Laughter , it is often said , is the in effect medicine . Yet from Robin Williams to Bill Hicks , it often seems like the funniest comedians are the first to go . This puzzling trend has long been noted , buta new studyhas discover evidence to back it up , learn that fend - up comedians are more probable to die too soon than dramatic actors , and that those who are the funniest have the eminent hazard of go first .
The enquiry , put out in theInternational Journal of Cardiology , has looked at the top 200 stand - up comic , comedy actors , and dramatic role player , as ranked by the world on the internet site ranker.com . It then looked at who made the inclination , but had also died . They found that the bandstand - ups tended to die unseasoned , at an average age of 67.1 yr sure-enough , compared to funniness actors at 68.9 and dramatic actors at 70.7 .
The researchers then took into account the date of birth and life expectancy for those on the list , and found that there were “ significantly more deaths among tolerate - up comic categorize as ' premature ' congeneric to universe - base life history expectancy . ” In fact , they account that close to 39 percent of the standups had died untimely , including felo-de-se and drug - related deaths , compared to just 20 percent of the striking actors .
Not only that , but the researchers also found that those stand - ups who were deemed the funniest by the general populace were also more likely to break down early compared to their less comic colleague . “ It appears that for stand - up comic , being at the very top may be no laughing matter,”saysProfessor Simon Stewart , who lead the study .
Why this effect is visualise , though , is slightly dodgy to disentangle . The researcher note that there are inherent need associated with the profession ; years of influence in a extremely competitive environment , with low remuneration and low line of work security ramping up the stress that comedians experience , even for those purportedly at the top of their game . unceasing journey and stick around up late also has an impact , as it mess up sleep , nutrition , and exercise patterns , kick in to detrimental physiological result and health outcomes .
“ Successful spectacular actor are often regarded as ' role poser ' and expected to preserve a incontrovertible public image , with director and ' baby minder ' invested in enforcing certain standard of behaviour that might exert a protective effect on health and longevity,”explainsProfessor Stewart . “ This does not appear to practice to stand - up comedian , who are often expected to behave eccentrically . ” Not only that , but while an actor ’s place of oeuvre is a tightly regulate exercise set or theater , comedians are often found performing in bars and clubs , increasing their exposure to risky behaviors such as smoking and drinking .
