While it is true that Frank had a great sense of humor, he was also very serious about composing music. In reality there are only a handful of skilled players who can play his most complex pieces. It takes a lot of patience to learn and requires a fantastic memory.

I always thought the biggest failing of Americans was their lack of irony. They are very serious there! Naturally, there are exceptions... the Jewish, Italian, and Irish humor of the East Coast.

People think I'm a very serious actor, which I am. But you know, if you don't have a sense of humor doing what I do, you perish.

When I'd watch myself coaching, I'd say, 'Man, I look bad,' but I never felt I didn't have a sense of humor with the team. Maybe I was too over-the-top serious.

I've always had a sick sense of humor, and I've always wanted that to permeate the music because I don't take myself seriously. I take the music seriously, but I know I'm not God's gift to anyone except my mom.

With Portlandia, I don't think our intention is always to find something funny. Sometimes the humor comes from taking something really seriously. We're okay with making somebody feel uncomfortable or uneasy.

Humor can bring people under the tent. And a good joke can deflect some of the intensity surrounding a serious subject.

Humor and seriousness are not in opposition to each other.

You hear people say, 'We take our Tennessee Williams very seriously. There is no laughter here.' It's full of humor! Not to laugh is a big, bad mistake!

I think humor is a very serious thing. I use it as a way of weakening the reader's defenses so that I can more easily take him to something more.

Like inspirational , which have been huge on Pinterest. Or looking at dog photos! We didn't know how to take those uses for Pinterest seriously until we realized, sometimes even I look at Pinterest to feel better, not just do something but feel happier, to feel connection, to feel humor, to know everyone goes through difficult times.

By employing a certain sense of humor, you essentially get more serious about things and show conflict more effectively than if you were overly dramatic or only violent because that's a one-way approach that just forces audiences to watch something appalling.

We are really living the American dream, to be a successful brand in the States and in Europe and to steep ourselves in our heritage. But we do it with a sense of humor. We don't take ourselves too seriously in fashion.

The book, '12 Rules For Life,' is a very serious book. There's elements of humor in it, but I'm trying to struggle with things at the deepest possible level and to explain to people why it's necessary to live a upstanding and noble and moral and truthful and responsible life, and why there's hell to pay if you don't do that.

Nothing in man is more serious than his sense of humor; it is the sign that he wants all the truth.

We do not take humor seriously enough.

It's your outlook on life that counts. If you take yourself lightly and don't take yourself too seriously, pretty soon you can find the humor in our everyday lives. And sometimes it can be a lifesaver.

If you can get humor and seriousness at the same time, you've created a special little thing, and that's what I'm looking for, because if you get pompous, you lose everything.

A joke's a very serious thing.

See, my hope and dream is that people have a good time watching basketball. It's not church. It's not serious.

I don't believe in luck. Not in golf, anyway. There are good bounces and bad bounces, sure, but the ball is round and so is the hole. If you find yourself in a position where you hope for luck to pull you through, you're in serious trouble.

All I do is sit at home and play guitar. That's seriously what I do.

Push-ups are seriously the best way to tone your arms - and they tone your abs at the same time! I like to do them when I'm home watching TV or listening to music.

Run a home like you would a small business and treat it with the same seriousness.