The Aristocrats

The Aristocrats (also known as The Debonaires in England) is a joke which has been told by numerous stand-up comedians since Vaudeville, and often only among an audience of other comedians. The joke is even the subject of a documentary called The Aristocrats, written by Penn Jillette, directed by Jillette and Paul Provenza and edited by Emery Emery; the film premiered at the 2005 Sundance Film Festival. The directors created the film based on hours of digital video they took over several years of comedians talking about and telling their versions of the joke. It was in part inspired by Gilbert Gottfried's telling of a version of the joke at a Friars Club roast of Hugh Hefner held (with a mixture of reluctance and defiance) less than three weeks after the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

The joke

The joke has three parts:
  1. The setup: the joke always begins with a "family act" going in to see a talent agent;
  2. The act is described. By tradition, the description is crude, tasteless, often ribald, often scatological, and as beyond the boundaries of propriety as the comedian can muster;
  3. The punchline: the agent asks what this act is called, and the answer is always the same: "The Aristocrats"...

External links and sources

Aristocrats, The Aristocrats, The Aristocrats, The

 

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