Carl Reiner was a multifaceted American talent, spanning roles as an actor, comedian, director, screenwriter and author across seven decades.
Celebrated with 11 Primetime Emmy Awards, a Grammy and the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor, he was inducted into the Television Hall of Fame in 1999.
In the 1950s, he was pivotal in pioneering TV comedy, contributing to “Your Show of Shows” and “Caesar’s Hour” alongside giants like Mel Brooks, Neil Simon and Woody Allen.
Reiner and Brooks collaborated on iconic comedy albums, notably “2000 Years with Carl Reiner and Mel Brooks” in 1960.
I have made the list of the best quotes by Carl Reiner.
Best Carl Reiner Quotes
“Give yourself an impossible task and solve it – then you’ve got a really good story.” ~ (Carl Reiner).
“I wrote three books about growing up in the Bronx.” ~ (Carl Reiner).
“Comedians are really writers who don’t have pens and pencils about them, but they riff.” ~ (Carl Reiner).
“The absolute truth is the thing that makes people laugh.” ~ (Carl Reiner).
“Lust is easy. Love is hard. Life is most important.” ~ (Carl Reiner).
“Improvisation is just writing in front of an audience.” ~ (Carl Reiner).
“An attitude will give you heft.” ~ (Carl Reiner).
“If you can get a laugh out of a name, you’re ahead of the game.” ~ (Carl Reiner).
“I’m a charming coward; I fight with words.” ~ (Carl Reiner).
“I write books that way – I put a first line down and say, “Where does this go?”” ~ (Carl Reiner).
“You’d only write what you know and what you know is what you do and the people you know. So you’d write about them or the people you have met casually. It’s part of your life.” ~ (Carl Reiner).
Famous Carl Reiner Quotes
“I’ve done everything I’ve wanted to do. I have three children, I have grandchildren, I have books, I did movies, I’ve directed movies, I’ve done almost everything I’ve wanted to do.” ~ (Carl Reiner).
“My father was a watchmaker and an inventor. I saw him working in the house every day. The work ethic, I got from him. He worked hard and he never complained about it.” ~ (Carl Reiner).
“I am an atheist. I have a very different take on who God is. Man invented God because he needed him. God is us.” ~ (Carl Reiner).
“Inviting people to laugh with you while you are laughing at yourself is a good thing to do. You may be a fool but you’re the fool in charge.” ~ (Carl Reiner).
“A lot of people like snow. I find it to be an unnecessary freezing of water.” ~ (Carl Reiner).
“I only please myself. I figure I’m just one of many people. I’m not that different from anybody else and I don’t have great language – I’m very ordinary.” ~ (Carl Reiner).
Top Carl Reiner Quotes
“I’m not a believer, I call myself an atheist. It was man who invented God. I once wrote that there are 15 things I know about God, and one is that he is allergic to shellfish. There are far too many commandments and you really only need one: Do not hurt anybody.” ~ (Carl Reiner).
“I certainly have warm relationships with people, but you choose the people you have those relationships with. There are some people I don’t bother with.” ~ (Carl Reiner).
“When you denigrate people, they have two ways to fight back – with their fists and guns, or their mouths. And mouths are seemingly the easiest way to not get hit back. If people are laughing, they’re not going to hit you.” ~ (Carl Reiner).
“When I found out I could write I was shocked! I didn’t know I could write.” ~ (Carl Reiner).
“A fellow who has a funny bone can learn to hone his skills, but I don’t think you can develop a funny bone – you either have it or you don’t. And by the way – when you get it, we don’t know it.” ~ (Carl Reiner).
“People have a comic bent or an angularity to their thinking, and those are the people who make jokes. And it’s usually people who were in an environment, when they were young, where jokes were at a premium, or at least considered important to a life. My parents always listened to the comedy radio shows, we went to the comedy movies, and my parents appreciated comedy. So kids listen and follow what their parents like.” ~ (Carl Reiner).
Popular Carl Reiner Quotes
“I love tweeting. I tweet every day. I stay in contact, I tell them what I’m doing. I’ve posted pictures of my books on there and they buy the books. It’s a very good way to communicate with people, but I can’t go to bed without tweeting something. I have to tweet something.” ~ (Carl Reiner).
“Everybody wants to laugh – you know that. They need to laugh… people need to laugh.” ~ (Carl Reiner).
“I think that comedy really tells you how it is. The other thing about comedy is that – you don’t even know if you’re failing in drama, but you do know when you’re failing in comedy. When you go to a comedy and you don’t hear anybody laughing, you know that you’ve failed.” ~ (Carl Reiner).
“I’m an entertainer and I entertain people and they entertain me back by asking questions. And some of them I answer.” ~ (Carl Reiner).
“Id like to acknowledge three people who early on knew Mel Brooks was one of the funniest people in the world: Sid Caesar, me, and Mel Brooks.” ~ (Carl Reiner).
