Henny Youngman Biography

Henry “Henny” Youngman was a comedian cum violinist who made one-liners famous in an era when lengthy anecdotes were the norm in comedy. The celebrated columnist Walter Winchell called him the ‘King of One-Liners’ who never depended upon elaborate jokes to make the audience laugh. His one-liners were extremely simple and he went straight to the punch line—causing the listeners to double up in hysterical laughter! A very hardworking man, he would appear in more than 200 performances a year at nightclubs all over New York, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Montreal, and Chicago. He also performed at meetings, cruises, banquets, functions, and colleges. The prolific entertainer was always on the lookout for employment opportunities - he belonged to a time when it was difficult to make a living as an entertainer. The tall and well-built comedian carried with him a 19th century violin which he would occasionally play during his performances to add to the effect of his one-liner jokes. He hosted a television series ‘The Henny and Rocky Show’ with Rocky Graziano, and appeared on ‘Rowan and Martin’s Laugh-In’. He was known to make his wife Sadie, the butt of many of his jokes, the most popular one being, ‘Take my wife, please’ which became his signature one-liner.