Has anyone else noticed the similarities between this comedy special and the two comedy specials Dress to Kill and Circle by Eddie Izzard?
shareYeah I did. They both talk about Easter and stoned Olympics. There were more but I forgot them for now...
... Alexander the Great was a fag. Talk about gays in the military! -The Birdcageshare
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Didn't see the whole Robbin Williams show, but heres what I picked up.
- The Lassie-joke. Rip-off.
- Marijuana being/not being performance enhancing. Rip-off
- Henry VIII breaks away from the english church. Similarity.
- Charlton Heston saying: "Guns don't kill people, Monkeys do..." Rip-off.
- Americans and soccer. Similarity.
- The french being arrogant. Similarity.
- The English defending themsleves against german invasion using pitchforks and throwing things. Great similarity.
- Taking notes in the palm of the hand. Rip-off.
Now, I haven't seen a lot of Robbin Williams stand-up but does he always make those references to history, culture and religion. The whole show just smells Eddie Izzard.
To "Tavener":
The fact that Williams does a bit on the French being arrogant does not really mean that he was inspired by Eddie Izzard. A lot of comedians refer to the French as being arrogant. Lewis Black does it, Jon Steward does it on the Daily Show, and I think I have heard Carlin and Bill Hicks do it as well. And the reason that so many comedians regard the French as arrogant is properbly because they are!
Claiming that Williams stand-up smells of Izzard because he makes references to history, culture, and religion is bollocks, because a lot of comedians do this. Just have a look at the material of some of the guys I mentioned above.
May there be mercy on man and machine for their sins
Maybe I've seen to much Izzard, I am a big fan and knows pretty much every second of the DVD-releases. Sometimes, me and my friends like to imitate him just for laughs (as you do when you've seen someting funny).
Robbin Williams has two modes in this show, being himself and imitating Izzard. It's not only about the jokes. It's about posture, movement, expression, the voice etc.
I can't go into more details, I guess you have to know what to look for. This is what I mean with "Smells of Izzard".
By the way. I can't tell if Williams "borrowed" material from other comedians. Perhaps he did. I'm not that familliar with other stand-up artists.
yeah, so did Seinfeld in "I'm telling it for the last time"...
i guess these subjects tend to repeat themselves ;)
I can't tell you much about this particular show (been forever since I've watched it), but certainly back in the '70s, yes, Robin Williams was very well known for, um, 'appropriating' material from other comedians to use in his act. It got to the point (so I am told, as I wasn't alive in the '70s) that if you were a comedian, and knew him to be in attendance of one of your shows, you switched to your B list material for that night. It was just understood that if he heard something he liked, it would wind up in his act.
Given how much I know this sort of behaviour drives comedians nuts, and given how much flack guys like Denis Leary and Arsenio Hall have taken for it (rightly or wrongly), it always sort of confused me that we never really heard any major fuss over it.
Hi, Look - they're ALL similar.
Comedians steal from one another (just like dancers) and in fact, it was MEL BROOKS who has had all these themes in his shows and comedy records of the 2000-yr Old Man. That stuff is at least 50yrs old - about how golf was invented, caveman television (the cave is cut out, and whatever passes in front of it is THE TELEVISION).
As for "The English defending themsleves against german invasion using pitchforks and throwing things. Great similarity" -this was actually true during Hitler's time. The entire BBC comedy series Dad's Army http://www.uk.imdb.com/title/tt0062552/ is PREDICATED on that truth.
Old, old info. But I enjoy revisiting these themes every time. It's like The Aristocrats joke -(the dirtiest known in existence)- everyone tells it, but it's in the TELLING that the joke is made.
Peace out.
Lizzie
Sydney, Australia
“Open the pod bay doors, Hal!” - Per ardua ad astra
I think Robin Williams takes the cake for best Aristocrats joke: Finding out what he can do with his arm that looks like something else!
shareAlso, the jokes regarding the Mars rover fück up. The jokes and context were different, but the points were identical.
I'm glad to find this thread. I was shocked when I got around to watching "dress to kill" and heard the same premises (and jokes, sometimes). I was even more shocked to find that robin Williams live was filmed after. I don't know why, but I assumed Eddie stole from Robin, not vice versa.
Izzard got going in the 90's.
Williams was world famous
in the 70's.
If anyone were going to "borrow"
any material it seems clear which
one did it first.
"Bad artists copy, Great artists steal" -Pablo Picasso
This was released in '02.
shareIf you read any interviews with Eddie Izzard he says he was influenced by Robin Williams and learnt about timing etc by watching his videos, not the other way around!!!The age gap is a bit of an obvious giveaway..Robin started his career long before and was doing the stoned/cat/religious etc jokes in his 1982 and 1987 videos, way before Eddie got on the scene. I'm not knocking Eddie, he rocks. But actually, Eddie's excellent San Francisco show (Dress to Kill) was produced by Robin Williams' production company (Blue Wolf) so its pretty obvious the two have met and shared a few ideas too!!!
sharethank you, so i guess it's seattled now?
shareYeah, it's all about "Eff off" basically.
shareThere is without a doubt a vast similarity between Robin's stand up and Eddie's. I just saw some of Eddie's stand up and noticed how much it reminded me of Robin... jokes, delivery, body language.... I wouldn't say Robin or Eddie copied one another.... it seems more influential than anything. There are plenty of bands who play very similar styles/genres of music to one another... and I still like 'em all.
shareI noticed the similarities. Robin williams wrote this routine quite awhile after eddie izzards dressed to kill routine came out. WIlliams spoke about it on Letterman how he took 2 months to write the routine. There were so earlier izzard material that turned up in williams act. the last supper bit about everyone sitting on one side of the table is directly, word-for-word ripped off from izzards routine. there was too much for it to be a coincidence.
Is this your homework, Larry?
Um, who the hell is Eddie Izzard? Never heard of him...
shareNot to forget, didn't Williams do a James Mason impression too? =)
All in all, I don't think it's a big deal. I'm a huge Izzard fan and I didn't notice the similiraties before you guys pointed it out. They have so different styles (Izzard being more laidback and Williams being the Energizer bunny on speed) so it doesn't really bother me. And as pointed out, Williams been around for a long time, and Izzard have been influensed by him too.
Both are great!