A Dozen Quotes from Three Generations of American Humorists

Mark Twain is one of America's most beloved writers. At the height of Twain's literary notoriety, he embarked on lecture tours, which became well know for Twain's humor. Was Mark Twain America's first stand-up comic?

1. "It is better to keep your mouth closed and let people think you are a fool than to open it and remove all doubt."

2. "Suppose you were an idiot and suppose you were a member of Congress. But I repeat myself."

3. "Be careful about reading health books. You may die of a misprint. "

4. "When I was younger, I could remember anything, whether it had happened or not."

5. "Clothes make the man. Naked people have little or no influence on society."

Around the time Mark Twain died in 1910, four brothers began mixing comedy with singing. They soon found greater success in something other than music, when The Marx Brothers launched into comedy in which Groucho arguably became the most quotable.

6. I never forget a face, but in your case, I'll be glad to make an exception.

7. The secret of life is honesty and fair dealing. If you can fake that, you've got it made.

8. We'll set up a 75¢ meal that will knock their eyes out. After we knock their eyes out, we can charge them anything we want.

9. From the moment I picked up your book until I laid it down, I was convulsed with laughter. Some day I intend reading it.

10. Outside of a dog, a book is man's best friend. Inside of a dog it's too dark to read.

Groucho made appearances until near the end of his life in 1977. It was around this time, that a young woman dropped out of college, tried her hand at everything from house painting to oyster shucking before settling on stand-up comedy. Ellen Degeneres is one of the best comedians in her generation, and there is still much more to come.

11. In the beginning there was nothing. God said, 'Let there be light!' And there was light. There was still nothing, but you could see it a whole lot better.

12. I ask people why they have deer heads on their walls. They always say because it's such a beautiful animal. There you go. I think my mother is attractive, but I have photographs of her.

So, there you have it. From America's first literary humorist-lecturer Mark Twain, to the whacky comedy of Groucho Marx, to perhaps the funniest comedian of her time, Ellen Degeneres, you can see the thread of comedy from one generation to the next. It's like someone once said (ok, it was Josh Billings), "About the most originality that any writer can hope to achieve honestly is to steal with good judgment."