DARK SHADOWS FORUMS
Members' Mausoleum => Calendar Events / Announcements Archive => Calendar Events / Announcements '24 I => Calendar Events / Announcements '06 I => Topic started by: David on March 30, 2006, 08:16:19 PM
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I'm too disgusted to even repeat it.
Since when is dying of cancer funny?
Please call CBS at (212) 975-4321, ask for the Letterman office and voice your protest.
Demand an apology.
God, I hope no one in the Curtis family heard this.
David
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So what did he SAY? Is there a link somewhere to this "joke"??
I'd like to know first what I'd be complaining about. (if I did complain)
I tend to ignore such things.
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Audio is here (http://www.cbs.com/latenight/lateshow/dave_tv/ls_dtv_monologues.shtml).
Given that Curtis himself cracked jokes about the length of his miniseries, I don't really find it that offensive, but then I come from a family where funerals are as much of an occasion to mourn as they are to laugh.
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That sounds just like MY family. When the youngest uncle in the family (a bachelor) passed away, all his neices and nephews (me included) had to be rounded up and politely escorted to the door by the employees of the funeral home.. Otherwise, we would have gone on repeating our parents funniest stories, and laughing like hell, all night long. Our collective sense of humor is our most cherished inheritence.
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i sent an audio file to midnite of the joke told last nite on letterman. i can never figure out how to post such things here so i hope she will put it on here. but he basically said that dan curtis funeral is on friday, saturday and a 2hour special on sunday! ive watched dave for 20 some years now and cant believe he said this. where were these kind of jokes when his idol johnny carson died? just a couple of nights ago dave almost broke down in tears when he spoke about a race car driver that died on sunday! i hope he does the right thing and gives an apology. i dont think he was aware of how much of a following dan and his work had on so many people.
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May I play devil's advocate here? I think Dan would've appreciated the joke- it fits his "larger than life" personality, and he was well-known for doing things in a grand manner, a master showman who felt any publicity was good publicity. At least he didn't get the kind of treatment Red Skelton infamously gave to dreaded Columbia Pictues founder Harry Cohn (generally considered to be the cruelest of the old-time movie moguls) after his death in 1959. Upon hearing that that huge crowds gathered for the funeral, Mr. Skelton said "Well, it only proves what they always say- give the public something they want to see, and they'll come out for it".
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"..his funeral is on Friday, Saturday, and a 2-Hour special on Sunday." That's a good one, it's funny. I'm not offended... :)
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Letterman made similar, questionable "jokes" about James Doohan's death last year. Members on another of my message boards roasted Letterman in effigy for that and swore never to watch his show again. I expect they'll be deeply irked to hear about this.
ProfStokes
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Thanks for the link, Criseyde. (This woman seems to know where links are to EVERYTHING)
Hmm....sorry. It seems like a rather harmless, cute little joke. Maybe it wouldn't be to someone very close who was in deep mourning. Then again, they might laugh if they heard it a year or two later.
Anyway, it's not my place to find it offensive or not offensive. I'm a bit surprised that he was mentioned though. I don't think many viewers would know the name.
(Liked the little "bullshit" thing. I've never heard NBC let that word by on Letterman before)
:)
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For a significant portion of the worlds population . .the only way to make it through sorrow is laughter. . . and as this goes, a rather harmless joke. I only hope someone will be as witty (e.g. not mean) at my passing.
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For a significant portion of the worlds population . .the only way to make it through sorrow is laughter. . . and as this goes, a rather harmless joke. I only hope someone will be as witty (e.g. not mean) at my passing.
Amen...
Its ironic, because I was saying almost the same thing to my mom today...
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Agreed; I don't find it offensive, and yes, it's somewhat amusing. Dan was a public figure and even in death is open to such quips, though whether it's in good taste is debatable. It didn't sound cruel; more a relatively good-natured jab. If Dan's survivors were to find it offensive, they might be within their rights to request an apology; but if they aren't, I don't think it's anyone's business to be offended on their behalf. Just MHO, but I imagine Dan might have even appreciated the irreverence of the remark. ;)
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For my 2 cents I was not offened (thanks MsCriseyde for the link, I agree she DOES know where all the links are and dare I say bodies burried!) >:D
Speaking for just myself and one who recently lost an Uncle to Alzheimer's I am sure that Dan and Norma's family are although saddened at their loss are also relieved. The quickest way to start healing is through remembering the good times and this quip surely must remind them of his successes in his field.
LdyAnne
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Count me among those who isn't particularly offended. Given that DC supposedly had a pretty good sense of humor, Letterman's joke might've appealed to him.
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That was pretty funny. From all that I have heard about Dan Curtis from those who knew him, he probably would have enjoyed the joke and his family appreciate the acknowledgement of his professional legacy.
Nancy
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I wasn't offended either.
I could be wrong, but I seem to remember DC appearing on David Letterman's show many years ago, possibly to promote one of the WAR miniseries, and that he and Dave had a great rapport. Or perhaps I'm thinking of Dan Ross's appearance...
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Goodness, haven't I started a busy thread!
The responses here mirror the responses at Classic Horror Film Board, where I started the same thread.
Do I lack humor?
I wonder?
I've been to a number of funerals, including Louis Edmonds'
where mourners laughed & shared funny anecdotes about the deceased.
And I've taken part in this.
But I feel that such laughter is the province of the mourners, not talk show hosts & stand up comics.
David
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is that a rhetorical question? :D
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I certainly do not think you are, David. Everyone's sensibilities are different. If Letterman had made fun of the brain tumor that killed Dan Curtis, that would have been another thing entirely. If Dan Curtis had been a teenager who died of an illness, that would be another story altogether and nothing to make fun of.
Someone in his 70s can be expected to pass away and Curtis' TV legacy was the butt of Letterman's humor, not Curtis' illness or the fact he died from it. That's my own take on it.
Nancy
Goodness, haven't I started a busy thread!
The responses here mirror the responses at Classic Horror Film Board, where I started the same thread.
Do I lack humor?
I wonder?
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Someone in his 70s can be expected to pass away and Curtis' TV legacy was the butt of Letterman's humor, not Curtis' illness or the fact he died from it. That's my own take on it.
The type of joke that Letterman told, or a version of it, has been a staple of the late night talk shows at least since Carson was doing them. Leno and Letterman both tell them now. You pick a person who invented or pioneered some unique item in American culture, and you make a joke about the nature of the funeral service based upon that person's contribution to society. For example, Leno once told this one: "The inventor of the Hawaiian shirt passed away. I hear the funeral will be dress casual."
If you've watched Carson, Letterman, or Leno, then you've heard some version of the joke Letterman told about Curtis before (and you probably didn't give it a second thought). It's not intended to be mean-spirited. If anything, it brings these folks' contributions to the fore for a moment. That Letterman could tell the joke and have it resonate with his audience speaks to the mark Curtis' work has left on American popular culture.
That's my two cents.
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I defy ANYONE here to explain how that joke was insulting in ANY way to DC's memory. He made mini-series. They were long. Ooooh, that must have hurt!
David Letterman is a decent individual with healthy priorities.
However, I've come to practically hate those jokes about so-and-so who invented this or that dying. The fact that they all do it has zero to do with whether they're okay or not. Usually they're disrespectful. This one wasn't.
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It's not intended to be mean-spirited. If anything, it brings these folks' contributions to the fore for a moment. That Letterman could tell the joke and have it resonate with his audience speaks to the mark Curtis' work has left on American popular culture.
nicely put -
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I concur, I laughed when I heard the bit on Criseyede's link. I thought the joke was cute. DC would have chuckled at that one I think. Dave wasn't mean spirited in the least w/the joke either. ;D