The Aristocrats (also known as The Debonaires in England) is a joke which has been told by numerous stand-up comedians since Vaudeville, and often only among an audience of other comedians.

The joke is even the subject of a documentary called The Aristocrats, co-produced by Penn Jillette and Paul Provenza , directed by Paul Provenza, and edited by Emery Emery and Paul Provenza; the film premiered at the 2005 Sundance Film Festival. The creators developed the film based on hours of digital video they took over several years of comedians talking about and telling their versions of the joke. It includes the unaired portion of Gilbert Gottfried's telling of a version of the joke at a Comedy Central/Friars Club roast of Hugh Hefner held (with a mixture of reluctance and defiance) less than three weeks after the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

The joke

The joke has three parts:

1. The setup: the joke always begins with a "family act" going in to see a talent agent;
2. The act is described. By tradition, the description is crude, tasteless, often ribald, often scatological, and as beyond the boundaries of propriety as the comedian can muster;
3. The punchline: the agent asks what this act is called, and the answer is always the same: "The Aristocrats"...

External links and sources

• The right to shock and appall, a March 2005 column by Frank Rich
• Sundance Film Festival Competition summary
• The Aristocrats Joke Database (mature content)