Denis Norden's Quotes

Then after that came word processors and it's hard to make those laugh.

And if you can offer an explanation as to why it doesn't work then you've got to the whole root of comedy.

Everyone who appears in a scene gets paid.

Frank liked administrative work and was good at it.

I defy anyone to get a decision that quickly these days.

I used to like writing for comedians - I enjoyed the challenge of making other people funny.

If the laughter of the audience was malicious we wouldn't show it.

There's an unseen force which lets birds know when you've just washed your car.

And when you're on your own there is that terrifying possibility that you may be the only person on the planet who thinks it's funny - and you have no way of finding out.

It's like your children talking about holidays, you find they have a quite different memory of it from you. Perhaps everything is not how it is, but how it's remembered.

The comedians all finished their acts with a song. They would get a certain amount of money from the song publishers and would use that money to pay the writers. None of them paid very much for their comedy material, but it all added up.

If it is a shame to be the second man on Mount Everest, then I will have to live with this shame.

If I know I make this much trouble, I never climb Everest.

Isn't one of your first exercises in learning how to communicate to write a description of how to tie your shoelaces? The point being that it's basically impossible to use text to show that.

It is relatively easy to design for the perfect cases, when everything goes right, or when all the information required is available in proper format.

Sure, one can always get the students to relax and be happy - entertained, but although being laid back and relax can also lead to creativity, mostly it means that nothing much gets done.

And to get real work experience, you need a job, and most jobs will require you to have had either real work experience or a graduate degree.

Beauty and brains, pleasure and usability - they should go hand in hand.

Am I an Apple bigot? No. I can critique their products and their customer service philosophy. But overall, they do better than any other player.

Also note that invariably when we design something that can be used by those with disabilities, we often make it better for everyone.