--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I'm a classic example of all humorists…" description: "\"I'm a classic example of all humorists - only funny when I'm working.\" — Peter Sellers" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a35/peter-sellers-14147_classic_i-m-a-classic-example-of-all-humorists-o_448750.png" --- # I'm a classic example of all humorists - only funny when… ![“I'm a classic example of all humorists - only funny when I'm working.” quote by Peter Sellers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a35/peter-sellers-14147_classic_i-m-a-classic-example-of-all-humorists-o_448750.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a35/peter-sellers-14147_classic_i-m-a-classic-example-of-all-humorists-o_448750.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a35/peter-sellers-14147_classic_i-m-a-classic-example-of-all-humorists-o_448750.png) > “I'm a classic example of all humorists - only funny when I'm working.” [Peter Sellers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-sellers/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Humor thrives when work is purposeful; jokes lose spark without effort. **In simple terms:** Work fuels fun. Key Takeaway Find purpose in tasks. Themes purpose humor work ethic Mood playful reflective Type humorous philosophical When to use this quote - writing comedy - team collaboration - public speaking - teaching Key Concepts creative motivation performance authenticity Questions to Reflect On - What tasks make you feel most alive? - How can you embed humor in daily work? A Different Perspective Humor can become forced if over‑analyzed. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Classic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/classic/) [Comedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/comedy/) [Example](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/example/) [Example Humorists](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/example-humorists-3920775/) [Funny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/funny/) [Funny Working](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/funny-working-1459029/) [Humorists](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humorists/) [Humorists Funny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humorists-funny-3920774/) ## Related quotes > [It's so funny because when you're working with an acquaintance or someone else, you're being more polite. I find that I'm a little bit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colbie-caillat/it-s-so-funny-because-when-you-re-working-with-an-acquaintance-or/) [Colbie Caillat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colbie-caillat/) > [I think you can go from being not very funny to working really hard for 10 years and figuring out how to make a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-schumer/i-think-you-can-go-from-being-not-very-funny-to-working-really-hard/) [Amy Schumer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-schumer/) > [I don't have to be bam, bam, bam, funny when I'm working. I can tell stories, and there's some funny in them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/whoopi-goldberg/i-don-t-have-to-be-bam-bam-bam-funny-when-i-m-working-i-can-tell/) [Whoopi Goldberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/whoopi-goldberg/) > [No one wants to say, 'That's not funny,' when you're working.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-pullman/no-one-wants-to-say-that-s-not-funny-when-you-re-working/) [Bill Pullman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-pullman/) > [If you're funny and working in education, I think the perception is that you're either inspirational or awful. So which was I? I suppose…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-davies/if-you-re-funny-and-working-in-education-i-think-the-perception-is/) [Greg Davies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-davies/) > [I'm a classic example of what can happen if you follow your inner voice. I was cursed with interests and some talent in many…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dirk-benedict/i-m-a-classic-example-of-what-can-happen-if-you-follow-your-inner/) [Dirk Benedict](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dirk-benedict/) > [Much as I cared for Joseph Kennedy, he was a classic example of that person in the arts with lots of brains and drive…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-swanson/much-as-i-cared-for-joseph-kennedy-he-was-a-classic-example-of-that/) [Gloria Swanson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-swanson/) > [Had Elizabeth Bennet known how wildly Darcy's heart beat for her, 'Pride and Prejudice' would barely have made it into a short story. Their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mariella-frostrup/had-elizabeth-bennet-known-how-wildly-darcy-s-heart-beat-for-her/) [Mariella Frostrup](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mariella-frostrup/) > [The proverb says, "Born lucky, always lucky," and I am very superstitious. As a small boy I was notoriously lucky. It was usual for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/the-proverb-says-born-lucky-always-lucky-and-i-am-very-superstitious/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [I learned as a young man that I don't write jokes, but that I can deliver more mundane material and get a laugh. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-offerman/i-learned-as-a-young-man-that-i-don-t-write-jokes-but-that-i-can/) [Nick Offerman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-offerman/) > [I've always been leery of comical artists because I think oftentimes they're hiding the fact that they're not that talented. For example, with Martin…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diego-cortez/i-ve-always-been-leery-of-comical-artists-because-i-think-oftentimes/) [Diego Cortez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diego-cortez/) > [The humorist has a good eye for the humbug; he does not always recognize the saint.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/the-humorist-has-a-good-eye-for-the-humbug-he-does-not-always/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) > [Humorists of the 'mere' sort cannot survive. Humor is only a fragrance, a decoration.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/humorists-of-the-mere-sort-cannot-survive-humor-is-only-a-fragrance-a/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [Humorists always sit at the children's table.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/woody-allen/humorists-always-sit-at-the-children-s-table/) [Woody Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/woody-allen/) > [This is the big reason most humorists fail. Drunks don't read books.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garrison-keillor/this-is-the-big-reason-most-humorists-fail-drunks-don-t-read-books/) [Garrison Keillor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garrison-keillor/) ## More by Peter Sellers > [When I look at myself, I see a person who strangely lacks what I consider the ingredients of a personality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-sellers/when-i-look-at-myself-i-see-a-person-who-strangely-lacks-what-i/) [Peter Sellers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-sellers/) > [If you ask me to play myself, I will not know what to do. I do not know who or what I am.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-sellers/if-you-ask-me-to-play-myself-i-will-not-know-what-to-do-i-do-not-know/) [Peter Sellers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-sellers/) > [Vocal music is an attempt to take the whole human being and project it into space. It is the ultimate gesture of getting out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-sellers/vocal-music-is-an-attempt-to-take-the-whole-human-being-and-project/) [Peter Sellers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-sellers/) > [Gentlemen, you can't fight in here! This is the War Room.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-sellers/gentlemen-you-can-t-fight-in-here-this-is-the-war-room/) [Peter Sellers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-sellers/) > [Dad was convinced always that I was going to be a road sweeper.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-sellers/dad-was-convinced-always-that-i-was-going-to-be-a-road-sweeper/) [Peter Sellers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-sellers/) > [Is there anybody hiding there in the dark?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-sellers/is-there-anybody-hiding-there-in-the-dark/) [Peter Sellers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-sellers/) > [I believe in astrology and the spirits. I'm a Virgo myself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-sellers/i-believe-in-astrology-and-the-spirits-i-m-a-virgo-myself/) [Peter Sellers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-sellers/) > [I writhe when I see myself on the screen. I'm such a dreadfully clumsy hulking image. I say to myself, "Why doesn't he get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-sellers/i-writhe-when-i-see-myself-on-the-screen-i-m-such-a-dreadfully-clumsy/) [Peter Sellers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-sellers/) > [Some forms of reality are so horrible we refuse to face them, unless we are trapped into it by comedy. To label any subject…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-sellers/some-forms-of-reality-are-so-horrible-we-refuse-to-face-them-unless/) [Peter Sellers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-sellers/) > [There used to be a real me, but I had it surgically removed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-sellers/there-used-to-be-a-real-me-but-i-had-it-surgically-removed/) [Peter Sellers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-sellers/) > [Now then, what do we know? One, that Professor Fassbinder and his daughter have been kidnapped. Two, that someone has kidnapped them. Three, that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-sellers/now-then-what-do-we-know-one-that-professor-fassbinder-and-his/) [Peter Sellers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-sellers/) > [I might have got somewhere with 'The Ladykillers,' but forty minutes were cut. A lot of me was cut with that forty minutes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-sellers/i-might-have-got-somewhere-with-the-ladykillers-but-forty-minutes/) [Peter Sellers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-sellers/) > [Women are more difficult to handle than men. It's their minds.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-sellers/women-are-more-difficult-to-handle-than-men-it-s-their-minds/) [Peter Sellers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-sellers/) > [To label any subject unsuitable for comedy is to admit defeat.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-sellers/to-label-any-subject-unsuitable-for-comedy-is-to-admit-defeat/) [Peter Sellers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-sellers/) > [My mum very much wanted me to go into the theatre.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-sellers/my-mum-very-much-wanted-me-to-go-into-the-theatre/) [Peter Sellers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-sellers/) [Explore all 47 Peter Sellers quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-sellers/) ## More Classic quotes > [Many individuals spend a considerable portion of their lifetimes in terror of one imagined catastrophe or another. The classic is that your immortal soul…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-neil-smith/many-individuals-spend-a-considerable-portion-of-their-lifetimes-in/) [L. Neil Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-neil-smith/) > [I think what was special about 'Music by Prudence' was the classic story of the title subject's life path - from being an outcast…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-ross-williams/i-think-what-was-special-about-music-by-prudence-was-the-classic/) [Roger Ross Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-ross-williams/) > [What I love about watching classic horror films is that they take you on a ride and they obviously make you scared because you're…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katie-holmes/what-i-love-about-watching-classic-horror-films-is-that-they-take-you/) [Katie Holmes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katie-holmes/) > [To see classic rock, you had to go to an arena. But punk was happening everywhere, even in little towns in the middle of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-callahan/to-see-classic-rock-you-had-to-go-to-an-arena-but-punk-was-happening/) [Bill Callahan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-callahan/) > [A classic is like a hidden treasure. Its core is buried under so many layers of varnish that it can be reached only by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-louis-barrault/a-classic-is-like-a-hidden-treasure-its-core-is-buried-under-so-many/) [Jean-Louis Barrault](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-louis-barrault/) > [I like everything with a heaping dose of feminitity, including my cell phone. I created this phone for the classic woman, who like me,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kimora-lee-simmons/i-like-everything-with-a-heaping-dose-of-feminitity-including-my-cell/) [Kimora Lee Simmons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kimora-lee-simmons/) > [One glance and I knew exactly who and what he was. The classic alpha male, the kind who had spurred evolution forward about five…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-kleypas/one-glance-and-i-knew-exactly-who-and-what-he-was-the-classic-alpha/) [Lisa Kleypas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-kleypas/) > [I'd always wanted the show to be more reality based science fiction, something along the lines of The Day the Earth Stood Still, which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gil-gerard/i-d-always-wanted-the-show-to-be-more-reality-based-science-fiction/) [Gil Gerard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gil-gerard/) > [Classic mountaineering grows out of a traditional romantic imagination. Its heart is the feeling, its path is blood, sweat and tears, and its restriction…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wojciech-kurtyka/classic-mountaineering-grows-out-of-a-traditional-romantic/) [Wojciech Kurtyka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wojciech-kurtyka/) > [In his anti-Darwinian book... (and eponymously named The Neck of the Giraffe ), Francis Hitching tells the story... "The need to survive by reaching…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-jay-gould/in-his-anti-darwinian-book-and-eponymously-named-the-neck-of-the/) [Stephen Jay Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-jay-gould/) > [The story being told in 'Star Wars' is a classic one. Every few hundred years, the story is retold because we have a tendency…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-lucas/the-story-being-told-in-star-wars-is-a-classic-one-every-few-hundred/) [George Lucas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-lucas/) > [In the tradition of the classic songwriter rooms like The Bluebird in Nashville, Strange Brew is a gift to the music community in Austin,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-cross/in-the-tradition-of-the-classic-songwriter-rooms-like-the-bluebird-in/) [Christopher Cross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-cross/) > [It's sad that women characters have lost so much ground in popular movies. Didn't 'Thelma and Louise' prove that women want to see women…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-quivers/it-s-sad-that-women-characters-have-lost-so-much-ground-in-popular/) [Robin Quivers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-quivers/) > [Classic book is a book which people praise, but do not read.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abhishek-tiwari/classic-book-is-a-book-which-people-praise-but-do-not-read/) [Abhishek Tiwari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abhishek-tiwari/) > [I have a large watch collection, and classic watches are especially important to me. I had a silver Rolex, and I actually gave it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nate-berkus/i-have-a-large-watch-collection-and-classic-watches-are-especially/) [Nate Berkus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nate-berkus/) [Browse all 1,505 Classic quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/classic/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I'm a classic example of all humorists - only funny when I'm working.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Peter Sellers" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-sellers/i-m-a-classic-example-of-all-humorists-only-funny-when-i-m-working/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Classic" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-sellers/i-m-a-classic-example-of-all-humorists-only-funny-when-i-m-working/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a35/peter-sellers-14147_classic_i-m-a-classic-example-of-all-humorists-o_448750.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a35/peter-sellers-14147_classic_i-m-a-classic-example-of-all-humorists-o_448750.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a35/peter-sellers-14147_classic_i-m-a-classic-example-of-all-humorists-o_448750.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I'm a classic example of all humorists - only funny when I'm working.” — Peter Sellers", "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": "Peter Sellers", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-sellers/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I'm a classic example of all...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-sellers/i-m-a-classic-example-of-all-humorists-only-funny-when-i-m-working/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-sellers/i-m-a-classic-example-of-all-humorists-only-funny-when-i-m-working/#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 } } ] } ```