As I’ve started to dig back trying to find old comedians talking about mental health, I found it quite challenging to find anything, because as it turns out, they really didn’t talk about it. I’ve come to learn that we live in the Golden Age of comedians talking about how sad they are (which in all truth I believe to be a positive change).
What I have found is a short routine from 1960 from the legendary comedian Bob Newhart, “Ledge Psychology.” While not exactly what I’m hoping to find, which would be more along the lines of comedians talking more directly about their mental health or mental health in general, this indirect and less personal style seems to be a far more common depiction of such topics the further you go back. This one is not particularly morbid, in fact I think its light tone is for more than simply comedic purposes (analysis that may be too much to get into for a blog post), but if you’d prefer to avoid any joking about suicide, consider this a trigger warning, if you find that kind of thing helpful.
