Songwriters Versus Performers

In an interview during the late 1950's Lenny Bruce once elucidated an important dividing line in performing arts. Bruce asserted that, with all due respect, in his opinion Buddy Hackett did not qualify as a comedian because Hackett did not write his own material but rather only performed jokes written by other people. Thus according to Bruce, Hackett was merely a comedic actor. Bruce elaborated that being a comedic actor was no easy task; most people can not tell a joke very well and Buddy Hackett's delivery was flawless, but the term comedian was reserved for such artists as Bruce, himself, who wrote all of their own material. In every artistic endeavor the distinction between writer and performer is one that holds different degrees of weight with different people. As a man who-to some degree-makes a living with words, I agree with Lenny and confer a much greater degree of respect on the musicians and comedians who write their own material.