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Top 10 Funniest In Living Color Sketches Ever

Top 10 Funniest In Living Color Sketches Ever
VOICE OVER: Ryan Wild WRITTEN BY: George Pacheco
The funniest "In Living Color" sketches" need to be seen. Our countdown includes Karate Instructor Bob Jackson, Anton Jackson, Black World, and more!

#10: Defrosting Vanilla Ice


Out of all the stars "In Living Color" introduced to a prime time audience, a little comic by the name of Jim Carrey is one of their most notable. While he had plenty of highlights on the show, he absolutely nailed a musical parody of Vanilla Ice and his hit song, "Ice Ice Baby." Carrey commits to the clothes, hair and outrageous dance moves. He perfectly exaggerates Ice's already out-there personal style while giving us a musical performance we’ll never forget. In a sea of excellent musical parody sketches on “In Living Color”, this Ice parody floats to the top.

#9: Benita Butrell Spills the Tea


Gossip? Heavens, no. Benita Butrell wouldn't dream of speaking out of turn about a soul! Except, that's actually exactly what this character did, to exaggerated comedic effect. Kim Wayans encapsulates every local neighborhood gossip perfectly with this dirt-dishing homebody. Benita Butrell couldn’t help but speak directly to the camera about basically everyone she knows. The best running gag in these skits is that she tries to avoid talking badly about "Miss Jenkins"... but usually slips up anyone for one hilarious final punch line.

#8: Karate Instructor Bob Jackson


Jim Carrey’s back again to excel at what he does better than nearly any comic out there: physical stunts. If there's one running theme throughout Carrey's various characters on "In Living Color," it's their tendency to hurt, injure or otherwise maim themselves just doing their jobs. Bob Jackson, Karate Instructor was no exception. He always seems to get pushed to the brink of mortal injury. In Jackson's self defense class for women, he ends up getting stabbed by one of his students. Carrey's over-the-top reaction absolutely works within the realm of the character's larger than life persona.

#7: The Head Detective Gets on the Case


The laws of physics are thrown out the window for this hilarious procedural parody involving a ...different sort of detective. A "Head Detective," in fact! Damon Wayans plays a short gumshoe that only has a head with tiny feet and arms and...well, that's about it. A lesser sketch comedy show might take this ridiculous premise and only rely on physical comedy bits. Luckily, the "In Living Color" writers knew exactly what to parody about classic crime stories to make the "Head Detective" sketches take themselves juuuust seriously enough to be smart and funny. Somehow, the show and audience suspend their disbelief about the gag and enjoy the side-splittingly hilarious"Head Detective".

#6: The Hedleys


In this world, there's the average hard working American family...and then there's the Hedleys. This family is notorious for working a ridiculous amount of jobs. They also can't fathom the shame when their daughter, Margaret starts dating a boy with, gasp! only one job! This may seem like a one-note premise. However, the "In Living Color" cast nails it as usual thanks to their commitment to the characters. The fact that Hedley's sketch wasn't just a one-and-done was testament to the fact that viewers wanted to see what the family was getting by week after week.

#5: Anton Jackson


Every member of Wayans' family came up with recurring characters and sketches for us to enjoy. Damon Wayans was particularly great at coming up with the iconic Anton Jackson, a homeless man with a very memorable way of speaking. His unique take on the character was able to fit easily in a bunch of different hilarious scenarios. We saw him appear everywhere from Thanksgiving dinner to a military recruitment office. Anton even takes a jab at home improvement shows along the way. While he may be strange at times, we couldn't help but laugh every time.

#4: Black World


"In Living Color" didn’t always deal with serious issues, but "Black World" was one awesome exception. T'Keyah Crystal Keymàh led this funny and topical sketch. She plays a little girl who's waiting for her mother to finish cleaning a movie theater so they can go home at last. During the sketch, she presents her fantasy land of "Black World" to the audience. Keymàh uses this construct to reference some of the daily struggles faced by the black community. She also juxtaposes those hardships with an idealized society of inclusion and acceptance. It's a sketch that pulls on the heartstrings just as much now as it did back in season 1.

#3: Men On...


Our next entry is as controversial now as it was upon its debut in the very first episode of "In Living Color," "Men on..." starring David Allen Grier and Damon Wayans as Antoine Merriweather and Blaine Edwards. They both played into stereotypes of gay men while reviewing movies and other subjects on a weekly basis. The pair's ratings system and the witty repartee between Wayans and Grier were a hit with viewers at the time. However, the men’s performances - while good - still strike a nerve among many thanks to how gay men were perceived then, and how they still are today.

#2: Fire Marshall Bill


Fire Marshall Bill was arguably one of Carrey's best loved, breakout characters from his tenure on "In Living Color. " This firefighter was similar to Carrey's Bob Jackson character in that he was always on the receiving end of some kind of disaster by the sketch's climax. In Bill's case, however, his damage was usually far more explosive and even more exaggerated than the Karate Instructor's. Carrey's character also boasted his own witty catchphrase, "let me show you something!" right before things went haywire. This one of the sketches that didn’t need an elaborate setup. Every time Fire Marshall Bill rolled in, we were ready to laugh.

Before we name our number one pick, here are some honorable mentions!

Velma Mulholland
A Film Noir Dame Outta Time

Make a Death Wish Foundation
Charles Bronson Makes Dreams Come True

Oswald Bates and Barbara Bush
Booked On Phonics Worked for Him!

The Wrath of Farrakhan
Bill Shatner, Eat Your Heart Out

#1: Homey D. Clown


We’re willing to bet that you’ve never met an entertainer as unpredictable as Homey D. Clown. Played to comedic perfection by Damon Wayans, this clown was actually a criminal serving out his debt to the community. Unfortunately, he seemed to have a really short fuse when it came to the people he was supposed to entertain. Get on Homey's bad side and boom! An unwilling guest will get hit upside the head with a tennis ball in a sock. Wayans' catch phrase of “Homey don't play that”' caught on almost immediately. Everyone wanted to hear him say those legendary words as he tried his best to grin and bear the sentence of his work release program.

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I liked the gang fight in the theater district, parody of west side story.
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