He just went with the easiest accent he could think of, and does merely an ok job at it. And he sounds nothing nothing like Fred Allen. I doubt he knows who Fred Allen was.
Gerard Hoffnung told this story (known as the Bricklayer’s Story) to the Oxford Union in 1958. I don’t know if it was his original, or if he just retold it, but it’s the best rendition I’ve heard. Look it up on TH-cam.
Whoever wrote this letter missed their calling in comedy. It's so well written that one has to laugh regardless how painful that experience must have been for the person experiencing it! Thank you to Jude Law and Letters Live for this gem.
According to the video description he actually was a very successful professional comedian, so... I'd say he no more missed his calling than he missed that barrel
Sorry, no. But I really like to learn at least one new thing every day. If you'd care to educate me, I'd appreciate it. And I really mean that!@@andrewvelonis5940
Jude did an amazing job nailing not only a NY accent, but so many of the hand gestures we in the tri-state area (ny, ct, nj) area use, which I am sure they used back then. Jude transformed himself into someone else. Wow. Great job.
Many variants of this story have circulated around newspapers, social groups and, now, the internet; all are a delight to revisit. Jude Law's reading is one of the more refreshing.
it is a ny accent but not that of fred allen who worked on tv and did not on the docks as jude law seems to think (imagine cinfusing cockey with a bbc reporter)
It's both funny and sad that so many people have liked this when they clearly have no idea who Fred Allen was nor have ever heard him speak. Jude Law has not done his homework, the silly Brooklyn accent he used was nothing like Allen. Fred Allen was born and raised in New England, around the Boston area. His accent remained a Boston/New England one his entire life. This reading sounds as silly as doing President FDR with the same bad Brooklyn accent.
I'm disappointed to not see more references to it in the comments, here. I was singing the song in my head during the entirety of Law's truly excellent delivery here.
@@Burner-B No no, Jude Law sounds sexy in any accent. He couldn't sound like George Costanza any more than Benedict Cumberbatch could sound like Mr. Howell from Gilligan's Island!
This story definitely didn't originate with Fred Allen and wasn't him writing an actual letter to an insurance company. It seems to be loosely based on "How Paddy Stole the Rope" by Fred Albert and dated 1885. It might go back further, but I'm not interested in trying to chase it.
@PlasmaStorm73 [N5EVV] It's also an old Irish song titled 'The Sick Note' or 'Why Paddy's not at work today', but that song was based on the 1958 speech by Gerard Hoffnung to the Oxford Union which was a story that first appeared 1930s. No one is quite sure where it really came from.
About 40 years ago I used to work for an insurance company in Montreal, Canada. A written version of this story circulated in our claims department. It was written in broad French slang (it was written phonetically, so it was REALLY badly spelled); frankly the only way to understand it was to read it out loud. One of the older adjustors laughed so hard he almost fell off his chair! He said what made it so funny was that, having dealt with workman’s compensation claims before, he could actually see this type of claim being made. As a side note, I always thought that was what made the movie 9 to 5 so funny: it described office events with a twist, so that you could actually imagine it happening just that way. Of course the movie was written from a female worker’s perspective, so many men failed to see the humour-the women in the theatre were laughing like mad but a lot of men left just looking puzzled and/or offended!
My mother was a builder. I played Murphy and the Bricks - the song version - at her funeral. A laugh track is uncommon at a funeral, but it was perfect.
I adore Jude Law … that was perfectly done. And thank you (in years gone by, of course) to Mr Fred Allen for such a great letter. I can only imagine how that letter must have been received. I hope it was framed and placed in a prominent spot for decades.
This story definitely didn't originate with Fred Allen and wasn't him writing an actual letter to an insurance company. It seems to be loosely based on "How Paddy Stole the Rope" by Fred Albert and dated 1885. It might go back further, but I'm not interested in trying to chase it further.
Every version of this story is amazing. To this day one of the most hilarious TV moments, was the Mythbusters, reenacting this myth, and a crushed barrel, having perfectly executing the myth, falling directly on a crash test dummy.
Fred Allen was one of the funniest people I've ever heard - his radio show, his feud with Benny, all his characters, wonderful. His appearances on What's my Line all amusing.
The best version of this joke I've ever heard is set to music in the song... _Why Paddy's not at work today..._ Give it an ear, and be ready to laugh! 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
Imagining this letter in Fred Allen’s voice makes it even funnier. His wry, deadpan humor is preserved on TH-cam in his years (later in life) as a panelist on What’s My Line. A truly funny man.
It is 4 weeks since you wrote this reply so I hope you revisit this response of yours. YT has many Old Time Radio shows and the Fred Allen Dhow is widely available as are separate playlists of just his "battles" with Jack Benny. His and the Jack Benny Show were number 1 and number 2, alternatively, for many years in the ratings. His wife, Portia Hoffa, was an original "dumb blond" character as he played straight man for her and others on Allen's Alley. Amazingly good stuff!
I would have given it a 6 out of 10 - it was all over the place, but since Fred Allen was a famous person whose voice is easily found in many recordings (he was a famous radio comedian) and Law doesn’t even try to imitate it (imagine someone reading a letter by Christopher Walken and sounding like Sylvester Stallone trying a cowboy accent), I give it a 4/10.
It would be interesting if this was actually from a letter from June 1932. I think that the earliest written version of this story was supposed to have been in a 1940 Readers Digest purported to have been written by "a naval officer". I first heard it as a 1958 recording of Gerard Hoffnung addressing the Oxford Union. Hoffnung said he had read the story in the Manchester Guardian and had been using it as a warm up or his radio audience. While George Burns would be a fine candidate to have been the original author of the story it wouldn't be surprising if the story started with some Roman working on the Colosseum.
This actually first appeared in the Beardsden & Mulngavie Herald on August 3rd 1947 and was written by an Indian Gentleman to his insurance company. If you listen again to Jude Law's reading of it a lot of the phraseology is very Indian. My father was working in India at the time and obtained a copy.
My Dad had that on vinyl so I grew up listening to it - far better than Jude Law’s version in my opinion and with no disrespect intended. Hoffnun’s voice is beyond compare.
@@alasdairstuart3394 I still have the vinyl ten-inch record made by Decca LF 1330 recorded on Dec. 8th. 1958. I love Jude Law's work, but I agree with you. Gerard Hoffnung was performing to a different audience. His delivery was more measured, which allowed the audience to get slightly ahead, which made the ensuing sentences more funny.
Applause to Fred Allen! Imagine watching this... Going by in a matter of seconds. Him being lucky to be alive and then.... writing this letter. That man really had spirit and humour. I almost fell off my couch when he read epidermis 😂😂😂😂
I came across this story like 25 years ago. It was in Spanish, and a few hilarious descriptions were added to it. It was one of the funniest things in that time.
I'm one minute and 20 seconds in and I absolutely know this story and it is absolutely hilarious!! And his accent is absolutely brilliant, because he's a British actor!!
The Scottish singing duo ‘ The Corrie’s’ did a fantastic version of this tale, I believe it was called the builders song, or the bricklayers song or some such. I highly recommend a listen!🤣🤣🏴
This is a take on the similar Gerard Hoffnung story known in Britain in particular as The Bricklayer. Ever funny in whatever guise, but Hoffnung’s rendition is the best of the lot.
First time I heard this was about 30 years ago as a song from The Dubliners, "Why Paddy Is Not At Work Today", worth searching on YT for, an alternative take.
Indeed, their boat 'repairing' short and in the factory (where Hardy gets plunged through the sawdust flue) are classic interpretations of just such a thing as Fred wrote here.
I don´t want to know how the poor man looked after that accident, but it would be hilarious to watch this incidence in a comedy show. XD And I think Judes accent is on point.
Whether the content was original or even true is of little consequence to me. I found it amusing and enjoyed the "turn of phrase" the writer used, as well as the actor's portrayal. The scenario sounded like something that could have been part of "Home Alone". A little slapstick, especially when written well, can be fun.
Yes there is wonderful song about this in an Irish accent. The Dubliners sound about right. The song is prefaced about an excuse why someone (Paddy, I suppose) was trying to explain why he did not turn up for work.
I've heard several variations of this story over the years (Laurel and Hardy done a bit in one of their short films) but imagining Fred Allen narrating this "letter" in his nasal, dry tone had me laughing till the end!
One of the better variants on this plot. My first encounter was in the mid '70s, a concert with "The Corries". There song was equally entertaining as well as being musical. It is available on TH-cam, the bricklayers song (?).
The great novelist Herman Wouk (books include The Winds of War, Marjorie Morningstar, the Caine Mutiny, and Youngblood Hawke, among many others) got his start as a writer on Fred Allen’s radio show. Years later, Wouk was the mystery guest on What’s My Line when Allen was a panelist. A wonderful episode that is available on TH-cam.
Fred Allen, S. J. Perlman and the incredible Max Shulman were and are comedy gold. Goodman Ace's stories about America's beginning suburbia are like archeological comedy.
"I can't be held responsilbe for creating the conditions in where you all ate each other" "All I did was create those conditions" "You're the ones who ate each other"
Gerald Huffnung was the classic teller of this story. And his replies from Austrian hotel owners to British clients are truly brilliant. They are on you tube, well worth the effort to find them.
When Jack Benny imitated Fred Allen on his Radio Show, he would say, "First I need to put a clothespin on my nose" because Fred Allen had a very nasal voice with elongated vowels - "Portlaaaaaand"!
Hello my beautiful great fans , thanks for your support, how are you doing, I hope everything is fine, you can write me in the hangout app with my email🌹lawjude473@gmail.com
I just couldn't stop laughing... although I am pretty sure the author of this letter didn't feel much like laughing!! What a way to describe an accident both by the author and of course by Jude law!!
The earliest version of this story appearing in print was in 1895 in the Cedar Rapids (Iowa) Evening Gazette. 11 January 1895 (p. 6). There have been many others over the years since then.
It's such a classic, there's probably a version scratched in hieroglyphics on the wall of a Pharoah's tomb by an Israelite slave! Just as funny in any age.
To paraphrase Mel Brooks - "I cut my finger - that's tragedy. A guy rides a rope up and down a shaft getting beat up by a bucket of bricks, the top of the shaft and the floor - that's comedy!"
DAMN! I listen to old time radio and Jude NAILED Fred Allen's voice. edit - @1:15 oh crap, is this going to be a retelling of Why Paddy's Not At Work Today? edit: YUP.
Sometimes i forget just how charismatic Jude Law is.
Oohh, I never forget that
Shame on you😂
This is the best variant and reading of this story I have ever heard, Jude Law's accent and deadpan delivery is just sublime
He just went with the easiest accent he could think of, and does merely an ok job at it. And he sounds nothing nothing like Fred Allen. I doubt he knows who Fred Allen was.
Gerard Hoffnung told this story (known as the Bricklayer’s Story) to the Oxford Union in 1958. I don’t know if it was his original, or if he just retold it, but it’s the best rendition I’ve heard. Look it up on TH-cam.
Wonderful
Nah I find his timing really lackluster. Other readings have the next accident come more on a surprise note and make the escalation feel more intense
Paddy's sick note, it's an old irish song
Whoever wrote this letter missed their calling in comedy. It's so well written that one has to laugh regardless how painful that experience must have been for the person experiencing it! Thank you to Jude Law and Letters Live for this gem.
According to the video description he actually was a very successful professional comedian, so... I'd say he no more missed his calling than he missed that barrel
You don't know who Fred Allen was?
Sorry, no. But I really like to learn at least one new thing every day. If you'd care to educate me, I'd appreciate it. And I really mean that!@@andrewvelonis5940
@@andrewvelonis5940 1930's USA radio show hosts don't come up in world history very often.
Fred Allen was a top comedian in his day.
Jude did an amazing job nailing not only a NY accent, but so many of the hand gestures we in the tri-state area (ny, ct, nj) area use, which I am sure they used back then. Jude transformed himself into someone else. Wow. Great job.
See above note as to the wrong accent for Fred Allen.
Nah, the accent is a noticeable fake, but it could be worse.
Many variants of this story have circulated around newspapers, social groups and, now, the internet; all are a delight to revisit. Jude Law's reading is one of the more refreshing.
I know it as an Irish pub song.
Irish brick layer, heard it at my brothers wedding years ago, recited by a boozed up priest lol.
@@Halkin85 yup, "Why Paddy's not at work today", i believe
@@KayAwoooo the sick note,by the Dubliners
There's also an hilarious italian version, in the dialect of Friuli, from our brilliant comedian Marco Paolini
I love Jude Law's reading. A typical New York accent and delivery. Bravo!
it is a ny accent but not that of fred allen who worked on tv and did not on the docks as jude law seems to think (imagine cinfusing cockey with a bbc reporter)
I was thinking the same thing. Fred Allen was a very witty, urbane New Yorker. Too bad that Law is unaware of this!@@adamjeffries7235
@@adamjeffries7235 Fred Allen was from Boston, and his delivery was slightly Bostonian and somewhat slower.
Except Fred Allen was from Massachusetts and had a New England accent, not one from Brooklyn. Poor preparation I'd say.
It's both funny and sad that so many people have liked this when they clearly have no idea who Fred Allen was nor have ever heard him speak. Jude Law has not done his homework, the silly Brooklyn accent he used was nothing like Allen. Fred Allen was born and raised in New England, around the Boston area. His accent remained a Boston/New England one his entire life. This reading sounds as silly as doing President FDR with the same bad Brooklyn accent.
A classic.
And as soon as he mentioned the bricks, I knew where this had to be going.
Unfortunately, Fred didn't lol
Straight to the 5th floor & back down again
There's a version of this story told in an Irish song "The Sick Note" or "Why Paddy's Not at Work Today." Fantastic version by The Dubliners.
I'm disappointed to not see more references to it in the comments, here. I was singing the song in my head during the entirety of Law's truly excellent delivery here.
There's also a brilliant version of the song by the Lancashire band Houghton Weavers.
I know 'The Corries' version. Has me in stitchies every time 🤣😁👌
@@altasilvapuer Same! I commented about the song and then scrolled through the comments and was delighted to see Nick's comment!
Fantastic song!
What a delight to hear Jude Law with a Brooklyn accent!
He sounds exactly like Jason Alexander
@@Burner-B George is getting upset!
@@AeroGold1 well, from what I remember...
There was never any 'getting'
If you ever actually heard Fred Allen, you can only imagine how funny this would sound if he read it.
@@Burner-B No no, Jude Law sounds sexy in any accent. He couldn't sound like George Costanza any more than Benedict Cumberbatch could sound like Mr. Howell from Gilligan's Island!
Brilliant. One of the funniest letters I’ve heard and excellently delivered by Jude Law.
Oh Jude! Brilliantly rendered! And posthumous respect to the wit of Mr Allen.
Fred Allen was a fantastic writer; It's hard to believe someone so erudite was a household name in the U.S.
He was hilarious !!!
This story definitely didn't originate with Fred Allen and wasn't him writing an actual letter to an insurance company. It seems to be loosely based on "How Paddy Stole the Rope" by Fred Albert and dated 1885. It might go back further, but I'm not interested in trying to chase it.
This is a variation of "The Bricklayer's Lament", which has been around for decades. Classic!
@PlasmaStorm73 [N5EVV] It's also an old Irish song titled 'The Sick Note' or 'Why Paddy's not at work today', but that song was based on the 1958 speech by Gerard Hoffnung to the Oxford Union which was a story that first appeared 1930s. No one is quite sure where it really came from.
About 40 years ago I used to work for an insurance company in Montreal, Canada. A written version of this story circulated in our claims department. It was written in broad French slang (it was written phonetically, so it was REALLY badly spelled); frankly the only way to understand it was to read it out loud. One of the older adjustors laughed so hard he almost fell off his chair! He said what made it so funny was that, having dealt with workman’s compensation claims before, he could actually see this type of claim being made.
As a side note, I always thought that was what made the movie 9 to 5 so funny: it described office events with a twist, so that you could actually imagine it happening just that way. Of course the movie was written from a female worker’s perspective, so many men failed to see the humour-the women in the theatre were laughing like mad but a lot of men left just looking puzzled and/or offended!
I can imagine Fred Allen telling this story in his deadpan manner😂. I love hearing him add his asides during What’s My Line.
My mother was a builder. I played Murphy and the Bricks - the song version - at her funeral.
A laugh track is uncommon at a funeral, but it was perfect.
I adore Jude Law … that was perfectly done. And thank you (in years gone by, of course) to Mr Fred Allen for such a great letter. I can only imagine how that letter must have been received. I hope it was framed and placed in a prominent spot for decades.
This story definitely didn't originate with Fred Allen and wasn't him writing an actual letter to an insurance company. It seems to be loosely based on "How Paddy Stole the Rope" by Fred Albert and dated 1885. It might go back further, but I'm not interested in trying to chase it further.
Every version of this story is amazing. To this day one of the most hilarious TV moments, was the Mythbusters, reenacting this myth, and a crushed barrel, having perfectly executing the myth, falling directly on a crash test dummy.
Fred Allen was one of the funniest people I've ever heard - his radio show, his feud with Benny, all his characters, wonderful. His appearances on What's my Line all amusing.
The best version of this joke I've ever heard is set to music in the song...
_Why Paddy's not at work today..._
Give it an ear, and be ready to laugh!
🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
I love this.Hilarious,and I'm impressed by his accent!
the accent was not bad but nog good. you definitely hear he's not American
I love this letter and Jude's performance. I laugh from beginning to end every time.
Imagining this letter in Fred Allen’s voice makes it even funnier. His wry, deadpan humor is preserved on TH-cam in his years (later in life) as a panelist on What’s My Line. A truly funny man.
It is 4 weeks since you wrote this reply so I hope you revisit this response of yours. YT has many Old Time Radio shows and the Fred Allen Dhow is widely available as are separate playlists of just his "battles" with Jack Benny. His and the Jack Benny Show were number 1 and number 2, alternatively, for many years in the ratings. His wife, Portia Hoffa, was an original "dumb blond" character as he played straight man for her and others on Allen's Alley. Amazingly good stuff!
It's always so much fun for an American to hear a British actor doing an American accent.
how would you rate his accent?
7 out of 10
I would have given it a 6 out of 10 - it was all over the place, but since Fred Allen was a famous person whose voice is easily found in many recordings (he was a famous radio comedian) and Law doesn’t even try to imitate it (imagine someone reading a letter by Christopher Walken and sounding like Sylvester Stallone trying a cowboy accent), I give it a 4/10.
Everybody's a critic (as I'm sure Fred Allen himself would agree).
@@zeitgeist5134 Someone literally asked what we would rate the accent. So we answered.
It would be interesting if this was actually from a letter from June 1932. I think that the earliest written version of this story was supposed to have been in a 1940 Readers Digest purported to have been written by "a naval officer". I first heard it as a 1958 recording of Gerard Hoffnung addressing the Oxford Union. Hoffnung said he had read the story in the Manchester Guardian and had been using it as a warm up or his radio audience. While George Burns would be a fine candidate to have been the original author of the story it wouldn't be surprising if the story started with some Roman working on the Colosseum.
It's been around for ages and probably could be traced back to ancient Egypt. But I do get your meaning kind sir.
This actually first appeared in the Beardsden & Mulngavie Herald on August 3rd 1947 and was written by an Indian Gentleman to his insurance company. If you listen again to Jude Law's reading of it a lot of the phraseology is very Indian. My father was working in India at the time and obtained a copy.
@@snowsnz3976 what phrases are very Indian?
I heard a similar story about an Irishman entitled something like, "Why Paddy can't come to work today". But I enjoyed Jude's NY accent just the same.
@@glenhill9884 "The Sick Note"
I seem recall Gerard Hoffnung reading this over fifty years ago, rather well if memory serves, used to listen to it on a radio request session!!😂😂
You did! Gerald Hoffnung read it to the Oxford Union in 1958.
My Dad had that on vinyl so I grew up listening to it - far better than Jude Law’s version in my opinion and with no disrespect intended. Hoffnun’s voice is beyond compare.
@@alasdairstuart3394 I still have the vinyl ten-inch record made by Decca LF 1330 recorded on Dec. 8th. 1958. I love Jude Law's work, but I agree with you. Gerard Hoffnung was performing to a different audience. His delivery was more measured, which allowed the audience to get slightly ahead, which made the ensuing sentences more funny.
I can just hear Fred Allen saying that letter; he was great. Jude Law did a good job.
I love this 'story'. Have heard it done by so many. Jude Law does it well.
Applause to Fred Allen!
Imagine watching this... Going by in a matter of seconds. Him being lucky to be alive and then.... writing this letter. That man really had spirit and humour.
I almost fell off my couch when he read epidermis 😂😂😂😂
I came across this story like 25 years ago. It was in Spanish, and a few hilarious descriptions were added to it. It was one of the funniest things in that time.
A hilarious reading. Fred Allen's own speaking voice was a bit more denasal but Jude adding the NY accent definitely made it funnier.
I'm one minute and 20 seconds in and I absolutely know this story and it is absolutely hilarious!! And his accent is absolutely brilliant, because he's a British actor!!
The Scottish singing duo ‘ The Corrie’s’ did a fantastic version of this tale, I believe it was called the builders song, or the bricklayers song or some such. I highly recommend a listen!🤣🤣🏴
There is a folk song telling a version of this story called, "Why Paddy's Not at Work Today."
I believe it's called "The Sick Note".
Sick Note - The Dubliners
I so remember listening to this.. years ago.. 😱
the song is way funnier
Hilarious done by the Corries!!
Fantastic story, fantastically told.
Wowowoowow. I haven’t heard this tale since the 90s. Thank you for the nostalgia 😂
This a new channel to me. But one I will continue to watch! TFS, GB :)
Most enjoyable! Thank you for sharing this.
Very nice. Heard the same gag involving an Army workman in Vietnam but Jude Law had a great delivery.
This is a take on the similar Gerard Hoffnung story known in Britain in particular as The Bricklayer. Ever funny in whatever guise, but Hoffnung’s rendition is the best of the lot.
Absolutely! Gerald Hoffnung read it to the Oxford Union in 1958!
First time I heard this was about 30 years ago as a song from The Dubliners, "Why Paddy Is Not At Work Today", worth searching on YT for, an alternative take.
As I watched I tried to hear it in Fred's nasal delivery and also thinking what a glorious routine this would be for Laurel and Hardy.
Indeed, their boat 'repairing' short and in the factory (where Hardy gets plunged through the sawdust flue) are classic interpretations of just such a thing as Fred wrote here.
Brilliantly delivered, shamefully still true.
I don´t want to know how the poor man looked after that accident, but it would be hilarious to watch this incidence in a comedy show. XD And I think Judes accent is on point.
I have no idea why I keep watching these.
Whether the content was original or even true is of little consequence to me. I found it amusing and enjoyed the "turn of phrase" the writer used, as well as the actor's portrayal.
The scenario sounded like something that could have been part of "Home Alone". A little slapstick, especially when written well, can be fun.
There is a song/poem about this incident called The Sick note. Well worth a look
This is also a song called the sick note by the dubliners
Yes there is wonderful song about this in an Irish accent. The Dubliners sound about right. The song is prefaced about an excuse why someone (Paddy, I suppose) was trying to explain why he did not turn up for work.
I've heard several variations of this story over the years (Laurel and Hardy done a bit in one of their short films) but imagining Fred Allen narrating this "letter" in his nasal, dry tone had me laughing till the end!
I read a version just last month for the first time, I cried for 10 min straight, that one has to be the best.
One of the better variants on this plot. My first encounter was in the mid '70s, a concert with "The Corries". There song was equally entertaining as well as being musical. It is available on TH-cam, the bricklayers song (?).
An inspiration for dozens of Road Runner/Coyote cartoons over the years.
I was just thinking the same thing. There's a definite Looney Tunes sensibility to the physical comedy.
The great novelist Herman Wouk (books include The Winds of War, Marjorie Morningstar, the Caine Mutiny, and Youngblood Hawke, among many others) got his start as a writer on Fred Allen’s radio show. Years later, Wouk was the mystery guest on What’s My Line when Allen was a panelist. A wonderful episode that is available on TH-cam.
I love these letters they read.
I dunno why or how this exists, but I'm glad I found this channel 👍
"The dubliners" sings this. It's called "the sicknote". It's hilarius😂
Fred Allen, S. J. Perlman and the incredible Max Shulman were and are comedy gold. Goodman Ace's stories about America's beginning suburbia are like archeological comedy.
This was a story Allen had.....(I'll be charitable) borrowed
It's changed many times over the years but it was a barrel of tools in 1902
He nailed the accent and attitude, great reading!
That Barrel got a TRIPLE KILL
This is a hysterical Irish song. Called 'Why Johnny can't come to work today', I believe. Letter is funny. The song is hysterical.
I love that he read it in the accent too
Simply Hilarious! Tears streaming down my cheeks and clutching my painful sides, just hilarious!
Absolutely brilliant. Listening to this I could see it happening in a laurel and Hardy sketch or a classic cartoon!
The Irish turned it into a song called "The Sick Note"...really funny!
My favorite underrated actor!
Welcome to the world of "insurance" 😏. Jude was brilliant 👏.
Great Fred Allen voice.
I heard this on the radio many years ago, a version ready by Gerrard Hoffnung at the Oxford Union. It’s still very amusing!
Jude Law.
What a stunning piece of accent.
Thanks, good job. ✌🏻👊🏼
Doing it with a stellar NYC accent is the cherry on top.
"I can't be held responsilbe for creating the conditions in where you all ate each other"
"All I did was create those conditions"
"You're the ones who ate each other"
This is indeed an old funny story, told half a century ago by Gerard Hoffnung.
I was just thinking that - I didn't realize anyone else was listening to it these days, he's somewhat washed from history sadly
It's possible Fred Allen originated it as he read it on his show also.
i like the dubliners version in song
Gerald Huffnung was the classic teller of this story. And his replies from Austrian hotel owners to British clients are truly brilliant. They are on you tube, well worth the effort to find them.
Half a century ago would have been 1971. This says Fred Allen did it in 1932, 99 years ago.
When Jack Benny imitated Fred Allen on his Radio Show, he would say, "First I need to put a clothespin on my nose" because Fred Allen had a very nasal voice with elongated vowels - "Portlaaaaaand"!
Hello my beautiful great fans , thanks for your support, how are you doing, I hope everything is fine, you can write me in the hangout app with my email🌹lawjude473@gmail.com
An old joke immortalized in the song, Why Paddy's not at work today.
The song, "The Sick Note" by The Dubliners, is a hilarious musical rendition of this story.
I just couldn't stop laughing... although I am pretty sure the author of this letter didn't feel much like laughing!!
What a way to describe an accident both by the author and of course by Jude law!!
Listening and not looking I thought this was Jason Alexander and was mightily confused when i tab back and see it was Jude Law. good on ya' mate.
I know this old yarn as "Why Paddy's not at Work Today ".
The earliest version of this story appearing in print was in 1895 in the Cedar Rapids (Iowa) Evening Gazette. 11 January 1895 (p. 6). There have been many others over the years since then.
It's such a classic, there's probably a version scratched in hieroglyphics on the wall of a Pharoah's tomb by an Israelite slave! Just as funny in any age.
absolute in respect to experience. well done.
To paraphrase Mel Brooks - "I cut my finger - that's tragedy. A guy rides a rope up and down a shaft getting beat up by a bucket of bricks, the top of the shaft and the floor - that's comedy!"
Beautiful Jude!
Well read. Totally pictured this poor soul. So funny
DAMN! I listen to old time radio and Jude NAILED Fred Allen's voice.
edit - @1:15 oh crap, is this going to be a retelling of Why Paddy's Not At Work Today?
edit: YUP.
Otherwise known as 'Why Paddy isn't at work today.'
Yes....
Sick note indeed!
Man he’s good.
Uh…can we talk about the preparation? He’s reading this accent as a true accent of the time, the coil is purrrfect.
Gerard Huffnung's take on this story is even better.
Brilliantly read - perfect
So even then it was true: Always think about physics before doing anything!!
😆😆😆😆😆 i can't...this is too brilliant
That’s a great impression of George Costanza.
It is
Funny since he didn't intend that
I'm kind of speechless at how perfectly Law delivered this. Absolutely incredible.
Fred Allen was a panellist on What's My Line numerous times.
Its even better when regaled to music. Murphy's bricks is fantastic.
Love this Brits NY accent 😂
That same thing happened to my dad but the order of events was in a reversal of this calamity.
It’s been done before,and better😊😊
"Paddy's sick-note" 😂
my god, his absolute command of accents. unbelievable.