Marta Russell wrote:
"IMHO his work sucks too. He portrayed himself as a "halfwit" often mimicking someone who had spasticity and slurred his words. All these are traits that some disabled people have. We don't think that is very funny. He used impairment in ways to make people laugh at him for these characteristics. He has no consciousness of the disability movement and we (speaking for lots of disabled people I know who feel the same way) hate the asshole himself and his comedy routines."
Maybe this is one of those "de gustibus" kind of things, but I have never liked his stuff, and I agree with Marta that making fun of disabled people is, well, not funny. Given that, it's ironic where the other half of his fame comes from.
As for the French liking him -- I have never been able to figure out whether that's evidence of their contempt for Americans or whether it's evidence for the dark side of their taste. I mean, the French are really weird. On the one hand they get credit for giving black American jazz musicians an appreciative audience (and the means to pay the rent); on the other hand, they like Jerry Lewis.
Ti's a puzzle.
Joanna