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The first thing to remember if you want to tell a joke successfully is the joke itself. Nothing kills a funny tale faster than having the teller read it from a crib note. You have to feel it. Also, if you’re going to tell an Irish joke you better say it with a believable accent. These nuggets of advice are offered from Miami’s grand pooh-bah of joke telling, Richard “Dick” Booth, executive director and co-founder of the Society of Loquacious Verbosities, also known as the Joke Club.
You’ll need this advice if you happen to find yourself at the center of attention during one of the club’s monthly lunches with a gold-plated penis in your hand. The statue is the club’s Golden Hoo-Hoo and when it comes your way, it’s your turn to tell a joke. Don’t worry, this is not a tough crowd. These men and women cherish the ritual of telling a joke. Nothing gets them more excited than an original quip. And trust us, this gang has heard just about every joke there is. Still they won’t heckle you when you clutch the sacred hoo-hoo. In fact the club’s only rule mandates that when someone holds the statuette overhead, members are to keep quiet until the joke is completed — even if they know the punch line. However, there is no rule about throwing tomatoes, so you want to make your joke shine.
The club is an extension of the now-defunct Charles Club, a men-only organization once made up of prominent politicos, businessmen, lawyers, judges, and media types. Legendary newsman Ralph Renick was a regular, as were old-school Miami News and Miami Herald newshounds. The society was reorganized in the late 1990s by Booth (a former municipal judge, federal prosecutor, and 1966 champion of the Biltmore Golf Association) and Coconut Grove bon vivant Sepy Dobronyi, rumored to be a Hungarian count.
The club continues to draw prominent members of South Florida’s business community, such as automobile magnate Bill Seidel. Among the more accomplished joke-tellers is Russ Manhold, who once flew reconnaissance planes for the DEA, and Coral Gables insurance man Jim Snedigar.
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The group will be hosting its annual Laugh Off this Friday. Last week people were invited to submit written jokes to be considered for the contest. A panel of Joke Club members chose the funniest submissions to be told at Friday’s lunch meeting. The finalists will compete for the title of best jokester as well as a three-night stay at the Mutiny Hotel. Second place is not so bad, either. It’s a Balinese sculpture direct from Count Dobronyi’s collection. Third place gets you dinner for two and a copy of Booth’s joke book, Picture If You Will.
