Good Sketch Comedy Characters

I’ve written before about the structure of sketch comedy. But that structure needs to be populated with clowns and straight men. Straight men are pretty straightforward: they act as the voice of the audience in the sketch, reacting to the clown’s antics with confusion, disbelief, and anger. But what makes a good clown?

Good comedic characters usually have a strong type and a strong motivation. A strong type means they’re easily described, like “drunk uncle” or “hyperactive child”. Strong motivations produce strong emotions & wild antics. Antics are funny in large part because they breach social etiquette by being lies, gross, unsafe, injurious, etc. Sometimes they’re funny because they have a twisted logic of their own that the audience finds clever, or they’re surprisingly good and/or silly dance, song, or doubletalk.

Keegan Michael Key says that a good comedic character is often trying to get away with something, which makes them aggressive in certain ways & defensive in others.
Cheri Oteri says that a good comedic character often embraces the thing that makes them a loser. They may deny that they’re dumb or crazy or wrong or lean into their particular brand of crazy.
Dana Carvey says that a good clown is often funny with the sound off, meaning the clown’s physical gags inspire laughter by themselves. These don’t always have to be scripted; the actor is responsible for most physical gags, like silly dances and eccentric mannerisms.
Many comedic character voices and eccentricities are based on someone the comedian knows personally or are twists on a celebrity’s voice.
Sometimes a clown’s behavior has a twisted logic that the audience finds clever, such as when a clown tries to make the best of a bad situation or tries to solve a problem with a crazy idea that might nevertheless work.

The Hyperactive Child

Children are often funny, regardless of how active they are, but hyperactive children can be frustrating, bizarre, hilarious, and more.

Gilda Radner’s Judy Miller (SNL)

A first-season character, Judy Miller is an excitable girl who imagines herself the star of her own television show and bounces around her bedroom.

Mike Myers’ Phillip the Hyper Hypo (SNL)

Phillip is a self-described “hyper hypo”, a hyperactive hypoglycemic boy who wears a helmet and has to be harnessed to playground equipment to keep from getting lost.

Michael McDonald’s Stuart Larkin (MadTV)

MadTV’s breakout character was Stuart Larkin, a troublesome (if surprisingly tall) little boy who was hard to control but too sweet to discipline.

Amy Pohler’s Kaitlin (SNL)

Kaitlin is an excitable girl whose even-keeled step-dad Rick (Horatio Sanz) tolerates her antics remarkably well.

Beck Bennett and Kyle Mooney’s Brothers, Jared & Spencer (SNL)

Jared and Spencer are two tween brothers whose impulsiveness and rivalry requires a garden hose to calm them down for even a minute.

The Desperate Man

Desperation breeds anger, bitterness, and sarcasm, and big emotions make for funny characters.

Chris Farley’s Matt Foley (SNL)

Matt Foley is a motivational speaker who warns troubled teens that if they don’t straighten up they’ll be living in a van down the river, like he does.

Dan Castellaneta’s Gil Gunderson (Simpsons)

Ol’ Gil is a salesman (based on Jack Lemon’s character in Glengarry Glen Ross) who is forever on the edge of failure and desperate for a win–probably the quintessential desperate man.

Molly Shannon’s Mary Katherine Gallagher (SNL)

Mary Katherine is a Catholic-school teen who aspires to superstardom as an actor, singer, and dancer but who suffers from anxiety and who gets carried away with herself.

Mike Meyers and Dana Carvey’s Wayne and Garth (SNL)

Wayne and Garth have a cable-access TV show in Garth’s basement where they aspire to television greatness.

Will Ferrel and Cheri Oteri’s Cheerleaders, Craig & Ariana (SNL)

Craig and Ariana are desperate to make the Spartan cheerleading squad. They bought their own uniforms, made up their own cheers, and practice incessantly.

The Scary Psychopath

Psychos are scary and unpredictable. They might show sparks of anger, try to be suave and soothing, and also be insulting and dismissive–maybe in rapid succession.

Bill Hader’s Anthony Peter Coleman (SNL)

Anthony Peter Coleman is a war veteran working thru some mental issues by taking puppetry classes with his puppet, Tony, who looks just like him and has the same problems.

Kristen Wiig’s Gilly (SNL)

Gilly is a deeply troubled schoolgirl capable of almost anything, including shockingly violet behavior.

John Belushi’s Samurai Futaba (SNL)

Whether he was working at a deli, tailor shop, hotel, or any other job, samurai Futaba was as skilled with a blade as he was unpredictable.

Eddie Murphy’s Tyrone Green

In a prison full of aspiring writers, Tyrone Green stands out, partly because of the vividness of his imagery, but mostly because he speaks in no uncertain terms about killing his landlord. Tyrone broke out of a pretaped short to appear in other sketches.

Tom Hanks’ David S Pumpkins (SNL)

David S Pumpkins is mostly odd, confusing, and vaguely worrying–until he becomes terrifying. Any questions?

The High-status Idiot

Idiots can often be dismissed, but high-status ones can be overbearing, judgmental, and insulting, which can make them very funny to an audience sitting outside the situation.

Dana Carvey’s Church Lady, Enid Strict (SNL)

Enid Strict is a no-nonsense, no-holds-barred, self-righteous host of Church Chat who sits in judgment of her guests.

Dana Carvey and Kevin Nealon’s Hanz & Franz (SNL)

Self-important TV show hosts of Pumping Up with Hans & Franz, the brothers are Austrian cousins of Arnold Schwarzenegger who do much less weight-lifting than insults and threats against their “girly-man” viewers.

Eddie Murphy’s Gumby (SNL)

One-time claymation star Gumby is a bitter, self-important, and insulting has-been.

Phil Hartman’s Unfrozen Caveman Lawyer, KIrok (SNL)

Kirok is much more than just a Neanderthal who was frozen in a glacier and thawed out tens of thousands of years later, he’s a smug and pompous lawyer who’s willing to cynically use his backstory to help sway a jury–or the electorate.

The Cheerful Boor

Boorish people are overbearing and generally unpleasant to be around, but one who’s at peace with their awfulness can be very funny to watch take all the air out of a room.

Al Franken’s Stuart Smalley (SNL)

Boor’s are usually not self-aware, but Stuart seems to know his problem–but denial ain’t just a river in Egypt, because his daily affirmation includes “I am fun to be with.” He’s not really.

Rachel Dratch’s Debbie Downer (SNL)

Altho not exactly cheerful, Debbie clearly enjoys serving up downer factoids and bummer tidbits as small talk whenever people get excited about life.

Bill Murray’s Nick the Lounge Singer (SNL)

Nick Winters loves entertaining. Unfortunately, he’s not good at it and thinks he is.

Jason Sudeikis and Kristen Wiig’s Two A-Holes (SNL)

The two A-holes are detached and blithe about the world around them and remarkably self-centered. Even so, they are remarkably kind toward each other and seem perfectly suited.

The Opinionated Drunk

Drunks ramble, complain, and slur words–a source of comedy for thousands of years.

Will Ferrel’s Harry Caray (SNL)

The legend of sportscasting, especially 16 years as an announcer for the Chicago Cubs, was known to enjoy a tall, cool Budweiser pretty frequently.

Bobby Moynihan’s Drunk Uncle (SNL)

The drunk uncle is a bitter, rambling, middle-age man with a lot of regrets, but he has a lot of opinions, particularly about young people. And he likes his high ball.

Cecily Strong’s Girl You Wish Hadn’t Started a Conversation With at a Party (SNL)

This girl is a self-righteous but poorly-informed San Fernando Valley girl who delivers incoherent socio-political diatribes while occasionally texting and rummaging in her purse. Is she drunk or just an idiot? Either way, one has to imagine she’s one of the people Drunk Uncle complains about.

Dan Castelleneta’s Barney Gumble (Simpsons)

Barney is Springfield’s town drunk and Homer Simpson’s best friend. When drinking, he’s unobservant and forgetful, but he’s not stupid and is even sometimes shown to have solid artistic sensibilities. From time to time, he goes on the water wagon and cleans up his act.

The Huckster

The huckster just wants to sell you something–a product, a service, an idea, whatever. He talks fast, tries to convince you he’s legit and economically priced, and that you desperately need what he’s selling.

Dan Aykroyd’s Super Bass-o-matic ’76 Salesman (SNL)

Aykroyd was the consummate fast-talking salesman, and his Bass-O-Matic ad came first. He talks at blinding speed and assures you it couldn’t be easier to render your fish drinkable.

Sam Waterston for Old Glory Robot Insurance (SNL)

Calm, authoritative, self-assured, Sam Waterston is convincing as the spokesman for insurance that will protect you from robots, who eat old people’s medicine.

Jon Lovitz’s Pathological Liar, Tommy Flanagan (SNL)

At the heart of every huckster is a willingness to play fast and loose with the truth. Tommy Flanagan frequently rambled about his impressive resume, various accomplishments, and lovely wife, Morgan Fairchild, desperate to sell you on his success. But his introduction was in a commercial for Pathological Liars Anonymous.

Cecily Strong’s Spokeswoman for My Little Stepchildren (SNL)

Strong did the voiceover for many commercial parodies, but the My Little Step Children ad–which bizarrely got cut for time after dress rehearsal–is among the very best.

Pure Clowns

Pure clowns are those that are just plain weird, crazy, or dumb–all ingredients for a funny character.

Martin Short’s Ed Grimley (SCTV & SNL)

Ed is a bundle of nerves and a remarkable collection of eccentricities. He’s endlessly optimistic yet worried, carries himself in the oddest way, has strange vocal tics, a crazy hairstyle, poor taste in clothing, and among the weirdest dancing in history. Oh, and he’s obsessed with Pat Sajak and Wheel of Fortune.

Gilda Radner’s Roseanne Roseannadanna (SNL)

Sweet in a no-nonsense, East Coast kind of way, Roseanne is a bit of a loud-mouth, obsesses over gross things and rambles on in an annoying voice, but it just goes to show: if it isn’t one thing it’s another.

Mikey Day & Bobby Moynihan’s Dancing Skeletons (SNL)

Regardless of what David S Pumpkins is, his dancing skeleton companions are pure silliness from the bottom of their foot bones to the top of their surprisingly hairy skulls.