Court Jester
Personally, I never heard the Court Jester say anything remotely amusing.
Rene Auberjonois may not have been all that amusing in King Lear, but one must admit that he was a giggle as Odo on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. And, who can forget Poland’s most famous court jester, Stanczyk, whose witty jokes have become important historical and cultural symbols for many Poles - am I right? (If Stanczyk were alive today he might ask, “Is the Pope Polish?” and he would be wrong. Right?). Benedict The Panzer Pope XVI almost took the name Puck Pius XIII. That would have been funny don’t you think? Imagine Danny Kaye playing Cardinal Ratzinger as PPXIII in an audience, minutes before assuming the papacy, with Nazi hunter Simon Wiesenthal played by Basil Rathbone who feigns conversion to Catholicism to launch a surprise attack during the ecclesiastical investiture of the Pope during the Papal Inauguration Mass. Then we could once again enjoy that amusing exchange between Sister Griselda (are we asking Mildred Natwick to do a posthumous encore performance?) and his holiness:
PPXIII: I’ve got it! The pellet with the poison’s in the vessel with the pestle; the chalice from the palace has the brew that is true! Right?
Sister Griselda: Right! — but there’s been a change: they broke the chalice from the palace…
PPXIII: They broke the chalice from the palace?
Sister Griselda: …and replaced it. With a flagon.
PPXIII: A flagon?
Sister Griselda: With the figure of a dragon.
PPXIIIHawkins: Flagon with a dragon.
Griselda: Right.
PPXIII: …but did you put the pellet with the poison in the vessel with the pestle?
Sister Griselda: No! The pellet with the poison’s in the flagon with the dragon! The vessel with the pestle has the brew that is true!
PPXIII: The pellet with the poison’s in the flagon with the dragon, the vessel with the pestle has the brew that is true.
Sister Griselda: Just remember that!
Note: And the pope remembered and the church lived happily ever after. Postscript: Who could ever forget those wonderful songs: “Maladjusted Jester” and “Pass the Basket” (words by Sammy Cahn, music by Sylvia Fine - who, incidentally, was Danny Kaye’s wife). I don’t remember them and find that remotely, if not worrisome, not so amusing.
Rene Auberjonois may not have been all that amusing in King Lear, but one must admit that he was a giggle as Odo on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. And, who can forget Poland’s most famous court jester, Stanczyk, whose witty jokes have become important historical and cultural symbols for many Poles – am I right? (If Stanczyk were alive today he might ask, “Is the Pope Polish?” and he would be wrong. Right?). Benedict The Panzer Pope XVI almost took the name Puck Pius XIII. That would have been funny don’t you think? Imagine Danny Kaye playing Cardinal Ratzinger as PPXIII in an audience, minutes before assuming the papacy, with Nazi hunter Simon Wiesenthal played by Basil Rathbone who feigns conversion to Catholicism to launch a surprise attack during the ecclesiastical investiture of the Pope during the Papal Inauguration Mass. Then we could once again enjoy that amusing exchange between Sister Griselda (are we asking Mildred Natwick to do a posthumous encore performance?) and his holiness:
PPXIII: I’ve got it! The pellet with the poison’s in the vessel with the pestle; the chalice from the palace has the brew that is true! Right?
Sister Griselda: Right! — but there’s been a change: they broke the chalice from the palace…
PPXIII: They broke the chalice from the palace?
Sister Griselda: …and replaced it. With a flagon.
PPXIII: A flagon?
Sister Griselda: With the figure of a dragon.
PPXIIIHawkins: Flagon with a dragon.
Griselda: Right.
PPXIII: …but did you put the pellet with the poison in the vessel with the pestle?
Sister Griselda: No! The pellet with the poison’s in the flagon with the dragon! The vessel with the pestle has the brew that is true!
PPXIII: The pellet with the poison’s in the flagon with the dragon, the vessel with the pestle has the brew that is true.
Sister Griselda: Just remember that!
Note: And the pope remembered and the church lived happily ever after. Postscript: Who could ever forget those wonderful songs: “Maladjusted Jester” and “Pass the Basket” (words by Sammy Cahn, music by Sylvia Fine – who, incidentally, was Danny Kaye’s wife). I don’t remember them and find that remotely, if not worrisome, not so amusing.