“I’m crazy? I want a second opinion!”/“You’re ugly, too.”
A popular psychiatry joke has a psychiatrist tell a man, “You’re crazy.” “I want a second opinion,” the man responds. “OK,” says the doctor, “you’re ugly, too.”
The joke was cited in a November 1976, when it was credited to Hollywood gag writer Stan Davis. American comedian Henny Youngman (1906-1998) told the joke by at least 1978, and comedian Rodney Dangerfield (1921-2004) used the joke by at least 1983. The i>Friars Club Encyclopedia of Jokes (1997, 2009) credited the joke to British cartoonist Mel Calman (1931-1994).
It’s likely that Stan Davis wrote the joke because he’s credited first, and because he was an original gag writer.
29 November 1976, State-Times (New Orleans, LA)< "Hollywood Hotline" by James Bacon (NANA), pg. 8-C, col. 3:
Stan Davis visited his psychiatrist who told him he was going crazy. Stan said he would like a second opinion.
“Okay,” said the doctor. “You’re ugly, too.”
19 December 1977, Dallas (TX) Morning News, “What would an Aggie say…?” by Kent Biffle, pg. 12A, col. 1:
And speaking of second opinions, there was this Aggie who went to a psychiatrist.
Shrink: “You’re crazy.”
Aggie: “I want a second opinion.”
Shrink: “OK. You’re ugly, too.”
6 March 1978, Boston (MA) Herald American, “One-line-joker Henny (Youngman—ed.) gets into real pickle” by Robert Garrett, pg. 9, col. 2:
Pyschiatrist jokes?
“A guy goes to a psychiatrist who tells him ‘You’re crazy.’ Guy says he wants a second opinion. ‘Okay, you’re ugly too.’”
18 August 1978, Oakland (CA) Post, “On Location” by Vic Partipilo, pg. 4:
“A guy goes to a psychiatrist who tells him, you’re crazy…Guy says I want a second opinion OK, you’re ugly too.”
5 March 1983, Los Angeles (CA) Times, “Quotebook,“pt. 3, pg. 2, col. 1:
Rodney Dangerfield, star of the Lite Beer commercials: “I went to see my psychiatrist and he told me I was crazy. I told him I wanted a second opinion. He said, ‘OK, you’re ugly, too.’”
Google Books
Friars Club Encyclopedia of Jokes: Revised and Updated:
Over 2,000 One-liners, Straight Lines, Stories, Gags, Roast, Ribs, and Put-downs
Compiled by Barry Dougherty and H. Aaron Cohl
New York, NY: Black Dog & Leventhal Publishers, Inc.
2009
Pg. 391:
You know how everyone wants a second opinion these days? Well, this lady had been going to a psychiatrist for years and finally she decided she’s had enough of it. “Doctor,” she announced, walking into his office, “I’ve been seeing you every week for five years now. I don’t feel any better, I don’t feel any worse, What’s the story? I want you to level with me. What’s wrong with me?”
“All right,” said the doctor, “I’ll tell you. You’re crazy.”
“Now wait just a minute,” she protested. “I think I’m entitled to a second opinion.”
“Fine,” he responded. “You’re ugly, too.
—MEL CALMAN
Jewish Humor Central
Friday, August 5, 2016
Robert De Niro Tells Standup Jokes to Promote Catskills
Actor Robert De Niro has a home in New York’s Catskill Mountains, and last month he joined New York Governor Andrew Cuomo in promoting tourism in the region that gave birth to standup comedy.
(...)
“OK,” De Niro said as he took the podium. “So a man goes to a psychiatrist. The doctor says, ‘You’re crazy.’ The man says, ‘I want a second opinion.’ The doctor says, ‘OK, you’re ugly, too.’”