A self-taught man usually has a poor teacher and a worse student.

Those are my rules. As his fame passed into legendary status he never considered himself aloof or above others and he never refused to perform a show in a small venue or unknown club. He was quoted in an interview with the Web-based magazine Eye: "I get on the plane.

A typical stage performance by Youngman lasted only fifteen to twenty minutes but contained dozens of jokes delivered in rapid-fire fashion. His best known one-liner was "Take my wife—please. "
In a time when many comedians told elaborate anecdotes Youngman's comedy routine consisted of telling simple one-liner jokes occasionally with interludes of violin playing.