.

[samir]

I would love to know which jokes were written by whom from any particular roast. Wasn't Patton talking about that one of the last couple of times he was on?

Patton said that, at the Flavor Flav roast, his joke about Carrot Top getting his clothes (or jokes?) from a commune of unfunny elves was a Morgan Murphy original.

[Christina]

I would love to know which jokes were written by whom from any particular roast. Wasn't Patton talking about that one of the last couple of times he was on?

Patton said that, at the Flavor Flav roast, his joke about Carrot Top getting his clothes (or jokes?) from a commune of unfunny elves was a Morgan Murphy original.

Yes, that's the one I recall - and I"m assuming that a lot of comics do this for roasts. It's one thing to kill when you're doing your own set, but I bet you want to just crush all the other comics as well if you're invited to do one of these. I'd call everyone I know to come up with the most vicious stuff.

[fonpr]

I was shocked but only vaguely entertained by the Roast of Joan Rivers.

It strikes me as NPR without boundaries.


The punch-lines are so obvious.

Ha.............

[todd]

Everyone makes the same jokes about Lisa Lampanelli at those roasts, but Patton's line makes me laugh to this VERY DAY: "Lisa Lampanelli has fucked more black men than the Tuskegee experiments."