DEADPAN

Deadpan is a form of comedic delivery in which something humorous is said or done by a person, while not exhibiting a change in emotion or facial expression.

1 Origin
2 Notable deadpan comedians
3 See also

Origin

The term "deadpan" first emerged as an adjective or adverb in the 1920s, as a compound word combining "dead" and "pan" (a slang term for "the face"). It was first recorded as a noun in Vanity Fair in 1927; a dead pan was thus 'a face or facial expression displaying no emotion, animation, or humor'. Finally, the verb deadpan 'to speak, act, or utter in a deadpan manner; to maintain a dead pan' arose by the early 1940s, apparently as a journalistic coinage rather than a theatrical one. It must be noted that today its use is especially common in humour from the United States, Canada, UK, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand.

Notable deadpan comedians

Television

Conan O'Brien frequently makes use of deadpan humour, often performing an unscripted skit on his television show called "Small Talk Moment", in which he and band leader Max Weinberg exchange small talk about some random subject before Max says "This topic sure is interesting," and Conan replies with "It sure is, Max" at which point the camera switches between the two of them staring at each other in a deadpan manner.
Weekend Update, a long-running Saturday Night Live sketch, is famous for its anchors delivering fake news in a deadpan manner, most notably by Kevin Nealon.
Jack Benny and Johnny Carson were famous for their "takes," blank stares toward the camera in response (or nonresponse) to something funny that had just happened.
Geoffrey from The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, a black English butler who hates his job.
Rick Mercer is known for using this type of humour in This Hour has 22 Minutes and Talking to Americans (by making outlandish claims about Canada).
Stephen Colbert is one of today's most noted deadpan comedians for his performances as a correspondent on The Daily Show and host of The Colbert Report.
Ed Helms, another correspondent on The Daily Show, also has a famously deadpan delivery and expression set often used to make interviewees feel awkward or uncomfortable for comic purposes.
The characters in Fawlty Towers, in particular Basil Fawlty, say outrageously funny things completely seriously.
Paul Merton of Have I Got News For You.
The members of Monty Python were known for their sincere performances of utter lunacy, and ability to stay calm in absurd settings. (Except when fish entered the picture, as that would send John Cleese into fits of uncontrolable laughter.)
Rowan Atkinson is the English comedian famous for the characters Mr. Bean and Blackadder
Pat Paulsen spoke in a blank monotone with heavy eyelids, usually opening with, "Good evening, I'm really excited to be here."
Bob Newhart is known for his deadpan delivery and his slight stammer, as featured on The Bob Newhart Show and Newhart, and in classic standup routines.
Daniel Davis from the TV show The Nanny.
While the rest of the family has their own insane ways of dealing with the morbid and absurd, *Wednesday Addams has a certain way of approaching a situation dead on, deadpanned and with casualties on both sides.
Cleveland Brown (voiced by Mike Henry), a character on the popular television show, Family Guy, almost always speaks in a serious tone.
The Olsen Twins in every sitcom they star in uses witty lines in a serious manner.
Miley Cyrus is best known for her deadpan manner on-screen.

Film

Buster Keaton, known as the "Great Stone Face", became famous for never cracking a smile in any of his films.
Peter Sellers, most famously in his portrayal of bumbling French police inspector Jacques Clousseau in the Blake Edwards's Pink Panther series.
Bill Murray, most of his work entails him delivering overtly humorous lines with a genuine look of disinterest or indifference on his face.
Leslie Nielsen progressed from being a dramatic actor in films such as The Poseidon Adventure to a comedic actor due in large part to his seriousness in delivering nonsensical lines in movies such as Airplane! ("Surely you can't be serious!" "I am serious. And don't call me Shirley.") and The Naked Gun series.
Ben Stein, a university professor in real life, found a new career as a comedy actor by exploiting the stereotype of the dull academic, often acting as a straight man.

Stand-up comedians

Steven Wright is an American stand-up comedian whose act is filled with deadpan.
Mitch Hedberg was an American stand-up comedian known for his odd subject matter, stylistic elocution, deadpan delivery, and memorable routines that often consisted of a string of one-line non sequiturs.
Dave Allen, a pessimistic Irish stand-up comedian.
Jackie Vernon caricatured the typically boring slide-projector presentation of vacation photos.
Dave Hughes, a well known Australian stand-up comedian.
Jimmy Carr, an English comedian known for his dry, sarcastic humour
Jack Dee, British Comedian who is know for his deadpan humour

Other

Mark Twain is quoted as saying: "The humorous story is told gravely; the teller does his best to conceal the fact that he even dimly suspects that there is anything funny about it."
Gordon Strachan, the manager of the Celtic Football Club is known for his deadpan comedy in interviews.
Humphrey Lyttelton, jazz musician and radio-personality, as chairman of I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue