A Big Fat Omission

If you've never checked out a website called List Universe, be sure to set aside some time before you first visit it;  it's a fabulous time waster. They've got lists of everything from coincidences, mental disorders, controversial non-fiction books, disgusting parasites and on and on and on. Suffice it to say, there's something for every taste and it's constantly updated. (The most recent list is quotes from George Carlin. However, I mention them today with a heavy heart.)  

They've a recent list entitled:  Top Ten Funny Fat Guys in Entertainment.  Where, you ask, does Jackie Gleason rank on this list?  Try no where.  Chris Farley, who was around for the blink of an eye, is on the list. Some guys  named Ralphie May and Gabriel Iglesias are there. I've never heard of them, which means they must be new kids on the proverbial block. Rodney Dangerfield tops the list, which is fine, but how do you not have The Great One?  He meets all the criteria: he was very funny, very fat and very entertaining. For God's Sakes, he was bloody Ralph Kramden. Kramden (one of my alter egos along with Barney Fife, George Costanza and Homer Simpson) is one of the most recognizable characters in TV history.  Gleason himself was not only a wonderful comic but an outstanding dramatic actor (see The Hustler if you've any doubts).  Both Farley and John Candy (who's rightfully on the list) emulated Gleason.

If Gleason were 6th or 7th on the list behind these Ralphie and Julio guys I'd have squawked but it wouldn't have warranted a blog entry. When you disrespect one of the great entertainers of the 20th century, well you've done gotten my dander up. And it's not like the list maker(s) had a short memory because Oliver Hardy and Curly Howard were there.

So this is a lousy introduction to List Universe, but for those of you who've not visited, take it from me, this is a GREAT Web site. 

But what a bogus Funny Fat  Entertainer list.