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{{trope}}
[[File:Stephen_Colbert_Corpsing_9412Stephen Colbert Corpsing 9412.jpg|link=Unfortunate Name|frame|[[Stephen Colbert]] [http://www.colbertnation.com/the-colbert-report-videos/393971/august-04-2011/colbert-super-pac---the-heroes-respond valiantly fails to keep a straight face.] ]]
 
{{quote|''"You enjoyin' that sandwich, are you?"''|'''[[Not Only but Also|Peter Cook]]''', as '''Dudley Moore''' tries to hide his laughter with one.}}
|'''[[Not Only... But Also|Peter Cook]]''', as '''Dudley Moore''' tries to hide his laughter with one.}}
 
''[[Corpsing'']] is actor-speak for having an unscripted fit of laughter onstage, so-called because the worst time to have the giggles is when one is playing a corpse. Corpsing doesn't necessarily mean that the material is especially funny (though, of course, it can), or that the actors aren't taking it seriously; it just ''happens'', and even excellent actors can corpse. Stress can do that to a person. Many actors try to cover this by covering their mouth and muffling the sounds they make. When this is done, a fit of laughter can be rather haphazardly be turned into violent sobbing, with varying levels of success. Of course, that only helps if violent crying is appropriate for the scene (again, playing a corpse leaves you in trouble).
 
''Some'' actors, of course, [[Griefer|will try their level best to make other actors corpse.]] It seems to be a feather in one's cap of some sort, to either be the guy who ''never'' corpses, or the guy who [[We Do the Impossible|can make even the guy who never corpses corpse]]. Bonus points if you're working in a scene with a very seasoned and well-respected actor. Even if they have a [[Mean Character, Nice Actor|great sense of humor in real life,]] getting someone the caliber of [[Jeremy Irons]] or [[Meryl Streep]] to get the giggles is a big achievement.
 
A common type of [[Hilarious Outtakes]].
 
----
{{examples}}
== Advertising ==
* A rare television commercial version happens in an A&W commercial. In the "Two For One Mamaburger" commercial with helium balloons, the balloon the employee releases at the end flies around and manages to hit the manager in the face and stay there as it deflates. You can tell the actor playing the employee is barely containing his laughter.▼
* The [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xffOCZYX6F8 famous 1979 Coca-Cola commercial] with Pittsburg Steelers defensive tackle "Mean Joe" Greene took several takes to shoot because, as Greene himself claims, it was ''very'' hard to drink a whole bottle of soda that fast without belching.
 
== Fan Works ==
* More than a few of the [https://www.fanfiction.net/s/7606351/1/Genma-s-Daughter-The-Cutting-Room-Floor Scenes from the Cutting Room Floor] from Deborah Goldsmith's ''[[Ranma ½]]'' story ''[https://web.archive.org/web/20151019220923/https://www.fanfiction.net/s/7603977/1/Genma-s-Daughter Genma’s Daughter]'' combines [[Animated Actors]] and Corpsing. One example:
{{quote|Akane was amazed. What could Ranma possibly be so ashamed of? “What did you say, Ranma? What did the curse do?”
Ranma slowly raised her head, still not looking at Akane. “It makes me want to paint sad clowns on black velvet.” She turned away in shame.
Akane stared at Ranko for a long moment, before both girls dissolved into gales of laughter. So did most of the other people on the set.
''“Cut!!”''}}
* In [[Spice Girls]] [[Alternate Universe Fic]], ''[[Astral Journey: It's Complicated]]'': Emma tries to hold in her laughter after learning about Melanie being locked in a wheelchair due to injuries of her own.
* Happens several times [[In-Universe]] in the ''[[Ranma ½]]'' fic ''[[Girl Days]]'' by Rob "Kenko" Haynie:
** Akane and Nabiki are frequently shown trying desperately not to laugh while Ranma taunts her father with the fruits of her Girl Days training. In chapter 17, they have to resort to stuffing the sleeves of a gi into their mouths to keep from laughing out loud. In the same incident, Ranma herself has to retreat before she cracks up.
** At several points in the story, Cologne similarly has to keep herself from breaking out into guffaws, mainly to preserve her dignity and image as an unflappable elder. Late in chapter 17, though, she gives up and finally collapses in hysterics.
 
== Film ==
* A famous example occurs in ''[[The Wizard of Oz (Filmfilm)|The Wizard of Oz]]''. When Bert Lahr (the Cowardly Lion) makes his first appearance, [[Judy Garland]] (Dorothy) hides behind Toto. This looks like it's because she's frightened, but in actuality she was just trying to cover up the fact that she was laughing at Lahr.
* ''[[Dr. Strangelove (Film)|Dr. Strangelove]]''
** Peter Bull, playing the sombre Russian ambassador, is shaking with laughter and trying desperately not to laugh out loud at watching [[Peter Sellers]]' ad-libbed antics as he fights his [[Evil Hand]]. He regained his composure quickly enough that the [[Crowning Moment of Funny|scene]] could still be used.
*** They ''did'' have to cut it rather close, though. One scene showing Bull ends just seconds from the actor corpsing as seen when his stoic facade cracks.
*** [[Peter Sellers]] was notorious for having this effect on his co-stars. another noticable moment (or Moments) is in Return of the [[Pink Panther]] and his scenes with Catherine Schell.
** Another scene was not so lucky--originallylucky—originally the movie was to end with a pie fight. Seriously. Unfortunately, the characters had to be totally earnest about it to fit with the [[Black Comedy]] tone of the movie. That was a bridge too far; the entire cast corpsed within the first few pastry volleys, and the set (not to mention wardrobe) was too trashed for a second take.
* Another [[Stanley Kubrick|Kubrick example]] is in ''[[Full Metal Jacket]]''. At the beginning when Gunnery Sergeant Hartman is berating the men, Vincent D'Onofrio begins to crack up. This was unintentional but they kept going. This reaction is [[Truth in Television]] as seen in the [[Real Life]] section below.
* In ''[[Men in Black (Filmfilm)|Men in Black]]'', the scene where [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xRcUcxtaX-Q K is shaking Frank the pug.] You can obviously see Tommy Lee Jones struggling to keep from laughing on camera. He's only partially successful. (Quick smile at about 44 seconds in.)
* [[The Marx Brothers|Groucho Marx]] was such a hilarious actor that Margaret Dumont could hardly ever keep a straight face when she was on screen with him.
* [[Monty Python]]:
** In ''[[Monty PythonsPython's Life of Brian]]'', during the "Biggus Dickus" scene, the extras playing the guards were told that the scene would be serious and that they [[Enforced Method Acting|had to keep straight faces or they would be sacked]]. Michael Palin turned his performance up to eleven to get them to corpse, and it ended up as one of the funniest scenes in the entire film.
** In ''[[Monty Python and Thethe Holy Grail]]'', watch Eric Idle as a peasant during the "burn the witch" scene. As John Cleese stretches an awkward silence out further and further, Idle has to bite down on his scythe at one point to keep from laughing.
** According to John Cleese, Michael Palin was "very naughty" on stage in his attempts to get the other Pythons to do this during live performances.
*** At one point during the live tour, Terry Jones and Graham Chapman decided to try and make each other corpse when walking on to do a sketch about pepperpots; since they did their makeup separately and came in from opposite sides of the stage, there was a ready-made battlefield. They gradually got more and more absurd with their makeup, climaxing when Terry (sporting a [[The Simpsons (animation)|Homer Simpson]] beard made entirely from lipstick) cracked up at the sight of Graham with a circle of lipstick drawn around his face.
* During the (not kidding) ''twenty straight minutes of rock climbing'' in [[B-Movie]] ''[[Lost Continent]]'', as Cesar Romero is pulled up a cliff, [[Wardrobe Malfunction|his trousers begin to slide down]] and the actors hoisting him grab him by the back of his belt to prevent it. Behind them, Hugh Beaumont is visibly snickering at this and making a half-hearted attempt to hide it. [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xJcY-tDqVvM&feature==related#t=9m28s You can see it here in the MST3K version.]
* A bit of Corpsing gets through in ''[[Spaceballs (Film)|Spaceballs]]'', but only slightly. When the Radar Officer tells Dark Helmet, "I'm having trouble with the radar, sir," there's a bit of a chuckle at the end. It should be noted that the officer was played by [[Michael Winslow]], man of a thousand sound effects. Almost a dozen ''[[Police Academy]]'' movies and ''this'' was the point where he almost loses his composure? Hilarious.
* Rik Mayall claims some of the child actors tried to do this to him during his (cut from the final film, [[What Could Have Been|sadly]]) scenes as Peeves in ''[[Harry Potter and Thethe Philosopher's Stone (film)|Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone]]''. Luckily for Mayall, he had [[Bottom|experience]] with that sort of thing.
** According to [[Chris Columbus]], the first ''Potter'' film is filled with rapid cuts to compensate for how often the child actors would smile or laugh in the middle of takes. [[Rupert Grint]] was known for being especially bad at not corpsing and apparently he didn't get much better when he grew up. On the fifth film, an instance of corpsing became a [[Throw It In]] (when the Trio all laughs after Harry talks about his kiss with Cho).
** Emma Watson was reportedly terrible for doing this during the filming of the final film. They set up a [[The Swear Jar|corpsing jar]] on set because of it.
* In ''[[Ghostbusters]]'', when the gang goes to the Sedgwick Hotel and speaks to the man by the elevator ("What're you supposed to be, some kinda cosmonaut?"), you can see [[Dan Aykroyd]] (Ray Stantz) turn his head and look down at [[Bill Murray]]'s (Peter Venkman) comments about roaches. ("Must be a big cockroach." "Bite your head off, man.")
* Happens to [[Kevin Smith (Creator)|Kevin Smith]] in ''[[Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back]]'' when Jay is trying to pretend he's Jason Van Der Beek to the security guards.
* [[Lindsay Lohan]] and [[Rachel McAdams]] have both said publicly that the filming of ''[[Mean Girls]]'' was often prolonged by fits of giggles induced whenever [[Tim Meadows]] was on set. It apparently became his mission for the duration of his work on that film to make Lindsay laugh on-camera as often as possible.
* ''[[Ace Ventura]]'': Courtney Cox tries and ''almost'' succeeds in looking solemn when 'Larry' ([[Jim Carrey]]) acts out "a button-hook pattern in super slo-mo". She nearly cracks when he does an "instant replay" and 'bounces' off the doctor's shoulder.
* Watch ''[[Young Frankenstein]]'' and count the number of scenes where Gene Wilder is inches away from completely losing it.
** Igor's "take the bags" scene had to be filmed multiple times--nottimes—not because the cast corpsed, but because the ''crew'' was laughing so hard that it was messing up the takes.
* Fictional example: In the ''[[Batman (Filmfilm)|Batman]]'' movie (the one with [[Jack Nicholson]] as [[The Joker]]), one news reporter starts corpsing...and then [[Die Laughing|becomes a corpse]] soon after due to Joker venom.
* A whole series of corpsing outtakes play during the [[Creative Closing Credits]] of ''[[Cannonball Run]]''.
* ''[[Star Wars]]'': After delivering the line about "killing younglings", Obi-Wan quickly covers his mouth in a way that looks [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7SqTR0DorSw suspiciously like he's trying not to laugh.]
* In the film ''[[Sister Act]]'', when Mother Superior is raging at Deloris for turning the choir into a sideshow, the priest knocks on the door. Maggie Smith literally squeaks a loud "Come in!" that is so out of character (both for Mother Superior and for Maggie Smith) that you can clearly see Whoopi Goldberg immediately cover her mouth as she starts corpsing.
* While shooting the line-up scene in ''[[The Usual Suspects]]'', everyone started laughing, so [[Bryan Singer]] [[Throw It In|kept part of it the film]] (right before Benicio Del Toro says his lines).
* Watch Mark Ruffalo in the infamous {{spoiler|shawarma scene}} of ''[[The Avengers (Filmfilm)|The Avengers]]'''s [[The Stinger|second Stinger]].
* The "wanna hear the most annoying sound in the world" scene from ''[[Dumb and Dumber]]'' was not in the script; it was ad-libbed by Jim Carrey. During this scene in the movie you can see actor Mike Starr (who plays the hitman Mental) visibly trying not to laugh.
* ''[[Lost in Translation (Filmfilm)|Lost in Translation]]'' features a scene with Bill Murray "talking" to an elderly Japanese woman in a hospital waiting room. Nearby are two extras who are nearly bursting from trying not to laugh. Murray (the actor) appears to notice them and goes even further trying to provoke a reaction from them.
* Irving Berlin's ''[[White Christmas]]'' contains a [[Crowning Moment of Funny|scene in which the two male protagonists have to perform the two female protagonist's song-and-dance number.]] Bing Crosby, playing Bob Wallace, burst out laughing in the last few seconds of the scene, but it looked so natural that they used the take in the finished movie. (This was because the entire number was originally a gag by [[Bing Crosby]] and [[Danny Kaye]] intended to crack up the film crew; the production staff liked it so much they [[Throw It In|rewrote the film to actually use it]].)
* In ''[[Dick Tracy (film)|Dick Tracy]]'' there's an early scene with mobster Lips Manlis rudely slurping raw oysters, with Breathless saying he's making her sick. [[Madonna]] claimed in one documentary that she ''and'' the camera crew kept cracking up from co-star [[Paul Sorvino]]'s attempts to eat this way.
* Reportedly, this happened while filming the original version of ''[[The Fly (1958 film)|The Fly]]''. One of the biggest problems while filming the movie was having to cut the scenes short because [[Vincent Price]] couldn't help but laugh at co-star David Hedison's costume in the middle of filming. [[Nightmare Retardant| Many viewers had a similar problem.]]
 
== Live -Action TV ==▼
 
▲== Live Action TV ==
* Jerry more or less constantly in ''Seinfeld''
* Peter Cook, a master of improv, liked to get his partner Dudley Moore to corpse during filmings of ''[[Not Only... butBut Also]]''.
{{quote| '''Pete:''' ''[as Dud tries to hide his laughter by eating]'' You enjoyin' that sandwich, are ya?<br />
'''Dud:''' ''[weeps with laughter]'' }}
* Happened all the time on ''[[The Carol Burnett Show]]'', especially to Harvey Korman whenever he did a skit with Tim Conway.
Line 56 ⟶ 73:
** Other times, the other members, especially Carol, would get even with Tim. Like in "[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qT9jmEUNxtk&NR=1 The Flasher]" skit.
** Vicki Lawrence was very good at resisting corpsing, but could even make Tim fall out laughing, as at the very end of the [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3qqE_WmagjY Elephant story]
* On the ''[[30 Rock (TV)|Thirty Rock]]'' [[Live Episode]], Tracy tries to corpse on purpose to get a laugh. [[Cloudcuckoolander|Tracy being Tracy]], he does it [[Bad Bad Acting|badly]].
{{quote| '''Tracy:''' "Uh oh, I'm doing something called 'breaking' Blahahahaha. Snort. Heehee. Giggle giggle. The audience loves this!"}}
* ''[[Doctor Who]]'' actors Janet Fielding and Sarah Sutton are actually corpsing, not sobbing, during Adric's death scene in "[[Doctor Who/Recap/S19 E6/E06 Earthshock|Earthshock]]".
** In the episode "[[Doctor Who/Recap/2005 CS the Christmas Invasion/Recap|The Christmas Invasion]]", watch Mickey's face from the point that the Doctor staggers out of the TARDIS to the point that he collapses at Mickey and Jackie's feet. [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oF2EmKdTbsc Poor Noel Clarke could barely keep a straight face.]
** "New Earth" - When Lady Cassandra takes over the Doctor's body and turns up the camp, you can see [[Billie Piper]] trying not to crack.
** In ''[[Doctor Who/Recap/S6 E5/E05 The SeedsofSeeds of Death|The Seeds of Death]]'', watch Zoe when the Doctor is swept off his feet by the foam at the beginning of Episode Six. Or, if you've got the DVD, watch the [[Easter Egg]], which shows the commentary being filmed for that scene.
* A segment on ''[[The Daily Show (TV)|The Daily Show]]'' regarding a sex scandal involving Prince Charles produced [http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/mon-november-10-2003/prince-charles-scandal one of the greatest corpses of all time] between [[The Daily Show (TV)|Jon Stewart]] and [[Stephen Colbert]]. A few of the more notable times involved the writers and other actors [[Enforced Method Acting|changing things up on Jon between rehearsal and recording]] (such as when John Oliver [http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/thu-april-3-2008/britain-s-fallen-soldiers reads the names of Britain's Fallen Soldiers]).
** Colbert's site has a video tag for when he [http://www.colbertnation.com/video/tag/cracks+up loses it on camera.]
* Several times on ''[[Whose Line Is It Anyway? (TV)|Whose Line Is It Anyway]]''. Most of the time, the four "players" and Drew are great at keeping straight faces, but sometimes you get moments like [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jpmvw7ZJwD4 this].
** Colin can sometimes set it off with a single word, such as [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bVpyhwuzFJY "Tapioca!"] or [httphttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FAZY2B3_lYUFuiIu3YNeiU an already breaking down "Meow"].
*** "Meow" gets special credit because not only did he get Wayne, Drew and Ryan to break, he even made Laura Hall playing the piano to crack, the music faultering and just stopping because she was laughing so hard.
** So far, only three people have managed to get Colin to corpse: [[Robin Williams]], Richard Simmons, and [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tMwHxLuqwpQ Colin himself].
** A pure case of corpsing (in that he is actually meant to be a corpse) occurs for Drew in [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Elgr_3c2N3k&feature=player_detailpage#t=384s one of the outtakes (6:26)].
** The two most common corpsing events involve Colin going off on tangents during the "Greatest Hits" as a spokesman with Ryan (Leading to such gems as the "Tapioca" outburst and "We're watching animal porn!" bit) and during the Irish Drinking Song skit where Colin was always the one to finish the song with a rhyme and does it in such a way that everyone else loses it, leaving him as the sole person literally standing.
** [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a55kjGzYem4 The Cat!]{{dead link}}
** Colin gets another one during Greatest Hits when Ryan asks him what bird says the name of their next band (meaning an owl which says "who". Colin's guess? [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wBzwv057GPs Just watch]. Everyone else on stage loses it for about a minute.
* Most of the bloopers on the ''[[Mystery Science Theater 3000]]'' [[Hilarious Outtakes|Poopie Reel]] (available on the [[Manos: theThe Hands of Fate]] episode's DVD) consist of corpsing. [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4sMSzF_HD48#t=4m52s This example in particular...]
** In the completed ''[[Monster a Go -Go!]]'' episode, you can see Frank crack during the "Johnny Longtorso" song. As seen in the Poopie reel, it's fairly impressive that he could get through it at all.
* A memorable segment of ''[[Coupling]]'' had Jeff describe the concept of 'The Giggle Loop' - the compulsion to laugh in inappropriate situations that only intensifies the more you think about how inappropriate it would be. Later on, they all [[The Fun in Funeral|go to a funeral...]]
* Very common in ''[[Saturday Night Live]]'' due to the live comedy nature of the show.
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*** Perhaps the only person in this particular sketch who didn't break down into hysterics was Fred Armisen, who was clearly doing all he could to keep from corpsing along with his castmates. He was successful...kinda.
*** So prevalent was this in the sketches that the syndicated version of the Downer sketch with Ben Affleck (from season 30) contains the dress rehearsal version in which the cast corpses; it comes with a disclaimer that it was funnier than the original live version in which everyone kept it together.
** Bill Hader often has difficulty maintaining his act while portraying Stefon, a [[Camp Gay|flaming homosexual]] hipster who describes various disturbing night clubs during "Weekend Update" (this is thanks to writer John Mulaney pretty much [[Gaslighting]] Hader -- forHader—for laughs, of course -- bycourse—by changing some descriptions at the last minute and often the people watching him from behind the camera laughing along with the audience. According to an interview with David Letterman, it's gotten to the point where even the mike man is telling Bill that he's not going to make it through without laughing). Stefon's nervous tic of constantly covering his face with his hands helps Hader hide this (but ''just'' barely).
** And, of course, there's the famous "I have a ''fevah''! And the only prescription...is '''more cowbell'''!" Line delivered by [[Christopher Walken]], which made ''everyone'' in the scene crack up.
** For all this, SNL also has the ''über'' anti-corpsing example: Alec Baldwin, Ana Gasteyer, Molly Shannon, and [https://web.archive.org/web/20130109073156/http://www.nbc.com/saturday-night-live/video/nprs-delicious-dish---schweddy-balls/2846/ Schweddy Balls].
* One [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gtNCKcigCFs&feature=related#t=8m38s outtake] from ''[[X-Files]]'' featured this, complete with corpse. The corpse coughs and the film crew cracks up while Scully delivers her lines: "It's true, John. She's gone. There's no measurable electrical activity in her brain."
** This happened on ''[[The X -Files]]'' a ''lot'', particularly when props didn't work. One outtake reel includes what's supposed to be a burning book failing to catch fire three times. When it finally works, David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson try really hard to keep straight faces, but when they look at one another they both burst out laughing.
* ''[[Monty Python's Flying Circus]]'': In the Penguin scene mentioned in [[Throw It In]], [[Monty Python's Flying Circus|Graham Chapman's]] exclamation of "Oh, intercourse the penguin!" is clearly an ad lib. How can you tell? John Cleese obviously trying to stifle his laughter and get back in character...
** It's hard to find an episode of Monty Python without a scene of Michael desperately trying not to corpse. And being utterly adorable as he does.
** [[John Cleese (Creator)|John Cleese]]'s truly ''EPIC'' attempts to get [[Michael Palin (Creator)|Michael Palin]] to corpse -- atcorpse—at which he succeeds repeatedly -- arguablyrepeatedly—arguably make [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ubVBK3cKanw this version] of the Dead Parrot Sketch the best one ever made.
{{quote| '''Cleese''': This is nothing to laugh at!<br />
'''Palin''': ''[shakes with suppressed laughter]'' }}
▲* A rare television commercial version happens in an A&W commercial. In the "Two For One Mamaburger" commercial with helium balloons, the balloon the employee releases at the end flies around and manages to hit the manager in the face and stay there as it deflates. You can tell the actor playing the employee is barely containing his laughter.
* In the famous "Sis Boom Bah" joke from Carnac the Magnificent on ''[[The Tonight Show]]'', Johnny and Ed can't keep a straight face before they deliver the joke. [[Crowning Moment of Funny|And who could blame them?]]
* Another sketch from ''theTonightShow'' features Johnny and Joe Friday (Jack Webb) reviewing a case. The entire skit was designed solely to make Friday crack up. it finally happens at the end of [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gpVjW30I-YU this clip]
* In one ''[[Mork and Mindy]]'' episode homaging ''[[ItsIt's a Wonderful Life]],'' Mork is supposed to be invisible and inaudible as he observes Mindy's life without him. Pam Dawber makes a valiant but ultimately futile effort to keep a straight face to Robin Williams' antics. Apparently, Robin liked to do this deliberately. In an interview, Pam mentioned one time where he stood offstage completely naked just to mess with her.
* Anne Robinson, the unflappable host of ''[[The Weakest Link]]'', suffered a few facial twitches during a celebrity edition when [[Rob Schneider]] mentioned that he'd like to find out who "the sexy link" was, and stating his belief that: "Anne, I think it's you." Later, when voted off, Rob rushes the podium and wraps Anne in a giant bear hug, lifting her and spinning her around. Any semblance of a straight face is immediately lost.
* [[Neil Patrick Harris]] was chuckling when [[Jason Segel]] was singing [[How I Met Your Mother|Happy, Happy Lily-day]], however, it's not that noticeable.
Line 113 ⟶ 129:
** [http://www.cnn.com/video/?hpt=hp_c2#/video/us/2012/04/12/ac-ridiculist-giggle-fit-2.cnn He did it again] during a report on [[Inherently Funny Words|Dyngus Day.]] He held it together pretty well through all the mentions of Dyngus Day, but it seems like mentioning the use of Pussy Willow branches that set him off.
* Happens quite a bit on ''[[Mad TV]]'', especially in the Stuart (Michael MacDonald) sketches. His mom (Mo Collins) often has trouble keeping a straight face.
* In ''[[Necessary Roughness (TV series)|Necessary Roughness]]'' one client turned to Dani after suddenly breaking into laughter during a live news report on an on-going war.
* [[In Living Color|Tommy Davidson]] guest-stars on ''Martin'' as a former radio jockey turned Hollywood star. It's clear that the scene is a mix of script and ad-libs. At one point in the scene, Davidson says "the catfish are delicious," and Martin can't help but start laughing to himself and tries to turn his head from the camera. Tommy tries to continue, but also has to turn away and you can hear him guffawing his way through the line. Martin doesn't speak again, until he stops laughing. [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I8Kpue8duGA I mean just watch]
* [[Happy Days|Mr. Cunningham]] trying not to laugh as his wife fires off every one of Fonzies catchphrases straight to his face. [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7BtALkegKQQ Right here]
* On ''[[Project Runway]]'', the usually stoic Michael Kors memorably [http://youtu.be/QYEsuzRLpXQ lost it] during one runway show when a model did a super sexy pose at the end of her walk. Everyone else on set proceeds to crack up as well.
** This also happens frequently when a designer's look is being critiqued, with cuts to the other designers trying desperately to hold back church giggles.
* ''[[Dick and Dom Inin Da Bungalow (TV)|Dick and Dom In Dada Bungalow]]'' would feature certainly Dick, and often Dom, cracking up at least once an episode. Brilliantly infectious. [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vt_farHgMfM&t=2m28s In this clip] they seriously disturb the peace in a library.
* Happens in a season one episode of [[Burn Notice]], but is only revealed in the DVD commentary. [[Bruce Campbell]], playing Sam Axe, says "It's only photoshop," causing Jeffrey Donovan, playing Michael Westen, to laugh for ''seven hours''.
* [[Kenan and Kel|Kenan Thompson and Kel Mitchell]] do this during the Good Burger sketch on the [[All That]] [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B5hO3RWXh38#t=7m58s Tenth Anniversary Special].
Line 126 ⟶ 142:
* One particularly infamous episode of ''[[Lost in Space]]'' features a vegetable villain who is so ridiculous some of the cast can be seen turning away from the camera to hide their corpsing.
* This would occassionally happen on ''[[Hello Cheeky]]'', and whenever there was corpsing, there would be [[Throw It In]]. It's especially noticeable in a sketch in the first episode of the TV series, in which Barry has been playing himself for a while, then literally ducks under the table and re-emerges with a hat. John asks "Who are you?", at which point Barry cracks up with the sheer bizarreness of the situation, the audience goes into hysterics, and the sketch stops for fifteen seconds while the performers improvise and crack up.
{{quote| '''John:''' I demand to know!<br />
'''Tim:''' I demand to know also!<br />
'''Barry:''' I know no fear! I don't know my lines, but I don't know fear as well! }}
* Marg Helgenberger's scene with William Petersen at the end of the ''[[CSI]]'' episode 'Inside The Box' likely counts. Petersen did the pre-surgery scene with Grissom in his hopsital gown without wearing anything underneath. Marg/Catherine is seen smirking at the end and you can probably guess why.
* On one episode of the game show ''The Chase''[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nmwGFX5pgXw\] one of the questions was "In what sport did [[Unfortunate Names|Fanny Chmelar]] compete for Germany?". Cue Bradley Walsh desperately trying not to laugh.
* In the ''[[Star Trek the Next Generation|Star Trek: The Next Generation]]'' episode "Masks", there is a scene in which Picard and Riker discuss how to address the corruption of the ship's main computer by an alien archive. For part of the scene, actor Jonathan Frakes has an inappropriate grin on his face, and is apparently attempting to resist laughing.
* This ''[[Friends (TV)|Friends]]'' [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IQicfUjVVqU clip].
* Apparently, the ladies of ''[[Hot in Cleveland]]'' had a running contest to see who would be the first to make [[Betty White]] corpse. Of course, since Betty is a sitcom vet who has been doing this for fifty years, this is a rather tall order. Nothing made it into the actual episodes, but the blooper reel shows that [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q_WwuM5no3U Jane Leeves won.]
* In-universe example in [[The Mary Tyler Moore Show]]. Mary is at the funeral for Chuckles the clown, and keeps having to suppress laughter, even after she warned the others to stay serious. Becomes a simultaneous [[Crowning Moment of Heartwarming]] and [[Crowning Moment of Funny]] when she is told that it is all right, that Chuckles lived for making people laugh, and that even at his own funeral, he would want her to laugh. Mary stares for a second and starts bawling.
Line 138 ⟶ 154:
** Something similar happens at the end of season six. Willow has gone completely off the rails, as has the lives of Buffy and her friends. She details this to Giles, who reacts to the somber news by cracking up laughing. After a moment Buffy does as well.
* Subverted whole-hog in ''[[The Muppet Show]]'' where [[Statler and Waldorf]] usually laugh at their own wisecracks and you can't help but laugh along.
* Very frequently on ''[[Rowan and MartinsMartin's Laugh -In]]'', and it usually got left in (much like what would happen on ''SNL'' years later). Most spectacularly when Dan Rowan was playing a Mexican and Sammy Davis Jr. cracked up laughing, saying "[[What the Hell Is That Accent?|That's the worst accent I've ever heard!]]" then got back into character and carried on with the skit.
* From ''[[Community (TV)|Community]]'': Look very closely at Jeff's face in [[Community (TV)/Recap/S3 /E16 Virtual Systems Analysis|"Virtual Systems Analysis"]] when the Dean approaches as the "Duali-Dean of Man". A couple of camera angles hide the fact that Joel [[Mc Hale]]McHale's about three seconds away from losing it.
 
 
== Music ==
* [[Elvis Presley]] had an [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nes2FFjllnM epic one] during one performance of "Are You Lonesome Tonight", following a deliberate [[Mondegreen]]:
{{quote| Do the chairs in your parlor seem empty and bare?<br />
Do you gaze at your bald head and wish you had hair? }}
* [[Garth Brooks]] did this several times during the taping of his ''Double Live'' album. One turned "Unanswered Prayers" into an [[Audience Participation Song]].
* [[REM|Michael Stipe]] can clearly be heard cracking up on ''The Sidewinder Sleeps Tonight'' after the line about Dr. Seuss.
* [[Nirvana (Music)|Kurt Cobain]] unsuccessfully suppresses a chuckle during the second full chorus of "Milk It".
* [[The Beatles (band)|Paul McCartney]] stifles laughter while singing the second verse of "Maxwell's Silver Hammer," purportedly because John Lennon -- whoLennon—who was said to have hated the song -- moonedsong—mooned Paul in the recording studio as he sang the line "so he waits behind."
* [[Bob Dylan]] cracks up at the start of "Bob Dylan's 115th Dream" because the rest of the band misses the cue and had to start again, and this [[Throw It In|was kept in the final recording]].
* [[King Crimson]]'s "Indoor Games" ends with vocalist Gordon Haskell breaking into laughter, his explanation being that he thought the lyrics to the song were ridiculous.
* [[David Bowie]] at the end of "The Laughing Gnome".
* Mentioned in character in the song ''One Week'' by [[Barenaked Ladies]].
{{quote| "How can I help it if I think you're funny when you're mad, tryin' hard not to smile though I feel bad. I'm the kind of guy who laughs at a funeral, can't understand what I mean, you soon will."}}
** Literally happens in "If I Had $1,000,000" by the same band during the line about fancy ketchups.
{{quote| "And we could buy these really expensive ketchups... / (cue giggling on this line) Dijon ketchup! Mmm!"}}
* In their performance in [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=adO27R2UGWM of Fernando] Poland, [[ABBA|Agnetha and Anni-Frid]] nearly sneaked in a laugh.
* In the video on announcing their [https://youtu.be/QTr18S82RAs 2019 tour] minus Victoria, [[Spice Girls]] members Geri and Melanie B were talking about what the fromer was wearing as they were told to wear black tuxedos. Emma calmly tells Geri about the emails, while Melanie C is clearing snickering upon seeing the latter in her blue dress.
 
== Professional Wrestling ==
* An infamous example of corpsing in pro wrestling occurred on an episode of WCW programming where "Macho Man" [[Randy Savage]] was having a fit backstage, flipping tables and whatnot. During this segment, he came across a giggling Torrie Wilson, and to stop her from corpsing, he slapped her. ''[[Botchamania]]'' turned this into a [[Professional Wrestling/Memes|meme]]:
{{quote| ''X CORPSING?''<br />
*''[footage of Macho Man's backstage rampage*<br />]''
''SEND FOR THE MAN!'' }}
* [[Dwayne Johnson|The Rock's]] rock concert on the March 12th edition of [[WWE Raw]], dissing [[John Cena]], Cena's fans who are grown men (calling them all [[Basement Dweller|nerds who dress like Kirk and Spock]]), and even [[Your Mom|Cena's mom]]. The Rock clearly almost trips on his own laughter a few times, and even [[Jerry Lawler]] and [[Michael Cole]] start losing it towards the end.
Line 171 ⟶ 188:
* On several occasions, Kane started laughing his ass off when his ring pyro malfunctionned, making his entrance look somewhat... [[Narm|less dramatic than intended]]. Making this worse (or better, depending on how you look at it), Kane is supposed to be a sadistic Demon coming straight from Hell.
* During a John Cena promo on the 5/14/12 edition of ''Raw'', GM of both Raw & SmackDown John Laurinaitis could clearly be seen corpsing when Cena starts making faces at him and calling him a "loser".
 
 
== Theater ==
* Martyn Green recounted a performance of [[Gilbert and Sullivan]]'s ''[[HMSH.M.S. Pinafore (Theatre)|HMS Pinafore]]'' that was interrupted when a sudden loud orchestral chord in the number "Carefully On Tiptoe Stealing" startled a [[That Poor Cat|theater cat]], which ran screaming across the stage. The cast ''might'' have been able to recover and carry on with the show, if only the next two lines hadn't been:
{{quote| CHORUS: "Goodness me, why what was that?"<br />
DICK DEADEYE: "Silent be, it was the cat!" }}
** And cue complete cast corpsing.
* The play ''Oblomov'' is based on a Russian novel about a character who almost never leaves his bed, briefly has a romantic attack, finds out he's incapable of love and goes back to bed. Theatrical presentations would have necessarily been grim had it not been for the most famous presentation casting Spike Milligan as the lead. Milligan proceeded to act up to such an extent that they renamed it ''Son of Oblomov'', and apparently considered it his job to try and corpse his fellow actors whenever possible. Only one - [[The Stoic|Joan Greenwood]] - managed to keep her dignity intact despite Milligan doing things like rowing the bed offstage with an imaginary oar or - on one occasion - conscripting the Boulting Brothers (twin filmmakers) to sit in the bed with him for the entire play.
* Rik Mayall and Ade Edmonson are [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wZVkLF7UbR8&feature=player_detailpage#t=390s infamous] for their corpsing in the ''[[Bottom]]'' live shows.
* This happened a lot during Kristin Chenoweth's final performance on ''[[Wicked (Theatretheatre)|Wicked]]''.
** Picture it: a tense scene during the second act of ''[[Wicked (Theatretheatre)|Wicked]]'', when Fiyero has his gun trained on the Wizard, Glinda and Elphaba are both telling him to flee, and he admits he loves her and is going to go with her. Cue a little girl in the audience going "Yay!"—clear as a bell and quite loud in the silence. Everyone in the theater busted up—and while the actors were quite professional and did not break character or the scene, the actress playing Elphaba was visibly struggling not to burst out laughing, and giggles were in fact audible. Unsurprisingly, the same was true of Glinda's actress.
* David Tennant and Catherine Tate in the final performances of ''[[Much Ado About Nothing (Theatre)|Much Ado About Nothing]]'' seemed to make it their mission to get each other to do this. At one point, during Benedick's monologue following the scene in which he is tricked into believing Beatrice is in love with him, a member of the audience said "Yes!" following the line "Love me? Why it must be requited". David Tennant stopped and laughed before walking over and performing the rest of the speech to the audience member, pausing to allow him to answer "Yes" or "No" to the questions. When Catherine Tate walked on stage, she was clearly trying not to laugh. Later in the play when Beatrice agrees to marry Benedick, the two actors kissed for so long and in such an over the top fashion that the entire cast were visibly having to stifle their laughter.
 
 
== Web Original ==
* [[Ashens]] normally keeps a perfect British [[Stiff Upper Lip]], but he has lost it on camera once or twice. One notable time was when he discovered that one of the games in his [[Shoddy Knockoff Product|Pop Station]] was titled [[Blind Idiot Translation|"Chanticleer Hegemony."]] Another time, when he discovered that the knockoff iPhone he was reviewing had an old-fashion television aerial, he laughed so hard he had to cut the recording.
* [[The Angry Video Game Nerd (Web Video)|The Angry Video Game Nerd]] released a [[Hilarious Outtakes]] video for his ''Crazy Castle'' review in which he struggles to keep a straight face during the "muck spread" rant.
** During one of Fred Fuch's (played by the late [[Gilbert Gottfried]]) insane rants, the Nerd is struggling not to laugh while playing ''[[Life of Black Tiger]]''. A behind the scenes shows that the two end up bursting with laughter.
* [[Obscurus Lupa]], she of crude humor, made highbrow [[Brows Held High|Oancitizen]] [https://web.archive.org/web/20120122121745/http://blip.tv/OLPresents/hamletthevampireslayerbloopersfinished-5896369 corpse constantly] in their crossover review of ''Hamlet The Vampire Slayer''. This led to her mocking him over having been in film school but not being able to keep a straight face, her giving him ''tips'' on it, and him begging her to stop being funny and at one point exclaiming "This person! This person is just like hitting me at certain points in my - neurons and just making me burst out laughing and I don't know ''how'' she's doing it, but it's pinpoint! And it's [[Milking the Giant Cow|uncontrollable]] and it's - I'm never working with you again." "Pinky promise!"
** Oancitizen and [[The Nostalgia Chick (Web Video)|The Nostalgia Chick]] did a crossover review of [[Freddy Got Fingered]]; in [https://web.archive.org/web/20130925023141/http://thatguywiththeglasses.com/videolinks/team-nchick/nostalgia-chick/35397-freddy-got-fingered-bloopers the bloopers] he accuses her of "Lupa-ing".
* In their comparison video of ''[[Sleepless in Seattle]]'' and ''[[When Harry Met Sally...]]'', you can see [[The Nostalgia Chick (Web Video)|The Nostalgia Chick]] fighting not to crack up when [[Todd in Thethe Shadows]] says "''Sleepless In Seattle'' made my balls shrivel" and later ranting at a ''Sleepless'' character who just lets his fiancee break up with him.
* [[Little Kuriboh]] did a [[The Vagina Monologues|Vagina Monologue]] remake of the first episode of [[Yu-Gi-Oh!: The Abridged Series (Web Video)|Yu-Gi-Oh the Abridged Series]]. He did it all in one cut and makes it about half way through [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dLGSv8bkaew before he broke into a fit of laughter.]
 
 
== Western Animation ==
* Apparently happened by the actress playing Scootaloo in episode 18 of ''[[My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic (Animation)|My Little Pony Friendship Is Magic]]'' during the [[Dreadful Musician|cringe-worthy rendition of the Cutie Mark Crusaders' Theme Song]]. Apparently it's hard to catch because it's somewhat covered up by an in-universe fan.
* Voice actor giants [[Frank Welker]] and [[Peter Cullen]] got in on this during the run of ''[[Transformers Generation One1]]'', though it was one-sided (and amusingly, instigated by the one who played the evil leader). [https://web.archive.org/web/20131206011831/http://animatedtv.about.com/od/dvdandvideoreviews/fr/Transformers-Prime-Interview.htm Apparently] one of Frank's goals while playing [[Big Bad|Megatron]] was "to get Peter to laugh water out of his nose."
* In the ''[[South Park]]'' episode, “Two Days before the Day after Tomorrow”, Randy draws up the conditions the United States is likely in thanks to ‘global warming’. {{Spoiler| It was really Cartman who partially destroys a dam that flooded a nearby town.}} After Randy draws up the map, Frank starts to laughs because it was a shape of a [http://southpark.cc.com/clips/155009/randys-map-drawing penis]. Randy catches Frank laughing and sees why was so funny.
 
 
== Real Life ==
Line 209 ⟶ 225:
* Believe it or not, this is how [[Elisabeth Sladen]] [[Meet Cute|met]] her husband. She was making her first stage appearance at the Liverpool Playhouse - as a corpse, naturally - when a certain young actor, playing the doctor, whispered "[[A Worldwide Punomenon|respiration nil, Aston Villa two]]" into her ear. That actor's name was Brian Miller, and she married him three years later.
* You'll occasionally run across a news anchor who can't keep a straight face while delivering grim and gory news reports. Although in the [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lc-CgzTkyF4 case of this news story], it'd be hard for ''anyone'' not to laugh after seeing the crazy-eyed picture of the accused murderer. This one must have been particularly embarrassing for the anchor, who started giggling at his picture while describing how he dismembered his victim.
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20140318152354/http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h_OPnkqduXk&feature=relatedY This infamous sketch] from the Carol Burnett show may be the most extravagant example of (mass!) corpsing on record.
 
{{reflist}}
[[Category:Creator Speak]]
[[Category:Corpsing{{PAGENAME}}]]
[[Category:Laughter Tropes]]
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