From the Archives: Ed Subitzky

Revisiting two of his funniest Bystander pieces

It was late last night and I was laboring over this very email, trying to write about Shalom Aleichem’s Tevye stories and how they manage to be so damn funny in a way that doesn’t make light of anyone or their tragedies. That Aleichem pulls this off is hardly a novel observation, but I think I might say a little bit about how he does it…

…then I started losing consciousness, and now it’s the morning, my kids are watching Peppa Pig, and we need a new plan.

So, let’s use this space to pay tribute to a very different kind of hilarious writer, one who (check this transition) himself writes frequently about consciousness: Bystander Ed Subitzky.

Ed, makin’ art.

For now, I’ll skip the lengthy and impressive CV—National Lampoon, the Radio Hour, Late Night with David Letterman, to name just a few highlights. In interviews, Ed has said he studied mathematics as a student, and I see a formal, structural strain in his humor. But he combines that with straight-for-the-jugular directness that marks so much of Lampoon’s funniest work. Subitzky satisfies both heart and mind, his humor is the whole meal.

From the Journal of Consciousness Studies, 17, published in 2010.

For today’s dip into Bystander’s archives (which I insist on calling Archival Load) we’re going to reshare two of my favorite pieces of Ed’s, from Issues 7 and 8. The first is “Young George Washington,” and it starts like this:

“Father, I cannot tell a lie. I chopped down the cherry tree.”

“Also, I’m the one who set the puppies and the kittens on fire.”

“Also, I copped a feel from Aunt Esmeralda while she was pouring tea.”

“Also…”