Page 34 - Free the Idea Monkey

Chapter 2

Meet the Idea Monkey

You need him, but he needs you as well.

When I told people I was considering using “Idea Monkey” as

part of the title for this book, some of them immediately launched

into their impression of Dieter from Saturday Night Live.

In the television sketch, Dieter is a bored

German minimalist who interviews celebri-

ties he has virtually no interest in and always

brings the discussion around to his pet mon-

key, Klaus. News of my potential title always

got people to utter a Dieter catch phrase:

“Would you like to touch my monkey? Touch

him! LOVE HIM!!”

I didn’t mind because most comics

(including the brilliant Mike Myers who

created Dieter) are, in fact, Idea Monkeys. “Would you like to
They will readily move from one thought to touch my monkey?”
another, building on everyone else’s ideas

with the goal of creating a huge laugh. (Indeed, that is how Dieter

came about. As the story goes, he is based on a bored waiter who

once served Myers in a Toronto restaurant.) They won’t stop until

they reach their goal ... and you are busting a gut.

19C H A P T E R 2