- Joe Miller (actor)
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"Millerisms" redirects here. For the teachings of William Miller, see Millerism.
Joe Miller's Jests, or the Wits Vade-Mecum (1739)
Joe Miller (Joseph or Josias) (1684 – August 15, 1738) was an English actor, who first appeared in the cast of Sir Robert Howard's Committee at Drury Lane in 1709 as Teague.
Trinculo in The Tempest, the First Grave-digger in Hamlet and Marplot in Susanna Centlivre's The Busybody, were among his many favourite parts. He is said to have been a friend of Hogarth.
In 1715 he appears on bills promoting a performance on the last day of April, where he played Young Clincher in Farquhar's comedy, "The Constant Couple or a Trip to the Jubilee".
On 25th April 1717 he plays Sir Joseph Whittol in William Congreve's "Old Batchelor". Tickets for this performance were adorned by a design by William Hogarth showing the scene where Whittol's bully, Noll, is kicked by sharper. This is described as a "very valuable engraving" in 1868[1]
In "vacation periods" between working at Drury Lane, he performed for the Pinkethman Company.
He frequented the "Black Jack" tavern on Portsmouth Street in London, which was a favourite of the Drury Lane players and those from Lincoln's Inn Fields. Allegedly he was very serious in the bar and this led to an in-joke whereby all his companions ascribed all new jokes to him.
His final performance was on 13th April 1738.
On his death on 15th August he was buried at St Clement Danes on Portugal Street, London. This churchyard was later built over by Kings College Hospital. The grave is therefore lost.
Joe Miller's Jests
After Miller's death, John Mottley (1692–1750) brought out a book called Joe Miller's Jests, or the Wit's Vade-Mecum (1739), published under the pseudonym of Elijah Jenkins Esq. at the price of one shilling. This was a collection of contemporary and ancient coarse witticisms, only three of which are told of Miller. This first edition was a thin pamphlet of 247 numbered jokes. This ran to three editions in its first year.
Later (not wholly connected) versions were entitled with names such as "Joe Miller's Joke Book", and "The New Joe Miller" to latch onto the popularity of both Joe Miller himself and the popularity of Mottley's first book. It should be noted that joke books of this format (i.e. "Mr Smith's Jests") were common even before this date. It was common practice to learn one or two jokes for use at parties etc.
Owing to the quality of the jokes in Mottley's book, their number increasing with each of the many subsequent editions, any time-worn jest came to be called "a Joe Miller", a Joe-Millerism, or simply a Millerism.
Joke 99 states:
A Lady's Age happening to be questioned, she affirmed she was but Forty, and called upon a Gentleman that was in Company for his Opinion; Cousin, said she, do you believe I am in the Right, when I say I am but Forty? I ought not to dispute it, Madam, reply'd he, for I have heard you say so these ten Years.
Joke 234 speaks of:
A famous teacher of Arithmetick, who had long been married without being able to get his Wife with Child. One said to her ‘Madam, your Husband is an excellent Arithmetician’. ‘Yes, replies she, only he can't multiply.'
Joe Miller was referred to in Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol (1843), by the character Scrooge, who remarks "Joe Miller never made such a joke as sending [the turkey] to Bob's will be!"
According to Leonard Feinberg, the 1734 edition contains one of the oldest examples of gallows humor.[2]
References
- Peter Young, The Data Book of Joe Miller Jokes, ISBN 0721700284 ISBN 978-0721700281.
- Joe Miller's Jests or the Wits Vade-Mecum. A facsimile of the original "Joe Miller" (1739). Dover Books, 1963.
- Online version of Joe Miller's Jests (sans introductory material copyrighted by Dover Books)
- Scott William Peterson, The Best Medicine.
- ^ Robert Chambers, Book of Days, Aug 15th
- ^ Leonard Feinberg The secret of humor p.159
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed (1911). Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.Categories:- 1684 births
- 1738 deaths
- English actors
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