Jerry Sadowitz - Comedy Style

Comedy Style

An early influence were the Derek and Clive sketches by Peter Cook and Dudley Moore, which much of his comedy emulates in its provocativeness and sheer offensiveness (he once described the Derek & Clive dialogues as "comic poetry").

He often comments in a seemingly callous way on contemporary disasters and tragedies which have struck groups or individuals. He performs his act by mocking bigotry and stereotypes of ethnic groups by having his onstage persona endorse them in an ironic fashion. He uses obscene language liberally and to cutting comedic effect. His comedy style combines the visual traditions of the magician, often using gaudy conjuring props, with political social and cultural observations which deliberately challenge the norms, taboos and transient sensitivities of contemporary culture. To this end, he is knowingly and deliberately offensive and sits firmly in the tradition of the "sick comic" established by Lenny Bruce.. He has often been considered as one of the world's most offensive comedians. His controversial style of humour has also influenced a generation of comedians, or "imitators" as he refers to them. Comedians who now use his style of humour include, Frankie Boyle, Jim Jefferies, Jimmy Carr, Roy 'Chubby' Brown and Ricky Gervais. Speaking on his "imitators", he said that "I'm sorry I've given some very nasty people a good living."

He reacted against the alternative comedy movement by dealing in an aggressive and uncompromising way with issues of race and gender which challenged the prevailing orthodoxy of the alternative comedy scene. Outbursts of his savage comedy during his conjuring shows have sometimes alienated him from the more conservative magic community.