The phenomenon of comedians “owning” hecklers is a relatively new one. Like, we never got to hear Milton Berle cursing out an audience member for interrupting his set. Berle might’ve gotten stabbed for saying the wrong thing to the wrong person once, but comics from his era generally weren’t known for putting out recordings of themselves going back and forth with people in the crowd.
It wasn’t until stand-up albums and specials became more popular that these disruptive patrons would be caught on tape making fools of themselves for the world to hear. And now, thanks to social media, crowd work videos are just as popular as traditional stand-up specials.
Let’s check out a few comedians who were putting hecklers in their place in the pre-YouTube and TikTok days.
1. SAM KINISON
While recording his debut album, Louder Than Hell, back in 1986, Sam Kinison was forced to deal with a heckler before he even made it to the ten-minute mark. The person in question made the mistake of telling the always-loud Kinison that he should speak up, to which the comic responded, “Well, that’s what your mom told me when I was leaving her house, but I couldn’t hear her as well.”
Kinison went on to do an impression of the man’s mother speaking with a mouthful of sperm that has to be heard to be appreciated. “Still wanna help out?” Kinison asked in conclusion.
2. GEORGE CARLIN
On the bonus disc from his 1999 CD box set The Little David Years, George Carlin included a track that was appropriately titled “How to Handle a Heckler.” In the undated recording, Carlin is interrupted mid-bit about Pope names and quickly pounces on the offending audience member.
“Would somebody just put a d—k in that guy’s mouth, please?” the comedian begins, before launching into an expletive-filled rant that lasts nearly an entire minute. “F—k you and your sister and your wife,” Carlin tells the man at one point. “If you’ve got a kid, I hope your f—king kid dies in a car fire.”
3. RODNEY DANGERFIELD
Following Rodney Dangerfield’s death in 2004, R2 Entertainment put out a 3-disc DVD compilation called The Ultimate No Respect Collection. On the third disc was a never-before-seen 1995 performance of Dangerfield’s, filmed at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. While Dangerfield was on stage that night, a man decided to yell out and ask him what he did for a living.
“What do I do for a living? I get guys for your sister, OK?” Dangerfield fired back in response. The Caddyshack star then warned the guy that he should “never f—k around with a comic who can’t get laid.”
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