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Bill is co-host of Seattle's Morning news, 5-9, on 97.3 KIRO FM. Bill is well known in the Northwest as a journalist, author, comedian, and talk show host. Radke started his career at KIRO as an intern in 1983. He recently returned home from Los Angeles.

Surely you can't be serious - 'Airplane' named funniest film of all time

BY Josh Kerns  on September 7, 2012 @ 6:59 am (Updated: 7:14 am - 9/7/12 )

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A new survey says the comedy Airplane is the funniest of all time (AP Photo/file)
"Surely you can't be serious. I am serious. And don't call me Shirley."

If that iconic line from the classic comedy "Airplane" makes you laugh, you're not alone. A new study says the film is the funniest ever.

The survey of a panel of members from the subscription movie service Lovefilm says the comedy generates three laughs a minute on average with its steady stream of one liners.

The panel recorded the total number of times each film generated a laugh, before dividing it by the film's total length in minutes to calculate the precise "laugh a minute" rating for each movie.

"They nailed it," says KIRO's Bill Radke.

"I was in a packed theater in Bellevue, Nebraska, 1980 when I experienced the greatest, giddiest, most joyful, most sustained, 1 hour and 28 minutes of laughter in the history of cinema," he says.

The survey coincides with the release of the comedy "The Hangover" on Lovefilm's instant streaming service.

Here's the entire funniest list:

Airplane - 3 Laughs A Minute
The Hangover - 2.4 Laughs A Minute
The Naked Gun - 2.3 Laughs A Minute
Superbad - 1.9 Laughs A Minute
Borat - 1.7 Laughs A Minute
Anchorman - 1.6 Laughs A Minute
American Pie - 1.5 Laughs A Minute
Bridesmaids - 1.4 Laughs A Minute
Shaun of the Dead - 1.3 Laughs A Minute
Life of Brian - 1.2 Laughs A Minute

"After many heated debates about whether "The Hangover" really is the funniest movie ever, we asked our members to vote for the 10 movies that make them laugh the most, and then conducted our own research into how many times those included in this list made us giggle," said Helen Cowley, editor of Lovefilm.

"Interestingly, while Lovefilm members voted "Life of Brian" as the funniest film, our research shows that for laughs a minute the hilarious aircraft-based satire of "Airplane" beats the Monty Python epic hands-down."

What movie makes you laugh the most?

By JOSH KERNS, MyNorthwest.com Reporter

Josh Kerns, MyNorthwest.com Reporter
Josh Kerns is co-host of KIRO Radio's Seattle Sounds (Saturday nights 7-8) and a digital content producer for MyNorthwest.com.
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