buying jokes

[britwrit]

I was just scanning all the obits for Bob Hope and I read that he had a team of writers on stand-by all the time, even when he wasn't performing. Dates, meetings, whatever, he supposedly had three or four writers churning out jokes so he'd always sound funny.

My question is, is this a common thing? Is there a whole subculture of writers out in LA who do nothing but produce jokes for comedians and inspirational speakers? And if there is, could you actually go out and buy a killer routine for five grand or something?

It sounds stupid, I know, but I can't help thinking there's a movie somehow.

[BeefMissile]

Several years ago, I saw a news item about how Jay Leno makes the show's opening jokes. He and his staff get around 300 different jokes/ideas every day and limit it to 15-20 bits. Some are faxed or emailed from people all over the US.