Day: July 28, 2010

The recent Bill Simmons mailbag came to my attention last night, and I couldn't stop thinking about it for a couple of reasons. Simmons fielded a reader question about who he'd pick as the "funniest man alive" and says that he "spent way too much time thinking about this," and yet, that could not possibly be right, because what follows — his so-called Comedy MVP list — doesn't fit our actual timeline or even his own rules for the theoretical trophy. Plus, Simmons fails to remember that for several years (and coming back this year, reportedly), show business actually did single out comedians with the American Comedy Awards. They didn't hand out a Comedy MVP trophy back then. But what if they did? Can we help Simmons rewrite history in a more accurate way? 1975: He picks Richard Pryor. Not a bad choice. You also could say the entire rookie cast of Saturday Night Live. I'd also accept Norman Lear, who at the end of the 1974-1975 TV season, was responsible for five of the top 10 shows in the country, including the top two — All in the Family and Sanford and Son, plus The Jeffersons, Good Times and Maude. And all five sitcoms dealt with topics in a humorous way that TV network executives would be scared to do 35 years later! 1976: This truly was Richard...