TVSquad

Emo Philips, one of my favorite comedians of all time, turns 50 today.

Emo has been doing stand-up since 1976, and while he's beloved by many, he's not a comedian who will meet his audience half way. His dutch boy haircut and high-pitched warble were enough to make you want to heave heavy objects at him when you first saw his act, but once you got over the initial annoyance you discovered why Jay Leno once referred to him as one of the best joke writers in the business. Emo took a very basic comedy styling, the one-liner, and put his own weird twist on it. He twitches and stumbles on stage, running his fingers through his hair nervously as he tosses out such lines as, "People come up to me and say, 'Emo, do people really come up to you?'"

Besides doing stand-up and being featured on all the late night talk shows various times thorughout his career, Emo was an executive producer for the original 1992 version of Meet the Parents, which he worked on with Greg Glienna. He would later serve as a producer for the remake starring Ben Stiller. He's worked with Weird Al Yankovic on several projects as well, a partnership that began after Emo played a clumsy shop teacher in the movie UHF (he cuts off his thumb with a table saw). His next project is the movie Relative Strangers, also directed by Glienna.

Nowadays, a bit older and not so lanky, with his hair trimmed into a nice spiky style instead of the "Prince Valiant just got out of bed" look he used to sport, Emo is still damn funny and continues to tour. Like Henny Youngman before him, Emo built a career out of quick, snappy one-liners. What sets Emo apart was how he was able to make an old style of comedy seem fresh and innovative to a whole new generation. It's often said that a joke's power depends on the delivery, and I've yet to see any comedian who can deliver a joke like Emo.

Here's to you, Emo, and I'll be the first in line to see your river boat revue I Wanna Huck Your Brains Out! It sounds like a delightful romp.