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
External Sources
Wikipedia: Henny Youngman
Discogs: Henny Youngman
IMDb: Henny Youngman
Britannica: Henny Youngman
Linked Open Data Sources
LCNAR: Youngman, Henny - https://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/n50014609
Wikidata: Henny Youngman - https://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q2586583
VIAF: https://viaf.org/viaf/166664274
MusicBrainz: Henny Youngman - https://musicbrainz.org/artist/f8f0d529-3d1a-4028-951a-da775c93d8cd
Fast: https://id.worldcat.org/fast/4545 - https://id.worldcat.org/fast/4545
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