January292007

Steal this Joke: Louis C.K. vs. Dane Cook vs. Steve Martin

In a recent post, I talked a bit about how some people have used a piece of audio to conclude that Dane Cook stole three bits from Louis C.K. I’ve never been entirely convinced by the audio evidence - one, “itchy asshole,” is just the same topic. I think it’s a common enough experience.

Here’s some proof on another of the bits, this one about naming kids. It’s oriented exactly the same way as the original, Louis first, Dane second and then a joke that predates both recordings by at least 20 years. It’s called “My Real Name” by Steve Martin and it’s from his album A Wild and Crazy Guy.

Audio clip comparison removed by request of a copyright holder.

The general comedic concept is there in Steve Martin’s joke: a child having a ridiculous name made up of a repeated sound, which is then emphasized when the parents call their kid home. The only major difference here is that Steve Martin is the kid.

Does this mean Louis C.K. and Dane Cook stole from Steve Martin? Absolutely not. This is a joke that doesn’t belong to anyone. It’s going to be discovered and rediscovered again and again by comics - each of whom will put their own spin on it. For example:

Louis C.K. goes on to talk about naming a child “Ladies and Gentlemen” so he can say, “Ladies and Gentlemen, please!”
Dane Cook talks about naming his kids after Transformers, particularly Optimus Prime.
And Steve Martin abandons the concept all together and goes on to something else.

Joke stealing happens. It does. But I think it’s very hard to particularly prove with material as universal as this. If Dane Cook came out now and started to talk about how his daughter is an asshole, of course he’d be a thief, because (besides not having a daughter) that material is so unique and personal to Louis C.K.‘s experience that there’s no way that could belong to anyone else. It’s inescapable. It’s beyond putting your own spin on an experience, it’s putting a trademark on it. And that’s the type of stuff comics should be crucified for stealing, not for something that’s lying around on the street, waiting for the next guy to pick up.

Posted by Todd Jackson at 12:02 PM | Send to Friend
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Comments

1 Posted by jeremx on 08/13 at 01:54 PM

reminds me of dave attell’s bit about naming his kid “..pizza pussy santa. because everyone loves one of those things.” hilarity.

2 Posted by jeremx on 08/13 at 02:13 PM

or, hell.. mitch hedberg’s bit about instead of buying a baby naming book, he’d just invite someone over who had a cast on. ha

3 Posted by Jimmm on 09/03 at 09:06 PM

I bet its already been mentioned, but Cook stole the one-cheek sneak fart joke from Carlin. He even said he coined it himself! Fuckkkkking diiiiick

4 Posted by adam wersky on 10/16 at 04:53 AM

i just saw a clip of Louie KC on the Conan O’brien show…http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-LkusicUL2s —that whole joke about airplanes… well i’m not sure exactly which of Dane’s albums it’s on[if you know, tell me].. but dane cook tells the EXACT SAME JOKE… “you’re on a chair in the sky!!!” and the whole part about people being spoiled in this day and age… If you listen to dane cook then you know what i’m talking about.. not sure who told the joke first.. also the “i saw a person get hit by a car” joke is almost word for word.. but Louie’s came out before Dane’s.. so…

5 Posted by Sean Moroney on 11/04 at 09:46 PM

Being a comic myself I know it´s a very difficult thing to write your own material while simultaneously making it seem original. I´m new to the scene. I´m also a musician. Music is something that is easier to accidently rip off. Yet when there´s a law suit over a stolen melody or chord progression, the media laps that shit up.
People don´t take the comedy profession seriously. It´s not easy to create and finely tune jokes. Dane Cook is adult comedy for kids. It´s ridiculously immature and dumbed down to today´s mtv generation. It´s good marketing for woeful comedy. It happens here in Ireland and the UK too. It´s a tragedy.
Comedy is the one profession where you have the license to be brutally honest. Theft is a huge problem within that industry because few people speak up. I´ve seen comics steal material on stage here in Ireland and the others including myself lose all respect for them.