姓名： MortSahl 英文名：- 性别：男 国籍：- 出生地：- 语言：- 生日：- 星座：- 身高：- 体重：-
Mort Sahl was arguably the most influential comedian of the postwarera; a provocative political satirist, he singlehandedlyrevolutionizedthe comedy medium to create an art form with a scope and impact farbeyond mere slapstick and gags.Sahl's conversational, free-associative style -- an amalgam ofanecdotes, one-liners, and pithyasides--forever elevated the standup stage from its humbletoothless beginnings into a respected forum for eye-opening socialcommentary, and in the process opened the door for future legendsranging from Lenny Bruce to George Carlin to Woody Allen.
Morton Lyon Sahl was born on May 11, 1927, in Montreal, Quebec. Fromhis formative performances at San Francisco's Hungryi club onward, hebroke all the rules; at a time when standup consisted oftuxedo-cladlounge lizards blitzing the audience with gags, Sahl appeared on-stage dressed in his trademarksweater, a rolled-up newspaperclenched tightlyin hand. His act was free-form and tense,veeringbetween clever, endearing topical jabs and vicious swipes; his routinesknew no partisanship, attacking liberals and conservatives alike withequal furor. Both Richard Nixon and Adlai Stevenson were targets onhis 1958 debut record, The Future Lies Ahead, ajittery, far-rangingaffair that also tackled topics ranging from air raids to Dave Brubeck(for whom Sahl frequentlyopened) to his famed "intellectual hold-up"bit.
Given the topical nature of his work, Sahl wrote new material almostconstantly,and he recorded frequently.As the 1960 presidentialcampaign heated up, he issued a flurryof albums including 1960: LookForward in Anger, A Way of Life, the Top 25 hit At the Hungryi, and TheNext President, on which he promised "Whoever the President is, l willattack him." Although liberals were vocally supportive of Sahl duringthe years in which he bashed Dwight Eisenhower, few were preparedwhen he set his sights on John Kennedy; following 1961's iconoclasticThe New Frontier, a record laced with brutal JFK barbs, Sahl's careerfaltered under the weight ofconsiderable political backlash.
Although he turned the topicality down several notches for 1962's OnRelationships (which featured as its cover star actress Joan Collins)Sahl continued to struggle; his contract with the Reprise label wassoon dropped, and he was restricted to club appearances and low-paying collegiate gigs for several years. Following the Kennedyassassination, he resurfaced with avengeance with Anyway..Onwarda caustic appraisal of the Lyndon Johnson administration.Still, despitehitting the comeback trail, he did not record again until 1973's Sing aSong ofWatergate, followed byseveral decades ofclub performancesand Hollywood script doctoring. In 1997, he released Mort Sahl'sAmerica, his first recording in nearly a quarter century. Late in life, Sahlrelocated to Mill Valley, California, where he played a weekly residencyat the Throckmorton Theater, with his performances streamed online.The shows continued until the COVID-19 pandemic closed the venue.Mort Sahl died on October 26, 2021 at the age of 94.
