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Henny Youngman

Henry "Henny" Youngman (March 16, 1906 – February 24, 1998) was an American comedian and musician famous for his mastery of the "one-liner", his best known being "Take my wife... please".

In a time when many comedians told elaborate anecdotes, Youngman's routine consisted of telling simple one-liner jokes, occasionally with interludes of violin playing. These depicted simple, cartoon-like situations, eliminating lengthy build-ups and going straight to the punch line. Known as "the King of the One-Liners", a title conferred to him by columnist Walter Winchell, a stage performance by Youngman lasted only 15 to 20 minutes but contained dozens of jokes in rapid succession.

Birth and Death Data: Born March 16, 1906 (London (capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom)), Died February 24, 1998 (Manhattan (borough of New York City, New York, United States) )

Date Range of DAHR Recordings: 1940 - 1954

Roles Represented in DAHR: speaker, author

= Recordings are available for online listening.
= Recordings were issued from this master. No recordings issued from other masters.

Recordings

Company Matrix No. Size First Recording Date Title Primary Performer Description Role Audio
Victor BS-051785 10-in. 7/19/1940 Gags and super-gags Henny Youngman Monologue speaker, author  
Victor BS-051786 10-in. 7/19/1940 Gags and super-gags Henny Youngman Monologue speaker, author  
Decca 87025 11/4/1954 Take my wife please Henny Youngman speaker  
Decca 87026 11/4/1954 The life story of Henny Youngman Henny Youngman speaker  

Citation

Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Youngman, Henny," accessed January 7, 2026, http://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/355259.

Youngman, Henny. (2026). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved January 7, 2026, from http://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/355259.

"Youngman, Henny." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2026. Web. 7 January 2026.

DAHR Persistent Identifier

URI: http://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/355259

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