A Tragic Sunset

Today would have been Paul Mooney’s 83rd birthday.  This comedic legend and genius died in May 2021 and with that, as is the case when comedians die, the world became a little darker, a little colder.  I first heard Mooney’s comedy in the late 80’s and I was almost immediately hooked.  One of Mooney’s biggest claims to fame was that he used to write jokes for Richard Pryor, who himself died in December 2005.  Mooney’s content was raw, his delivery direct, and his points all valid.

Towards the end of his life, I found myself scouring the internet after something dumb would happen in the world, just to see and/or hear what Paul Mooney’s perspective on it was.  Mooney never held back.  If he had an opinion, he would let you know, regardless if his opinion would be offensive.  Mooney was what I would have considered to be “old school”, where a comedian could say whatever they wanted and not have to be afraid of any backlash, or of as they say in today’s lingo, risk being “cancelled”.  Mooney didn’t give a damn about public perception or of how people saw him.  He always kept it real and it always showed in his content and act.

I don’t want to go into any of his content or any of his views in this post, as that could be material for future entries.  I merely want to use this post as a commemoration of sorts to say “Happy Birthday” to a comedian, whose style and presentation will likely never be matched, duplicated, or even remotely surpassed.  He is definitely from a bye-gone era, one where the comedians of yesteryear would definitely stand out and be frowned upon in today’s ridiculously sensitive world.

I can’t turn back the hands of time.  None of us can.  But what I can do is listen to all of the content that Paul Mooney left behind and in some way, remember the good old days when we all could laugh at each other and the world around us and not get upset/offended because we used the wrong pronouns, accidentally said the “n-word”, and maybe made reference to something that might not have been popular, though may have still had some truth to it.

Research Mooney’s opinions regarding Oprah Winfrey and you’ll get a small glimpse of what I mean.

If it matters, I can’t stand Oprah either.