(image courtesy of Digital Deli FTP)
Four guys sitting on a sound stage telling jokes, seeing if anyone can top each other in getting laughs from the audience.
This was the basic concept of, “Can You Top This?” which ran for 12 years. Listeners would send in their jokes, and it would be read by actor Peter Donald who would spice it up with his own mix of dialects and delivery and then Edward “Senator” Ford, Joe Laurie, Jr., and Harry Hirshfield wouldtry to top Donald’s joke with another one on the same topic.
Some of the jokes were already had whiskers in the 1940s and 50s, but the timing of the clown table managed to usually make for quite an entertaining show. As mentioned before, dialects were used, but it was only on a rare occasion that a joke was told that would be truly offensive, and never dirty. The show is a great example of the best of the golden age. The program didn’t offer fabulous prizes (the most anyone could win was $25). It was a show that was about, fun, camaraderie, and talent, ledby Peter Donald and the men who made up this fantastic Clown Table.
This was the basic concept of, “Can You Top This?” which ran for 12 years. Listeners would send in their jokes, and it would be read by actor Peter Donald who would spice it up with his own mix of dialects and delivery and then Edward “Senator” Ford, Joe Laurie, Jr., and Harry Hirshfield wouldtry to top Donald’s joke with another one on the same topic.
Some of the jokes were already had whiskers in the 1940s and 50s, but the timing of the clown table managed to usually make for quite an entertaining show. As mentioned before, dialects were used, but it was only on a rare occasion that a joke was told that would be truly offensive, and never dirty. The show is a great example of the best of the golden age. The program didn’t offer fabulous prizes (the most anyone could win was $25). It was a show that was about, fun, camaraderie, and talent, ledby Peter Donald and the men who made up this fantastic Clown Table.
Rating: 4.5 out of 5.0
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