12 Artists and Entertainers Whose Creative Processes Relied Heavily on Borrowing, Imitating or Straight-Up Stealing
Stealing can be a vital part of the creative process, but some people take it a bit too far.
Milton Berle Said Vaudeville Was Built by Copycats
Berle said that “borrowing” of material in the early days of Vaudeville was acceptable if the performer made an earnest attempt to “add to the joke and make it his own.”
So Did Bill Cosby Satisfy That Criteria?
Cosby admits to being “inspired by” a George Carlin bit: both jokes are about “a football player who can’t act, who has an accent, maybe is an uneducated farm boy or something.” He says what makes it unique is the big laugh line he added, the phrase “little tiny hairs.”
Robin Williams Had to Cut Himself Off
Williams said he’d soak up jokes while watching other comedians, and they’d accidentally leak out during his own set: “If you hung out in comedy clubs, which I was doing almost 24/7, you hear things. And then, if you’re improvising, you’re all of a sudden repeating (jokes) and going, ‘Oh, shit.’” He began retroactively buying jokes from his fellow comedians when they complained, and eventually stopped going to clubs altogether.
Denis Leary’s Oddly Prescient Album Title
When Leary’s No Cure for Cancer came out, lots of industry insiders could only conclude that Leary had ripped off Bill Hicks’ material — and entire persona. When Hicks died a year later from pancreatic cancer, an industry joke was born: “Why is Denis Leary a star while Bill Hicks is unknown? Because there’s No Cure for Cancer.”
Were Led Zeppelin Actually Stealing?
They were accused of ripping off several of their hit songs, but publicly denied it. Revelations and research over the years have dredged up some interesting information. It’s been said that “Stairway to Heaven” ripped off another contemporary song, but someone uncovered a (supposedly) identical melody from the 1600s, casting doubt on the originality of that first song. On the other hand, Robert Plant was once overheard admitting to stealing a Willie Dixon song: “When we ripped it off, I said to Jimmy, ‘Hey, that’s not our song.’ And he said, ‘Shut up and keep walking.'”
Jay Mohr Says He Stole for ‘SNL’
In his own memoir, Mohr admits that the pressure to come up with hit material for his dream job led him to steal an entire routine from comedian Rick Shapiro. It remains unclear whether or not SNL ever compensated Shapiro for his contribution.
William Ralph Inge Says Plagiarism Is Inherent to Art
The Nobel-nominated author claimed, “What is originality? Undetected plagiarism.”
Louis C.K. and Dane Cook Take Their Beef to the Airwaves
C.K. had long asserted that Cook had lifted three of his bits for his 2005 album Retaliation, which Cook denied. In 2011, Cook appeared on Louie as himself, and the two had a casual but charged conversation about the allegations.
Jonathan Lethem Says If You Think You’re an Original, You’re Not Thinking Hard Enough
The American novelist and essayist remarked, “What people call something ‘original,’ nine out of ten times they just don’t know the references or the original sources involved .”
A Game Show Contestant Stole, Was Offered Redemption, Then Stole Again
Comedian Jordan Paris advanced in 2011’s Australia’s Got Talent, at which point it came out that he’d stolen his act. The judges gave him a chance to do original material in the next round, and he used the opportunity to make self-deprecating jokes about stealing jokes. Exactly one of those jokes went well — and it was stolen from a Jeff Ross bit two years earlier: “This guy has two writers; their names are Cut and Paste.”
Kobe Bryant Saw His Heroes Like a Brunch Menu
He said he got good by copying his heroes’ styles, and making necessary adaptations due to his own unique body shape: “I have stolen all of these moves from all these great players. I just try to do them proud, the guys who came before, because I learned so much from them. It’s all in the name of the game. It’s a lot bigger than me.”
Conan O’Brien Says Failed Attempts at Copying Are How Unique Voices Are Born
Conan explained, “It is our failure to become our perceived ideal that ultimately defines us and makes us unique,” describing a chain of successful wannabes: Johnny Carson tried and failed to be Jack Benny, David Letterman tried and failed to be Carson, Conan tried and failed to be Letterman.