People like Jack Handey

Jack Handey (born February 25, 1949) is an American humorist. He is best known for his "Deep Thoughts by Jack Handey", a large body of surrealistic one-liner jokes, as well as his "Fuzzy Memories" and "My Big Thick Novel" shorts, and for his deadpan delivery. Although many assume otherwise, Handey is a real person, not a pen name or character.

Handey's earliest writing job was for a newspaper, the San Antonio Express-News. He lost the job after writing an article that, in his words, "offended local car dealerships". His first comic writing was with comedian Steve Martin. According to Martin, Handey got a job writing for Saturday Night Live (SNL) after Martin introduced him to the show's creator, Lorne Michaels. For several years, Handey worked on other television projects: the Canadian sketch series Bizarre in 1980, the 1980 Steve Martin television special Comedy Is Not Pretty!, and Lorne Michaels' short-lived sketch show on NBC called The New Show in 1984. Handey returned to Saturday Night Live in 1985 as a writer.