Klopman diamond
Encyclopedia
The Klopman diamond is a fabulous, legendary, apocryphal, and huge diamond
, said to have a curse
associated with it.
, a typical version of which is:
Due to the use of the name "Klopman" and the somewhat dark humor, and the fact that it was one of Myron Cohen
's standards, this joke is sometimes characterised as Yiddish in origin. Some commentators maintain that names other than Klopman would not be as funny, and point to the fact that this joke has survived essentially unaltered for decades.
in the animated television show Garfield and Friends
. For example, there would be a giant diamond in a museum display case, which Garfield, as the museum tour guide, would casually identify in passing as the Klopman diamond; or Nermal would be required to polish the Klopman Diamond as one of a series of tricks during the obedience event of a cat show
. At one point, Garfield even mentioned it as a "rare and valuable gem…as well as a pointless running gag on a popular Saturday morning cartoon show." There was a segment devoted to it in the episode "The Curse of Klopman" (see List of episodes of Garfield and Friends).
Mark Evanier
claims credit for adding references to the Klopman diamond to Garfield and Friends.
As a nod to the old animated series, the more recent series The Garfield Show
(also written by Evanier) has also included references to the Klopman Diamond, and a crystal referred to as the Klopman Crystal is made a plot device
in the direct-to-video film Garfield's Pet Force.
Diamond
In mineralogy, diamond is an allotrope of carbon, where the carbon atoms are arranged in a variation of the face-centered cubic crystal structure called a diamond lattice. Diamond is less stable than graphite, but the conversion rate from diamond to graphite is negligible at ambient conditions...
, said to have a curse
Curse
A curse is any expressed wish that some form of adversity or misfortune will befall or attach to some other entity—one or more persons, a place, or an object...
associated with it.
Origin of the Klopman diamond
The Klopman diamond was originally the subject of a traditional jokeJoke
A joke is a phrase or a paragraph with a humorous twist. It can be in many different forms, such as a question or short story. To achieve this end, jokes may employ irony, sarcasm, word play and other devices...
, a typical version of which is:
- A businessman boarded a plane to find, sitting next to him, an elegant woman wearing the largest, most stunning diamond ring he had ever seen. He asked her about it.
- "This is the Klopman diamond," she said. "It is beautiful, but it's like the Hope diamondHope DiamondThe Hope Diamond, also known as "Le bleu de France" or "Le Bijou du Roi", is a large, , deep-blue diamond, now housed in the Smithsonian Natural History Museum in Washington, D.C. It is blue to the naked eye because of trace amounts of boron within its crystal structure, but exhibits red...
; there is a terrible curse that goes with it."
- "What's the curse?" the man asked.
- "Mr. Klopman."
Due to the use of the name "Klopman" and the somewhat dark humor, and the fact that it was one of Myron Cohen
Myron Cohen
Myron Cohen was an American comedian and raconteur.Cohen began as a salesman in the New York City garment industry. When calling on customers, before showing his samples, he would tell a joke in order to put everyone at ease and establish a friendly mood...
's standards, this joke is sometimes characterised as Yiddish in origin. Some commentators maintain that names other than Klopman would not be as funny, and point to the fact that this joke has survived essentially unaltered for decades.
Garfield and Friends
The Klopman Diamond was used as a running gagRunning gag
A running gag, or running joke, is a literary device that takes the form of an amusing joke or a comical reference and appears repeatedly throughout a work of literature or other form of storytelling....
in the animated television show Garfield and Friends
Garfield and Friends
Garfield and Friends is an American animated television series based on the comic strip Garfield by Jim Davis. The show was produced by Film Roman, in association with United Feature Syndicate and Paws, Inc., and ran on CBS Saturday mornings from September 17, 1988 to December 10, 1994, with...
. For example, there would be a giant diamond in a museum display case, which Garfield, as the museum tour guide, would casually identify in passing as the Klopman diamond; or Nermal would be required to polish the Klopman Diamond as one of a series of tricks during the obedience event of a cat show
Cat show
A cat show is a judged event where the owners of cats compete to win titles in various cat registering organizations by entering their cats to be judged after a breed standard. Both pedigreed and companion cats are admissible, although the rules differ from organization to organization...
. At one point, Garfield even mentioned it as a "rare and valuable gem…as well as a pointless running gag on a popular Saturday morning cartoon show." There was a segment devoted to it in the episode "The Curse of Klopman" (see List of episodes of Garfield and Friends).
Mark Evanier
Mark Evanier
Mark Stephen Evanier is an American comic book and television writer, particularly known for his humor work. He is also known for his columns and blogs, and for his work as a historian and biographer of the comics industry, in particular his award-winning Jack Kirby biography, Kirby: King of...
claims credit for adding references to the Klopman diamond to Garfield and Friends.
As a nod to the old animated series, the more recent series The Garfield Show
The Garfield Show
The Garfield Show is a CGI animated television series that premiered in France on France 3 on December 22, 2008. English-language episodes started airing on Boomerang UK on May 5, 2009. It premiered in the United States on Cartoon Network on November 2, 2009 at 3:00pm...
(also written by Evanier) has also included references to the Klopman Diamond, and a crystal referred to as the Klopman Crystal is made a plot device
Plot device
A plot device is an object or character in a story whose sole purpose is to advance the plot of the story, or alternatively to overcome some difficulty in the plot....
in the direct-to-video film Garfield's Pet Force.
Follow-up joke
A later joke of Myron Cohen, similar in nature, goes as follows:- The very same Mrs. Klopman was told by her doctor that she had a fatal condition and would never outlive her husband. She immediately commissioned a world-famous portrait artist to paint her portrait, which was to be hung above the mantel in the living room. As she posed for the portrait, she asked the artist "When you're done...if you have some paints left....I vant you should add some things to the painting..... I vant you should paint on my wrist a three-tiered diamond tennis bracelet," she said. "Also, paint on Tahitian black pearl earrings the size of grapes." She continued in this vein, asking him to paint several rings on her fingers and a ruby and diamond tiara for good measure. The artist did as he was told, and turned out a dazzling portrait.
- When the job was finished, before he left, the artist said, "May I ask you a question, Mrs. Klopman?"
- "Sure, go ahead," she replied.
- "Well," said the artist, "painting the Klopman diamond was easy, but I had a heck of a time dreaming up all the other jewelry you wanted me to add on. Tell me, why did you want it?"
- A crafty gleam lit Mrs. Klopman's eyes as she explained, "because when I'm dead and my husband brings the next Mrs. Klopman into this house, I want her to look at my portrait and go crazy trying to find all that stuff!"