--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Jackie Gleason said that comedy is the…" description: "\"Jackie Gleason said that comedy is the most exacting form of dramatic art, because it has an instant critic: laughter.\" — Chuck Jones" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c2c/chuck-jones-9878_art_jackie-gleason-said-that-comedy-is-the-m_55023.jpg" --- # Jackie Gleason said that comedy is the most exacting form… ![“Jackie Gleason said that comedy is the most exacting form of dramatic art, because it has an instant critic: laughter.” quote by Chuck Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c2c/chuck-jones-9878_art_jackie-gleason-said-that-comedy-is-the-m_55023.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c2c/chuck-jones-9878_art_jackie-gleason-said-that-comedy-is-the-m_55023.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c2c/chuck-jones-9878_art_jackie-gleason-said-that-comedy-is-the-m_55023.jpg) > “Jackie Gleason said that comedy is the most exacting form of dramatic art, because it has an instant critic: laughter.” [Chuck Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-jones/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Comedy demands precise timing and structure, as audience laughter instantly judges its success. **In simple terms:** Comedy is a rigorous art. Key Takeaway Laughter is the ultimate test. Themes humor dramatic art performance audience feedback Mood playful critical Type observation aphorism When to use this quote - stand‑up routine - theatrical sketch - TV sitcom - improv jam Key Concepts timing precision critique Practical Applications - writing jokes - directing comedic scenes Questions to Reflect On - How does audience reaction shape a comedian's craft? - What makes humor harder than drama? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Comedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/comedy/) [Dramatic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dramatic/) [Humor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humor/) [Laughter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/laughter/) ## Related quotes > [Dramatic art in her opinion is knowing how to fill a sweater.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bette-davis/dramatic-art-in-her-opinion-is-knowing-how-to-fill-a-sweater/) [Bette Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bette-davis/) > [It's funny, because when I was in college, all my professors said, 'You should do comedy.' And I was like, 'No! No!' But I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachael-harris/it-s-funny-because-when-i-was-in-college-all-my-professors-said-you/) [Rachael Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachael-harris/) > [It's always been said that comedy comes mostly out of the dark side anyway.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-thicke/it-s-always-been-said-that-comedy-comes-mostly-out-of-the-dark-side/) [Alan Thicke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-thicke/) > [I think Georges Feydeau said comedy is just tragedy speeded up.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-mortimer/i-think-georges-feydeau-said-comedy-is-just-tragedy-speeded-up/) [Emily Mortimer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-mortimer/) > [The energy in a comedy is very serious. Somebody said comedy is a tragedy plus time. When you have a tragedy, for example, like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/javier-camara/the-energy-in-a-comedy-is-very-serious-somebody-said-comedy-is-a/) [Javier Camara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/javier-camara/) > [Like I said, all comedy is based on exaggeration, big or small, whatever you can get away with.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/drew-carey/like-i-said-all-comedy-is-based-on-exaggeration-big-or-small-whatever/) [Drew Carey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/drew-carey/) > [The dramatic art would appear to be rather a feminine art; it contains in itself all the artifices which belong to the province ofwoman:…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-bernhardt/the-dramatic-art-would-appear-to-be-rather-a-feminine-art-it-contains/) [Sarah Bernhardt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-bernhardt/) > [I loved the idea of dramatic art of storytelling as a way to make sense of things. It's really what I love and what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greta-gerwig/i-loved-the-idea-of-dramatic-art-of-storytelling-as-a-way-to-make/) [Greta Gerwig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greta-gerwig/) > [There never is any such thing as one truth to be found in dramatic art. There are many. These truths challenge each other, recoil…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-pinter/there-never-is-any-such-thing-as-one-truth-to-be-found-in-dramatic/) [Harold Pinter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-pinter/) > [How can you put out a meaningful drama when every fifteen minutes proceedings are interrupted by twelve dancing rabbits with toilet paper? No dramatic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rod-serling/how-can-you-put-out-a-meaningful-drama-when-every-fifteen-minutes/) [Rod Serling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rod-serling/) > [A passion for the dramatic art is inherent in the nature of man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/a-passion-for-the-dramatic-art-is-inherent-in-the-nature-of-man/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I make my films because I'm affected by a situation, by something that makes me want to reflect on it, that lends itself to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-haneke/i-make-my-films-because-i-m-affected-by-a-situation-by-something-that/) [Michael Haneke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-haneke/) > [Abused as we abuse it at present, dramatic art is in no sense cathartic; it is merely a form of emotional masturbation. It is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldous-huxley/abused-as-we-abuse-it-at-present-dramatic-art-is-in-no-sense/) [Aldous Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldous-huxley/) > [I went to the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art because it was the only drama school the social worker had ever heard of. Luckily,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-mccabe/i-went-to-the-royal-academy-of-dramatic-art-because-it-was-the-only/) [Richard McCabe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-mccabe/) > [Abused as we abuse it at present, dramatic art is in no sense cathartic; it is merely a form of emotional masturbation...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldous-huxley/abused-as-we-abuse-it-at-present-dramatic-art-is-in-no-sense-2/) [Aldous Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldous-huxley/) ## More by Chuck Jones > [If you were to draw Bugs, the easiest way is to learn how to draw a carrot and then hook a rabbit onto it](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-jones/if-you-were-to-draw-bugs-the-easiest-way-is-to-learn-how-to-draw-a/) [Chuck Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-jones/) > [An idea has no worth at all without believable characters to implement it; a plot without characters is like a tennis court without players.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-jones/an-idea-has-no-worth-at-all-without-believable-characters-to/) [Chuck Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-jones/) > [You have a coyote inside you and you have to get it out](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-jones/you-have-a-coyote-inside-you-and-you-have-to-get-it-out/) [Chuck Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-jones/) > [ Everything on Saturday morning \[cartoons\] moves alike that's one of the reasons it's not animation. The drawings are different, but everybody acts the same… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-jones/everything-on-saturday-morning-cartoons-moves-alike-that-s-one-of-the/) [Chuck Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-jones/) > [Well, directing is doing the key drawings, not the key animation, mind you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-jones/well-directing-is-doing-the-key-drawings-not-the-key-animation-mind/) [Chuck Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-jones/) > [You do not 'suffer' if you decide 'that's the way it is' rather than 'why is it this way?'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-jones/you-do-not-suffer-if-you-decide-that-s-the-way-it-is-rather-than-why/) [Chuck Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-jones/) > [Each character represented a trait that resides in me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-jones/each-character-represented-a-trait-that-resides-in-me/) [Chuck Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-jones/) > [Censorship, I believe, is the most dangerous enemy to all human communication, and piety of intention is probably the most dangerous, the most virulent…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-jones/censorship-i-believe-is-the-most-dangerous-enemy-to-all-human/) [Chuck Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-jones/) > [There's only one test of a great children's book, or a great children's film, and that is this: If it can be read or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-jones/there-s-only-one-test-of-a-great-children-s-book-or-a-great-children/) [Chuck Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-jones/) > [As you become acquainted with a character you are creating, you add parts of yourself that are pertinent to that character.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-jones/as-you-become-acquainted-with-a-character-you-are-creating-you-add/) [Chuck Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-jones/) > [Fog and smog should not be confused and are easily separated by color.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-jones/fog-and-smog-should-not-be-confused-and-are-easily-separated-by-color/) [Chuck Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-jones/) > [The older I get, the more individuality I find in animals and the less I find in humans.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-jones/the-older-i-get-the-more-individuality-i-find-in-animals-and-the-less/) [Chuck Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-jones/) > [Anyone can negatively criticize - it is the cheapest of all comment because it requires not a modicum of the effort that suggestion requires.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-jones/anyone-can-negatively-criticize-it-is-the-cheapest-of-all-comment/) [Chuck Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-jones/) > [Every great artist must begin by learning to draw with the single line, and my advice to young animators is to learn how to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-jones/every-great-artist-must-begin-by-learning-to-draw-with-the-single/) [Chuck Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-jones/) > [When a young artist asked me for advice on drawing the human foot, I told him, ‘The first thing you must learn is how…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-jones/when-a-young-artist-asked-me-for-advice-on-drawing-the-human-foot-i/) [Chuck Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-jones/) [Explore all 69 Chuck Jones quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-jones/) ## More Art quotes > [True works of art contain their own theory and give us the measurement according to which we should judge them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/true-works-of-art-contain-their-own-theory-and-give-us-the/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [Before Noah, men having only water to drink, could not find the truth. Accordingly...they became abominably wicked, and they were justly exterminated by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/before-noah-men-having-only-water-to-drink-could-not-find-the-truth/) [Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/) > [“Hear the sum of the whole matter in the compass of one brief word — every art possessed by man comes from Prometheus.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aeschylus/hear-the-sum-of-the-whole-matter-in-the-compass-of-one-brief-word/) [Aeschylus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aeschylus/) > [I think most artists feel like they're outside society - no matter how many accolades they receive, or how much money is in your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-rose/i-think-most-artists-feel-like-they-re-outside-society-no-matter-how/) [Aaron Rose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-rose/) > [The capacity to be puzzled is the premise of all creation, be it in art or in science.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-fromm/the-capacity-to-be-puzzled-is-the-premise-of-all-creation-be-it-in/) [Erich Fromm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-fromm/) > [That's the great secret of creativity. You treat ideas like cats: you make them follow you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/that-s-the-great-secret-of-creativity-you-treat-ideas-like-cats-you/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [“So, really," continued Jacob as if this were perfectly normal to expound on art in these circumstances, "when you think about it, the artists…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justina-chen-headley/so-really-continued-jacob-as-if-this-were-perfectly-normal-to-expound/) [Justina Chen Headley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justina-chen-headley/) > [“There are two options in art; either to adopt philosophical life by dissecting art, or to write your own philosophical life and claim it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taf-teh/there-are-two-options-in-art-either-to-adopt-philosophical-life-by/) Taf Teh > [The house has to serve comfort. The work of art is revolutionary; the house is conservative.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adolf-loos/the-house-has-to-serve-comfort-the-work-of-art-is-revolutionary-the/) [Adolf Loos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adolf-loos/) > [During human progress, every science is evolved out of its corresponding art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-spencer/during-human-progress-every-science-is-evolved-out-of-its/) [Herbert Spencer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-spencer/) > [In literature and art memory is a synonym for invention. It is the life-blood of imagination, which faints and dies when the veins are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-aris-willmott/in-literature-and-art-memory-is-a-synonym-for-invention-it-is-the/) [Robert Aris Willmott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-aris-willmott/) > [I think a business guy is different from an artist. They walk different paths. Artists create the best outputs when they're having fun. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-dragon/i-think-a-business-guy-is-different-from-an-artist-they-walk/) [G-Dragon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-dragon/) > [“The only thing--I tell you this straight from the heart--that disgusts me in Salzburg is that one can't have any proper social intercourse with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wolfgang-amadeus-mozart/the-only-thing-i-tell-you-this-straight-from-the-heart-that-disgusts/) [Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wolfgang-amadeus-mozart/) > [The sublime in art is the attempt to express the infinite without finding in the realm of phenomena any object which proves itself fitting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georg-wilhelm-friedrich-hegel/the-sublime-in-art-is-the-attempt-to-express-the-infinite-without/) [Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georg-wilhelm-friedrich-hegel/) > [Art isn't done to decorate apartments, but to wage war against the enemy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/art-isn-t-done-to-decorate-apartments-but-to-wage-war-against-the/) [Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) [Browse all 48,643 Art quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Jackie Gleason said that comedy is the most exacting form of dramatic art, because it has an instant critic: laughter.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Chuck Jones" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-jones/jackie-gleason-said-that-comedy-is-the-most-exacting-form-of-dramatic/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Art" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-jones/jackie-gleason-said-that-comedy-is-the-most-exacting-form-of-dramatic/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c2c/chuck-jones-9878_art_jackie-gleason-said-that-comedy-is-the-m_55023.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c2c/chuck-jones-9878_art_jackie-gleason-said-that-comedy-is-the-m_55023.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c2c/chuck-jones-9878_art_jackie-gleason-said-that-comedy-is-the-m_55023.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Jackie Gleason said that comedy is the most exacting form of dramatic art, because it has an instant critic…” — Chuck Jones", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Chuck Jones", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-jones/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Jackie Gleason said that comedy is...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-jones/jackie-gleason-said-that-comedy-is-the-most-exacting-form-of-dramatic/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-jones/jackie-gleason-said-that-comedy-is-the-most-exacting-form-of-dramatic/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```