Physical comedy

Physical comedy, also known as slapstick is a comedic performance relying mostly on the use of the body to convey humour.

Whether a pratfall (i.e. landing on the buttocks), a silly face, or by walking into walls, physical comedy (even used to entertain small children) is a common and rarely subtle form of comedy. It is a clownish exploitation of movement, the most primordial human medium of expression, which predates language and the introduction of cerebral elements to humour such as cultural tradition, erudition and word puns.

The Three Stooges, Laurel and Hardy, Lucille Ball, Don Knotts, Ken Berry, "Rob" Petrie (Dick van Dyke's character on the The Dick Van Dyke Show), Jack Tripper (John Ritter's character on Three's Company), Ace Ventura (character portrayed by Jim Carrey), Kramer (Michael Richards's character on Seinfeld), Chris Farley, Rowan Atkinson's "Mr. Bean", Johnny Lever, Steve Urkel([Jaleel White]] 's character on Family Matters) and Benny Hill are all examples of physical comedy characters. Charlie Chaplin started his film career as a physical comedian; although he developed additional means of comic expression, Chaplin's mature works continued to contain elements of slapstick.

Physical comedy

See also