Albert Brooks Ventriloquist Bit

Albert Brooks deconstructing a dummy. From the Flip Wilson Show 1972

[@StandApartComedy]

*This clip had 400,000 views and over 2,000 likes as of September 2018. Unfortunately, I accidentally took this clip down on September 2, 2018. It has been re-uploaded as of September 28, 2018*

[@cabal3747]

I will miss all the comments from people complaining that they could see his lips move.

[@vincentmoon9187]

Well that was silly of you

[@bobspence5322]

likely story.

[@Dillinger86]

I remember watching this on TV with my dad, thank you for uploading this gem.

[@MaoistBanker]

Nice to see this routine get time in the new Albert Brooks documentary on MAX

[@linmiller8147]

His routines, short films on SNL, his appearances on ANY talk show, his albums, his movies, AND his novel -- sheer genius -- no one else like him.

[@halweiss8671]

Did you see his elephant tamer routine, where the elephant was delayed in transit so he uses a frog? It was hysterical.

[@wylierichardson-tu6zs]

He was good in "Broadcast News", but I was less impressed with his feature "Modern Romance". It felt like a more tepid version of "Annie Hall".

[@thefifthdementia5231]

I remember seeing this back in the day. Fell in love with Brooks's comedy immediately. When he drops the dummy it still makes me laugh, 50 years later.

[@wvu05]

On _The Tonight Show_ in the 1960s, Mel Brooks was asked who is the funniest comedian he had ever seen. He mentioned "a kid named Albert Einstein." He wasn't kidding.

[@billfranz1724]

Not to quibble, but I believe you meant Carl Reiner.

[@wvu05]

@@billfranz1724 You may be right, but I'd heard that it was Mel Brooks who said it. Stupid telephone game!

[@billkirchner6738]

Albert Brooks' real name IS Albert Einstein.@@wvu05

[@halweiss8671]

His older brother, Bob Einstein (aka Super Dave) was funny too.

[@MOMO41837]

Albert Brooks never fails to bring tears to my eyes from laughter...😂

[@cordellsenior9935]

This was etched into my memory. I may have been 12 or so when I saw this aired on TV and I was on the FLOOR. Couldn't catch my breath when he got to "Lady of Spain". Think I did a Kool-Aide spit take. I became an Albert Brooks fan instantly and forever. Learned years later that his brother was Super Dave Osborne (also, a comic genius).

[@linmiller8147]

I think we have a shared memory. GENIUS.

[@billfranz1724]

Albert Brooks was so young when he first came on Carson. He’d always do sketchy, fringe of show biz characters. His Mime is also pee in your pants funny. So is the lion tamer, and the around the bend comedian who has plum run out of material. Aren’t that many geniuses in the comedy world, but Brooks ranks high.

[@ClueSign]

Like a precursor to Andy Kaufman

[@STEVEHEROLD]

my favorite bit he did on Carson was the Speak N Spell one.

[@bronsonhilliard6841]

This is, in my mind, the single funniest 4 minutes in the history of standup comedy. I can't watch it without paroxysms of laughter, tears and wheezing. It's the only funny ventriloquism act in the long history of ventriloquism.

[@daveidmarx8296]

This comedy seems so far ahead of its time for when it actually aired originally. This would've been cutting edge in the 80s, let alone a decade earlier.

[@kevinwachs5905]

Fred Allen must have been REALLY far ahead of his time when he did a parody ventriloquist act in vaudeville in 1916.

[@apseudonym]

when he drops him facedown the first time... I almost cried laughing

[@billyhigh4690]

My main problem with AB is he wasn’t on TV more and that he didn’t make more movies! What a talent simply brilliant and I don’t throw that word around very often for people other than me!

[@taztaztaz]

and to think Super Dave Osborne was his brother, also played Marty Funkhauser on Curb your Enthusiasm.. cant imagine how funny that house they grew up in was!!

[@Razormiller]

Theyre dad was a famous comedian(on the radio) too... hilarious house indeed

[@kaybee5150]

I'm not sure, but I could have sworn I saw Alberts lips move.

[@fgrady1]

Every appearance he made on Johnny Carson was original and hilarious!

[@anncarper8163]

The great Albert Brooks, ladies and gentlemen...

[@IDFK303]

In a lot of ways I think Albert Brooks paved the way for Andy Kaufman and other similar comics that followed.

[@jfjoubertquebec]

Back here again. That thump when the puppet falls hahahaha

[@GrantSchinto]

Underrated genius. So many original ideas . . .

[@JosephJamesScott]

Albert Brooks was the Albert Einstein of comedy until he changed his stage name to Brooks

[@joemedley195]

That this is still funny just shows that the stock gags of ventriloquists never change.

[@jobysaad]

I love it, and he is a big hit on Network television....no surprise there. Still I'd love to see Albert Brooks try to pull off his Anti-comedy at the Fayetteville North Carolina Comedy Zone.

[@JoshuaDavidMurillo]

Dude, that was f***ing gold. I literally just laughed out loud uncontrollably. lol So good.

[@jonathanbrown8115]

This is one of his best bits!

[@jamesbowen8960]

Either you get Albert Brooke's comedy or you don't. I believe him to be a comedic genius.

[@csnide6702]

his last name ( true) is actually Einstein..... Super Dave was his brother.

[@ronmcmartin4513]

His "How to Impersonate Famous People" Kit almost gave Johnny Carson a stroke!

[@Lori-lp6uc]

Fun fact: Albert Brooks is the voice of Nemo's dad, Marlin.

[@ShiningEyeBrigade]

Wonder if this was inspiration for Norm McDonald’s brief flirt with ventriloquism deconstruction.

[@jeffreywillstewart]

I liked Albert Brooks then I watched the HBO special on him and he and Rob Reiner just gloating about how privileged and talented they were. Best friends from childhood in Beverly Hills. brooks ALWAYS played the sad sack who wouldn't get the girl. But it turns out he is another nepo baby. His dad was a legendary comic in Carl Reiners circles but had a heart attack early on. They go on and on how Brooks was allowed to go on shows and do absurdist comedy, when he had his foot in the door all along. He is the original Ben Platt.

[@Nickplay21]

I never saw this until today. It was pretty funny. And then the cigarette drop part happened and I realized how genius and ahead of its time this was.

[@jesseraspler3700]

Pure comedy. He was playing in front of an audience that didn’t appreciate his comedy. Wonder how it felt without laughter until canned during playback.

[@SesameCake]

Still a better ventriloquist than Jeff Dunham.

[@WytZox1]

* THose toy dummies come with a booklet that teach you to talk without moving your lips! ☺

[@vestibulate]

Andrew B. Dunham ventriloquizes the audience. He gets a crowd of born again Christian nationalists to agree with every word he puts in their mouths.

[@LuckyCharms777]

@@vestibulate Now explain how Jeff Dunham got crowds in both Abu Dhabi and Israel to laugh when he did Achmed the dead terrorist. After all, they’re not Christians.

[@vestibulate]

@@LuckyCharms777 Israel? That's self evident. The same reason they have annual "Death to Arabs" marches through Jerusalem and smear all resistance to apartheid as terrorism. Zionists are a natural audience for Dunham's act. As for Abu Dhabi, I'd like to see a video of his performance there. Can you supply a link?

[@LuckyCharms777]

@@vestibulate Here’s a clip of Achmed in Abu Dhabi. kzbin.info/www/bejne/a6SvXoSfirminpI

[@moongirl2032]

The funniest thing I'vd watched in years! Man, I love this guy! Brilliant. Loved "Lost In America and Defending your life" 😂❤

[@bonwatcher]

Wow, such a young Albert Brooks on the Flip Wilson Show. I always loved Brook's comedy, but he was fabulous in the movie Broadcast News. His disdain for the main anchors while kissing up to them and hating the whole corporate culture, He was perfect in that role.

[@joguestin]

I had never heard about him until Bojack Horseman mentioned him. He is hilarious. They both are.

[@tomharvey6961]

oh my god. Run out and find Lost in America and Defending Your Life. Now. He also did short films for SNL when it first started. They were brilliant. I wish someone would put them together.

[@garethbull5303]

A great character and study of failure. What a laugh. It still works in 2024.

[@douggraham5082]

This is like a meta joke of a meta joke! Brilliant!

[@vilentman111]

This deliberately bad bit is almost exactly like how Carrot Top acts on stage

[@SubdolphinX]

Albert Brooks is the funniest man on earth.

[@NightMedicine]

I think his style was really before its time!

[@nothenryporter81]

I find it extra hilarious that, despite the laugh track, none of the visible audience members seemed to so much as crack a smile. But I guess Brooks was still relatively unknown and it was a few years before this type of absurdist meta-humor went more mainstream with SNL, Andy Kaufman, etc.

[@NachosElectric]

Yeah the couple in the front are very confused. I guess they really thought he was a terrible ventriloquist and were just trying to be polite (by not laughing). I still don't know how you couldn't laugh when he drops the dummy.

[@knightrdrx]

Great observation. I didn't notice

[@ronmcmartin4513]

But he was Destroying Flip. Much like Norm MacDonald did to Conan and Dennis Miller. I Never thought George Burns was funny, but Jack Benny loved him. Bob Newhart did the same to Don Rickles.

[@tomharvey6961]

The people you could see couldn't see his lips moving. So they didn't get half the gag.@@NachosElectric

[@aum3.146]

National comic gem

[@GodsFavoriteBassPlyr]

There aren't enough superlatives to describe the genius of Albert Brooks. (as well as his brother, Bob (Super Dave) Einstein). Watch his electronic ventriloquism bit on The Tonight Show with Carson - Screamin Funny. And your life will not be complete until you see "Lost In America".

[@ayokay123]

And if ventriloquism wasn't dead at the time, this most certainly was its coup de grace.

[@ernestkinas5973]

I wish Albert would do a comedy tour again. It would be a sellout.

[@PositiveLastAction]

The one person that disliked this is the real dummy

[@chrispiazza7487]

To my brother and I, back in the day, Flip Wilson was god.

[@tomharvey6961]

If you missed Flip Wilson you wouldn't have any clue what all your friends were talking about the next day at school.

[@Nerflover10097]

Crazy how he went on to voice Marlin in Finding Nemo

[@Telstar62a]

The Einstein of comedy

[@ShadowsOnTheScreen]

The best and worst ventriloquist ever!

[@isaackwon2030]

Albert brooks is is the best

[@bobgarner44]

If you look closely, you can see Albert Brooks lips move while the dummys talking

[@SpaneenOomlong]

Thank you Sioux Falls!

[@YodatheHobbit]

Who would guess this guy would go on to play a fairly intimidating LA mobster 40 years later in Drive?

[@sethie_shots]

You can see his mouth moving! 😂😂😂 favorite comment

[@thegreatelfinko]

Pure genius

[@markdaly1648]

Albert Brooks is unknown quantity outside of America. I know He has done voice work on the Sampson. I could be wrong but there are very few people in the uk or Ireland who have heard of him or are familiar with his work. Many years ago I was on holiday in the US with my family and I think they showed the film he made with merly Streep and had never heard of him. His films are never shown on TV in the uk. Us audiences are more familiar with him.

[@michaelhall5429]

Genius.

[@daveydudely9954]

i had that very same dummy as a kid

[@jasonsmith8300]

When I saw the thumbnail, for a second I thought it was Andre the Giant.

[@AlejandroKearne]

A perfect mix between Chris Farley and Andy Kaufman

[@CrazyHank36]

Albert Brooke always cracked me up

[@markswishereatsstuff2500]

Kevin Pollack's podcast brought me here.

[@TylerJamesPryor]

Mark Swisher dude same

[@TRHARTAmericanArtist]

I had that same dummy when I was a kid.

[@postatility9703]

What really made this work was Albert having the nerve to completely parody one of those old(and,by then,tired)show biz traditions,taking it to an unprecedented level of absurdity. This was during an importantly subversive period of comedy(Smothers Brothers, George Carlin, Richard Pryor, Firesign Theater, etc.)

[@ronmcmartin4513]

It was funnier the 2nd time watching, because even as a fan, my mouth was agape for most of it!

[@billfranz1724]

Goods news: As of today you can watch a new documentary by Rob Reiner about Brooks. Max.

[@LIFETHRUAWINDSHIELDDanielTChea]

Look up ALBERT BROOKS Rewiring the Star Spangled Anthem

[@FOXMAN09]

Wow his voice was so different

[@JDL0427]

Imagine a young Andy Kaufman at home watching this.

[@DoppSkates]

I didnt think I'd laugh BUT I CRACKED THE FUCK UP

[@richardledoux5868]

Watch the other clip of this bit from the Ed Sullivan show. It didn't seem to go over very well with that audience. I don't think they got the joke.

[@stormbringercoming8105]

If you don’t find this hilarious… you’re not worth knowing.

[@davidhull1481]

He kinda shares a comic sensibility here with his brother Super Dave.

[@mauriceortiz8817]

Genius

[@nowitsabadtime]

Looks like something Andy Kaufman would've done! haha

[@HolmanHal]

Brooks was way earlier and way funnier.

[@mcrawsers]

I see this is where Norm got his ventriloquist act

[@srhegarty]

The balls on that man!

[@jamescollinson2456]

I've been looking for a video clip of Albert Brooks first appearance on the Tonight Show. This bit as the world's worst ventriloquist had Johnny Carson almost falling off his chair laughing.

[@porflepopnecker4376]

Blaffy flaffy flurp.

[@bobspence5322]

hello longfellow.

[@ethnographic1]

This…yeah!

[@ZAJDML]

That is a funny bit. W.C. Fields also has a bad vent bit in one of his movies I think. Here is something fans of ventriloquism should like. I came across this on KZbin searching for these acts. It's called Trillo and Suede and reminds of the old Bergen and McCarthy movies. kzbin.info

[@steveconkey7362]

Super Dave's brother.....

[@8888jaws]

Is this the Flip Wilson show?

[@JamieJobb]

We've seen Albert Brooks talk before, so this is not believable because Albert is no dummy.

[@Flipindabird23]

This guy was shown to me under the pretense that he was the “Albert Einstein” of comedy. People are fucking weird. Out of all the comedians you could compare to Albert Einstein; just don’t sell Einstein short.

[@AscentofTrollbane]

I'm the "Albert Einstein" of youtube commentary

[@bobspence5322]

einstein did his best work as a patent clerk.

[@gerrykelly7077]

His real name is Einstein actually

[@mactimo333]

if smoke would have come out of the dummy on the floor i would have died

[@JohnDoe-gk7ok]

Wikipedia says that his birth name was Albert Einstein. Is that true, or was someone making a joke edit?

[@gregbeck4439]

Yes its true. His brother was the great Bob Einstein (a.k.a. Super Dave Osborne)

[@emilypetsche1]

Is that Marlin?

[@nordicpaws2423]

Think so - think he also voiced the salesman who sells Homer the RV in Season 1 of the Simpsons.

[@jackoconnell1092]

Cowboy Bob?

[@Jimfromearthoo7]

Who’s that dummy with Danny?lol

[@WKRPinCINN]

This is so meta it’s zed

[@bradrainey9018]

Wow!!!

[@GregoryAmicar57]

Marlin

[@kiradupuis647]

Albert Brooks Voice Mariln

[@davetoffen7944]

I can't stop laughing 😅😅😅😅

[@YouWorryMe]

OMG LOVE IT!

[@avieus]

Yeah..I dunno

[@PopeLando]

Hey, he does funny stuff too? Last time i saw Albert Brooks he was murdering Heisenberg.

[@vincentrimmer5844]

Wow! The bit would be so lame if Brooks didn't commit 100% to it. He DOES, however, and makes it hilarious.

[@gouvyrock]

sooo funny

[@dianespies3104]

The best lol

[@patrickmuhwheeney6518]

I've tried, I really have, but jamesbowen8960 must be right. After seeing him in at least 15 roles, I just don't see the appeal....Thanks for the upload!