Comedy Is a Man in Trouble: Slapstick in American Movies
"I do not know that I have a carefully thought-out theory on exactly what makes people laugh, but the premise of all comedy is a man in trouble." —Jerry Lewis
Top 10 Slapstick Actors
1. Buster Keaton (silent era, shorts and features)
2. Charlie Chaplin (Mutual shorts)
3. Harold Lloyd (silent features)
4. Harry Langdon
5. Laurel & Hardy (tops at slow-paced slapstick)
6. Groucho Marx (tops at verbal slapstick)
7. Katharine Hepburn (in Bringing Up Baby)
8. Daffy Duck
9. Jackie Chan (wearing Douglas Fairbanks's crown)
10. Jim Carrey
Note from Alan Dale: This list is odd because there are people on this list I didn't write about, and people I did write about who aren't on it. The reason: I wrote about the people I felt compelled to WRITE about, not necessarily the people whose movies I'd take to a desert island.