History Main / TheUnwittingComedian

''Webcomic/CirqueRoyale'': Fred wants his skits for the circus to be taken seriously and make people think, saying at one point a skit of his is intended to be [[https://www.tumblr.com/cirqueduroyale/692947724957614080/episode-9-lantern-day-pt-3-freds-the-kind-of a meditation on how life is chaotic and meaningless]]. He's wounded every time his skits -- or him -- are called funny, sometimes to the point of anger.

* There is a story that Creator/MarkTwain once had to cancel a speaking engagement at the last minute, and it was announced before the program that he would be replaced by a prominent [[DryCrusader temperance preacher]]. To the preacher's bewilderment, however, the audience laughed uproariously throughout his sermon-- because they assumed the preacher was Mark Twain doing a very realistic impersonation as a gag. Imploring them not to laugh because it was a serious subject only got bigger laughs.

* ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'' features Creator/BobDever on a stage complaining about people coming up to him and hitting him with their hats, which the crowd thinks is a hilarious joke even as he protests that it's not funny and it hurts.

-->''That coyote is really a crazy clown,''
-->''When will he learn that he never can mow him [[note]]The Road Runner[[/note]] down?''

The Unwitting Comedian is the funniest person around. It's a shame that they don't think so. Maybe it is something they say or something they do. Whatever the case, the people around them seem to think it's funny. In more extreme cases, the things they say or do [[DudeNotFunny would not appear funny]] [[ViewersAreMorons to the audience]], but the people in-universe would not be able to help themselves as they DieLaughing.

* The Season 3, Episode 4 episode of ''Series/MontyPythonsFlyingCircus'' "Blood, Devastation, Death, War and Horror" features the "Man Who Makes People Laugh" sketch. Mr. Holden is an average, middle-aged man who's words causes those that hear it to burst out in hysterical laughter, even though everything he says isn't humorous in the slightest. This eventually gets him fired by his boss, who is desperately holding in hysterical laughter as he speaks with him, because his laughter inducement is considered obstructive by his fellow employees.

-->-- '''Bouncy Normo's [[GoodbyeCruelWorld Suicide Note]]''', ''Literature/{{Discworld}}''

* [[http://www.scp-wiki.net/scp-1799 SCP-1799 - Mr. Laugh]] from ''Wiki/SCPFoundation'' is a human man with pigments in his skin similar to clown make-up [[spoiler:implied to be an ArtificalHuman created as a Dr. Wondertainment product]] who, through [[NothingIsScarier unexplained anomalous what-have-you]] ([[CosmicHorrorStory par for the course for the series]]), causes people to laugh uncontrollably whenever he speaks to them. Not only that, but he involuntarily performs magic tricks without any props, such as removing and reattaching his limb, pulling a string of cloth out of his mouth, and extruding smoke from his orfices, a process which is described as being very painful. This has all led to him developing [[SadClown depression]] and [[DrivenToSuicide suicidal thoughts]].

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-->''When will he learn that never can mow him [[note]]The Road Runner[[/note]] down?''

-->''When will he learn that hever can mow him [[note]]The Road Runner[[/note]] down?''

-->''When will he learn that hever can mow him [[note]]The Road Runner[[/note]] him down?''

* There is a story that Creator/MarkTwain once had to cancel a speaking engagement at the last minute, and it was announced before the program that he would be replaced by a prominent [[DryCrusader temperance preacher]]. To the preacher's bewilderment, however, the audience laughed uproariously throughout his sermon-- because they assumed the preacher was Mark Twain doing a very realistic impersonation as a gag. Imploring them not to laugh because it was a serious subject only got bigger laughs.

* There is a story that Creator/MarkTwain once had to cancel a speaking engagement at the last minute, and it was announced before the program that he would be replaced by a prominent [[TheTeetotaler temperance preacher]]. To the preacher's bewilderment, however, the audience laughed uproariously throughout his sermon-- because they assumed the preacher was Mark Twain doing a very realistic impersonation as a gag. Imploring them not to laugh because it was a serious subject only got bigger laughs.

* There is a story that Creator/MarkTwain once had to cancel a speaking engagement at the last minute, and it was announced before the program that he would be replaced by a prominent [[TheTeetotaller temperance preacher]]. To the preacher's bewilderment, however, the audience laughed uproariously throughout his sermon-- because they assumed the preacher was Mark Twain doing a very realistic impersonation as a gag.

[[LifeIsntFair The world is a terrible, terrible, terrible, terrible, terrible place]]. I mean, it is just awful. Wall-street is bleeding us all for all we have, my wife left me for her Brazilian boss, my kids are [[BasementDweller shut-in]], [[ThisIsYourIndexOnDrugs coked-eup]] and [[PrisonTropes in prison]], and don't get me started on my knees and the ''[[CrackOhMyBack crunching]]'' noises they make. They're really...

As for the comedian, this usually makes them the SadClown of their stories, their inability to be taken seriously [making their lives harder than it needs to be. Sometimes they [[CursedWithAwesome would take advantage of this]] and go into stand-up, becoming incredibly popular. Depending on how it is handled, the story featuring such a character tends to shift around the SlidingScaleOfSillinessVersusSeriousness.

[[LifeIsntFair The world is a terrible, terrible, terrible, terrible, terrible place]]. I mean, it is just awful. Wall-street is bleeding us all for all we have, [[YourCheatingHeart my wife left me]] for her Brazilian boss, my kids are [[BasementDweller shut-in]], [[ThisIsYourIndexOnDrugs coked-eup]] and [[PrisonTropes in prison]], and don't get me started on my knees and the ''[[CrackOhMyBack crunching]]'' noises they make. They're really...

As for the comedian, this is usually makes them the SadClown of their stories, their inability to be taken seriously [[CursedWithAwesome making their lives harder than it needs to be]]. Sometimes they [[BlessedWithSuck would take advantage of this]] and go into stand-up, becoming incredibly popular. Depending on how it is handled, the story featuring such a character tends to shift around the SlidingScaleOfSillinessVersusSeriousness.

* In the ''WesternAnimation/TheFairlyOddParents'' episode "Class Clown", Timmy wishes that he was the funniest boy on Earth, hoping it would get Trixie to notice him. Because of this, everything he says will cause those that hear him to laugh hysterically. [[BeCarefulWhatYouWishFor At first it works]], but Timmy gets annoyed when literally ''everything'' he says is treated like he's telling a joke, even when he tries to reverse the wish. Luckily, he manages get Cosmo and Wanda to take him to Fairy World. [[spoiler:Because he wished to be the funniest man on ''Earth'', he is no longer funny ''off planet'', and is able to wish everything back to normal]].

* Inverted for laughs in the ''VideoGame/CityBuildingSeries'' game ''Zeus'': if a city neglects the Arts, its defeated actors return from the regular Pan-Hellenic games with the report that they "moved the audience to tears. Unfortunately, it was a comedy."

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* In the ''WesternAnimation/TheFairlyOddParents'' episode "Class Clown", Timmy wishes that he was the funniest boy on Earth, hoping it would get Trixie to notice him. Because of this, everything he says will cause those that hear him to laugh hysterically. [[BeCarefulWhatYouWishFor At first it works]], but Timmy gets annoyed when literally ''everything'' he says is treated like he's telling a joke, even when he tries to reverse the wish. Luckily, he manages get Cosmo and Wanda to take him to Fairy World. [[spoiler:Because he wished to be the funniest man on ''Earth'', he is no longer funny ''off planet'', and is able to wish everything back to normal]].