A heckler is a person who shouts a disparaging comment at a performance or event, or interrupting set-piece speeches, for example at a political meeting. A heckler is almost always regarded as unwelcome by the person with justifiable claim to be the centre of attention. The audience too usually finds the interruption an unwanted distraction; however they may sometimes find the interjection amusing or apposite.

Contents 1 Origin 2 Comedy 3 Sport 4 Politics 5 Music 5.1 Audience control 6 Heckling in Switzerland 7 See also 8 Notes and sources

Origin

The term originates from the textile trade, where to heckle was to tease or comb out flax or hemp fibres. A textile is a flexible material comprised of a network of natural or artificial Fibres often referred to as thread or Yarn. Flax (also known as common flax or linseed) (binomial name Linum usitatissimum) is a member of the genus Linum This article is about the cultivation and uses of industrial hemp not its psychoactive cousin Cannabis (drug. The additional meaning, to interrupt speakers with awkward or embarrassing questions, was added in Scotland, and specifically perhaps in early nineteenth century Dundee, a famously radical town where the hecklers who combed the flax had established a reputation as the most radical and belligerent element in the workforce. Scotland ( Gaelic: Alba) is a Country in northwest Europethat occupies the northern third of the island of Great Britain. Dundee (Dùn Dèagh is the fourth-largest city in Scotland and fully named as Dundee City, one of Scotland's 32 local government council In the heckling factory, one heckler would read out the day's news while the others worked, to the accompaniment of interruptions and furious debate. ^[1]

Heckling was a major part of the vaudeville theater. Vaudeville was a Genre of variety entertainment prevalent on the stage in the United States and Canada, from the early 1880s Sometimes it was incorporated into the play. Milton Berle's weekly TV variety series in the 1960s featured a heckler named Sidney Spritzer (German/Yiddish for "Squirter") played by Borscht Belt comic Irving Benson. Mendel "Milton Berle" Berlinger ( July 12, 1908 &ndash March 27, 2002) was an Emmy -winning American Comedian The German language (de ''Deutsch'') is a West Germanic language and one of the world's major languages. Yiddish (yi [[wiktייִדיש ייִדיש]] yidish or yi [[wiktאידיש אידיש]] idish, literally "Jewish" is a nonterritorial High Borscht Belt is an informal term for the summer resorts of the Catskill Mountains in Sullivan and Ulster Counties in Upstate New York which were Irving Benson was a standup comic in the Borscht Belt or Vaudeville tradition In the 1970s and 1980s, The Muppet Show, which was also built around a vaudeville theme, featured two hecklers, Statler & Waldorf (two old men named after famous hotels). The Muppet Show is an American Television program featuring a cast of Muppets which was produced by Jim Henson and his team from Statler and Waldorf are a fictional pair of Muppet characters Heckles are now particularly likely to be heard at stand-up comedy performances, to unsettle or compete with the performer. Stand-up comedy is a style of comedy where the performer speaks directly to the audience with the absence of the theatrical " Fourth wall "

Comedy

Many stand-up comedians devise a strategy for quashing such outbursts, usually by having a store of retorts on hand, such as "this is what happens when cousins marry" or "Dear God, don't let anyone in the crowd yell out tonight [yell from crowdmember], and punish those who do!" The idea is to get the audience laughing at the interruption.

• Comedian Jim Gaffigan took on a drunk heckler on his album "The Last Supper", where he had a conversation with him. James Christopher Gaffigan (born July 7 1966 is an American stand-up comic and Actor. Jim proceeded to insult the heckler and doing an impression of him in the morning by saying a drawn out "fuck. . . "

• Comedian Dane Cook was heckled on his album "Retaliation", in the middle of a joke about Burger King, where the heckler yelled, "Make it happen, man! Make it happen!" Dane replied, "Shut up! You're ruining the show for everyone around you. Dane Jeffrey Cook (born March 18 1972 is an American Stand-up comedian and film actor Burger King ( often abbreviated to Don't do that. " The heckler kept going, and Dane replied, "Shut the fuck up, or I'll have you kicked out of here!"

• A common but rarely-enacted threat from comedians is to attend the heckler's workplace and heckle them in return. In "The Fire", an episode of the sitcom Seinfeld, Jerry Seinfeld actually carries out the threat, showing up at a heckler's office and shouting insults at her. Seinfeld is an American Situation comedy, or sitcom that originally aired on NBC from July 5 1989 to May 14 1998 lasting nine seasons Jerome "Jerry" Seinfeld is the main Protagonist on the United States television sitcom Seinfeld ( 1989 An office is generally a room or other area in which people work, but may also denote a position within an Organization with specific duties attached

• Mitch Hedberg playfully acknowledged heckling late on his Mitch All Together album (without actually being heckled) saying, "I can stand up here and talk for forty-five minutes. Mitchell Lee Hedberg (February 24 1968 – March 29 2005 Hedberg's comedy and on-stage persona gained him a Cult following, with audience members sometimes shouting out the Mitch All Together is stand-up comedian Mitch Hedberg 's second comedy album before his death in 2005 You say one word, you're fucking out of here. "

• In Britain, Malcolm Hardee's legendarily dangerous Tunnel Club in Greenwich was famed for the sharp heckling of its regulars. Malcolm Hardee (born Lewisham, London 5 January 1950 &ndash died Rotherhithe, London 31 January 2005 was an English Comedian, author Comedy Greenwich ( ˈɡrɛnɪtʃ GREN-itch /ˈɡrɛnɪdʒ/ GREN-idge or /ˈɡrɪnɪdʒ/ GRIN-idge is a district in south-east London,

• Comic Jim Tavare went on stage with the opening line, "I'm a schizophrenic. Jim Tavaré (born 1963) is an English stand-up comedian and musician . . " to which someone immediately replied, "Fuck off then — both of you. "^[2]

• Another infamous heckle came when Jo Brand, a comedienne not renowned for her looks, went onstage to be greeted by a man shouting "Don't show us your tits. Josephine Grace Brand (born 3 May 1957 in Hastings, Sussex) is an English Comedienne. The breast is the upper Ventral region of an animal’s Torso, particularly that of Mammals including Human beings. "

• English comedian Julian Clary has said that he was so scared of hecklers he used to pick on his audience using putdowns like "Men like you don't grow on trees, they swing from them. Julian Clary (born 25 May 1959 is an English Comedian and Writer, known for his playing-on-stereotypes camp style with a heavy reliance on " Bill Hicks was also famous for his "take-no-prisoners" approach to hecklers. William Melvin Hicks ( December 16, 1961 – February 26, 1994) was an American stand-up comedian. On one occasion he demanded that a drunken heckler be taken out of the audience shouting "You drunk cunt!" at her. Mancunian comedian/poet John Cooper Clarke riposted to one heckler, "I can't hear you, mate, yer mouth's full o' shit. John Cooper Clarke (born January 25, 1949) is an English Performance poet from Salford, Greater Manchester; he is often "

• Comedian George Carlin has been known to be very rough on hecklers. George Denis Patrick Carlin (May 12 1937 – June 22 2008 was an American stand-up comedian, often considered one of the best of all time In one of his most famous responses to a heckler, Carlin stopped his joke and went on with a long series of vulgar insults.

• When Michael Richards was heckled during a stage performance, he responded by shouting a 3-minute speech containing many racial slurs (including "nigger"), for which he later apologized, saying "I'm not a racist, that's what's so insane about this [the speech], and yet it's said, it comes through, it fires out of me". Michael Anthony Richards (born July 24, 1949) is an American Comedian and Actor best known for his portrayal of the eccentric

• Andy Kaufman's personae were often heckled both by genuinely angry audience members and staged audience members further confusing what was and was not part of his act. Andrew Geoffrey Kaufman (January 17 1949 &ndash May 16 1984 was an American Entertainer, Actor and Performance artist While often referred

• One time a heckler called out to Rodney Dangerfield, "Hey Rodney, what do you do for a living?" to which Rodney replied, "I find men for your sister!". Rodney Dangerfield ( November 22, 1921 – October 5, 2004) born Jacob Cohen, was an American Comedian

• In The Late Show With David Letterman, there is a recurring character in the audience who insults and makes extremely profane comments at Letterman for saying what he considers uninteresting things. The Late Show with David Letterman is an Emmy Award -winning American late-night Talk show hosted by David Letterman on CBS

• In the comic strip Calvin and Hobbes, Calvin is presenting an “invisible cretinizer” to the class as a show-and-tell, when he is heckled by a classmate who yells “Oh sure, Calvin, give us a break!” Calvin cleverly counters by saying “As Ronald proves, it’s quite effective, even at long range. Calvin and Hobbes is a Comic strip written and illustrated by Bill Watterson, following the humorous antics of Calvin, an imaginative This article is about the medical term For the Marxist political concept see Parliamentary cretinism. ”

• Sam Kinison took on a heckler who shouted "Speak up" with a long and brutal attack about the heckler's mother. Samuel "Sam" Burl Kinison ( December 8 1953 &ndash April 10 1992) was an American "That's what your mom said when I was leaving her house. . . "

• Redd Foxx responded to the same demand: "Hey, nigger, pay more and get a good seat!"

• When asked "Where's Lamont?", Redd Foxx responded: "At your mammy's. Redd Foxx ( December 9, 1922 – October 11, 1991) born John Elroy Sanford, His father an Electrician, left the family Redd Foxx ( December 9, 1922 – October 11, 1991) born John Elroy Sanford, His father an Electrician, left the family "

• Zach Galifianakis has been known to burst out in fits of anger, screaming at his hecklers, and sometimes even bringing them up on the stage to interview them and insult them. Zacharius Knight Galifianakis (pronounced ˌgælɨfəˈnækɨs}} born October 1, 1969) is an American Comedian, Actor, and

• Lewis Black responded to a heckler by saying, "Look -- all I'm trying to do is get these little shit pieces of information the government gives us and put in a little pile and piss on it!"

• British comedian Roy Chubby Brown once dealt with a heckler by interrupting his act and asking the audience member in question "Is your mother a weightlifter? No? Then how did she raise a dumbbell like you?"

• In the live stage shows based on the British situation comedy Bottom, at least one member of the audience would shout "Have a wank!", usually when Rik Mayall (Richie) forgot his lines. Lewis Niles Black (born August 30 1948) is a Grammy Award -winning American stand-up comedian, Author, Playwright A comedian or comic is a person who seeks to entertain an audience primarily by making them laugh Roy 'Chubby' Brown (born Royston Vasey on February 3 1945 is an English Stand up comedian known for adult comedy offensive language and outrageous costumes Weightlifting, also called Olympic weightlifting or Olympic-style weightlifting, is a sport in which participants attempt a maximum weight single lift of a barbell A dumbbell is a piece of equipment used in Weight training, and is a type of free weight. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located Richard Michael "Rik" Mayall (born 7 March, 1958) is an English Actor, Writer and Comedian. Eventually, they duo wrote lines that would encourage this phrase such as: "Richie: What would David Beckham do? Audience Member: Have a wank! Richie: Of course! Shag Posh!"

• Irish comedian Dara Ó Briain has stated that his method of discouraging hecklers is to tell as many jokes as quickly as possible, preventing them from having the opportunity to interrupt. Dara Ó Briain, (born 4 February 1972) (pronounced /d̪ãrə o bʲɾʲriənʲ/ Anglicised /dæræ o briən/ is an Irish Comedian and

• British comedian Eddie Izzard responded to an outburst, with an encouraging, "Check your joke with your friend first and if he thinks it's funny, then give it a try. Edward John "Eddie" Izzard (born February 7, 1962) is a British stand-up comedian and Dramatic Actor. " Another time he responded to a heckler by telling him to shut up, and then jokingly replying: "I know people have already heckled tonight, but I WILL kill you. "

• On Patton Oswalt's album Werewolves and Lollipops, a heckler yelled out during a particularly quiet moment in his routine and Oswalt spent the next two minutes making fun of him, calling him things like a "dumb douchebag" and a "poor motherfucker", and saying that future civilizations will know his "level of douchebaggery". Patton Oswalt (born January 27 1969) is an American Stand-up comedian, voiceover artist and Actor. Werewolves and Lollipops is Patton Oswalt 's second comedy album following Feelin' Kinda Patton. Even after Patton went back to the joke and finished it, he continued to berate the heckler, finally telling him "You're going to miss everything cool and die angry. "

• At the University of New Hampshire, the UNH Pep Band continually shouts disparaging phrases during gameplay, such as "the plan won't work", towards the other team to the amusement of fans in attendance. University of New Hampshire ( UNH) is a public university in the University System of New Hampshire (USNH United States.

• In one of Steve Martin's records, he can be heard responding to a heckler by saying "I remember when I had my first beer. Stephen Glenn Martin (born August 14, 1945) is an Emmy Award -winning American Actor, Comedian, Writer, "

• Harry Hill once responded to a heckler by saying "You may heckle me now, but when I get home I've got a chicken in the oven", which is a good example of silencing a heckler without insulting them. Dr Matthew Keith Hall (born October 1 1964) better known as Harry Roy Hill, is a BAFTA award-winning English

• Paul Merton once responded to a heckler with the line: "Excuse me, I'm trying to work here. Paul James Martin (born 9 July 1957) better known by the Stage name Paul Merton, is an English Actor, Wit How would you like it if I stood yelling down the alley while you're giving blowjobs to transsexuals?".

Sport

Hecklers can also appear at sporting events, most notably baseball games, and usually (but not always) direct their taunts at a visiting team. Sport is an Activity that is governed by a set of rules or Customs and often engaged in competitively Fans of the Philadelphia Eagles American football team are notorious for heckling; among the most infamous incidents were booing a performer dressed as Santa Claus in a halftime show in 1968, and cheering at the career-ending injury of opposing player Michael Irvin in 1999, as well as routinely booing the Eagles themselves if they do not perform up to expectations. The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. American football, known in the United States and Canada simply as football, is a competitive Team sport known for mixing strategy with Santa Claus, also known as Saint Nicholas, Father Christmas, Kris Kringle, or simply " Santa " is the Year 1968 ( MCMLXVIII) was a Leap year starting on Monday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Michael Jerome Irvin (born March 5, 1966) is a former American football player for the Dallas Cowboys. Year 1999 ( MCMXCIX) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display full 1999 Gregorian calendar) Often, sports heckling will also involve throwing objects onto the field; this has led most sports stadia to ban glass containers and bottlecaps. Another famous heckler is Robert Szasz, who regularly attends Tampa Bay Rays baseball games and is known for loudly heckling one opposing player per game or series. Robert Szasz, also known as The Happy Heckler, is a Real estate developer and a well-known Heckler at Tampa Bay Rays Baseball games The Tampa Bay Rays are a Major League Baseball franchise based in St Former Yugoslav football star Dejan Savićević is involved in an infamous incident with a heckler in which during an interview, a man on the street is heard shouting off-camera: "You're a piece of shit!" Dejan berated the man, and went on to finish the interview, without missing a beat. See also Kingdom of Yugoslavia, Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Yugoslavia ( Serbo-Croatian Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a Team sport played between two teams of eleven players and is widely considered Dejan Savićević ( Serbian Cyrillic: Дејан Савићевић (born September 15, 1966 in Titograd, Montenegro

Australian sporting audiences are known for creative heckling. Perhaps the most famous is Yabba who has a grandstand at the Sydney Cricket Ground named after him. Stephen Harold Gascoigne, better known as Yabba, ( March 19, 1878, Redfern, Sydney - January 8, 1942 in The Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG is a sports Stadium in Sydney.

The sport of cricket is particularly notorious for heckling between the teams themselves, which is known as sledging. Cricket is a bat-and-ball team Sport that originated in England and is now played in more than 100 countries Sledging is the practice in Cricket of insulting opponents to break their concentration and cause them to make mistakes

In the NHL one of the most famous heckling incidents was with Tie Domi and a Philadelphia Flyers fan. The National Hockey League ( NHL) is a professional Ice hockey league composed of 30 teams in North America Tahir "Tie" Domi (born November 1, 1969 in Windsor, Ontario) is a retired Canadian professional Ice hockey player of The Philadelphia Flyers are a professional Ice hockey team based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. After exchanging some words and squirting of water at each other, the fan fell into the penalty box, where Tie started to punch the fan.

Politics

Politicians speaking before live audiences have less latitude to deal with hecklers. Legally, such conduct may constitute protected free speech. Freedom of speech is the freedom to speak freely without Censorship or Limitation. Strategically, coarse or belittling retorts to hecklers entails personal risk disproportionate to any gain. Some politicians, however, have been known to improvise a relevant and witty response despite these pitfalls. One acknowledged expert at this was Harold Wilson, British Prime Minister in the 1960s:

Heckler: (interrupting a passage in a Wilson speech about Labour's spending plans) What about Vietnam?

Wilson: The government has no plans to increase public expenditure in Vietnam. James Harold Wilson Baron Wilson of Rievaulx, KG, OBE, FRS, PC (11 March 1916 &ndash 24 May 1995 was one of the most prominent British politicians The Vietnam War, also known as the Second Indochina War, or the Vietnam Conflict, occurred in Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia

Heckler: Rubbish!

Wilson: I'll come to your special interest in a minute, sir. ^[1]

In an era when it was not uncommon for rotten fruit and vegetables to be thrown at speakers, Australian Prime Minister Ben Chifley once exhorted his audience to lend him their ears, paraphrasing Mark Antony. This article is about the government position For other uses see Prime Minister (disambiguation. Joseph Benedict Chifley (22 September 1885 &ndash 13 June 1951 Australian politician and 16th Prime Minister of Australia, was one of Australia's most influential Prime Ministers Friends Romans countrymen lend me your ears is the first line of a famous and often-quoted speech by Mark Antony in the play ''Julius Caesar'', by William Immediately, a large cabbage landed on the stage. The cabbage ( Brassica oleracea var capitata) is a leafy garden plant of the Family Brassicaceae (or Cruciferae used as a Chifley replied "I said your ears, Sir, not your head".

In 1992, former American President Bill Clinton was interrupted by Bob Rafsky, a member of the AIDS activism group Act up, who accused him of "dying of ambition to be president^[3]" during a rally. William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton (born William Jefferson Blythe III, August 19 1946 served as the forty-second President of the United States ACT UP, or the AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power, "is a diverse non-partisan group of individuals. After becoming visibly agitated, Clinton took the microphone off the stand, pointed to the heckler and directly responded to him by saying, "[. . . ] I have treated you and a whole lot of other people who have interrupted my rallies with a hell of a lot more respect than you treated me. And it's time to start thinking about that!" Clinton was then met with raucous applause.

Music

Les Claypool, the singer and bassist of Primus is known for dealing with hecklers in a funny way, if they let them. Leslie Edward "Les" Claypool (born September 29, 1963 in Richmond, California, U This is what happend on an early Show around 1991:

Heckler: (drunken, trying to "sing" loudly along with Les Claypool) Oooh yeah!

Claypool: That's actually my dad!

He is also known for dealing rough with people who are throwing objects on the stage. He usually stops playing and talks to the heckler. In 1994, when Primus played on Woodstock '94, the crowd was throwing mud on the stage, which was commented by Claypool:

Claypool: The song is called My name is Mud, so keep the mud for yourself you sonsabitch!

There is also a song called "The Heckler" by Primus, which is dealing with this topic. Woodstock '94 was a Music festival organized in order to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the original Woodstock Festival of 1969.

Audience control

One modern political approach to discourage heckling is to ensure that major events are given before a "tame" audience of sympathizers, or conducted to allow restrictions on who may remain on the premises (see also, astroturfing). Astroturfing in American English is a Neologism for formal Public relations campaigns in Politics and Advertising which seek to create the impression The downside is this may make heckling incidents even more newsworthy. This happened to Tony Blair during a photo op visit to a hospital during the 2001 general election campaign, and again in 2003 during a speech. Anthony Charles Lynton "Tony" Blair (born 6 May 1953 is a British Politician who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2 May 1997 to A photo op (sometimes written as photo opp) short for photograph opportunity ( photo opportunity) originally referred to an opportunity that resulted in ^[4]

In 2004, American Vice President Dick Cheney was interrupted mid-speech by Perry Patterson, a middle-aged mother in a pre-screened rally audience. Richard Bruce "Dick" Cheney (born January 30 1941 is the forty-sixth and current Vice President of the United States. After various supportive outbursts that were permitted, ("Four more years," "Go Bush!") Patterson uttered the single word "No" and was removed from the premises and arrested for criminal trespass. ^[5]

Later, in 2005, Cheney received some heckling that was broadcast during his trip to New Orleans, after Hurricane Katrina ravaged the area. Hurricane Katrina of the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season was the costliest hurricane, as well as one of the five deadliest in the history of the United States The heckling occurred during a press conference in Gulfport, Mississippi, in an area that was cordoned off for public safety reasons, and then further secured for the press conference. Gulfport is the second largest city in Mississippi after the state capital Jackson. Mississippi ( is a state located in the Deep South of the United States Nevertheless, emergency room physician Ben Marble got close enough to the proceedings and could be heard yelling, "Go fuck yourself, Mr. Cheney. " Cheney laughed it off and continued speaking. ^[6] The context precedent had been a similar incident regarding Senator Patrick Joseph Leahy, Vermont, and Mister Cheney, the previous year. Patrick Joseph Leahy (born March 31, 1940) is the senior United States Senator from Vermont.

During a speech by Jack Straw at the 2005 Labour Party conference, 87-year old, anti-war protestor Walter Wolfgang (a fomer member of Labour Action for Peace) was forcefully ejected from the audience after yelling during Straw's speech. John Whitaker Straw (born 3 August 1946 most commonly known as Jack Straw, is a senior British Labour Party Politician. The Labour Party is a Political party in the United Kingdom. Founded at the start of the 20th century it has been since the 1920s the principal party of the The term anti-war usually refers to the opposition to a particular nation's decision to start or carry on an armed conflict unconditional of a maybe-existing just cause. A demonstration is an historically and geographically common form of Nonviolent action by groups of people He repeatedly shouted "nonsense" and "that's a lie" to Straw's talking about the establishment of democracy in Iraq. His security pass confiscated by stewards, Wolfgang was arrested under the Terrorism Act when trying to re-enter the conference. After significant criticism from the media and other politicians, Tony Blair and Labour party officials apologized for the event and Wolfgang received a hero's welcome on returning to the conference.

On the 15th of October 2005 the Scotsman reported ^[7] "Iranian ambassador Dr Seyed Mohammed Hossein Adeli. . . speaking at the annual Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament conference. . . During his speech to the CND several people were told to leave the room following protests at Iran's human rights record. Several protesters shouted: "Fascists," at the ambassador and the organisers of the conference. Walter Wolfgang, the 82-year-old peace campaigner who was forced out of the Labour Party conference last month, was in the audience. "

On Thursday, April 20, 2006, a heckler from the Falun Gong spiritual movement entered the US White House grounds as a reporter and interrupted a formal arrival ceremony for Chinese President Hu Jintao. Falun Gong ( or Falun Dafa is a spiritual practice founded in China by Li Hongzhi （李洪志） in 1992 The United States of America —commonly referred to as the See also Executive Office of the President of the United States The White House, formerly known as the Executive Mansion, is the Official residence The President of the People's Republic of China ( literally Chairman of the Chinese People's Republic or abbreviated Guójiā Zhǔxí 国家主席 literally State Chairman Hu Jintao ( born 21 December 1942 is currently the Paramount Leader of the People's Republic of China, holding the titles of General Secretary of the Communist Moments into Mr Hu's speech at the event, Wang Wenyi, perched on the top tier of the stands reserved for the press, began screaming in English and Chinese: "President Bush stop him. Doctor Wang Wenyi ( born 26 October 1958 in Jilin) is a Pathologist who once worked as a journalist for The Epoch Times. The President of the United States is the Head of state and Head of government of the United States and is the highest political official in United States by George Walker Bush ( born July 6 1946 is the forty-third and current President of the United States. Stop this visit. Stop the killing and torture. " The heckler was allowed to continue for several minutes despite the heavy presence of security personnel typical of such high level meeting of officials, prompting speculation that the incident was planned with the tacit cooperation of the White House in order to embarrass the Chinese president, hence possibly making this heckling incident one which was found justified by its audience. ^[8] President Bush later apologised to his guest. ^[9]

Heckling in Switzerland

While heckling within a political context is not unknown in Switzerland ^[10] it is frowned upon in an artistic context, unlike in the Anglo-Saxon countries where heckling is generally perceived to be an acceptable form of protest or audience interaction.

Since 2005, however, heckling or performing artists has become more commonplace. Musicians of Zurich, Gustav Bertha in particular, seem to have become an increasing focus of hecklers. Zürich (, Zürich German: Züri, Zurich, Zurigo; in English generally Zurich) is the largest city in Switzerland and capital of the Gordon Bell aka Gustav Bertha (born 24 July 1969) is a Scottish Singer-songwriter based in Zürich, Switzerland. This shift is primarily perpetrated by foreigners and is often met with a positive response by the non-Swiss performers who welcome the audience interaction. To date, only one regular heckler is said to exist in Switzerland.

See also

• applause
• audience participation
• booing
• Mystery Science Theater 3000, a TV show built on humorous heckling. Applause ( Latin applaudere to strike upon clap is primarily the expression of approval by the act of Clapping, or striking the palms of the hands together Brooklyn Book Festival crowd by David Shankbonejpg|thumb|An audience at the Brooklyn Book Festival in New York City. Mystery Science Theater 3000 is an American Cult television comedy series created by Joel Hodgson and produced
• Michael Richards

Notes and sources

• "Go fuck yourself Mr. Cheney" - video
• "Blair's Heckler States His Case" - BBC News
• "Why do people heckle?" - BBC News
• Conway, Andrew. "You're Ugly, Your Dick Is Small, and Everybody Fucks Your Mother—The Stand-Up Comedian's Response to the Heckler". Maledicta Vol. Maledicta, "The Journal The World Swears By" is a Scholarly journal dedicated to the study of offensive and negatively-valued words and expressions 11, December 1995.
• White, Michael. "A brief history of heckling", The Guardian, April 28, 2006. The Guardian (until 1959 The Manchester Guardian) is a British Newspaper owned by the Guardian Media Group.

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